The episode welcomes Robbie, a devoted listener of the Star Trading podcast, for a relaxed, candid conversation with hosts Lewis and Sophie. After some light banter about snacks—Robbie’s weakness for crisps and Lewis’s current “no processed chips” challenge—the trio shift to Robbie’s story. He works in a crash repair garage and enjoys the craft, but the physical demands and nine-to-five routine have pushed him to seek greater freedom, less financial stress, and more time with his family. He discovered STARTrading through the Touchstone community after hearing Lewis speak at events in Leeds and London, joined soon after, and says he hasn’t looked back.

Robbie’s training journey stands out for its intensity and early traction. For his first group coaching session—where most bring around ten practice trades—he arrived with nearly thirty. He explains that the course’s modular, systematic structure and clear criteria checklists helped everything click quickly. He learned to spot trends and recurring patterns, apply the checklist, and move on when a setup didn’t qualify. To avoid screen fatigue, he splits his study and chart work into short blocks: early morning before work, lunchtime, and after work. He emphasises the importance of self-awareness—if his focus slips, he stops rather than forcing it and risking mistakes (“like forcing a fart,” he jokes).

Progress-wise, Robbie has earned seals of approval for pullbacks and reversals and is halfway through testing breakouts, already completing 25–30 backtests. He’s enjoyed dissecting breakouts across multiple timeframes and seeing how candles behave differently. Transitioning from backtesting to live trading, however, brought a predictable challenge: frequency and patience. Backtesting offers instant feedback—clicking quickly through days to see outcomes—whereas live trading demands waiting for confirmation candles and accepting that a nearly perfect setup can fail at the final hurdle, sending you back to square one. Adopting the “assess and forget” discipline—risking a fixed 1% and moving on—has helped him align with the long-game mindset: trading is a marathon, not a sprint.

Robbie credits his background in gaming for sharpening his pattern recognition and checklist thinking. The hosts agree with the analogy: like gaming, trading is a learnable skill where you must know what you’re looking for and respond consistently. Contrary to his initial assumptions, Robbie found trading less about complex maths and jargon and more about recognising repeatable patterns; in that sense, it’s accessible to people from any job or background. He also finds the process calming: after a hectic, hands-on workday, quietly observing candles can be meditative.

Support at home has been crucial. His fiancée was initially cautious but encouraging—confident he’d be good at it (with a playful nod to an upcoming wedding bill). She protects his focus blocks when he’s at the computer, and he’s even introduced the podcast to her during car rides. Looking ahead, Robbie’s vision is simple and compelling: become a consistently successful trader, reduce stress about bills, free up time for family, and do more of what they love.

The episode closes with a playful “snack challenge” at Lewis’s house. Robbie returns with two desserts (one a marbled, crispy Mars-bar-style traybake; the other a meringue-berry pudding). After spirited tasting—and careful nut avoidance—they award both an 8.5/10 and sign off, promising more conversations to come.

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