Dr David Paul - The Psychology of Trading & Investing

Here is the link.


David Paul:
1. A method
2. manage our money
3. manage ourselves.

Stick to a simple set of rules regardless of feelings or internal gut feelings. He compares it to training, simple discipline. No one knows if the market will go up or down and not in that order. The “game” is to learn how to make money in the market over and over again.

The money that you make is a function of both the hit rate and risk to reward. Most just think of the hit rate, vs think about the risk to reward and the hit rate. The internet is full of hit rate systems, most of these systems in fact lose more than they hit.

Every trade has two decisions associated with it: long or short, how much do I bet what percentage of my portfolio do I bet/trade. You should not risk 1-2% of your portfolio on any one trade.

The pituitary gland is responsible for every emotional response you have in a day. When you have good trades in a row the pituitary changes the way you feel and think. When you have multiple wins you think you’re invincible, and you up the bet/trade amount. The good trades cause you to go broke, be aware and careful of euphoria when making good trades.

You only need one good pattern, could be a wedge pattern or head and shoulders or any pattern you like.

Have the discipline to do it and use it over and over again. Regardless of your feelings or percentage of good trades. Stick to the pattern you know well, keep it simple and trade no more than 1-2% of your portfolio.

Discipline can be and should be built. Discipline gives consistent gains and hedges your losses. Wealth is built over a long period of time. Discipline requires you grit your teeth and stock to the plan, follow it without deviation for 20-30 trades.

Make your plan mechanical, the more mechanical the better. Stick to it to make it a habit over 20-30 trades. The first few trades are difficult to stick to the plan. But stick to it have discipline, until it’s habit.

Focus on perfect execution of the plan between 5-20 trades. You are 8-13 trades away from the trader you want to be, but they never get there until you adhere to the plan, using no more than 1-2% of position sizing when trading.

Summary
Risk no more than 1-2% of your portfolio Make a plan and stick to it no matter what -create mechanical trading system, more mechanical the better - keep it simple, learn 1-2 patterns and stick to it. Stick to the plan 20-30 trades until it’s a habit. Till you wedge it into your neural pathway. Careful of pituitary euphoria after a string of good trades. Don’t increase your portfolio risk.

Phillip Konchar: Trading Like a Business

Here is the link.

What Makes a Great Trader?

Here is the link.

What makes a great trader? 1) You need a technical edge, a system that puts the odds in your favour. 2) Money management - You need to understand risk and be able to manage this ongoing. 3) Psychology - You need to learn, understand and be able to apply trading psychology 24/7. You must have all three to trade successfully and they're written in order of importance. You must also learn each aspect in the order I have written them. You can be a master of trading psychology or money management, but if you don't have a technical edge you won't make money. 95% of retail traders never overcome step 1, this is why so many fail.

Comments:

2:52 The most important thing. A: What you do with your losers and B: how your portfolio is constructed.


Tenacious, and also handle the stress.
Work as professionals.

Sponge - key aspect - what is noise, what is important? Spend as little time possible not important - risk adjusted profit

A trading plan is a must for every serious trader – here is how to do it

Here is the article.

The 11 Trading Rules Of A Market Wizard – Marty Schwartz

Here is the article.

Marty Schwartz has always been my favorite trader from the Market Wizards book and I recently read his own book (Pit Bull: Lessons from Wall Street’s Champion Trader). In the following article I would like to discuss and revisit 11 of his personal trading rules and principles, which I also use to some degree in my own trading, that could help other traders improve their own trading and provide some insights how a professional trader approaches trading.

1. An object in motion will stay in motion
2. The Magic T Indicator
3. Red light / Green light
4. Don’t put stops below the low and above the high in a range
5. Put/Call contrarian indicator
6. Understand the news
7. Connect with your charts and work ethic
8. Use a checklist and a trading plan
9. 
   

Best Trading Books? 5 Must Read Trading Books

Here is the link.


5 best trading books that were very helpful to me. http://www.financial-spread-betting.c... PLEASE LIKE AND SHARE THIS VIDEO SO WE CAN DO MORE! Which trading books were super helpful in my trading? 5 Must Read Trading Books. These were some of the best trading books I have read. 1) Reminiscences of a stock operator - basically thinly disguised biography of Jesse Lauriston Livermore. Very good in terms of mindset and discipline. 2) Pit Bull - Martin Schwartz, this guy went his own path when it comes to strategy, its more of a story book but its very useful for us traders. 3) Inside the House of Money - Steve Drobny; basically interviews with traders and hedge fund managers. 4) Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager. Interviews with traders; its a big series. 5) Psychology of Trading - Brett Steenbarger. Psychologist specially focused on trading has written several books.

