Election Year Cycle & Stock Market Returns - VisualisedIn this chart, we're analysing the open value of the week the US election took place and comparing it to the open of the following election, showing the gain (or loss) in value between each election cycle.
Historically we can see prices in the Dow Jones Industrials Index tend to appreciate the week the election is held. Only twice has the return between the cycles produced a negative return.
Buying stocks on election day, 8 out of 10 times has yielded a profitable return between the election cycles. 80% of the time in the past 40 years returning a profit, has so far been a good strategy to take.
The typical cycle starts with the election results, an immediate positive movement and continued growth before finishing positive.
The Outliers
2000-2004 was the only year which ended negative without prices going higher than the election day.
2004-2008 increased 41.84% before ending negative.
2008-2012 began the cycle falling 30.62% before finishing positive.
The names of presidents who won their respective elections is to visualise who had the presidential term during that specific cycle.
Probability
Stock feedback loopStock market is a adaptive system or a stock, with feedback loops (for inflow, outflow function). Where nobody knows the outcome or future, but feedbacks (corrections or resistance) gives tells (makes inflows or outflows). Without a common leader.
Economists think in models (price is the result of supply-demand, or inflow-outflow) that helps to explain system behavior (short term moves), but models are just ideas to explain complex world (models work until they dont). System thinkers study the stock not aggregate behavior .
Looking at markets trough perspective of "eco system" helps better understand the drivers or moving forces?
Think in Probabilities Embracing Uncertainty Your Key To SuccessPicture this: You’re at your trading desk, eyes on the charts, heart pounding as the market swings unpredictably. Do you feel that fear creeping in?
Now, imagine knowing that this unpredictability doesn’t have to scare you. Instead, it can be the key to your success. Let's dive into why thinking in probabilities and staying calm in the face of uncertainty can turn trading from a gamble into a calculated path to consistent success.
Many traders struggle with uncertainty because they lack a solid, tested system. Trading randomly or without a proven strategy leads to anxiety and inconsistency. But once you have a reliable system that suits your lifestyle and mindset, and you fully understand your edge, you realize that while the outcome of each trade is random, the probabilities of your trading system will work out for you over time.
The Role of Probabilities in Trading
Trading isn’t about predicting the next big market move; it’s about understanding the odds and working them to your advantage. Each trade is a small part of a larger statistical framework, where the focus shifts from individual outcomes to the bigger picture.
Why Is Learning To Think In Probabilities So Important For Trading Success?
Reduces Emotional Bias : By thinking in probabilities, you understand that each trade is just one in a series of many. This helps reduce emotional reactions to individual losses or gains, such as revenge trading, doubling up on position sizing, or even smashing your new iPhone against the wall (been there, LOL).
For example, if you know that your strategy wins 60% of the time, you won't be devastated by a single loss. You'll see it as part of the statistical outcome.
Encourages Rational Decision-Making: Knowing your strategy has an actual edge helps you stick to your plan, even during losing streaks, and avoid impulsive decisions. To know your edge, you need to do plenty of backtesting and forward testing so you can gain confidence in the system.
For instance, if you experience a string of losses, understanding that this is normal and statistically probable helps you remain disciplined and not deviate from your strategy.
Builds Confidence in Your System : Confidence comes from knowing your strategy is backtested and has a proven edge over a large number of trades.
This knowledge helps you stay disciplined and focused on executing your plan. For example, if your backtesting shows a positive expectancy over 1,000 trades, you can trust your system even when short-term results are unfavorable.
Things That Have Helped Me Over the Years to Deal With the Uncertainty of Trading
Finding or Developing a System/Strategy That Suits You : As humans, we are all different, and this is especially true in trading. Some people are happy to be in and out of the market fast (scalpers) and have the ability to make big decisions quickly under pressure.
Others are slower thinkers and like to make decisions carefully, staying in the market for a longer period of time (swing traders).
