Autumn FX Trading Campaign
We are excited to announce the Autumn FX Trading campaign. Get a chance to win a signed baseball by a Trader & WBC Baseball Player. To commemorate an interview with a trader and WBC Baseball Czech player Petr Zyma, we are hosting a campaign on AXIORY's Twitter.
Follow and quote retweet AXIORY's Twitter for a chance to win a signed baseball!
- Follow @Axiory
- Quote retweet this post with the required hashtags and answer the interview question.
- If chosen, DM via Twitter
During the campaign period, customers who follow AXIORY's Official Twitter Account and quote retweet the specified tweet with the correct quiz answer will have a chance to win a baseball signed by Petr Zyma. The campaign will run for a limited time, from September 1st, 2023, 00:00 GMT+9, until September 10th, 2023, 23:59 GMT+9. Don't miss out!
After the campaign period ends, winners will be selected through a rigorous random draw from participants who meet the campaign eligibility criteria. Winners will be notified of their selection via a direct message from the AXIORY Twitter account in late September 2023. Announcements of the winners will be communicated exclusively to the selected individuals.
Interview with Petr Zýma
When and why did you start trading FX?
I was granted a baseball scholarship, I majored in Finance at a university in the US. It can be said that baseball has accompanied me my whole life. I was attracted to the field of finance, at school I mainly invested through shares and bonds. These were my first trades, I was in the 3rd year of university.
After graduating from college, I returned to the Czech Republic. I was searching for a securities trader job and began working for an FX broker. It was there that I got in touch with currency pairs, Forex and commodity indices for the first time. Through my work, I got to know traders, forex, and leverage in depth.
And I soon realized that it was a different field than the one I had studied before, and that it was very complex. I felt that I needed to start exactly from scratch. I had no idea how to apply what I had learned in school to the actual business.
You already answered a bit in the previous question about learning about FX trading at your job, but how did you learn to trade Forex?
My first position was "Key Account Manager". I managed corporate accounts in addition to individual clients. I mainly traded financial instruments that were subject to speculation - forex currency pairs, indices, etc. I am not a theorist or a book-reader, so I skipped demo trading altogether and immediately put my money into a real account, which I lost fairly quickly. Then the trial and error started, but at the time I didn't know much about positions and didn't know that I needed to be careful about leverage. This first experience further sparked my interest in Forex, which I learned about through books. But I believe in the importance of mentality in trading. It is my forte and I have had good results over the years.
Baseball is a game where you experience failure over and over again, and people with a mentality like steel will succeed in the long run. Through baseball I have developed a mentality that is important for forex and I understand that you learn from your mistakes. I am very happy with how baseball has taught me that.
Please tell us about your own trading style.
First of all, you need to know the direction with respect to your trade. I need to know the factors that move the market and the market data. Often, when some movement or fluctuation occurs, I quickly focus on it, observe it for a while, and proceed to confirm it. I am not always able to identify those movements, but it may have some significant impact of other traders. Of course, I don't know the motives behind it, but most of the time there are some geopolitical risks present.
Also, my motto is not to try to find the perfect trade entry. On the contrary, I expect the market to go against my expectations for a while. To do so, I enter with a small initial position and have additional entries ready to "catch" a falling market. I do not fall into the panic that is common among beginners.
If I make a complete error in judgment, I will still be relatively calm and quick to decide on a trade with an acceptable loss and not have a major impact on the market.
How did you get started playing baseball?
My parents played baseball and softball and both were inducted into the European Hall of Fame and were captains of their national teams. From a very young age, I went to games with my parents and helped carry the bats and balls, so baseball was a very familiar sport to me. And I always did well in baseball, which was pretty important (laughs). Since the age of 11, I have been a member of the national team. It is a great honor to play for the Czech national team. The players are valued and get the opportunity to travel the world and play against excellent teams.
Playing against the best teams brings inspiration to further improve themselves. The same applies to business. I want to be around people who drive and motivate me. I don't want to be in a situation where I am content without reason, or where there is no pressure or vision. I am very happy to feel pressure.
As captain, what I have always tried to do is to create an environment where everyone can be themselves within the team. I tried to bring my strengths to the team while respecting the rules, and my teammates appreciated that and elected me captain a year ago. I can honestly say that it is an incredible honor, something I never dreamed of. I never thought I would ever catch up to my parents' accomplishments, never thought I would ever play the role that they did, and then, all of the sudden, it became a reality.
How do you overcome pressure?
Pressure is only what we perceive as pressure in our own minds. When people are nervous, take a deep breath, tell a joke, or smile at them, and they will respond with a smile. This will help them to release the tension and help them to feel relieved from the pressure. As a team leader, I have been careful not to let my nervousness under pressure ruin the mood of the entire team, and I have learned to find ways to deal with stress.
