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In this conversation, trading psychology expert and fund manager Yvan Byeajee sits down for a fresh interview to unpack how he became a consistently profitable trader—and why mindset is the true edge. Recorded in Montreal with a candid, down-to-earth vibe, Yvan traces his path from early fascination to full-time trading in 2006 and into coaching traders on composure, clarity, and execution. He matters because he’s lived both sides of the curve: years of costly errors, then a measurable turnaround driven by mindfulness and disciplined risk.
In this piece, you’ll learn how Yvan separates market psychology from trading psychology, why most losses come from emotion-driven mistakes (not systems), and how a simple, consistent meditation habit can reduce over-trading, revenge trades, and hesitation. We’ll cover his daily routine, the role of acceptance under uncertainty, and practical ways to build equanimity so your strategy actually gets executed the way it was designed—especially when it counts.
Yvan Byeajee Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Core Philosophy: Equanimity First, Trades Second
Yvan Byeajee treats composure as a performance edge. He learned the hard way—starting in 2006, spending years losing until he realized the issue wasn’t the market, it was his relationship to uncertainty and emotion. From there, he built a mindfulness-based approach that separates “market psychology” (what price does) from “trading psychology” (what you do about it).
- Practice 10–20 minutes of breath-focused mindfulness before the session; the goal isn’t calm, it’s awareness.
- Label urges (chase, bail, double-down) in real time; if you can name it, you can manage it.
- Accept uncertainty explicitly: say out loud, “Outcomes are unknowable; my job is process.”
- When you notice emotion ≥7/10, pause for three full breaths, then re-check plan, risk, and context before clicking.
- End each day with a 2-minute reflection: “Where did emotion alter execution?” Note one fix for tomorrow.
Risk Framework: Predefine Pain, Normalize Loss
A strategy is only as good as the worst day you can survive. Yvan’s mindset work exists to ensure risk rules are actually followed—especially when P&L swings stir up impulses. Keep losses routine and boring so you can show up again tomorrow.
- Risk a fixed fraction per idea (e.g., 0.25%–0.5% of equity); never exceed 1R on entry.
- Set a hard daily stop (e.g., −1.5% or −3R) and a “tilt guard”: if hit, you’re flat and done.
- Size by volatility: ATR- or dollar-stop first, then compute position; never size to a target.
- Move stops only in your favor and only at predefined structure (e.g., break-even at +1R, trail below last swing).
- No “get back” trades: any trade placed within 5 minutes of a stop-out must meet an A+ checklist, or it’s skipped.
Setup Selection: Simple System, Mastered Execution
Mindfulness doesn’t replace an edge; it protects it. Yvan is explicit that meditation isn’t a magic pill—your setups still need a statistical basis, and you must execute them without hesitation or avoidance. Keep the playbook tight so you can notice and act cleanly.
- Keep 1–3 core setups only; define them by context, trigger, stop, and management.
- Write a one-liner for each setup (e.g., “Pullback to 20EMA in uptrend; enter on reclaim; stop under swing”).
- Predefine invalidation (price/structure) before you look at potential reward.
- If a setup lacks two independent confirmations (trend + level, level + momentum, etc.), pass.
- Standardize entries (limit/stop/market) so the how is never improvised under stress.
Pre-Market Routine: Prime the Mind, Then the Chart
Your brain trades before your fingers do. Yvan’s practice starts with breath and body awareness to spot tension early, then a quick plan so execution has zero ambiguity. This trims hesitation, revenge trades, and FOMO at the root.
- 3–5 minutes: sit, eyes open or closed; observe breath and bodily sensations; note thoughts without engagement.
- Write a 3-line plan: market bias, “If–Then” triggers for each setup, maximum risk today.
- Mark levels and scenarios on the chart before the open; no adding lines intraday unless price proves it.
- Choose your A/ B day: if conditions match A, full size; if not, half size or observe only.
- Commit to a maximum number of trades (e.g., 3–5 tickets) to force selectivity.
In-Trade Process: Stay Present, Work the Plan
Once you’re in, the job shifts from prediction to risk management and rule execution. Yvan’s edge is composure under uncertainty—watch price, watch your mind, and let the prewritten playbook drive decisions.
- Say the rule you’re about to execute (e.g., “Scale 1/3 at +1R”) before you do it.
- If attention drifts, use a 10-second “reset”: look away from P&L, breathe, re-read the checklist.
- Never widen stops; if tempted, reduce size instead.
- Log real-time tags: “late,” “early,” “rule-perfect,” “emotion-led.” Aim for 80% rule-perfect days.
