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USDJPY POTENTIAL LONG OPPORTUNITY (4H CHART) USDJPY POTENTIAL LONG WHEN DOING MY ANALYSIS FOR THIS WEEK AND WATCHING WHAT THE GLOBAL CURRENCIES WERE DOING I HAD SPOTTED THAT USDJPY IS AT A SIGNIFICANT LEVEL OF SUPPORT ON THE DAILY AND WEEKLY TIMEFRAME, WITH RECENT SIGNS OF BUYER INTEREST ON THE 4H CHART. IF YOU TAKE A LOOK YOU CAN SEE THAT PRICE HAS BEEN STOPPED AT THIS LEVEL OF STRUCTURE AND SAW A SIGNIFICANT BUYER PUSH TO THE UPSIDE ON THE 4H, MAKING A 100% REST FROM THE SELLERS. BY WHAT THE MARKET IS DISPLAYING TO ME BASED ON MOMENTUM ITS SHOWING ME THAT THE BUYERS ARE STARTING TO FIND INTEREST AT THIS PREVIOUS EMOTIONAL LEVEL OF SUPPORT. IT'S CRAZY BUT THE MORE YOU READ THE MARKETS AND HAVE EXPERIENCE WATCHING THE CONSISTENT PATTERS THEY HAVE YOU CAN START TO SPOT THE AREAS THAT THE "TIDE MAY TURN". KEEP AN EYE ON THIS CHART FOR A CONTINUE BUYER INTEREST IN THIS PAIR. THIS GIVES US A HIGHER PROBABILITY OF A PROFITABLE POSITION DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE MARKET ALWAYS TELLS US WHAT IT WANTS TO DO NEXT. IT'S CALLED (MOMENTUM) !! KEEP AN EYE OUT AND LOOK FOR EITHER SMALL RE-TEST CONTINUED TO THE DOWNSIDE WITH WEAK SELLER POWER OR JUST A STRAIGHT PUSH TO THE TARGETS. CHEERS! PLEASE LIKE AND FOLLOW MY PAGE FOR MORE PROFITABLE TRADE SETUPS! **REMEMBER TO ALWAYS USE YOUR OWN LEVEL OF RISK BASED ON WHAT YOU YOURSELF OR A FINANCIAL ADVISER HAS RECOMMENDED. NOT A PROFESSIONAL ANALYST JUST A MAN THAT HAS BEEN TRADING FX FOR 7 YEARS. TRADE AT YOUR OWN RISK**
Long
by JosePips
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.
Education
by tradersmentality
20
Trading Truths - how long to be profitable?Trading is hard work - But no one wants to hear that it is hard work. Everyone wants a short cut. A short cut does not exist. If it did - everyone would use it and the market would cease to exist. Everyone who starts out trading is lured in by the profit potential. You might get lucky and make a quick buck. But over time you soon realize that trading is a job, and a hard one at that. The markets offer the highest paid profession in the world - and it is the hardest profession. There are no set paths, clear schooling or achievements which put you into a position of earning a living. This is an entirely different world. It is you and the market. You are responsible for the actions you make, and the repercussions or rewards which come with those actions. It takes a lot of time and effort on your part if you truly want to succeed long term in the markets. This does not just mean learning about the markets and how they operate. It also requires skills that no other job does - understanding and working on yourself internally. Remain Humble - We all know of someone who brags about their position, their entry price or whatever. But there is something they likely do not have.. Profits. Ever wonder why the top traders dont brag or choose to talk about how much they make? Because they are humble. If you do not remain humble when it comes to markets, they will humble you. If you are attached to your Ego, you will fail in the market, without question. The only question is how long will you survive? How long does it take to be a Profitable Trader? Every beginner wants to know how long it will take before they can make a profit. This is a loaded question - with no answer. I am often asked how long until you knew you had it? Or how long does it take to become a profitable trader? People are confused by my answer when I say "you never have it, or anything." Even wildly profitable traders lose money, sometimes all of their money several times. Trading is not about getting something, or somewhere. It is a journey, a dance. Do you dance or play the guitar to get to the end of the dance or end of the song? No, otherwise you would play or dance really fast! (Alan Watts). You play to play. You trade because you enjoy the act of trading. In other words the act of doing is the goal, not the end result. The market is a teacher who teaches you about your self. If you chose to ignore it and instead focus on what you want out of it; you probably wont get it. If instead you open yourself up, give in to it and what it is showing you; you just might get what you want. If you found this helpful please like! Feel free to comment or ask questions.