MARKET WIZARDS - Match your Trading Method to your PERSONALITY

Here is the book review in 7 minutes.

What if you could read the principles for success from some of the world's greatest traders? Well you can, thanks to Jack Schwagers remarkable book - The Market Wizards. The book is a series of interviews with some of the greatest traders from the last 40 years. This is the first of many videos in Autochartist’s new series: Trading Lessons from the Market Wizards. Each video will discuss a different key lesson taken from the interviews with the top traders. If you implement these lessons into your trading, you will become a better trader. Here’s the first Lesson - Match Your Trading Method to your Personality.

Trading Lessons from Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas

Here is the book quick review lasting 11 minutes.

In this video, we break down and summarize the key lessons and takeaways from this book and explain why we think you should check it out too!

Key takeaways

• The determination factor between successful traders and losing traders is pyschology.
• Mistakes traders make are often built on applying deep-rooted emotional issues to interactions with the market.
• Trader must come to a point where they can trade free of psychological baggage in order to find success
• Eliminate your fear/ emotions around trading
• Adopt a probabilistic mindset
• Learn to be a consistent winner
• Learn to trade an edge like a casino

Trade an edge like a casino

1. Pick a market to trade
2. Choose a set of variables to define an edge
3. Define entry trigger
4. Define stop loss placement
5. Define timeframe to trade
6. Define how to take profit

Trade a sample size of minimum 20 trades using this exercise to get you to think about trading as a probabilities game rather than an individual trade-by-trade perspective.

PNTV: How Champion's Think by Bob Rotella

Here is the book review video lasting 18 minutes.

Golf coach - work on a lot of athletes, sports psychology expert.

1. Exceptionalism - best I can be 
2. You + Lebron 
3. You + GOD
4. Train it, Trust it
5. Enthusiasm 

burning desire - first characteristic - commitment 

content - absolutely best version of me 

Be willing to dream 

Energy, work, 

Superstar - Lebron - basketball player - mind - willing to think that big - from decent shooter to great shooter - peak performance, show with his son. 

practice goal - great ever - create a montage - watch montage - feel himself to perform that level - shooting coach - catch/ shoot, 300 shoots a day, practice goal - execute it every single day, find it. 

3. You + GOD
Trust GOD. Do your part.

4. Train it, Trust it 

Practice until you cannot get it wrong - Kobe 13,000 a day - exceptional dream - price - what you want - if you like to pay the price then ... underestimate .......

5. Enthusiasm
Love what you do. Stick to something you love. Write something uphill.

Thousand thousand times - Do something you do not love - something awesome, you love to do.
Be catalyst to be your own cheerlead for your enthusiasm

How Champions Think-Bob Rotella & Bob Cullen

Here is the link.

Goals

Break down your dream into process goals.
Commit to it one goal at a time
Set yourself high goals
Do away with limits. No dream is impossible.

Optimism

Choose to be optimistic, especially during tough times.
Get rid of negative influences.
Surround yourself with supportive and optimistic people.
Change your environment to a positive one.

Confidence 

Choose to be confident, even before you win.
Visualize your goals
Celebrate your success, no matter how small.
Don't dwell on failures.
Confidence will directly affect your work ethic.

Book reading: “Market Wizards” by Jack Schwager

The book “Market Wizards” by Jack Schwager around the end of the eighties. He interviewed many of the top traders in the US, including those that I quote from above. His conclusions were similar to my own in that each of the big winners had a radically different trading plan which suited their own personalities and beliefs about markets. Market Wizards is a must read for those who are determined to become winners in the trading/investing business.

Book reading: “Practicing the Power of Now” by spiritual writer Eckhart Tolle

Mark Douglas’s book will help with this, but to build self-awareness and presence I recommend a careful read of “Practicing the Power of Now” by spiritual writer Eckhart Tolle. In this, the author instructs in how to focus on the present moment. All the big winners in life have either been born with skill, gained the skill from parents or more likely developed the skill along the way.

Book reading: “How Champions Think” by Dr Bob Rotella

When you go through the three books I have suggested above, then also consider “How Champions Think” by Dr Bob Rotella. Dr Rotella is the leading golfing coach in the world presently and has worked with all the big name golfers over the past 25 years. Every word in the book applies totally to becoming a consistently winning trader. I could not put it down.

