Table of Contents
Jared Tendler—trader psychologist and author—joins for a straight-talk session on why discipline “fails” and what’s really going on under the hood. From prop-firm rule pressures to the emotional landmines of fear, greed, and overconfidence, he lays out how P&L fixation derails decision-making and how to build the kind of routine that survives drawdowns and hot streaks alike. If you’ve ever stared at your open P&L and felt your plan slip, this chat is for you.
You’ll learn Tendler’s practical framework for mapping emotional patterns before they explode, turning post-trade journaling into a confidence engine, and training patience without confusing it for passivity. We’ll cover how to define your “strike criteria,” handle the prop-firm mindset without carrying fake responsibility, and turn habits into true mastery—where you can’t not do your pre-market prep and post-session review. The goal isn’t to “feel confident”; it’s to build skill and keep your confidence accurately matched to it so your strategy actually shows up when it counts.
Jared Tendler Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Mental Game System: the real-time operating framework
This is the core engine Jared Tendler uses to keep execution sharp when emotions and uncertainty spike. It gives you a way to notice the problem early, interrupt it fast, and correct it at the root so the same mistake doesn’t keep recycling.
- Define your three performance states before the open: A-game (clear, patient), B-game (slightly pressured), C-game (tilt/impulse).
- Set a 3-step loop for every session: recognize → inject logic → execute the correction.
- Write a one-sentence “system goal” for the day (e.g., “Protect patience on first two setups”). Keep it visible on your screen.
- Tag each trade with your state (A/B/C) at entry. If you’re in C-game, no new trades until the reset protocol runs.
- Use a 30–60 second breathing/reset routine you can execute between trades to return to baseline.
Pre-market calibration: arrive in the right headspace
You can’t trade well if you start reactively. A tight calibration routine aligns your mind with your plan, your risk, and the day’s conditions so you don’t wing it at the open.
- Pre-market checklist (5 minutes): sleep score, stress level (1–5), distractions, and a one-line intention. If stress ≥4, cut size by 50%.
- Define strike criteria for the day’s top setup in plain English (e.g., “pullback to prior day high with decreasing volume, 1R risk to VWAP”).
- Write a do-not-trade list for conditions that invalidate your edge (e.g., “no longs if index below premarket low + breadth < 30% advancers”).
- Pre-commit max daily loss and walk-away trigger (e.g., −2R or two C-game tags). Publish it to yourself on a sticky or on-screen note.
- Hide real-time P&L before the open; show only position size, risk, and R-multiple.
Mapping patterns: make emotions obvious and predictable
Tendler treats emotions as signals. Mapping turns vague feelings into specific patterns you can spot early—so you correct faster and avoid compounding errors.
- Build a pattern map for your top three recurring mistakes (chasing, cutting winners, and revenge). For each: triggers → early signals → thoughts → actions → aftermath.
- Rate signal intensity 1–5. When it hits 3, pause execution and apply your correction script before clicking.
- Use the A/B/C-game model in journaling: capture a 1-line example from each state daily. Aim to expand C-game competence until yesterday’s B-game becomes today’s C-game (the “inchworm” shift).
- Track time-of-day risk (e.g., you overtrade between 10:30–11:15). Set a reduced-size window or no-trade window for that period.
Injecting Logic: your interrupt-and-correct script
Generic affirmations don’t fix trading. You need targeted statements that counter your specific bias in the moment and move you back to execution.
- Write a unique Injecting Logic line for each mistake. Example for chasing: “If the entry’s gone, the risk is unknown—waiting preserves capital and future A-game.”
- Keep it visible where the mistake occurs (DOM, hotkey pad, chart).
- Pair the statement with a mechanical action: remove finger from hotkey, count to 5, re-read strike criteria, then re-assess.
- If the urge persists after two cycles, step out for 2 minutes; no screens. Return and re-rate signal intensity before resuming.
Sizing & confidence calibration: match risk to present skill
Overconfidence and fear both misprice risk. Calibrate size to the quality of state + quality of setup, not just conviction.
- Create a 2×2 matrix: {A/B/C-game} × {A/B setup}. Only A×A gets full size; everything else scales down.
- Hard cap size at 0.5× during the first trade of the day or the first trade after a loss.
- Use R-based risk (e.g., 0.5–1.25R) and predefine the add-plan: adds only if the original thesis strengthens, and stop can be trailed to reduce net risk.
- If drawdown ≥5R on the week, auto-reduce risk per trade by 50% until you book three consecutive A-process trades (win or lose).
Execution protocol: keep decisions clean under fire
When markets speed up, process beats opinion. A crisp execution protocol ensures you act on criteria, not craving.
- Entry must meet all strike criteria; if one is missing, pass.
- One decision log line at entry: “Because X, I risk Y to make Z; invalidated if Q.” If you can’t write it in <15 seconds, no trade.
- Use bracket orders to pre-commit exit logic: initial stop, first scale, final target, or trailing rule.