How do you spend your days off?
I also love sports other than baseball. On my days off, I enjoy cycling, beach volleyball, swimming, walking, and running. I recently rode a 10 km bike ride in Divoká Šárka in Prague’s outskirts with my wife and daughter. We climbed to the observatory and caves, then enjoyed coffee and beer.
Other than that, I like to do joinery work in a cottage. My job involves sitting in front of a computer all day, so I miss touching things. So during COVID-19, I bought a cottage and started by learning traditional wood jointing methods. When I was alone in the cottage, it was very quiet, and I found myself working for eight hours without eating or drinking.
I value life balance. I think it's important to have a good balance between work, business, sports, and family.
Was there something that surprised you in Japan, or some food you liked?
I had the opportunity to eat ramen and wagyu beef at the Miyazaki camp before the games, and both were very tasty. When I visited the ramen restaurant, I was surprised at how easy it was to order from the machine at the entrance, which displayed a picture of the dish and its number.
I also really liked the onigiri and always ate onigiri during the game.
After the game, we also went to a traditional sushi restaurant and ate on the floor. I had just had a terrible back spasm that day and was inflexible, so sitting on the floor to eat was a challenge, but it was very tasty (laughter)!
Have you experienced some culture shock?
The mask culture in Japan was surprising. Even though mask restrictions had ended, many people still wore masks. The Japanese were incredibly kind, and even when we were not wearing masks, they were respectful and polite, drinking beer with us and treating us with respect. After we said something, they would respond with an "ooh" and we would jokingly respond with an "ooh" and enjoyed the exchange. People also found it amusing. The European reporters would simply ask questions about what kind of hitting we did, but the Japanese reporters asked interesting questions and were interested in our motivations for getting into baseball. It was very nice to see that they were also interested in the backgrounds of the team members.
Do you have any places you would like to see next time you go to Japan?
I was very fascinated by Tokyo. I was amazed at how clean it is despite being a big city. I would also like to visit Mt. Fuji. I have great memories of surfing in Miyazaki when I visited in March. I would like to try it again.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki are also interesting from a historical point of view, and I would like to see some of the traditional villages and smaller cities. I am interested in how people actually live.
I also want to watch sumo and baseball games. I heard that major Japanese companies have their own baseball teams, so I would like to meet with players in the working men's league, ask them how it works, and make use of this information for the development of baseball in the Czech Republic. I’ll be happy to hear any recommendations for places to visit from my Twitter followers.
What are the rules that you set for yourself in trading?
It is important to be prepared for market downturns and to be ready to handle any situation. This means accepting losses instead of aiming for a perfect trade entry. It's important to manage your risk, accept your mistakes, and not be in a trading mode with a negative "what if" thoughts. I think it's important to accept the reality of the situation, believe in the chances that will come, remember that you can't get profit without action, and don't be theoretical. To get profit, you must take action. When there are warnings about a recession or market decline, I take the lead and enjoy the situation. But be warned, it's not a beginner-friendly situation.
What do you do in order to keep in the best mental state possible?
When I trade, I seal my emotions and see it as just a number. In trading, we consider only three scenarios. A profit will be made, a loss will be made, or there will be some impact on valuation gain or loss.
My task is to provide a good yield through trading. I am now in a risk tolerant state and enjoy trading. And I am well versed in the tools. I believe it is no exaggeration to say that trading is all about the tools. And I believe that if all traders use the tools well, they will be able to make great trades.
Could you recommend some places in the Czech Republic that are worth seeing?
Japanese people really like Český Krumlov. If you come to South Bohemia, I recommend the town of Tábor. And I'm sure České Budějovice and Jindřichův Hradec will also be interested. Jindřichův Hradec is a fairly small town located in a small valley in the south Bohemia. I also like mountains such as the Krkonoše and Sněžka, as well as the Jizerské hory. In the Jizerské hory, 300-400 km of trails spread over a relatively small area and are ideal for cycling. Then there is Plzeň, a historic site that was liberated by American forces during World War II and at the same time the city where the Czech national treasure, Pilsner Urquell, is brewed. This brand is partly owned by Asahi of Japan.
Finally, South Moravia has great wine. There are also small villages and towns such as Hustopeče and Břeclav, as well as Pavlov. In Pavlov, the grape variety Pálava is grown, a white wine variety grown in Moravia and a protected area of the same name. A wine festival is also held in autumn, I can recommend it.
From Czech food, I like goulash and knedlo-vepřo-zelo.
Is there something you would like to mention in the end?
I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity. We have worked hard to play our best at the WBC. As a result, it was a great experience. We will continue to play with passion to live up to the expectations of our fans. We have the mentality to face failure and enjoy the situation. While being professionals, we have a human touch, and I would be happy if that goes beyond playing to help and entertain someone in the world.