Mind Over Markets: Trading Psychology Podcast
George Papazov
Recent Episodes
In this episode of Mind Over Markets, George explains why traders fail when they try to master every setup and every style. Using a powerful hockey analogy, he shows how elite athletes become great by specializing, not by doing everything. Trading works the same way: consistency comes from knowing your role and aligning your strategy with your natural strengths.
George breaks down how traders can discover their true role, why identity drives performance, and how specialization creates confidence, clarity, and consistency in the market.
Key Takeaways
Elite performance in sports or trading, comes from specialization, not trying to master everything.
Traders lose consistency when they play multiple roles that require different skills and mindsets.
Your natural trading role is revealed through:
setups that feel easiest and cleanest,
patterns you recognize fastest,
and the style that drains the least mental energy.
Acting against your trading identity activates internal resistance and leads to sabotage.
Specialization builds identity → identity builds consistency → consistency builds income.
You don’t need to be a “complete trader”, just a complete version of your role.
Pros in any field win by going deep on one skill, not many.
Your P&L “wants” a specialist, not someone who switches styles constantly.
Removing multiple setups and focusing on one accelerates mastery.
When you align your trading style with who you naturally are, results compound faster and with less emotional effort.
Episode Resources
Download the Free PDF: The 5 Most Destructive Loops in Trading — and How to Break Them
Leave a Voice Message: Ask a question, say hello or suggest a future episode on SpeakPipe
Rate and Review: If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love for you to rate us on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts
Follow on Twitter: For daily mindset insights and trading psychology content, follow me here.
Disclaimer:
Futures, options, and derivatives trading involve substantial risk and are not suitable for every investor. The high degree of leverage in futures trading can work against you as well as for you. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as specific trading, investment, or financial advice. Nothing discussed constitutes an offer to buy or sell any futures contract, option, security, or other financial instrument. You are solely responsible for your own trading decisions, and you should carefully consider whether trading is appropriate for your financial situation, experience level, and risk tolerance. Always consult with a licensed financial advisor, registered broker, or other qualified professional before making trading or investment decisions. While efforts are made to present accurate and timely information, the host makes no warranties or representations regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of any information presented and assumes no liability for any losses that may arise from reliance on this content. By listening to this podcast, you acknowledge and accept these risks.
In this episode, George breaks down why traders fail when they wait for the perfect setup. Using a powerful hockey analogy, he explains that perfection is an illusion, both in sports and in markets. Charts only look clean in hindsight, and waiting for flawless conditions creates hesitation, missed trades, and emotional chasing.
George contrasts amateur perfection-seeking with how professionals really trade: they expect messiness, adapt quickly, and execute based on probability, not perfection. He introduces the 80% Rule and practical tools that help traders act confidently inside real-time imperfection, where the real edge actually lives.
Takeaways
- Perfect setups are an illusion created by the mind’s need for certainty.
- Real trades happen in moving, imperfect candles, not textbook patterns.
- Perfection bias causes hesitation and leads to missed opportunities.
- Pros thrive in uncertainty; amateurs freeze waiting for clarity.
- The 80% Rule: if 80% of criteria are present, execute and manage.
- Imperfect conditions often produce the best trades.
- “I don’t need perfect, I need present” anchors a better trading state.Tools like the Imperfection Log and Readback Rule build consistency.
Episode Resources
Download the Free PDF: The 5 Most Destructive Loops in Trading — and How to Break Them
Leave a Voice Message: Ask a question, say hello or suggest a future episode on SpeakPipe
Rate and Review: If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love for you to rate us on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts
Follow on Twitter: For daily mindset insights and trading psychology content, follow me here.
Disclaimer:
Futures, options, and derivatives trading involve substantial risk and are not suitable for every investor. The high degree of leverage in futures trading can work against you as well as for you. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as specific trading, investment, or financial advice. Nothing discussed constitutes an offer to buy or sell any futures contract, option, security, or other financial instrument. You are solely responsible for your own trading decisions, and you should carefully consider whether trading is appropriate for your financial situation, experience level, and risk tolerance. Always consult with a licensed financial advisor, registered broker, or other qualified professional before making trading or investment decisions. While efforts are made to present accurate and timely information, the host makes no warranties or representations regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of any information presented and assumes no liability for any losses that may arise from reliance on this content. By listening to this podcast, you acknowledge and accept these risks.
In this episode, George breaks down one of the most misunderstood truths in trading: uncertainty isn’t a problem, it’s the environment. Most traders try to eliminate uncertainty with more indicators, more setups, more rules… but the pros win because they know how to operate inside uncertainty, not escape it.
From there, he explains why traders blame the market when things feel choppy or unclear, when in reality uncertainty simply exposes their habits, impulses, and emotional programming. The candles aren’t the issue, your reactions are.
The episode then shifts into the core solution: preparation, state control, and internal certainty. Pros prepare for chaos before the open, build “if this, then that” scenario plans, rate uncertainty each morning, and use real NLP tools to keep their internal system stable.
Takeaways
- Uncertainty is normal. Pros operate inside it, not against it.
- Consistency = emotional state, not strategy or indicators.
- Uncertainty exposes your habits, impulses, and reactions, not the market.
- Most traders avoid inner work by obsessing over technicals.
- Your mindset, upbringing, and programming show up in your trading behavior.
- Pros prepare before the open with clear rules and scenario planning.
- Use NLP anchors like “Uncertainty is my arena, not my excuse.”
- Use quick reset tools (like box breathing) to stabilize mid-session.
- You can’t control the market, only the operator you bring to it.
Episode Resources
Download the Free PDF: The 5 Most Destructive Loops in Trading — and How to Break Them
Leave a Voice Message: Ask a question, say hello or suggest a future episode on SpeakPipe
Rate and Review: If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love for you to rate us on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts
Follow on Twitter: For daily mindset insights and trading psychology content, follow me here.