- For the first minute after entry, no chart dragging or tinkering. Only adjust on rule-based triggers (e.g., break of structure, ATR trail, breadth flip).
- Keep hotkey hygiene: separate keys for cancel/close vs. reverse; turn off reverse hotkey unless it’s part of your playbook.
Post-trade review: build skill, not stories
Review is where discipline becomes automatic. Keep it short, specific, and designed to improve the next rep.
- After each trade, capture three fields: state tag, rule adherence (Y/N), and improvement note (≤20 words).
- Run a 5-minute Mental Hand History for any C-game action: what triggered it, accurate logic, and correction to attempt next time.
- At session end, pick one micro-adjustment for tomorrow (e.g., “wait for 1-minute close through level before entry”).
- Archive one A-game example with a screenshot daily to reinforce what “right” feels like.
Drawdown protocol: protect capital and confidence
You need a pre-written plan for when things go wrong. This decides out of your emotional hands and preserves the edge.
- Tiered brakes: −3R day = stop; −5R rolling 3 days = trade plan-only, half size; −8R week = 2 days off + sim review.
- During breaks, shift focus to process-only reps: replay charts, annotate entries you would take, record voice notes explaining criteria.
- Replace outcome goals with volume of A-process reps (e.g., 30 annotated replays) before restoring full size.
Patience & impulse control: make waiting an action
Waiting feels passive, so traders sabotage it. Convert patience into an active task you can complete and measure.
- Define countable waiting: “I will observe five 1-minute bars after the level is tagged before entry.”
- Set a minimum bar count after news or range breaks before taking continuation trades.
- If you get two “almost” setups in a row, trigger a 5-minute reset to avoid forcing the third.
- Track time-in-trade and time-between-trades; require a cooldown (e.g., 3 minutes) after any loss.
Environment & UI: design screens that enforce rules
Your workspace can either invite tilt or prevent it. Configure it so the correct action is the easiest.
- Hide floating P&L and equity curve during the session; show R-multiple, entry price, stop, and ATR only.
- Put your top three rules in the chart title or a fixed text box; if a rule is broken, you must screenshot and tag it.
- Create a “no-scroll zone” around entries: lock the chart scale for 60 seconds after execution to stop micro-management.
- Use distinct layouts for prep vs. live trading so research tabs don’t bleed into execution.
Building discipline as a skill: habits that stick
Discipline isn’t willpower—it’s trained. Small daily reps compound into automatic behavior under pressure.
- Anchor two pre-session habits (2 minutes each): read today’s system goal aloud; rehearse your Injecting Logic out loud.
- Anchor two post-session habits (5 minutes total): single-screen trade review; write tomorrow’s one micro-adjustment.
- Track a streak of A-process sessions; allow one planned miss per week to avoid all-or-nothing psychology.
- Every Friday, upgrade one rule from optional to non-negotiable with an explicit cost for breaking it (reduced size next session).
Communication & accountability: keep yourself honest
Trading solo invites rationalization. Lightweight accountability keeps the plan real and the excuses small.
- Before the open, message your system goal and risk caps to a buddy or to a private note you’ll re-read at lunch.
- After the close, send one screenshot of an A-process trade and one of any broken rule with the fix you’ll test tomorrow.
- If two rule breaks occur in one session, require a spoken reset (say your Injecting Logic aloud) before any new order.
Long-term edge development: inch the whole curve forward
Your best gets better while your worst gets less bad. That’s how the performance curve shifts to the right over time.
- Choose a monthly theme (e.g., “hold winners”). Limit all micro-adjustments to that theme to concentrate reps.
- Maintain two improvement pipelines: mechanics (entries/exits) and mental (pattern maps and logic scripts). Always progress both.
- Retire one ineffective rule per quarter and replace it with a cleaner, more enforceable version.
- Re-benchmark A/B/C-game definitions every quarter using fresh examples so standards rise with your skill.
Size risk by current skill and setup quality, not conviction level
Jared Tendler makes a simple point that changes everything: conviction is a feeling, skill is a fact. When your size follows emotion, you’re secretly betting on mood swings; when it follows current skill and setup quality, you’re pricing risk like a pro. He suggests grading both your state (A/B/C-game) and the setup (A/B) before you click, so size comes from a matrix, not a vibe. If either grade slips, the size automatically ratchets down. That way, Jared Tendler keeps the biggest bets for the rare moments when execution and edge truly align.
He also frames sizing as a brake, not a gas pedal. Early in the session, after a loss, or when you’re slipping into B- or C-game, he cuts risk to protect decision quality. On A-grade setups in A-game, he allows standard size—never “hero size”—so wins come from repeatable edges, not lucky aggression. The goal is a smoother equity curve where your worst trading days are survivable and your best days aren’t just noise. Size becomes a tool to keep your process honest, so your strategy actually shows up when it matters.
Build volatility-based position sizing that expands in A-game, contracts in tilt.