You need to find what you're best at and stick to it. If you have a busy life with work and family, maybe swing trading suits you. If you’re younger and not as busy, then perhaps scalping is your style.
Playing Strategy Games and Games of Chance : This may not be something you've heard before, but I've met many traders, including myself, who have found that games like poker can really help your trading by teaching you to think in probabilities.
Another game I love to play is chess, as it encourages you to think ahead, and I’ve found it has helped me in my trading over the years.
Practicing Visualization : If you've ever read anything on the subconscious mind, you know it’s responsible for 95% of all your automatic behaviors, especially in trading. The subconscious doesn’t distinguish between what is real and what is imagined.
This is why visualization is such a powerful tool to help you embrace market uncertainty. By visualizing yourself placing trades confidently, managing risks well, and handling outcomes calmly, you prepare your mind for real trading scenarios.
This mental practice reinforces your belief in your system and prepares you for the market's ups and downs.
Books That Helped Me Think in Probabilities
Reading has been an invaluable part of my journey to understanding probabilities. Here are some books that have profoundly impacted my trading mindset:
"Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman
This book helped me understand how cognitive biases affect decision-making and how to overcome them by thinking more strategically.
"Fooled by Randomness" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Taleb's insights into the role of chance and randomness in our lives and the markets were eye-opening and changed how I view risk and probability.
"Beat the Dealer" by Edward O. Thorp
Although this book is about blackjack, Thorp’s exploration of probability and statistics offers valuable lessons for trading.
"The Theory of Poker" by David Sklansky
Sklansky breaks down the mathematics of poker, showing how to make decisions based on probability, a skill directly applicable to trading.
"The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham
This classic on value investing emphasizes the importance of long-term thinking and understanding market probabilities.
"A Man for All Markets" by Edward O. Thorp
This autobiography offers a fascinating look at how Thorp applied probability theory to beat the casino and the stock market.
"Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Harari’s book provides context on human behavior and decision-making, offering insights into the psychological elements of trading.
"The Signal and the Noise" by Nate Silver
Silver’s exploration of how we can better understand predictions and probabilities is highly relevant to making informed trading decisions.
"Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction" by Philip E. Tetlock and Dan M. Gardner
This book teaches how to improve forecasting skills through careful analysis and thinking in probabilities.
Thinking in probabilities was a game-changer for me. It shifted my focus from trying to predict every market move to playing the long game. By embracing this mindset, I turned fear into confidence and uncertainty into strategy.
Remember, trading isn’t about guessing the market. It’s about responding with a clear, composed mind. Trust your strategy, know your edge, and let the probabilities work in your favor. This approach transformed my trading journey, and it can do the same for you. Happy trading!
Odds and Psychology.Based on "Think fast and slow", people have two system thinking. System-1 is autonomous, always working in background (ie unconsciousness), lazy, intuitive, fast, has stereotypes. System-2 is rational, hard problem solving, takes effort and energy, cuts trough the BS, etc (ie consciousness).
Based on another book called "superforcasters" and some dude I forgot his name, best approach for odds is to have simple system; where 100% certain. 93% almost certain. 75% probable. 50% about even (or maybe). 25% probably not. 7% almost certainly not. 0% impossible. All forecast are subjective guesses.
The catch; If you think something is 100% - you would go allin with max lever. (If you dont) your beliefs or opinion go against your actions. If you dont believe it's wise to go allin - then odds are not actually 100%. If you are stressed about 93% spot, then maybe it might not be 93% after all. (1:14).
In key SPX areas, based on business cycle and TNX, logic says one odds (or System-2) and your intuition (or feel) says differently. You are either too bearish or too bullish.
This is a simple representation of concept.
Another key concept is that TIME <----> PROBABILITY are at opposite sides of coin. The closer or far away in time something - more or less risk, ie higher or lower probability.
What do you do when your trading plan fails? Yesterday I wrote about a beautiful chart pattern that was forming on the Bitcoin daily time frame that ended up failing not long after I wrote the post. That kind of thing will shake a trader to their core, especially if they thought it was going to play out, but ended up losing their shirt.