by tradersmentality
2
The Truth About Trading - how long to be profitable?Trading is hard work - But no one wants to hear that it is hard work. Everyone wants a short cut. A short cut does not exist. If it did - everyone would use it and the market would cease to exist. Everyone who starts out trading is lured in by the profit potential. You might get lucky and make a quick buck. But over time you soon realize that trading is a job, and a hard one at that. The markets offer the highest paid profession in the world - and it is the hardest profession. There are no set paths, clear schooling or achievements which put you into a position of earning a living. This is an entirely different world. It is you and the market. You are responsible for the actions you make, and the repercussions or rewards which come with those actions. It takes a lot of time and effort on your part if you truly want to succeed long term in the markets. This does not just mean learning about the markets and how they operate. It also requires skills that no other job does - understanding and working on yourself internally. Remain Humble - We all know of someone who brags about their position, their entry price or whatever. But there is something they likely do not have.. Profits. Ever wonder why the top traders dont brag or choose to talk about a position or how much they make? Because they are humble. If you do not remain humble when it comes to markets, they will humble you. If you are attached to your Ego, you will fail in the market, without question. The only question is how long will you survive? How long does it take to be a Profitable Trader? Every beginner wants to know how long it will take before they can make a profit. This is a loaded question - with no answer. I am often asked how long until you knew you had it? Or how long does it take to become a profitable trader? People are confused by my answer when I say "you never have it, or anything." Even wildly profitable traders lose money, sometimes all of their money several times. Trading is not about getting something, or somewhere. It is a journey, a dance. Do you dance or play the guitar to get to the end of the dance or end of the song? No, otherwise you would play or dance really fast! (Alan Watts). You play to play. You trade because you enjoy the act of trading. In other words the act of doing is the goal, not the end result. The market is a teacher who teaches you about your self. If you chose to ignore it and instead focus on what you want out of it; you probably wont get it. If instead you open yourself up, give in to it and what it is showing you; you just might get what you want. If you found this helpful please like! Feel free to comment or ask questions.
BITSTAMP:BTCUSD
by tradersmentality
4
How to Trade to Win"Those who lose - trade not to lose. Those who are successful - trade to Win." Losing Vs Winning Most traders are more focused on not losing than they are on winning. Do you understand what this means? This means you are acting not in your best interest, but against your self. By focusing on how much you can or might lose, or on not losing, you increase the likelihood of making mistakes which ultimately lead to a losing traders equation, and a negative equity curve. Profitable traders do not care about losing. They understand it is part of winning. They focus on winning. What is the best move in this moment? Should I get out or continue to hold based on what the market is telling me? Winning traders accept the risk totally and completely; before getting into the trade. In other words, they have already lost what is on the line. Therefore they act in their own best interest, not based on their thoughts about what they could lose, but based on what the market is telling them to do in this moment. Other than this psychological difference, here are a few other key components on How to Trade To Win. Defined Edge - Every trader who is making money in the market has some form of edge which he employs. Even if his edge is purely intuitive. This is extreme and rare however, and most traders have clearly defined their edge and will only trade that edge. This removes randomness. Many beginners think they are going to study the market and be able to trade the market no matter what it is doing (trade intuitively). This is simply not the case for most. The purpose of studying the market is to identify opportunities in form of an edge. An edge is a setup or context which repeats itself over time. It might occur once a day, once a week, or once a month. It does not matter. All that matters is that you only trade your clearly defined edge, and leave the randomness behind. For more information, you can read about the edge I use in every market I trade. We also describe how you can develop your own edge, and trade it in any market. Stop Doing, Relax Efforts - If you are losing in the market, chances are you are doing too much. Many beginners, and even experienced traders think they must be trading in order to be a successful trader. This leads to random trading, over trading, and mistakes which compound themselves. You end up digging a hole, and instead of looking for a way out, you look for a different shovel. The harder you try to make a profit, the more you do, the more actions you make, and the more you lose. The market rewards those who are observant, disciplined, and most importantly patient. The market takes from those who try too hard, and do too much. If you dont believe me, try as hard as you can to make money, and see how you do! By relaxing your efforts, you relax your mind. In turn relax your actions and decision making. You do not have to trade every day to be a profitable trader. It sounds paradoxical doesn't it? How can I make money trading if I dont trade? By only trading when it is appropriate like when your edge is present, you better your odds of success. Profitable trading does not come from trading constantly. Profitable trading comes from the act of non-doing, and out of a state of emptiness. Profitable trading is effortless, it comes out of waiting for just the right moment before taking action. And then waiting some more while the market proves you right or wrong. Profitable trading is not forced; it just happens. Active VS Passive Trading - This is very similar to the previous