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This interview features Dr. Andrew Menaker, a trading psychologist who coaches professional and independent traders on the real drivers of performance—how you think, feel, and act while risk is on. He’s known for practical, in-the-trenches coaching and big ideas like separating uncertainty from risk, using the screen as a mirror for your coping styles, and treating trading as a vehicle for personal growth. If you’ve ever made money but struggled to keep it, or felt “something’s off” in your decision process, this conversation shows why and what to do next.
You’ll learn Andrew Menaker’s core playbook for durable performance: how to decouple process from outcome, trade in “risk units” instead of P&L targets, and process emotions in real time so you don’t act on fear, FOMO, or frustration. We’ll cover his live journaling method (pen, not keyboard), the difference between professionals and retailers (hint: risk management behavior, not superhuman calm), and the surprising edge retail traders have—choosing when not to trade. By the end, you’ll have concrete ways to build self-awareness, tolerate discomfort, and turn that awareness into better entries, sizing, and exits—so your strategy actually sticks on your worst day, not just your best.
Andrew Menaker Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Core Operating Principles
Andrew Menaker treats trading as a performance craft: consistent execution under uncertainty. His edge lives in behavior—how he prepares, decides, and manages arousal—more than in any single setup. Here’s how he operationalizes that edge day to day.
- Define success as “executed the plan” rather than “made money” on any single trade.
- Trade only when a pre-defined A-setup is present; pass on everything else without debate.
- Separate uncertainty (always present) from risk (always sized and capped).
- Build rules for states of mind, not just market states: adjust size or stand down when agitated, euphoric, or fatigued.
- Keep decision latency low: if conditions are met, execute; if not, do nothing.
Pre-Market Prep & Intent
Preparation for Andrew starts with state management, then market hypothesis. The goal is to enter the open calm, focused, and with one or two simple if-then plans—not a dozen maybes.
- Sleep/energy check: if <7/10, reduce size by half or skip first 30 minutes.
- 3-line plan before the bell: “If trend, I do X; if range, I do Y; if chop, I stand down.”
- Mark key levels (HTF S/R, overnight high/low, VWAP) and write the invalidation that would cancel your idea.
- Decide max trades for the session (e.g., 3 tickets); decide cool-off rule (e.g., 10 minutes after a loss).
- Breathe 3 cycles of 4-4-6 (inhale-hold-exhale) and state your risk per trade out loud before the first order.
Playbook Triggers (A-, B-, and Pass)
He categorizes opportunities by clarity and context. A-setups are pre-defined, repeatable, and easy to execute; B-setups are optional and sized smaller; everything else is a pass.
- A setup must have: HTF alignment, clean structure (no nearby congestion), and a defined invalidation within 1R.
- B-setup requires at least two of the A-criteria; risk at 50% of normal size.
- “Pass” when volatility is erratic (spread widening, slippage spikes) or your read is based on prediction rather than a repeatable pattern.
- For each setup, pre-write: entry trigger, stop location, first scale/target, and the condition that voids the trade before entry.
- If an A setup appears during a poor mental state, downgrade it to B or pass entirely.
Risk & Position Sizing
Risk is the lever you fully control. Andrew sizes in risk units (“R”) and keeps the downside small and known, so execution stays relaxed.
- Set a fixed R per trade (e.g., 0.5% of account) and do not change it mid-session.
- Place stops where the trade thesis is invalid—not at round numbers.
- Daily loss stop: 2R–3R; hit it and you’re done for the day.
- After a big win (>2R), reduce the next trade to half size to prevent euphoria mistakes.
- Never widen a stop; scratch or re-enter only if a fresh, valid trigger occurs.
Entry & Execution Mechanics
Execution should feel boring—no hesitation, no negotiation. Andrew runs simple triggers and lets the prepared plan fire.
- Use one mechanical entry per setup (e.g., break-and-hold of level with close above/below).
- If price tags the level but doesn’t close through it, wait; no “anticipation” entries.
- Enter on the signal bar close or first pullback; no mid-bar chasing.
- Use bracket orders immediately: stop, target, and an OCO link to avoid manual errors.
- 30-second post-entry check: if the reason you entered is no longer present, exit flat or at the stop—don’t argue.
Managing the Trade (Runners, Scales, and Exits)
He treats management as rule-driven, not vibes-driven. The aim is to let winners work while protecting emotional capital.
- Move to break-even only after structure confirms (e.g., higher low after entry for longs), not just because price ticked in your favor.
- First scale at +1R or at first opposing level; trail remainder behind structure (swing low/high or VWAP band).
- If momentum stalls for three consecutive bars at your level, take a partial and re-evaluate.