This is why it is important to set stop losses, so that if the trade does go the other way, you will be out of the trade before it gets too bad. This is simply called risk management, and is one of the biggest things that any trader, especially new traders need to master.
Trading is a business of statistics and probabilities. Just because something has worked for you in the past, doesn't mean it is going to work for you every time. So when something like a bullish pattern that you have traded many times fails, you have to reassess and move on to the next trade. Out of 100 trades, that pattern may only work 6 or 7 times which gives you a 60-70% chance of it working in your favor. That's how it works, nothing is ever 100% in this game. So you always have to be ready for things to not work out the way you think they should.
If they don't work out, don't freak out! Just learn from your mistakes, readjust your plan, and move along to the next trade! Hopefully things like this will help you better understand the importance of a good risk management plan.
Be safe out there everyone and trade logically!
How we have been trading Bitcoin D1How we have been trading Bitcoin (Daily chart) with our indicators + hand-drawn trend lines.
After 10 years of R&D (we have been testing different indicators every day for a decade), we have developed our own Suite of 26 indicators. Here are just a few of them.
Indicators names (from top to bottom):
- Strength
Shows the strength of the market, the direction, pullbacks, equilibrium, and flats.
- Bear&Bull Powers
Shows the battle between the bears and the bulls.
- Angle
Indicates the direction and angle of the trend and the pullbacks.
- Template
Our main central indicator simplifying charts and bringing clarity.
- Steepness
Displays how steep the trend is and comments:
Going Up/Down | Trending | Strong/Weak | Pulling Back | Retracement | Flat | 75% Blue Background | ...
- Odds
11 indicators calculating the odds.
- Probability
75 indicators calculating the probabilities.
How To Trade Probability Ranges The Critical Rule of 1/3Using the Rule of Thirds to Master Probabilities in trading and investing ranges
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Stocks typically remaining in consolidation ranges 70% of the time while trending the remainder.
Using the rule of thirds, we can use statistics, prior price action and the probabilities of success to determine when to enter trades where the odds are stacked in our favor.
1) We start by finding a stock that is in a consolidation range, and identify the nearest important support and important resistance levels based on your targeted trading timeframe.
2 ) We take the range between the support and resistance levels and divide it into thirds, so we have three zones within the consolidation range.
3) When going long, you want to BUY the stock when it is within the bottom third or the zone from support to the 1st third level. Once you buy, your objectives are to hold during the middle third of the range, and sell during the top third.
When you buy in the first third, this gives you a 66 percent chance of success. If you buy in the second third of the range, you only have a 50/50 chance of success. Going long in the top third of the range, gives you only a 33% chance of success because you are already close to the resistance level.
When going short, the sequence and odds are reversed. You sell during the top third of the range, hold during the middle third and exit in the bottom third. This again gives you a 66% chance of success when you enter in the top third, 50/50 chance if you enter in the middle third, and a 33% chance of success if you enter in the bottom third as you are already close to the support zone.
****Using this simple trick, you can quickly evaluate trades based on probabilities and selectively enter trades where the odds of success are the highest and avoid likely losing trades. The rule of thirds also also gives you the confidence to continue to hold trades based on previous important ranges, and provides clear levels where the stock is likely to either reverse or start trending.
Hope It Helps to your Trading & Investing Success
Marc
How to Calculate Probability in Price So many have asked for tutorials on some quant strategies. So this is my first tutorial for some basic quant trading strategies.
This is not really a strategy in and of itself, this is to help you determine realistic price points as part of your overall strategy.
You will need Excel to do this.
If you like this kind of tutorial/find it helpful, let me know and I can continue posting similar stuff on how to apply some more basic quant strategies into your trading.
Take care and trade safe!
How To Use Risk:Reward Like A ProWhatsup my friends
In this video I will be covering my risk:reward model and how I can use it to generate an edge in the market.