- If two mistakes occur back-to-back, go flat and do a 60-second breath break before any new decision.
Post-Trade & Daily Review: Turn Emotion into Data
Reflection cements composure. Yvan teaches befriending difficult emotions and using them as feedback rather than fuel for the next click. Your review transforms wins/losses into clearer behavior tomorrow.
- Journal three fields per trade: (1) rule score (0–2), (2) emotion at entry/exit (0–10), (3) one improvement.
- Weekly tally: error rate, setup expectancy, and “tilt triggers” (phrases/thoughts that precede mistakes).
- Rehearse one corrected sequence (visualize the same trade executed by the book).
- Celebrate process, not P&L: reward any day ≥80% rule-perfect regardless of outcome.
Emotional Event Playbook: Drawdowns, Euphoria, and Slumps
Mindfulness trains acceptance—of pain, of gain, of not knowing. Build responses for the spikes that normally hijack behavior so your strategy survives the human in the chair.
- After a 3R drawdown in a day or 6R in a week: stop trading, switch to the simulator for 1 session, review error log.
- After a big win: cut size in half next session; wins inflate risk-taking—protect against “I can’t miss” mode.
- If sleep <6h or stress ≥7/10 pre-market: observe only or half-day max risk.
- If you catch yourself predicting (“It has to bounce”): write the sentence, cross it out, rewrite your If–Then.
Lifestyle & Mind Training: Make Composure Automatic
Yvan’s “trading composure” is built outside market hours: consistent meditation, simple routines, and habits that keep mental bandwidth high. This makes discipline feel less like willpower and more like muscle memory.
- Daily: 10–20 minutes mindfulness (breath/body scan). Non-negotiable.
- Move your body 20–30 minutes; prioritize sleep and hydration to reduce emotional reactivity.
- Keep a low-noise workspace: hide P&L, mute social feeds during session, pre-block distractions.
- Once a week, do a longer sit (30–40 minutes) and a deep review of journal + charts.
- Teach it: explain your rules aloud to a friend or camera; clarity improves execution.
Professionalizing the Craft: Treat It Like a Job
Consistency is built on structure. Yvan co-founded a coaching platform centered on composure and systematic habits—mirror that professionalism in your own process so your edge compounds.
- Fixed session hours; no off-hours impulse trades.
- Written SOPs for platform, orders, and contingencies (disconnects, halts, data issues).
- Quarterly metrics review: hit rate, win/loss, average R, error rate, time-in-trade—adjust one lever at a time.
- Maintain a “Do Not Trade” list (assets/conditions that historically trigger errors).
- Keep the playbook visible at your desk; if it’s not written, it’s not a rule.
Size Risk First: Fixed R Stops Keep You Trading Tomorrow
Yvan Byeajee starts every trade by deciding how much he’s willing to lose, not how much he hopes to make. He sets a fixed R—say 0.25%–0.5% of equity—then backs into position size from the distance to a logical stop. By anchoring the trade to risk, not reward, he makes sure a single idea can’t wreck the week. Yvan stresses that consistency comes from taking the same-sized punch every time, so the math of the system can actually show up. When the stop is hit, he accepts it, logs it, and moves on without widening or rationalizing.
He also treats the daily stop like a seatbelt: once it’s reached, the session ends. That rule protects the account from tilt and the mind from chasing losses. With fixed R sizing, adding to winners is planned, not emotional, and only after the first unit proves itself. Yvan’s message is simple and strict—control the downside first, and your edge gets room to breathe. When risk is standardized, you stop negotiating with the market and start executing your strategy like a pro.
Trade Mechanics Over Predictions: Execute Checklists, Ignore Opinions and Noise
Yvan Byeajee doesn’t try to outguess the market; he tries to out-execute his past self. He builds simple If–Then checklists so each decision is triggered by conditions, not hunches or headlines. Before any click, he verifies context, trigger, stop, and size—then reads the line out loud to lock the rule in. If the market deviates from the plan, he doesn’t negotiate; he either stands down or waits for the next pre-approved scenario. Prediction creates hope, but mechanics create repeatability.
During the trade, Yvan keeps attention on the checklist, not the P&L. He tags each action in real time—“rule-perfect,” “late,” or “emotion-led”—so the review exposes exactly where execution slipped. Opinions from social feeds, chat rooms, or pundits are muted during session hours to protect the signal. When he follows the mechanics, hesitation and FOMO fade, and the same setup produces the same behavior day after day. For Yvan Byeajee, discipline isn’t a mood; it’s a workflow.