topic. Active trading is a trader who is constantly in the market, trading whatever he see's or feels right. This trader is often wrong, and when he is right he makes the mistake of exiting too early due to fear. This leads to a negative traders equation as he continues to struggle to do the right thing. An Active Trader mentality is one which does not believe in "non-doing." He believes he must, and can, do something. He is afraid of missing out and is often swayed by thoughts and emotions. So he continues trading never looking back, and at the end of the month cannot figure out why his account is in the red. A Passive Trader is the opposite. He passes on more trades than he takes. He does not care about what he misses out on. He only cares about what he takes and the actions he makes in the market. He does not force trades, he just watches the market until he knows what to do. Or he waits and waits until his edge finally sets up. He is passive in his efforts, rather than active. He does not care if he doesn't trade today, this week, or even this month. Trading is not what is important to him; winning is. He knows that profits come from sitting, waiting. Because he is willing to wait, he is peaceful. And profits continue to come into his account, effortlessly. For more information on developing this type of mentality, see below. We also detail how to understand markets through price action, how to create, define, and employ an edge, and how to develop your traders mentality to succeed in markets. If you found this helpful please like! Feel free to comment or ask questions
Education
by tradersmentality
Top 3 Reasons Traders Lose or Give Up1). Over-trading and Random trading. Most people and traders think in order to make money as a trader you have to be trading all the time. If you are simply watching the market, you are missing out, or not doing your job by not trading it. This leads to over trading, and trading randomly or outside of your edge. Any trades taken that are not apart of your trading plan and do not align with your clearly defined edge, should be considered random trading. This is common after losing, because the natural tendency to want to make back what you lost. This only compounds mistakes and adds to the losses, making it even harder to recover both emotionally and financially. Being excited or eager to trade is normal, especially for beginners who are drawn to the profit potential. We are all in the market to make money, and if you are not in the market you are not making money. But more often than not, being out of the market is the right thing to do. It is often better to not make any money, than to lose it! By understanding, developing, and only trading your edge you increase your likelihood of earning a consistent income. Remember, all edges have a failure rate between 40-60%. So it is important to not jump back into the market after losing, until the next time your edge sets up. If you do not know what your edge is, you should only trade SIM or not at all until you develop one. 2). Scalping or Not Allowing for Windfall Profits. There is an old saying on Wall Street "you cant go broke taking profits." But you absolutely can go broke by taking profits, primarily when your losses are bigger than your wins. It has become common these days for people to advocate scalping. But they do not understand that the math is against them. They think since the high frequency trading firms are scalping for ticks or a point, that they should too. But a retail trader cannot compete with these institutions. They have algorithms that can make 10 trades faster than you blink, pay minimal commissions, have direct access to the exchanges, hedge their trades, and often use wide stops and scale in to positions. A beginner should never scalp, and even those with experience are better off swing trading as it offers a less stressful and less difficult way to trade profitably. When swing trading it only takes 1 out of 10 trades to offset all the losers and provide a profit. This is the complete opposite of scalping, where it takes 10 winners to offset one large loss. Or if you are using a smaller stop like twice your target (1 point target and 2 point stop), it still takes 2 trades to make up a single loss and a third to make a minuscule profit after commissions. What happens when you lose again? This cycle repeats over and over, and the trader dies slowly but surely from 100 bee stings. 3). Wrong Mentality. There are many examples of the wrong traders mentality which prevents success for so many. One of which is losing. Most traders do not like to lose, they see losing as a problem. They do not understand that losers lead to winners, and that losing is the natural cycle of trading and is imperative to a consistent return. You cant win if you dont lose! Another example is emotions. Most traders see emotions as the enemy, that which stands between themselves and the market, and prevents them from succeeding. So they work to try and remove emotions. But this is not possible. As long as you are a human you will have emotions. You can never remove them. The key is to understand them, and use them to your advantage in the market. And when you are not in the right mental state, remove yourself from the market altogether. A third example is fighting the market. This relates back to the first topic, over trading and random trading. Many traders do not realize the market does not always offer what they are seeking. A trading range is a good example of this. In a trading range, the market goes sideways there are many failures, and the market does not get very far. What happens to a trader who does not realize this? He continues fighting the market, looking for a large gain when the market is not offering one. So it is important to understand your self and the market. Not just the market. You need to be able to realize when you should not be trading because your mind is not in the right state productive to trading. As well as knowing and understanding your edge, which also means the market context it works well in, and when it does not. For more understanding on these topics and more, including how to develop an edge and how to better your traders mentality, see website below. If you found this helpful please like! Feel free to comment or ask questions.