In this specific backtesting session, I used 0.5:2 risk:reward with TP at 4RR for every trade.
I got pretty good results - but remember this is simulated and it's easier to perform better.
However, don't take this type of training lightly - this is the best way to improve as a trader.
The next step would be to actually start journaling your trades and analyzing everything at a deeper level.
I hope you enjoyed this!
Cheers
Dil
What's the Probability of SPY 500 End of Year?This is not a forecast of AMEX:SPY getting to 500... this video will instead demonstrate how we can answer this question using Options Delta to assess the probability the market expects for an event to happen. I use a backtest of NASDAQ:TSLA Weekly Options to demonstrate.
Understanding draw down recovery 😬😥Morning traders.
Middle of the trading week all ready!
I thought I'd take this opportunity to discuss a topic we all fear and we all find ourselves in at some point in our trading journey.
That topic being draw down and your account in a loss of starting capital.
The table I have drawn on the chart shows the amount of gain required to get an account back to break even depending on how big the draw down is on your capital.
Scary stuff when viewed in a simple table format like and hits home just how big of task over turning losses could be.
No trading system or strategy has zero losses or draw down and all strategies endure losing runs.
To avoid excessive losses there is two crucial elements.
Sounds obvious but cut losing trades quickly is the first element, second element is factoring probability into the trading strategy.
Probability helps control risk management which in turns keep losses to a minimum, probability is obtained by carrying out back testing on your strategy.
You can't plan for probability in your risk management if you have no data for your strategy.
The example I am using for this Idea is on AUDCHF H1 timeframe and thanks to our built in strategy tester I can see if I traded this pair in the manner the strategy is set over the last 292 trades at 1% risk I am 22% down on my account. It would not take in the region of a 25% account gain to be back to near break even on my account!!!
You don't need a built in strategy tester to gain this information you can also manually back test a strategy in order to avoid losses and to know if you are entering markets with a proven edge.
A trading edge means your strategy creates bigger wins than losses. Which in turn means you avoid the situation shown in the table.
To avoid hefty draw down don't enter the markets blind with an unproven strategy.
Ensure you have back tested strategies with probability factored in to those strategies that way what is shown in the table wont apply to you then 👍
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Please hit the 👍 LIKE button if you like my ideas🙏
Also follow my profile, then you will receive a notification whenever I post a trading idea - so you don't miss them. 🙌
No one likes missing out, do they?
Also, see my 'related ideas' below to see more just like this.
The stats for this pair are shown below too.
Thank you.
Darren
How to use Chobotaru IndicatorOur indicator can now be used by everyone.
There are a lot of indicators trying to predict what will be the range of the stock in the future.
Some of the indicators, that are well known, are using STD of volatility like Bolinger Bands or using an advanced simulation like Monte-Carlo, and others that are using different methods.
Our approach to this subject is different. There is an official volatility predictor called Implied Volatility. (I explained it in a different post)
This number can be seen in the options chain in your broker platform. You don’t need to trade options to use this indicator.
This indicator shows you a probability cloud, giving you the probability of the stock moving to a certain price.
This can help in several ways like determine if your target price is possible, where to put stop-loss, you can also use other technical analyses, like support and resistance to choose which area is best for your trade. The sky is the limit.
We tested it on 30(+/-10) days of small market cap and higher. In our testing, the price finished inside the range more than 80% of the time (the result are higher but I’m trying to stay conservative).
The user can choose a different option’s time period than 30 days, but the longer the period the higher the chance for a rare event that is not currently priced in.
The indicator is based on the partial differential equations from the mathematical model of options, the Black-Scholes model.
In simple words, the prices of options give you some indication of how the market thinks the stock should perform. If you take the implied volatility and insert it into the indicator, you can see the probability range, transforming this data into a visual representation.
What inputs do you need to enter?
Instrument price –
The current price of the stock or futures contract.