- Time stop: if a trade goes nowhere for N bars (define N by instrument), close it—opportunity cost is real.
- Never turn a trade into an “investment”: if invalidated, get out and log it.
State Management & Emotional Control
Andrew treats emotions as data, not problems. The skill is staying effective while feeling things, not trying to feel nothing.
- Pre-trade arousal check (1–10). If ≥8, reduce size to 25% or sit out until ≤6.
- Use micro-resets: 60-second eyes-off-screen every 30–45 minutes; extend to 5 minutes after a loss.
- Label the emotion in one word (e.g., “frustrated”) and write one action (“skip next signal” or “halve size”).
- If you feel an urge to “get it back,” enforce a mandatory 20-minute break.
- After two consecutive losses, run the “calm-clarify-commit” loop: breathe (3 cycles), re-read the plan, decide pass/size before resuming.
Journal & Review (Pen, Not Keyboard)
He favors brief, handwritten logs to anchor attention and reduce rationalization. The journal focuses on behavior and context, not storytelling.
- Pre-market: write intent, scenarios, and personal state in 3–5 lines.
- Post-trade: record setup grade (A/B), entry quality (good/ok/bad), rule deviations (Y/N), R result, and state at entry.
- End-day: circle your single biggest behavioral error and write one small rule to prevent it tomorrow.
- Weekly: print blotter and mark “followed plan” vs “didn’t”—optimize the plan, not the P&L variance.
- Create a “stop-doing” list: the 3 behaviors that cost the most R; review daily.
Context Filters (When Not to Trade)
Knowing when to stand down is part of Andrew’s edge. He skips periods when information quality or his state makes good decisions unlikely.
- First 5 minutes after major news: no new positions unless the plan explicitly allows it.
- Low-energy days (sleep debt, illness): A-setups only at half size; no discretionary adds.
- Platform/latency issues, widening spreads, or repeated slippage: stop trading until conditions normalize.
- If you can’t state your invalidation in one sentence, you don’t have a trade.
- After hitting daily target or max loss, shut down platforms—no charts, no “just one more.”
Metrics That Matter
He tracks behavior and repeatability rather than trying to micromanage outcomes. The numbers are there to drive clarity, not to impress.
- Plan-adherence rate (target ≥85%) beats win rate for predicting long-term results.
- Average R per A-setup and per B-setup tracked separately; kill B-setups if expectancy < A-setups by too much.
- Time-in-trade and heat taken (MAE) inform stop placement more than anecdotes.
- Peak-to-trough drawdown in R; cap monthly drawdown and auto-reduce risk if breached.
- One experimental change per week, maximum; measure it for two weeks before adopting.
Building the Personal Edge
Andrew’s approach is personal, but the structure is universal: design rules around your tendencies so your worst day is still survivable. The edge is the fit between you and your process.
- Identify your top two strengths (e.g., patience, pattern recognition) and build setups that exploit them.
- Write one “anti-you” rule that neutralizes your biggest leak (e.g., “No adds after first scale”).
- Align timeframe with temperament: if you hate waiting, trade intraday but pre-define session limits; if you love building cases, stick to HTF swings.
- Keep your playbook to 1–3 setups; add a new one only after 50 traded samples with positive expectancy.
- Rehearse decision scripts out loud before the session so execution feels familiar when the moment arrives.
Size Risk in R Units, Not Dollars, to Stay Consistent
Andrew Menaker frames every trade in “R,” a fixed risk unit, so decisions aren’t hijacked by the dollar amount on the line. One R might be 0.25% or 0.5% of equity, and it never flexes because a setup “feels good.” This keeps his nervous system calm and his behavior stable across wins and losses. By sizing to a constant R, he compares setups apples-to-apples and evaluates the edge with clean math.
He defines the stop where the thesis is invalid, calculates position size to equal exactly 1R if that stop is hit, and then forgets the money. If conditions degrade—fatigue, frustration, or jumpy spreads—Andrew Menaker cuts R before cutting standards. He tracks daily loss in R (e.g., -3R max) and walks when it’s hit, protecting mental and financial capital. Over time, measuring expectancy in R lets him keep good setups, kill bad ones, and scale only what truly works.
Trade the Setup, Not Your Feelings: Process Beats Prediction
Andrew Menaker insists you trade the setup, not the surge of feeling in the moment. He reduces decisions to a small checklist—context aligned, clean level, defined invalidation—and if those boxes aren’t ticked, there is no trade. By committing to these if-then rules ahead of time, he makes execution almost binary and strips out the inner debate. When a candle looks “too good to miss,” he asks whether the prewritten trigger fired; if not, it’s a pass.