COINBASE:BTCUSD
by tradersmentality
What is "Price Action"? What about indicators?There is no one clear definition of price action. It can be as simple as "Every tick on any given chart, of any given market." However this definition is too broad and does not adequately describe the term. A better definition is "The collective result of buyers and sellers entering the market for any logical reason, which together create reoccurring patterns that can be analyzed and capitalized." Price action is based on humans behaving rationally, logically, and similarly in similar situations over time, and is the cumulative effect of institutional trading. It has been, and always will remain fundamentally unchanged. If you compare a chart from 100 years ago (such as the crash of 1929) with one of today with the time scales removed, you will not be able to tell the difference between the two. It does not matter if you compare a yearly, monthly, daily, or even 1 minute chart with any other chart of a different time frame. Price action appears the same and works the same in every market, and on every time frame. The institutions cannot hide what they are doing; price action is their foot print. Price action can be used to invest long term, or day trade any market. It allows a trader or investor to identify opportunities without the use of any indicators. In fact, all indicators are a derivative of price action in one form or another. Interestingly, the patterns which repeat as well as trend tendencies can be observed on different charts, even outside of markets. Can you tell a difference between these two charts? The first is a daily chart of CSX. The second is a 5 minute chart of the MES (micro s&p). All markets and charts look the same, and behave similarly. Once you understand the information within, you can understand what the institutions are doing at any given time.
TSX:ACB
by tradersmentality
HEXO Bull Profit Taking HEXO reversed down from a nested parabolic wedge, larger wedge and large low 2. The follow through selling has been good. The bears will likely get a second leg down before taking profits and before the bulls will look to buy again. This market is still in a bull trend, but wedges often lead to two legs sideways to down, convert the market into a trading range (atleast temporarily), and sometimes reverse the market into a bear trend. The bulls will look to form a double bottom or higher low around the $5 low. They will need to keep the bull breakout gap open in order to defend the strength of the bull trend. Otherwise prices are more likely to convert into a bull flag trading range. If you found this helpful, please like and share! Feel free to comment or ask questions.
TSX:TLRY
by tradersmentality
3
The Art of the FlowThe Art of the Flow Anyone who has been in the trading world for very long has heard you must "flow" with the market. Many people say it, but do they actually understand what it means? Can they truly accomplish this in the market or are they just speaking figuratively? Anyone can look at a chart and say "do this or that" or X happened because of Y, or say "I would do this in that situation." This is all hypothetical, and means absolutely nothing! There is a reason why intellectuals or really smart people cannot make money in the markets. And that is because they think. They think they have to know. They think about this or that, and attempt to understand what prices are likely to do before it happens. In reality all that matters is what you do, the actions you take in the market. And the best actions do not require thought. In other words, the ability to flow with the market is what separates the winners from the contributes. The truth is, it is very hard to flow with the market. Our minds and thoughts are constantly fighting our actions. Internal struggle prevents us from being able to accomplish the necessary goal of flowing with the market. Emotions, fears, and pain prevent us from taking the best action at the right time. A Professional Trader seems to always know exactly what to do, and when to do it. He seems to enter and exit at the best possible times. But how? Is it because he can predict the future of prices? Does he have a better understanding of price action than everyone else? This helps sure, but is not the true answer. The reason he is able to do so is due to a special talent, but it has nothing to do with predicting price movements. It is his ability to act by doing what the market instructs him to do, without giving it any thought whatsoever. He does not resist the market, nor does he become fixated on what should or shouldn't be happening. He simply responds. Like when someone throws a ball at your face; you do not think "I should move my head" you just move your head to prevent from being hit with the ball! A Professional Trader knows there is a lot more to trading than being able to understand what prices are doing or might do at any given time. Of course he must understand price action and price tendencies. But he only uses this as a tool of understanding markets. He knows the key is within his mind, and keeping it clear and free of clutter in order to always stay with the market. He keeps his mind clear like a window, not a stained piece of glass. He sees the market and world for what it is. He does not see the world through a stain of what he wants, or how he thinks it ought to be. He works on cleansing his mind and thoughts of the internal fight and outward fight of resisting the market. He focuses on taking actions he believes is correct based on what the market tells him - and he is often right and therefore rewarded. If you found this helpful please like! Feel free to comment or ask questions