Book reading: Mark Douglas’s book “Trading in the Zone”

Mark Douglas’s book “Trading in the Zone” is a must. In this, Mark talks about how to build trading beliefs that are in sync with the realities of the market environment. This will profoundly change your ability to rationalize a losing position in the same way as a successful business pays its bills.

THE SECRET TO TRADING SUCCESS. IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK.

Here is the article.

“I haven’t met a rich technician”   Jim Rodgers 

“I always laugh at people who say, I have never met a rich technician. I used fundamentals for 9 years and then got rich as a technician” Marty Schwartz 

“Diversify your investments” John Templeton 

“Diversification is a hedge for ignorance” William O’Neil 

“Concentrate your investments. If you have a harem of 40 women you will never get to know any of them well” Warren Buffett 

“You have to understand the business of a company you have invested in or you will not know whether to buy more if it goes down”. Peter Lynch 

“Averaging down is an amateur strategy that can produce serious losses” William O’Neil 

“Don’t bottom fish” Peter Lynch

Book review “Market Wizards”

Book “Market Wizards” by Jack Schwager around the end of the eighties. He interviewed many of the top traders in the US, including those that I quote from above. His conclusions were similar to my own in that each of the big winners had a radically different trading plan which suited their own personalities and beliefs about markets. Market Wizards is a must read for those who are determined to become winners in the trading/investing business.

“My basic advice is not to lose money” Jim Rogers 

“I am more concerned about controlling the downside. Learn to take the losses. The most important thing in making money is not to let your losses get out of hand” Marty Schwartz 

“I am always thinking about losing money as opposed to making money. Don’t focus on making money, focus on protecting what you have” Paul Tudor Jones 

“Rule 1. Never lose money. Rule 2. Never forget Rule 1” Warren Buffett 

“Learn how to take losses quickly and cleanly” Bernard Baruch 

“The majority of unskilled investors stubbornly hold on to their losses” William O’Neil 

“I believe the very best money is made at the market turns” Paul Tudor Jones

When you go through the three books I have suggested above, then also consider “How Champions Think” by Dr Bob Rotella. Dr Rotella is the leading golfing coach in the world presently and has worked with all the big name golfers over the past 25 years. Every word in the book applies totally to becoming a consistently winning trader. I could not put it down.

Book “Market Wizards” by Jack Schwager

10 Secrets to Achieve Financial Success

Here is the link.


In June 2015, Managing Partner of the Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management Anton Kreil was interviewed whilst on a business trip from Singapore to New York and London. In this fly on the wall documentary style interview, Anton is probed by interviewer Tom Murray on what it takes for people to become financially successful and to obtain personal freedom. The result is an epic journey around the world, providing a glimpse into the life of one of the most successful financial markets traders in the world over the last 20 years and his philosophies on money, business and life. During the interview Anton provides 10 key messages that if followed and implemented properly over time, will help anybody achieve financial success and win their freedom. 10 Secrets to Achieve Financial Success 1. Respect Money and be Indifferent towards it (20:59) 2. Rent to Own – Define Assets and Liabilities Properly (42:33) 3. Build and Own your own Infrastructure (50:16) 4. Go Travelling, Get Perspective, Get your Dream Life (1:01:00) 5. Know that Risk is Subjective not Two Dimensional (1:07:33) 6. Seek out Alternative Education (1:17:45) 7. Learn to Value your Time Properly (1:24:30) 8. Ditch the Smart Phone (1:33:12) 9. Mainstream Media is Useless. Don’t consume it (1:40:51) 10. Choose Role Models that suit Your Objective (1:45:09)

Case study: China labor market in Coronavirus

第二波经济冲击 近三亿农民工如何承受？

在这波全球减单效应的冲击下，中国工厂的生存方法有几种：裁员、减薪、休无薪假、或是五天8小时制（即不让工人加班）。

Here is the article. 


英国《金融时报》报导，iPhone最大组装厂富士康也正在减少产能，且已暂停招聘工人, 鼓励员工多休假，甚至祭出裁员的措施。报导称，自4月10日起，富士康工厂内不再加班。

"不加班对农民工收入的影响非常大，基本月收入可能只剩下两千多人民币。"

在这种情况下，很多人选择离职。

农民工群体，在中国有超过2.91亿人。

瑞银集团在四月发布的报告曾预估，中国正在面临二十多年来最糟糕的就业市场。至今年三月末，中国的服务、制造和建筑业中约失去了八千万个工作岗位。

《经济学人》智库分析认为，2020年中国有2.5亿工人将面临收入减少10％至50％。

中国券商中泰证券上周的报告则推估，中国失业率为20.5％，约有新增七千万人失业，这个数字是中国官方数字的三倍以上。

中国的失业率官方数据是，一月5.3%，二月6.2%，三月5.9%。

在中国的定义里，农民只要活着，就算在就业人口里，他们自然被遗漏在失业数据里头。而这些无工可打、流离返家的失业农民，中国官方还正在推广一个好听的名字：返乡创业。

ex Goldman Sachs Trader Tells Truth about Trading - Part 1

Here is the link.