Let Volatility Decide Size: ATR-Based Positions, Structure-Defined Exits
Yvan Byeajee sizes trades by what the market is actually doing, not by a fixed number of shares. He measures recent volatility—often through an ATR or equivalent—and uses that to set the distance of a logical stop beneath/above structure. The wider the volatility, the smaller the position; the quieter the tape, the larger the permissible size within his fixed R. This keeps each trade’s pain consistent even when markets speed up. By letting volatility drive size, Yvan avoids the common trap of trading too big just because the setup “looks good.”
Exits are planned at the structure, not feelings. Yvan Byeajee moves to break-even only when price proves itself—e.g., a clean push and close beyond the trigger level—then trails behind swings or key moving levels rather than arbitrary ticks. If a candle pattern or intraday noise conflicts with the structural plan, he stays patient until the market either confirms or invalidates the idea. This reduces chop and stop-outs caused by micro-noise. When volatility expands abruptly, he tightens to the last confirmed swing and respects the stop without negotiation.
Diversify By Strategy, Underlying, and Duration To Smooth Equity
Yvan Byeajee balances his book across more than one way to extract edge, so a cold patch in one lane doesn’t freeze his whole month. He mixes a small handful of uncorrelated strategies—say, a trend-following continuation, a mean-reversion fade, and a breakout retest—so their equity curves zig and zag at different times. He also diversifies by underlying, rotating between instruments or sectors that don’t move in lockstep, which reduces portfolio-level drawdowns without needing to force trades. When correlations spike, he scales exposure down rather than pretending diversification still protects him. The goal isn’t more trades; it’s steadier equity and fewer emotional landmines.
Duration diversification matters just as much for Yvan Byeajee. He allocates across intraday, swing, and occasional position trades so returns don’t rely on one tempo of volatility. Shorter-duration setups handle choppy, range-bound weeks, while swing holds capture episodic expansions without micromanaging every tick. He sizes each bucket by its historical variance and personal bandwidth, ensuring no single time horizon dominates risk. If a strategy underperforms for a full review cycle, he trims or benches it until metrics recover. Diversification, for Yvan, is a behavior shield: it lowers P&L mood swings so discipline stays intact.
Discipline Protocols: Daily Stop, Tilt Guard, FOMO Kill Switch
Yvan Byeajee treats discipline like a set of hard circuit breakers, not suggestions that depend on mood. He sets a non-negotiable daily stop—once reached, he powers down the platform, journals the cause, and defers fresh risk to the next session. That single rule prevents the cascade of revenge trades that turn a red day into a red week. To handle emotional spikes, Yvan runs a tilt guard: if he logs two execution errors back-to-back, he steps away for a timed reset, then resumes only with reduced size.
FOMO gets its own protocol, because Yvan Byeajee knows urgency is a tell. If a setup appears without pre-marked levels or checklist confirmations, he misses it on purpose and records the feeling instead of forcing a late entry. He also hides real-time P&L to avoid anchoring decisions to “getting back to green.” Before any new trade after a stop-out, he requires a 60-second breathing check and a verbal rule readout, which shifts the brain from impulse to process. The outcome is simple but powerful: fewer improvised clicks, cleaner data, and a strategy that survives the toughest days.
Yvan Byeajee’s core lesson is that trading success rises or falls on the mind that presses the buttons. He draws a sharp line between market psychology (what price does) and trading psychology (how you behave under uncertainty), arguing that your mindset governs whether you actually follow your edge, control risk, and let profits run. In his view, the endeavor is “100% psychological”—not because systems and risk plans don’t matter, but because psychology determines whether you execute them as designed.
From his own early years of struggle, Yvan explains that most traders look outside for fixes—new tools, indicators, or gurus—while the real solution is inside: developing emotional maturity and stability so mistakes stop repeating. That means spotting tilt triggers, accepting uncertainty, and building habits that keep you rule-perfect when the tape gets loud. He calls for a holistic approach that gives trading psychology the same weight as risk management and analysis, because without the psychological spokes on the wheel, consistency collapses.
Mindfulness is his practical vehicle. Yvan is explicit: meditation doesn’t replace a statistical edge, but a consistent practice cultivates equanimity—the composure to process grief after losses and euphoria after wins without letting either hijack execution. In daily terms, that means starting the session with awareness, labeling urges in real time, and accepting outcomes without negotiation so the plan survives the human in the chair. Done consistently, the psychological edge compounds into better decisions and steadier equity.
Ultimately, Yvan Byeajee’s takeaway is simple and demanding: build the mind that can run your strategy. Treat composure like any other edge—trained daily, measured honestly, and protected by rules—so your system gets a fair chance to work, trade after trade, month after month.
