My name is Thomas Dahlmann.
I did not train as a banker, work on a Frankfurt trading floor or begin as a financial theorist.
I am someone who wants to understand how things work.
I studied business information systems and developed an early interest in systems:
How decisions are made.
How probabilities work.
Why people make mistakes under pressure, and how to avoid them.
Before I first encountered day trading in 2011, I spent a lot of time playing online poker. I was drawn to its clear rules, incomplete information, probabilities, risk management and psychology. Even a sound decision could lead to a loss. That uncertainty interested me.
When the online poker environment changed and platforms closed, I looked for an alternative and discovered day trading.
After only a few days of research, I thought I was ready.
I took €500 from my poker winnings and opened my first live account.
My first profitable trade, around €50 in a few minutes, felt extraordinary. Two monitors, charts and fast decisions made me feel independent and almost invincible. I traded for hours, sometimes all day.
Within a week, the account grew from €500 to more than €3,000.
Looking back, that was the most dangerous moment in my trading journey.
I started calculating, dreaming and increasing my position sizes. If that return was possible in one week, why not every week? Reality arrived quickly. Within days, almost everything was gone. When the account finally reached zero, I was left frustrated and unsure what had gone wrong.
I had not understood the real problem.
But I knew one thing:
I did not want to stop.
The idea of working independently, from different places and through my own decisions stayed with me.
So I started again, deliberately more slowly.
I looked for books, mentors and a structured approach. As with poker, I realised that learning from other people could help me recognise mistakes I could not yet see myself.
I began again with €500, this time using very small positions. I recorded every trade, kept a detailed journal and analysed my decisions each day. For weeks, the account barely moved.
But something had changed.
I became calmer.
More patient.
More systematic.
I reduced my trading hours, focused on clearer market conditions and started recording my routines, emotions and thinking errors as well as the trades. This became my first set of written rules.
An internship in London was an influential period. I met professional traders and saw different strategies and ways of thinking, along with the pressures of that lifestyle.
Some people earned large sums yet remained stressed, dissatisfied or in debt. Coming from a modest background, I found that a useful reality check. Freedom and contentment mattered more to me than status.
I returned to Germany and continued developing my own approach.
You will not find expensive cars, luxury watches or a staged lifestyle here. Those things do not interest me. I prefer to put my time and energy into challenges that make me think. Trading is one of those challenges.
Markets confront you with uncertainty. Access to a chart does not guarantee an outcome, and traders have different resources and constraints. What matters in my own practice is taking responsibility for the decisions I can control.
That means taking responsibility for decisions, mistakes and emotions.
“In the stock market, opportunities are equal.
Outcomes are not.
And that is where the truth about yourself lies.”
Alongside my freelance work as an IT business consultant, I often spoke with business owners and managers who wanted to understand investing. Explaining market concepts, strategies and risks showed me how much demand there was for clear, practical education.
That led to small seminars and workshops: introductions for people who wanted to understand the subject without unnecessary jargon.
The personal trading rulebook I had originally written for myself eventually became Day Trading for Beginners. I simplified the terminology and explained the foundations in the way I would have found helpful at the beginning.
I wanted to write the book I wished I had read before making those early mistakes.
When it was published, I had not expected the conversations and connections it would create. Readers’ questions continued to shape the way I explained trading.
In the years that followed, I focused increasingly on trading psychology. This led to a second book in German, exploring how emotions and expectations influence trading decisions.
At the same time, I began studying automated trading in greater depth: first MetaTrader Expert Advisors, then Python, my own algorithms and data-driven methods. I enjoy building, testing and improving systems, including experiments with AI technology.
Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are another long-standing interest. I am interested in the mechanics, technical structures and inefficiencies rather than hype. These markets carry substantial risks and need careful study.
My motivation has remained the same:
I want to show that trading is a subject you can study.
You do not need a banking qualification to begin learning.
You do need discipline, honest self-assessment and a clear process, and none of these guarantees a profit.
If my books and resources help you avoid common mistakes, approach markets with realistic expectations and develop your own process, they have served their purpose.
I wish you well as you continue learning about trading.
Best wishes
Thomas Dahlmann