On February 7th 2013, the Institute of Trading and Portfolio Managements Managing Partner Anton Kreil was interviewed at Cass Business School by students of the University. In this exclusive interview Kreil gives an insight into the trends occurring in world financial markets for professional and retail traders, his thoughts on the world of banking, hedge funds, career progression for graduates within the industry and what the future may hold for those graduates seeking employment at Banks and Hedge Funds.

The Most Common Mistake Beginning Day Traders Make (and How to Avoid!)

Here is the link.

I've been coaching people who want to learn how to be a day trader since 2013 and there is one mistake I continue to see over and over again. I'm not surprised by it considering when I was a new trader and just getting started, I did the same exact thing. The problem is very tricky because it arises from a natural human emotion that society tells us is how we "should react". In the business of being a day trader however, what society tells us is often times wrong. If you want to find consistency as a trader and turn day trading into a side hustle or a main stream of income, you need know how to avoid such common mistakes. I show you some of my real life day trading results to illustrate the problem and mos importantly, how to avoid it.

‘Don’t be fooled!’ A 40% drop could hit by next year after this bear-market rally fades, veteran economist warns

Here is the article.

“This looks like a bear market rally, similar to that in 1929-1930,” he said, “with an additional 30% to 40% drop in stocks to come as the deep global recession stretches into 2021.”

Amazon is not the 'efficient model' we once thought: Tech analyst

Here is the link.

Shell CEO on Dividend Cut, Debt, Oil Industry `Crisis'

Here is the link.

Apr.30 -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden discusses the company's dividend cut, its debt outlook and the challenges facing the oil industry amid the slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. He speaks on "Bloomberg Markets: European Open."

One of comments:

at 03:36 "Our dividend yield was at a level that very clearly also signaled to the market that our dividend was seen to be at risk" - this is such a bizarre explanation and almost pathetic in a circular logic. As a dividend investor i find the justification unacceptable. he does go on to make better justifications at the end of the interview and talking of

Chevron CEO Wirth on Earnings, Output Drop and Oil-Industry Bailout

Here is the link.

May.01 -- Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth sees plenty of capacity to endure low oil prices for quite some time and says he opposes an oil-industry bailout. He speaks with Bloomberg's Alix Steel on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas."

Julia reading style - love marketwatch comment and read 30 minutes a time

May 2, 2020

Introduction

It is hard for me to get rid of wechat reading habit. I should spend more time to read high quality content. Where they are, and where are my interest as a 53 year old, ambitious to make millions in this bear market/ bull market rally stage. Today I started to fall in love with comment reading from Marketwatch.com

First article

Here is the article.

First of all, I like to read good writing with very good motivation. Compared to Quora, this is much better for me to spend time on. Quora.com content is entertainment and easy to build my brand. But the content is lack of depth and communication between people.

Opinion: Too many investors are failing to grasp that the coronavirus recession may be longer and tougher

Here is the article.

I love to read comments and I do think that it is important for me to learn how to think in terms of economy and market, capitalism.

Bill Ackman: Getting Back Up [The Knowledge Project Ep. #82]

Here is the interview with all the transcript.

We talk about how he’s bounced back from the brink of failure not once but twice, the lessons he’s learned from his parents and raising kids of his own, his information sources, making big bets, the world today and where we might be headed.

I think of philanthropy as something that is not genetic, it is learned, and it was something that my dad reinforced pretty much from the time I was a kid.

I’ve always had this view that success is not a straight line up. If you read the stories of successful people, almost every successful person has had to deal with some degree of hardship, whether that hardship is personal hardship, health-related hardship, or a business issue.

I’ve always had the view that how successful you are is really a function of how you deal with failure. If you deal with failure well and you persist, you have a high probability of being successful.

I admire people who take on unbelievable challenges and succeed.

One of the nice things psychologically about going to an office is that you go, you focus, and then when you come home it’s easier to leave it behind and it’s much harder to do that when your office phone is in the TV room.

I actually think that people will be that much more desperate for human connection after this experience than they were before.