To keep the process ahead of prediction, Andrew Menaker pre-states entry, stop, and first scale in plain language before the session. If arousal spikes—after a loss, on news, or during FOMO—he automatically downgrades the idea or enforces a timed cool-off before touching the keyboard. He measures success by plan adherence, not outcome, because following the setup through losses is what preserves the edge for the next sample. Over hundreds of trades, this discipline converts a fragile hunch into a repeatable strategy that works on your worst day, not just your best.
Use Volatility to Adjust Position Size, Targets, and Expectations
Andrew Menaker ties risk directly to current volatility, so each trade carries comparable emotional weight. When ATR or recent range expands, he reduces position size and widens stops and targets to avoid getting chopped by normal swings. In a quiet market, he does the opposite: slightly larger size, tighter stops, and closer first targets, accepting that moves take longer and require more patience. This keeps his behavior stable across regimes—no overtrading on wild days, no boredom trades when price is sleepy.
Before placing an order, Andrew Menaker asks, “How noisy is one bar right now?” and lets that answer shape his R-math, partials, and time-in-trade. If slippage or spread widens beyond his thresholds, he cuts size again or stands down entirely because execution quality is part of volatility. He also adjusts expectations: on high-volatility days, he allows for deeper pullbacks before bailing; on low-volatility days, he’s quicker to scratch if momentum stalls. By letting volatility set the tempo, he protects capital and mindset while still giving winners the room they need to work.
Define Invalidation Before Entry; Never Widen Stops, Ever
Andrew Menaker decides exactly what would prove him wrong before he clicks buy or sell, then anchors his stop there and sizes the position to fit. If price reaches that invalidation, he’s out—no debate, no “it’ll come back.” This removes the slippery slope of discretionary pain tolerance and keeps the loss the size he planned, not the size his emotions negotiate. He likes invalidation tied to structure—failed break, loss of VWAP, breach of prior swing—so the stop means “thesis broken,” not “felt uncomfortable.”
When pressure rises, Andrew Menaker refuses to widen the stop because that turns a trading plan into a hope plan. If the market shakes him out and then requalifies, he’ll re-enter on a fresh signal rather than rescue a dead idea. This habit preserves expectancy: small, known losses and clean second chances beat one stubborn, portfolio-draining drift every time. By predefining invalidation and honoring it without exception, he protects both capital and confidence—the two assets most traders leak long before they run out of setups.
Diversify by Strategy, Timeframe, and Market Regime for Durability
Andrew Menaker spreads his edge across a few uncorrelated ways of making money, so no single condition can sink him. He pairs one momentum continuation play with a mean-reversion setup and a breakout failure, each on different timeframes, so correlation between outcomes stays low. In trend regimes, he leans on the continuation play; in range, she scales into the mean-reverter; during transitions, he watches the failure setup. This mix smooths equity swings and keeps confidence intact when one idea naturally cools off.
He also staggers holding periods—intraday, swing, and occasional multi-day—to avoid concentration in a single rhythm of noise. When volatility and correlations spike, Andrew Menaker automatically reduces size and narrows the menu to the one or two setups with the cleanest historical expectancy for that regime. He evaluates each “bucket” separately in R to decide what to cut, keep, or scale rather than reacting to headline P&L. Over time, this diversification by method, timeframe, and market condition builds a sturdier equity curve and a calmer decision maker.
Andrew Menaker’s core message is simple but transformative: your edge is behavioral. He urges traders to separate uncertainty from risk in their minds so they can execute cleanly even when the outcome is unknowable. That mindset shows up in practical rules—define invalidation before entry, size in fixed risk units, and judge yourself on plan adherence rather than P&, which keeps losses small and decision quality high across regimes.
He also highlights traps that quietly ruin careers. Andrew Menaker warns about the “Type 4” win—money made on low-quality process—which reinforces bad behavior and guarantees the same mistake returns under stress. His fix is radical honesty and in-the-moment awareness: live journaling with a pen during decision pressure to label feelings, surface impulses, and choose actions that align with the plan. Over time, this turns emotions into data rather than drivers of trade.
Finally, he reframes discretion as a superpower—especially for independents. Retail traders can simply choose not to trade when they’re tired, unfocused, or when market conditions impair execution quality; that pass button is a real, often-ignored edge. More broadly, great trading means holding two ideas at once: hunting opportunity while managing risk with equal intensity. When life context shifts—like moving from a bank to a hedge fund—expect your risk behavior to change, and proactively adjust size and process to stay effective. Put together, Andrew Menaker’s lessons build a durable edge: think clearly under uncertainty, act only when your plan is present, and let your rules protect you when your feelings won’t.
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