Disclaimer:
Futures, options, and derivatives trading involve substantial risk and are not suitable for every investor. The high degree of leverage in futures trading can work against you as well as for you. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as specific trading, investment, or financial advice. Nothing discussed constitutes an offer to buy or sell any futures contract, option, security, or other financial instrument. You are solely responsible for your own trading decisions, and you should carefully consider whether trading is appropriate for your financial situation, experience level, and risk tolerance. Always consult with a licensed financial advisor, registered broker, or other qualified professional before making trading or investment decisions. While efforts are made to present accurate and timely information, the host makes no warranties or representations regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of any information presented and assumes no liability for any losses that may arise from reliance on this content. By listening to this podcast, you acknowledge and accept these risks.
In this episode of Mind Over Markets, George concludes the Order Flow Series by revealing his full three-phase execution process — the bridge between market analysis and decisive trading action.
He explains how traders can transform clarity into consistency by following a structured routine grounded in bias, conviction, and precision.
Through practical steps and powerful analogies, George breaks down how professionals use context, Delta, and the footprint chart to execute with discipline, turning chaos into control.
Guides through the evolution from reading order flow to mastering execution — where mindset, structure, and repetition merge into true trading professionalism.
Takeaways
Execution is mastery in motion. Reading order flow is only half the battle — real success lies in acting with precision and control.
Phase 1: Build the battle map. Start each day with context, not predictions. Identify prior session highs/lows, volume zones, and where liquidity and emotion intersect.
Phase 2: Fine-tune with Delta. Use Delta at price to locate true conviction — where effort succeeded or failed — and compress levels into high-probability zones.
Phase 3: Execute with the footprint. Enter where trapped traders are revealed, using imbalances for entries and protection. “I’m not trading the candle — I’m trading the pain.”
Two Core Setups:
Trend Reversals — Identify trapped traders at major structure levels.
Trend Continuations — Wait for strong buy/sell imbalances to defend and confirm momentum.
Precision over participation. Like a sniper, professionals wait for alignment — direction, timing, and target — before acting.
Repetition builds edge. The goal isn’t to find new trades, but to express one proven edge flawlessly every day.
Mindset is the final frontier. Execution is where traders meet themselves — turning analysis into discipline and randomness into clarity.
Episode Resources
Download the Free PDF: The 5 Most Destructive Loops in Trading — and How to Break Them
Leave a Voice Message: Ask a question, say hello or suggest a future episode on SpeakPipe
Rate and Review: If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love for you to rate us on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts
Follow on Twitter: For daily mindset insights and trading psychology content, follow me here.
Disclaimer:
Futures, options, and derivatives trading involve substantial risk and are not suitable for every investor. The high degree of leverage in futures trading can work against you as well as for you. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as specific trading, investment, or financial advice. Nothing discussed constitutes an offer to buy or sell any futures contract, option, security, or other financial instrument. You are solely responsible for your own trading decisions, and you should carefully consider whether trading is appropriate for your financial situation, experience level, and risk tolerance. Always consult with a licensed financial advisor, registered broker, or other qualified professional before making trading or investment decisions. While efforts are made to present accurate and timely information, the host makes no warranties or representations regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of any information presented and assumes no liability for any losses that may arise from reliance on this content. By listening to this podcast, you acknowledge and accept these risks.
In this episode of Mind Over Markets, George Papazov breaks down the footprint chart, one of the most misunderstood yet powerful tools in order flow trading. He explains how footprints reveal the true battle between buyers and sellers at each price level, uncovering where aggression meets liquidity and how control shifts within the market.
George emphasizes that while candlesticks show where price moved, the footprint chart shows how it moved, the story behind every tick. He explores the difference between limit and market orders, the diagonal relationships that define real imbalances, and why those moments of aggression and absorption often mark turning points in price.
He cautions traders against overcomplicating the tool and teaches how to use footprints within a broader trading plan to refine entries, improve timing, and trade with confidence.
Key Takeaways
The footprint chart reveals how price moves, showing the true auction between buyers and sellers.
Market orders move price; limit orders provide liquidity but do not move the market.
The real power of the footprint lies in diagonal imbalances, where aggression meets resistance.
Imbalances show conviction: stacked imbalances indicate strength, while absorbed ones reveal exhaustion.
Not every imbalance is a trade signal, context and level matter most.
Balanced markets show stability; imbalances create opportunity.
Reading the footprint is about understanding intent behind numbers, not the numbers themselves.
The footprint chart helps traders time entries with precision by showing who’s in control.
It’s an addition to a solid trading plan, not a replacement for it.
The market doesn’t move on prediction, it moves on imbalance.
Episode Resources
Download the Free PDF: The 5 Most Destructive Loops in Trading — and How to Break Them
Leave a Voice Message: Ask a question, say hello or suggest a future episode on SpeakPipe
Rate and Review: If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love for you to rate us on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts
Follow on Twitter: For daily mindset insights and trading psychology content, follow me here.
Disclaimer:
Futures, options, and derivatives trading involve substantial risk and are not suitable for every investor. The high degree of leverage in futures trading can work against you as well as for you. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as specific trading, investment, or financial advice. Nothing discussed constitutes an offer to buy or sell any futures contract, option, security, or other financial instrument. You are solely responsible for your own trading decisions, and you should carefully consider whether trading is appropriate for your financial situation, experience level, and risk tolerance. Always consult with a licensed financial advisor, registered broker, or other qualified professional before making trading or investment decisions. While efforts are made to present accurate and timely information, the host makes no warranties or representations regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of any information presented and assumes no liability for any losses that may arise from reliance on this content. By listening to this podcast, you acknowledge and accept these risks.