However, it originally was a term of self-designation for major bond-traders. The term was popularized by the book Liar's Poker, which describes the author's experience as a bond trader on Wall Street in the s. While much has been written about trade size, meaning how much trading capital should be risked on each trade, this remains a nebulous imprecise topic. Yes, even especially if you are a big swinger. The concept of a " trading edge " is central here. Broadly speaking, this is how much a trader is expected to make over a reasonable number of trades meaning, with some statistical significance , taking into consideration the risk of loss and how much will be made or lost with each trade on average. Buying and holding for some time perhaps, but not regularly going in and out of the market without a good plan. The conventional example is a casino, where as we know the house always wins in the end because of that reason.

Header Menu
A Wall Street icon falls.
Top definition. BSD unknown. Big Swinging Dick. A front office 'player' in sell-side or a hedge fund. An executive who is personally responsible for bringing revenue in.
This Quote Is From
Liar's Poker is a non-fiction, semi- autobiographical book by Michael Lewis describing the author's experiences as a bond salesman on Wall Street during the late s. The book captures an important period in the history of Wall Street. Two important figures in that history feature prominently in the text, the head of Salomon Brothers ' mortgage department Lewis Ranieri and the firm's CEO John Gutfreund. The book's name is taken from liar's poker , a high-stakes gambling game popular with the bond traders in the book. Liar's Poker follows two different story threads, though not necessarily in chronological order. The first thread is autobiographical, and follows Lewis through his college education and his hiring by Salomon Brothers now a subsidiary of Citigroup in This part of the book gives a first-person account of how bond traders and salesmen truly work, their personalities, and their culture. The book captures well an important period in the history of Wall Street.
Hi there, we use cookies to improve your experience on our website. You can update your settings by clicking the Privacy policy link at the bottom of the page. Still used?