In this example, the close price of the SPY on March 30, 2021, is 394.73
The interest rate –
Searching in google: “U.S. Department of the treasury daily yield curve rates”, Use the 3-month value (of the day of the entry or day before).
On 03/30/2021 the 3-month value was 0.02%
Days to expire (minus trading holidays) –
At the end of 03/30/2021, I searched for the option that is the closest to 30 days on the SPY. The option that ending on April 30, has 31 days, in this period we have a holiday “Good Friday”, so I subtract the original number of days from the holiday, 31-1 = 30
Implied Volatility –
This number in your trading platform will usually be shown in a percentage, you need to enter a positive decimal number.
In this example, the implied volatility of the option was 15.2%, the input is 0.152
The date – The last thing is the date of the entry, in this case, Day – 30, Month – 3, Year – 2021.
This indicator can be used on daily bars and everything smaller than that. We recommend using it on daily bars.
Try it for yourself on your charts and share your result, if you have any questions, tell us in the comments.
The Ace Spectrum as a Template for Support ProjectionDemonstrating the big idea: That straight lines in log-space form exponential curves.
This property of the log chart is useful for examining assets with exponential growth (like high-growth stocks, cryptos, etc).
Because the log scale asymptotically approaches the absolute scale as y slice decreases, this indicator is really applicable to any time scale.
This indicator samples a distribution of lines from the past and projects them into the future, these projected lines form indicators of prior support.
The idea is longer support at those specific lines is indicative of support strength, which this indicator approximately captures.
My initial goal was to capture this intuition about exponential growth in log spaces by applying a monte-carlo style sampling approach to visualize the latent support lines.
After I had captured that in a slightly more complex version of this indicator, my goal was to distill the concept into the simplest possible implementation.
5 Fundamental Truths of Trading:1. Anything can happen.
Why? Because there are always unknown forces operating in every market at every moment , it takes only one trader somewhere in the world to negate the positive outcome of your edge. That's all: only one. Regardless of how much time, effort, or money you've invested in your analysis, from the market's perspective there are no exceptions to this truth. Any exceptions that may exist in your mind will be a source of conflict and potentially cause you to perceive market information as threatening.
2. You don't need to know what is going to happen next in order to make money.
Why? Because there is a random distribution between wins and losses for any given set of variables that define an edge. (See number 3.) In other words, based on the past performance of your edge, you may know that out of the next 20 trades, 12 will be winners and 8 will be losers. What you don't know is the sequence of wins and losses or how much money the market is going to make available on the winning trades.
This truth makes trading a probability or numbers game.
3. There is a random distribution between wins and losses for any given set of variables that define an edge
If every loss puts you that much closer to a win, you will be looking forward to the next occurrence of your edge, ready and waiting to jump in without the slightest reservation or hesitation. On the other hand, if you still believe that trading is about analysis or about being right, then after a loss you will anticipate the occurrence of your next edge with trepidation, wondering if it's going to work. This, in turn, will cause you to start gathering evidence for or against the trade, so you will not be in the most conducive state of mind to produce consistent results .
4. An edge is nothing more than an indication of a higher probability of one thing happening over another.
Creating consistency requires that you completely accept that trading isn't about hoping, wondering, or gathering evidence one way or the other to determine if the next trade is going to work. The only evidence you need to gather is whether the variables you use to define an edge are present at any given moment. When you use "other" information, outside the parameters of your edge to decide whether you will take the trade, you are adding random variables to your trading regime. Adding random variables makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to determine what works and what doesn't.
Gathering "other" evidence makes about as much sense as trying to determine whether the next flip of a coin will be heads, after the last ten flips came up tails. Regardless of what evidence you find to support heads coming up, there is still a 50-percent chance that the next flip will come up tails.
If the market is offering you a legitimate edge,determine the risk and take the trade .
5. Every moment in the market is unique.
Take a moment and think about the concept of uniqueness. No two moments in the external environment will ever exactly duplicate themselves . To do so,every atom or every molecule would have to be in the exact same position they were in some previous moment. Not a very likely possibility.
