Sergey ShirkoVerified
World Cup Championship 2020 (3rd) & 2021 (4th)
🇱🇻Latvia
If I know I'll have to explain every move to my audience afterwards, I become more selective.
Sergey Shirko is a full-time forex trader based in Latvia. He discovered forex in 2003, began studying it seriously as a hobby around 2005, and in 2009 took his first job in the industry. Trading has been his main occupation ever since.
He finished third in the World Cup Championship of Forex Trading in 2020 and fourth in 2021. Both finals came down to the last month, and to the same dilemma: keep trading and risk the podium, or stay out of the market and defend the position.
After competing, he founded ForexCup, a trading championship modelled on the classic Robbins format, built to raise the profile of winners and present them as role models for the next generation of traders. The project is currently on hold. He also trades his strategy publicly, and says that being accountable to his audience makes him more disciplined.
Interview
You've been trading since 2009. What brought you to the markets back then, and when did you realize this would become your main work?
I first heard about Forex in 2003 and, from around 2005, began to study it actively as a hobby. In 2009, I got my first job in the industry, and since then it has been my main occupation.
If you had to start today from zero with a $1,000 account, what would you do differently than in 2009?
At the start, your initial capital doesn't matter, as I think it's very naïve to assume that you'll start making money straight away. At the beginning, it's very important to find a role model in the industry who will inspire you and whose experience you can learn from to move forward.
How has the forex market changed since 2009? What has become harder, and what has become easier?
I don't think the market itself has changed at all. My perception of it has changed, yes, but the market has remained the same.
3rd place in 2020 and top 5 again in 2021. What's harder: breaking into the top for the first time, or staying there a second year in a row?
In 2020, trading came easily to me because I had nothing to lose, but in 2021 I was determined to come first, and in the end I didn't even manage to make it into the top three. So, to some extent, I wasn't happy with the result.
What moment from the championship do you remember most: a trade, a day, or a decision?
The final stage in both cases was incredibly nerve-wracking, the last month, I'd say. In the end, you have to choose: either you take a risk and open a new trade (but if you make a loss, you could lose your place on the podium), or you stay out of the market to preserve your position. In 2020, I took risks right up to the very end and ended up slipping from first to third place after a few consecutive losses, whereas in 2021, having learnt from past experience, I hardly traded at all towards the end, trying to hold on to at least third place, only to be overtaken at the very last moment.
Why did you decide to go from participant to organizer and create your own championship, ForexCup?
I wanted to make my mark on the industry and create a project similar to the World Cup Trading Championships, which have been held in the US since 1983.
As a former podium finisher, what did you want to do differently in your tournament compared to what you had seen from other organizers?
I wanted to raise the profile of the winners and promote them as role models for future generations of traders.
What unexpected challenges did you face as an organizer?
Unfortunately, I couldn't make this project profitable. There weren't many traders prepared to publicly put their reputation on the line. So last year I decided to put it on hold until a sponsor comes forward who isn't in it for financial gain.
If you could change one thing about the format of trading tournaments across the whole industry, what would it be?
I wouldn't change a thing. I like the classic Robbins rules, which have remained virtually unchanged since 1983. By and large, the only things that can be changed are the duration and the starting capital, but I like the idea of traders risking their own real money, a substantial sum such as $5K or more, and the duration of the tournament is important too. It's no coincidence that the financial world usually operates on the basis of annual returns, so to minimise the luck factor, an annual tournament is the norm for me.
What is the one risk management rule you never break?
I'm just like everyone else, so I'm constantly breaking the rules. Most often, I go wrong with my position size. I always want to risk a larger amount than my risk profile allows.
You write about what chess taught you. Which chess principle has influenced your trading the most?
A friend of mine once said that trading is something halfway between chess and fishing. I really like that comparison, because trading is also an intellectual game with an uncertain outcome, just like chess. However, that is where the similarities end.
Trading is far more complex than chess. In chess, you have one opponent, and they're right in front of you. You know their strengths and weaknesses. You both play by the same set of rules. In trading, there are no rules at all. There are many opponents, and you don't know them. On top of everything else, trading is a game played for money, where emotions play a much greater role than in chess. That is why achieving success in trading is much more difficult than in chess. However, in both cases, you must have analytical skills and be able to calculate your moves several steps ahead.
Which popular idea in trading do you think is overrated?
Technical analysis!
Your strategy is public and people can follow it. How does that visibility affect your trading decisions?
That's a good question, thank you! You might be surprised, but when I feel accountable to my subscribers, I behave in a much more disciplined way. I've noticed that when I openly share my knowledge and trading strategies with my audience, I always get better results than when I'm only accountable to myself. I can always talk myself into being, say, more aggressive and daring, but if I know I'll have to explain every move to my audience afterwards, I become more selective, and that has a direct impact on my results.
How do you see ForexCup three years from now?
I just know that this name is definitely going to stick with me for the rest of my life! It combines trading and sport in a single word, and I really like that. As for the project itself, I think I'll relaunch it after all, but in a slightly different form from before… We'll see.
What one piece of advice would you give a trader about to enter their first championship?
Good luck and good trading!
