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Two of the BEST traders I knew on the floor,didnt graduate HS,and have made a fortune,each buying their respective seats.


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They were probably lucky and if they were in high school now, they'd be going to college.

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Wallstreet is also HS "game" ,not for the weak of heart,that requires balls,feel etc. that is not all "math related",and time will always weed out the best/worst traders

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This depends which products you trade. No amount of balls and feels will allow you to trade exotic interest rate derivatives without at least a decent math background.

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Some have it......MOST DONT!

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I'd say that "it" is mostly intelligence, luck and a few other auxiliary abilities that allow one to utilize that intelligence. Most people way overestimate the importance of factors other than intelligence and motivation in success.

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There are a million college grads,with awesome mathematical minds,that in no way shape, or form are guaranteed to be great traders ...the same as the poker example.


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There are no million college grads with awesome mathematical minds. Maybe there are 5,000 or so. The ability to misapply statistical methods, common among sophomorically educated graduates in quantitative disciplines is not a sign of an awesome mathematical mind even though it may seem that way to those who lack the mathematical sophistication to even understand those methods. Just about any reasonably intelligent person can learn any number of quantitative/numerical methods and become a "quant" - intelligence largely separates those who apply them correctly from those who those who don't.