Source: Mark Douglas - Trading in the zone
MaMA : Momentum adjusted Moving AverageA brand new Moving Average , calculated using Momentum, Acceleration and Probability (Psychological Effect).
Momentum adjusted Moving Average( MaMA ) is an indicator that measures Price Action by taking into consideration not only Price movements but also its Momentum, Acceleration and Probability. MaMA , provides faster responses comparing to the regular Moving Average
Here is the math of the MaMA idea
Momentum measures change in price over a specified time period
momentum = source – source(length)
where,
source, indicates current bar’s price value
source(length), indicates historical price value of length bars earlier
Lets play with this formula and rewrite it by moving source(length) to other side of the equation
source = source(length) + momentum
to avoid confusion let’s call the source that we aim to predict as adjustedSource
adjustedSource = source(length) + momentum
looks nice the next value of source simply can be calculated by summing of historical value of the source value and value of the momentum. I wish it was so easy, the formula holds true only when the momentum is conserved/constant/steady but momentum move up or down with the price fluctuations (accelerating or decelerating)
Let’s add acceleration effects on our formula, where acceleration is change in momentum for a given length. Then the formula will become as (skipped proof part of acceleration effects, you may google for further details)
adjustedSource = source(length) + momentum + 1/2 * acceleration
here again the formula holds true when the acceleration is constant and once again it is not the case for trading, acceleration also changes with the price fluctuations
Then, how we can benefit from all of this, it has value yet requires additional approaches for better outcome
Let’s simulate behaviour with some predictive approach such as using probability (also known as psychological effect), where probability is a measure for calculating the chances or the possibilities of the occurrence of a random event. As stated earlier above momentum and acceleration are changing with the price fluctuations, by using the probability approach we can add a predictive skill to determine the likelihood of momentum and acceleration changes (remember it is a predictive approach). With this approach, our equations can be expresses as follows
adjustedSource = source(length) + momentum * probability
adjustedSource = source(length) + ( momentum + 1/2 * acceleration ) * probability , with acceleration effect
Finally, we plot MaMA with the new predicted source adjustedSource, applying acceleration effect is made settable by the used from the dialog box, default value is true.
What to look for:
• Trend Identification
• Support and Resistance
• Price Crossovers
Recommended settings are applied as default settings, if you wish to change the length of the MaMA then you should also adjust length of Momentum (and/or Probability). For example for faster moving average such as 21 period it would be suggested to set momentum length to 13
Alternative usage, set moving average length to 1 and keep rest lengths with default values, it will produce a predictive price line based on momentum and probability. Experience acceleration factor by enabling and disabling it
Conclusion
MaMA provide an added level of confidence to a trading strategy and yet it is important to always be aware that it implements a predictive approach in a chaotic market use with caution just like with any indicator
Trading success is all about following your trading strategy and the indicators should fit within your trading strategy, and not to be traded upon solely
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report by technical analystReport dispalyed with Technical Analyst study
Who wants a Technical Analyst?
The analyst will present a technical anlaysis report at a glance calculated by the most popular technical indicators, and the good part, the anlayst will do it voluntarily
technical skills of the analyst:
- experienced an all markets
- ability to interpret moving averages
- ability to interpret volume changes
- ability to interpret trend folowing indicators such as:
* directional movement index (dmi), identify trend strength and trend direction
* complex ichimoku cloud , identify trend stregth, and tk crosses
- ability to interpret oscillators such as:
* relative strength index, identify oversold overbought levels, identify the rsi flow
* commodity channel index, identify oversold overbought levels
* awesome identify if grawing or falling
* macd if bullish or bearish, and macd histogram if grawing or falling
- ability to calculate probability and its trend
non-stop hardworker,
available 7/24,
highly dedicated always on duty,
open for new ideas and willing to learn
upon request the analyst will create reports with custom settings of your choise
the analyst is not a decition maker, trading success is all about following your trading strategy and the analyst aims to help with the presented reports calculated by the most popular technical indicators
the analyst supports 9 of the popular technical indicators and is willing to learn more, please share your comments and feedbacks and help the analyst improve skills
cheers!