Stock research - Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO)

May 2, 2020

Introduction

I just could not believe that I Only purchased 20 shares on March 27, 2020. And there is over 63.30% return in less than 40 days. I have to review my decision process, how come I do not purchase more shares, holding $26,000 Canadian bond at that time.

CNQ.TO stock research

I have to think about how to do a better job to invest more, not just $2000 dollars on oil stocks and also include Air Canada stocks.

When everything is on sale, do not take out a bucket. Take a truck to load them all.

Why Airline Shares Are Soaring Today

Here is the article. 

Bill Ackman: Getting Back Up

Here is the link.

Legendary activist investor, Bill Ackman shares the lessons he learned growing up, what drives him, how to overcome failure, and so much more.

33:22 Joe Steinberg & Ian Cumming, Leucadia National Corp

I will play again and then take some notes.

How ‘the single best trade of all time’ netted one investor a $2.6 billion profit

Here is the link.

Ackman explained the thinking behind the hedge in a recent podcast.

“We said, ‘You know what, we’ve got this massive position ... which maybe has the potential to double if credit spreads widen to where they were during the financial crisis,” he told the Knowledge Project. “‘But if they don’t, and the government takes the right steps, this hedge could be worth zero, and the stock market could go right back up to where it was.’ So we made the decision to exit.”

At that point, Ackman explained, he got out with his tidy profit and started buying stocks. He then invested more than $3 billion in risk assets, a move that also proved prescient as the Fed started pumping money into the system and stocks rallied hard off the coronavirus bottom.

Suncor energy - stock research

Here is the article.

While the abruptness of an oil rebound is difficult to project, investors would be better served by looking to firms with healthy cash flows and stellar balance sheets to avoid the risk of bankruptcy in a lower-for-longer oil price environment that will undoubtedly threaten the economics of many heavy crude producers in the Albertan oil sands.

Facts about Suncor energy

Warren Buffett’s preferred way to bet on the Canadian oil patch is Suncor Energy, and it’s not hard to see why. The company has stellar integrated operations and one of the healthiest balance sheets in the oil sands, with an optimal 0.43 debt-to-equity ratio and $2 billion worth of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments. The company is destined to be a survivor, even if oil prices were to ever flirt with the negatives again.

1. 0.43 debt-to-equity ratio
2. $2 billion worth of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments

After Suncor’s 76% bounce off the March bottom, the dividend yield is now more modest at 7%, but the Canadian oil stock is still worth picking up if you’re a long-term income investor who wants to invest alongside Buffett with a better cost basis!

Stay hungry. Stay Foolish.

My positions

Actionable Items

I need to pay attention to more than 10% gain in one day or one week, 50% gain in less than one month definitely should be under my review.

On April 7, 2020, there is more than 20% gain compared to my purchase price on March 27, 2020.

Canadian Oil Stocks: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Buying Opportunity

Here is the article.

While the abruptness of an oil rebound is difficult to project, investors would be better served by looking to firms with healthy cash flows and stellar balance sheets to avoid the risk of bankruptcy in a lower-for-longer oil price environment that will undoubtedly threaten the economics of many heavy crude producers in the Albertan oil sands.

Facts about Suncor energy

Warren Buffett’s preferred way to bet on the Canadian oil patch is Suncor Energy, and it’s not hard to see why. The company has stellar integrated operations and one of the healthiest balance sheets in the oil sands, with an optimal 0.43 debt-to-equity ratio and $2 billion worth of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments. The company is destined to be a survivor, even if oil prices were to ever flirt with the negatives again.

1. 0.43 debt-to-equity ratio
2. $2 billion worth of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments

After Suncor’s 76% bounce off the March bottom, the dividend yield is now more modest at 7%, but the Canadian oil stock is still worth picking up if you’re a long-term income investor who wants to invest alongside Buffett with a better cost basis!

Stay hungry. Stay Foolish.

Cara Delevingne Net Worth: How the Actress Makes Her Money

Here is the article.

Has the Market Hit Bottom Yet? | Phil Town

Here is the link.

Will the market keep dropping? It's obvious that the Coronavirus-induced recession has ended the bull market, and it's hard to tell what will come next. Today I discuss my take on the current state of our volatile market and what you can do to prepare as an investor.