Jared Tendler wants size to reflect the market’s speed and your current state, not wishful thinking. When volatility rises, widen stops to realistic levels and shrink contracts so your dollar risk per trade stays constant. When conditions are slow and you’re in A-game, you can expand size modestly because noise is lower and execution is cleaner. Use a simple yardstick like average true range or recent range to set stop distance, then back into position size so 1R equals the same dollars every trade.
He also bakes in state-based brakes so tilt can’t blow you up. After any loss or a C-game tag, auto-cut size by 50% until you log a clean, rule-following trade. If intraday volatility spikes beyond your plan, step down to half size or skip the next setup entirely. Volatility decides how far the price can reasonably wiggle; your sizing math respects that, while your A/B/C-game grade decides whether you’ve earned the right to press.
Diversify by strategy, timeframe, and catalyst to smooth the equity curve.
Jared Tendler pushes diversification beyond tickers; he wants you diversified by playbook, holding period, and what actually drives the trade. Run a couple of uncorrelated setups—say, an opening drive momentum play and an afternoon mean-reversion fade—so one style isn’t dragging your month. Layer timeframes too: intraday for reps and feedback, swing for trend participation, and occasional event plays so news risk isn’t concentrated. Different catalysts—technical levels, earnings, macro data—spread your dependency so a single market regime shift can’t kneecap you.
He also stresses rule separation so each strategy keeps its own stops, targets, and size bands. Jared Tendler’s view is that mixing rules across playbooks muddies execution and spikes emotional noise. Track performance by strategy and timeframe, cut the laggards, and reallocate risk to what’s actually producing clean R. The goal is a steadier equity curve where cold streaks in one lane are buffered by strength in another, keeping confidence—and discipline—intact.
Trade mechanics beat prediction: codify strike criteria and executable exit rules.
Jared Tendler argues that prediction invites ego, while mechanics invite consistency. Define strike criteria so clearly that a stranger could spot your entry without asking questions: location, trigger, and invalidation. Replace “I think it will bounce” with “If price reclaims yesterday’s high and holds one minute above, I enter; invalid if it closes back inside.” Pre-plan profit-taking and stop behavior so you’re executing a checklist, not negotiating with fear or FOMO. When mechanics lead, your job is to follow rules at full fidelity, not to outguess the market.
Exits deserve the same precision. Jared Tendler wants rules that fire automatically: scale at a fixed R, trail behind structure, and kill the trade the instant invalidation prints—no debate. Lock in the first scale to reduce emotional load, then let the remainder ride on a written trailing rule you don’t tweak mid-trade. If you edit a stop or target, it must be for a rule-based reason you could defend tomorrow, not a feeling you needed today. Over time, this mechanical integrity turns your edge into a habit your emotions can’t easily break.
Protect downside with predefined stop, daily max loss, and walk-away triggers
Jared Tendler treats risk rules like seatbelts—you wear them every drive, not just on sketchy roads. Every trade starts with a predefined stop that reflects actual structure, not comfort, so 1R is real, and position size adjusts to it. A hard daily max loss shuts the platform down for the day, preventing the spiral where you try to “win back respect” from the market. He also adds walk-away triggers—two rule breaks or two consecutive C-game tags—and the session switches to reset mode with no new risk.
The point, Jared Tendler says, is to protect decision quality before you chase the money. When losses hit, he forces a smaller size or zero size until a clean, rule-following trade is logged. If you move a stop, it must be to reduce risk based on an explicit rule—never to “give it room.” The combination of structured stops, a firm daily cap, and automatic walk-aways makes your worst days survivable and your best days repeatable. Over time, those protections keep your edge intact long enough for your skill to compound.
Jared Tendler’s message lands where traders actually live: in the space between a written plan and the emotions that try to hijack it. He turns “discipline” from a slogan into a system—map your patterns, label your state (A/B/C-game), and use Injecting Logic to interrupt tilt before it makes decisions for you. Strike criteria replace prediction; exits are prewritten; and size is earned by current skill and setup quality, not by mood or conviction. Confidence isn’t the goal—accurate confidence is—so journaling, state tagging, and quick post-trade notes keep your perception tethered to reality instead of to the P&L ticker.
He also makes risk feel non-negotiable. Stops reflect real structure, daily loss limits end the day, and walk-away triggers prevent spirals. Volatility sets stop distance; position size backsolves so 1R stays constant; and your state determines whether you press or step down. Diversification isn’t just tickers—it’s strategy, timeframe, and catalyst—so one regime shift can’t wreck your month. Drawdowns get a written protocol with automatic reductions and process-only reps to rebuild execution before size comes back.
Most importantly, Jared Tendler treats habits as skills you train until you “can’t not” do them. Two tight anchors—pre-market calibration and post-session review—compound into automatic behavior when markets heat up. Over time, the inchworm effect kicks in: yesterday’s worst gets less bad, your best gets a bit better, and your entire curve shifts right. That’s the real edge—mechanics that hold under pressure—so your trader strategy doesn’t just look good on paper; it actually shows up when it counts.