The Hardest Part of Trading (What is rarely said)Seeking More information - When first introduced to markets, every beginner immediately thinks he must learn the rules of the market in order to succeed. He thinks he loses because he does not know enough. He initially believes there is a "holy grail" a system, a leader, or a mathematical equation like Fibonacci levels. He believes these will protect him in the market, and will lead him to a profit once he understands them.
The problem is, there are no set rules which work consistently in the market. If there were, the institutions and everyone else would simply use them. What would happen then? Well, there would be no one or institution to take the opposite trade, and the market would cease to exist altogether.
And so the new trader changes from one system to another, from one guru to another, and constantly thinks he must learn more information in order to succeed. What he believes to be preventing his success is a lack of knowledge, a lack of information. But you see, the more information you have does not necessarily lead to better decisions. There is a lot of evidence to support the contrary, and suggests that too many choices actually impair decision making skills.
On top of this, most of the information in the trading world is quite simply wrong. There are 10 x more scam artists who claim to "know" and will take your money to teach you how to trade than there are profitable traders. Beware of anyone who claims to know anything. They are either fooling themselves, or fooling you. These people do not understand markets or them selves, and cannot make money in the market, so instead they prey on new market entrants. This is the primary reason I started my trading website; to provide high value information at a low cost. And to give those who are serious about trading an actual chance to make it in the markets, without ignoring a key variable; your self.
Dealing with Uncertainty - The reason most traders seek new information is because they are afraid of uncertainty and want certainty. They seek something to protect them in the market. Something to protect them from themselves. A system that will guarantee a profit. But there is no such thing. Markets constantly change and evolve through the market cycle. And there is no system that works across all three parts of the market cycle.
No matter how convinced you are of something happening in the market, there is always at least a 30-40% chance of the exact opposite happening. This means even the strongest edge has a failure rate. The sooner you realize and accept this, the closer you will be to making a consistent profit.
It is very hard to learn how to deal with uncertainty. But you do it every day. When you wake up in the morning are you certain you will live through the end of the day? Are you certain you will still have a job tomorrow by working for a reputable company? No, and you can never be completely certain of this. Certainty is an illusion. There is no certainty in this life. The only certainty is... uncertainty!
Patience and Discipline (Ability to Do Nothing) - Every profitable trader uses these two terms (patience and discipline) when asked how they are profitable. When a beginner hears this, he rarely understands what this means. Discipline means doing something even when you dont want to do it, or doing something you dont want to do. Patience means waiting for your turn, or waiting for something to happen.
But we all want to trade right? Yes of course, that is what we do as traders. But having discipline means not trading when the trading is not good, even though you want to. And having patience means waiting for the good trading to return again. In other words, when the time is not right you must do nothing. If your edge is not present; there is no edge and no action to make. When the market is not offering what you want, or is confusing, you must develop the ability to wait, and do nothing until the time is right again.
This idea of "doing nothing" stokes a fear in most people, especially in todays give me distractions, social media world. They say "Well what am i supposed to do if i am doing nothing?" Doing nothing seems contrary to getting what you want, getting somewhere. In and outside of the trading world everyone believes in order to be a "trader" you must trade - constantly. This is why most traders lose money. Because they do not understand that there is a time for doing absolutely nothing. And that time is most of the time!
See more on understanding markets (Price Action Trading) and yourself (Trading Psychology)at my website below.
If you found this helpful please like! Feel free to comment or ask questions.
The Loonie in troubleIn this screencast I show how waiting for a key position in the market is good idea. As I always say, 'Stalk 90% trade 10%'.
The CAD - often referred to as 'the Loonie' (not by me) has been in some trouble across many currency pairs. I'm not interested 'why'. All I care is where the trend is going and key areas of opportunity and probability.