Julia's crafting skills - Lowest common ancestor

April 30, 2020

Introduction

I may put myself in danger position since I stop practicing coding using C# last two months. I was busy with stock market and learn how to control my psychology as an investor, and learn a few things how to understand market swings and economy. Good thing is that I still work as a volunteer as an mock interviewer, I keep myself open to top talent in the world. I just learn one thing a time, one crafting skills a time. 43 minutes a mock interview session really helps me to go back to practice. What I did is to practice the algorithm after the mock interview, I like to learn from the mock interviewee and try to write a C# solution using the same idea.

My crafting skills

Here is the post.


C# post order traversal and return p or q in recursive function

May 1, 2020

It is optimal solution I learned from mock interview on April 30, 2020 at 10:00 PM from the mock interviewee. He is ex-facebook engineer, and he wrote the code and tested, it took him less than 25 minutes. Here is the blog to document the practice.

I spent over 30 minutes to practice using C#. Here are my highlights:

1. Apply postorder traversal, bottom up, count nodes found and return Lowest Common Ancestor (LCA);
2. Think about C# data structure, using strong typing data structure Tuple;
3. Choose data structure Tuple<TreeNode, int> instead of ArrayList; Spend 10 minutes to warm up, find Item1 property usage;
4. More on step 2, two tips learned from failed test case, [3,5,1,6,2,0,8, null, null, 7, 4], 5, 4, return should be 5. Move ternary experession to the end, and add two parentheses to avoid grammar error. Need to work on C# basics.
5. Play with ternary expression and avoid ambiguity;
6. Remember if LCA is not found then Tuple.Item1 is null.

Add my practice to my collection of solutions written in 2019. Here is the post with various practice starting from May 2019.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace _236_lowest_common_ancestor
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
        }

        public class TreeNode {
            public int val;
            public TreeNode left;
            public TreeNode right;
            public TreeNode(int x) { val = x; }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// May 1, 2020
        /// Use bottom up approach, and also return number of nodes found and LCA
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="root"></param>
        /// <param name="p"></param>
        /// <param name="q"></param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        public TreeNode LowestCommonAncestor(TreeNode root, TreeNode p, TreeNode q)
        {
            var tuple = postOrderTraversal(root, p, q);
            return tuple.Item1; 
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// return LCA and count of nodes found
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="root"></param>
        /// <param name="p"></param>
        /// <param name="q"></param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        private static Tuple<TreeNode, int> postOrderTraversal(TreeNode root, TreeNode p, TreeNode q)
        {
            if (root == null)
            {
                return new Tuple<TreeNode, int>(null, 0);
            }

            var left = postOrderTraversal(root.left, p, q);
            if (left.Item1 != null)
            {
                return left;
            }

            var right = postOrderTraversal(root.right, p, q);
            if(right.Item1 != null)
            {
                return right; 
            }

            int count = left.Item2 + right.Item2 + ((root == p || root == q) ? 1 : 0);
            if (count == 2)
            {
                return new Tuple<TreeNode, int>(root, 2); 
            }

            return new Tuple<TreeNode, int>(null, count); 
        }
    }
}

Actionable Items

I should be more creative after the mock interview. One thing I can think about is to learn how to communicate better through mock interview. One time I did not show confidence in the first three minutes, the interviewee just terminated the interview.

I also think about how to contribute better as an interviewer. Being an interviewer, the interviewee demonstrates super good performance; To me it reminded me to work hard, and also I like to push myself continue to practice algorithm. The problem solving thinking process is such problem area for me to improve, and I need to compare myself often and then I learn from the experience.

I like to add some voice recording, and I like to explain the idea using my understanding. It will help me to track my progress as well.

Case study: Lowest common ancestor

May 1, 2020

Introduction

It is the first interview I got the whole week. I worried about interviewing.io financial situation, and free anonymous interview is no longer affordable since some one has to pay the bill. A lot of layoffs last two months, people are flooding in job market for software engineer positions.

Mock interview case study

Here is the code.





Discussion we had on the mock interview:

The clever part is to return two things in recursive function. One is to find lowest common ancestor, if it is found then it should be returned; Second one is supporting role to calculate the node found. As we know, the node can be root node or any child node in binary tree. Using total nodes found is the technique to make it easy to identify the edge case: root node is one of nodes p or q, then another node is in subtree nodes.

One thing to make it more readable is to replace checking of return TreeNode null with node's count comparison to value 2 instead.

Interviewer feedback

Interviewee - an ex-facebook engineer

His second algorithm is also bug-free, here is the link.

Actionable items

May 25, 2020

The interviewee is young and top talent engineer. After the mock interview, he saw my feedback, and then he decided to get connected on interviewing.io. I should ask a linkedin.com connection from him, so I can track his career success later on.