As strange as it sounds, not trading is actually a winning strategy. So for newtraders especially, don't feel that if you're not in a trade that you're missing something. You are actually wise.
Trading Psychology 5 Edge ExecutionEdge Execution
Trading is a numbers game, and markets are based on the mathematics of the traders equation. However, understanding this alone will not guarantee profits. The ability to apply and conform to the math of the current market context is what leads to consistent profits. Beginners often have a misconecption that they need to know what is going to happen over the period of the next X number of bars in order to make a profit. They believe they must enter at the exact right time and price in order to win on a trade. This could not be further from the truth, and anyone consistenly making money from the markets knows the reality. The reality is a trader does not need to know what is going to happen next in order to make a profit. In fact, a professional trader knows that any given trade is irrelevant to the bigger picture, and an income is generated over a series of trades; not any single trade. This menatlity is past the duality of winning and losing, which are simply accepted as part of the job. This can be called the "probability mindset."
Profits are generated over a series of trades, not any single trade. Therefore, it is not necessary to make money on every trade, every day, or even every month to be a succesful trader. It takes time to build confidence, believe this is true and fully understand this concept. Perhaps this is why most traders fail, by giving up before coming to this realization. It has been said that professional traders have "Won the game before they started playing." (Jack Swagger). This confidence can only come from the probability mindset, when a trader accepts he may lose on this trade, the day, or even this year. But he accepts his risk, and trusts the math that over time he will generate a profit. Even if he takes a large loss, or several, it does not matter; he knows he will make it back up. The overall point of this is that losses are part of the trading process. If a trade is a loser, it does not matter; move on to the next trade. Dwelling on losses or a drawdown does not bring the money back, but continuing to trade does. In this sense it can be said that a successful trader "trades his way out of a drawdown."
It is helpful to think of losses as the "cost of doing business" just like any other business would incur expenses while conducting its operations. There are very few (if any) businesses that do not require heavy start up costs, or capital to continue the business while generating profits. Ever heard the saying "It takes money to make money?" Trading is no different, although most traders fail to realize this, and focus solely on profits. In trading, our costs are commissions and losses, which are offset by gains, resulting in a net profit.
Employing your Edge
So what does this have to do with exeucting an edge? Well, it is necessary to understand not every trade is a guranteed success, and there is a random distribution between wins and losses, with any edge. Even the best setup or edge will result in a loss 30-40% of the time. It is virtually impossible to know in advance, which trade will win and which will lose. Therefore it is absolutely imperative to take every trade that meets a traders edge, regardless of how the trader feels, thinks, or any other variables unrelated to the edge. With this said, here are the basic steps to exeucting and employing an edge.
1). Identify edge. Pick a setup (second entry, wedge reversal, follow through bar, ect.) It is a good idea to start with one until familiar with reading prices.
2). Ask yourself at the close of every bar "Is my edge present?" If no, wait. If yes, enter the trade.
3). Execute the edge with a series of 10 or 20 trades, document every trade. At the end of the series analyze results and tweak.
Wishing you the best of luck on your trading journey
-Josh Ridenour
Fibs and the RSIHello all and welcome once more. While BTC is doing it's thing I want to take some time out to draw your attention to something that you may or may not be aware of... RSI (Relative Strength Index). Now I'm sure most of you know how it works and what it means so i won't waste your precious time giving a run down on that. But did you know the RSI also respects Fib retracements? That's right! Why is this interesting? Because when determining the likely-hood of a movement in a particular direction, a simple trend line or channel won't always give us enough information. Sometimes it can lead us down the wrong path, while we scratch our heads yelling "WHY!!!". By plotting a fib or two over the RSI we can see levels of support or resistance we may not have noticed before, determine the strength a resistance or support has, catch any divergence early as it's easier to see and make better informed decisions overall. I hope you go out and give it a try, it is definitely helpful when you know how to use it! Happy trading :)