A
by tradersmentality
MOST IMPORTANT TRADE LESSONS!Lesson 9 Trading Psychology is Important When you look at the market you should see your self. The market is a collection of buyers and sellers. You are a participant in that marketplace, and therefore you are the market. How can you understand the market without understanding yourself? The mental landscape of a trader is extremely important and very valuable to a profitable trader. Those that do not understand this, are likely not making money in the market. Most people wanting to be traders never stop to consider this, and they think it is more knowledge about markets they need to make money. Most of the time it is what is going on in their mind that needs work. If you think you are going to wake up one day and be a profitable trader without working on your self, you are mistaken. If you think you are going to read a few books or watch 100 videos on trading and walk into the market the following week and make money, the traders who know the value of internal work will thank you for your money! Of course you must first understand markets, price action, the traders equation, and how to read a chart. But after that you must move on and dive into your trading psychology . It is not understanding markets that brings money into your account. It is your understanding of your perceptions of the market, awareness of your internal dialogue, thoughts, and emotions, along with your knowledge of the market. Ultimately it is your actions that are generated from these that dictate whether or not you will make money. If you do not understand what is happening within your mind at any given time, you are unlikely to achieve consistency long term. Sure you may pick a few good trades. Anyone can find themselves in a winning trade, even those who know nothing about markets. But will they continue to perform well over a month or a year? It is very unlikely. Trading psychology is vital to trading, whether you choose to accept it or not. The market is a paradox, a contradiction. If your mind is tied up and you are unaware, you will make poor actions in the market. Your mind must be free. Free to flow with the market, regardless of what you want or expected. You must be able to bring your mind back to the market and the necessary action right now. If not, you will be stuck within thoughts of what happened 5 minutes ago, or held by anger and frustration for what the market should be doing. If you do not devote time to understanding your mental landscape you will never grow, and never escape the mental turmoil which the market can cause, no matter how much time you devote to understanding what markets do.. For more information on how to develop this awareness or understand your self on a deeper level, see trading psychology. Lesson 10 Allow for windfall profits Many traders believe they must hold for a reward of twice their risk or believe they have high probability and so exit at one times the risk before the market takes it back. These concepts and ideas are more likely to hurt your performance than benefit it. The truth is, the market offers what it offers, and that's it. Sure sometimes its exactly 1x the risk or twice the risk. Other times it is much more. Cutting a winning trade just because it is reasonable, does not make it the best choice. In fact, when you are in a position with exceptional follow through, you must allow it to flourish. In other words, you must allow it to grow into a windfall profit. It only takes 1 out of 10 of these types of trades to create a positive net result. If you cut this 1 trade short because the market has gone to twice your risk, you are only hurting yourself and your numbers. This is like cutting a flower when it is just starting to bud. You do not allow the flower to bloom , and prevent the beauty which will soon appear. Instead you must nourish the plant, give it water, and allow it to grow into what it can be. Cutting a winning trade short is a self inflicted wound. This is often due to fear such as fear of a reversal, or fear of giving back profits. Thoughts of getting back what you previously lost, or hanging on to what you have right now is what leads to these poor actions. Being unwilling to allow for a pullback against the position which is necessary to allow it to grow. So how do you know when to hold and when to exit? That takes experience. What is important is your willingness to learn, and openness to allow a great trade to flourish. However there are signs which can help you identify which trades are likely to turn into a windfall profit, and those that you should take what the market offers you. For clarity and more information on this see Investing Guide. *If you find this analysis helpful please like! Feel free to comment or ask questions.
COINBASE:BTCUSDEducation
by tradersmentality
Lessons from an Experienced Trader #2Lesson 4 Know what you want in the market Contrary to what most believe, successful traders do not actually trade constantly. Attempting to trade constantly leads to increased commission costs, random trading, and compound mistakes. In fact, successful traders spend most of their time doing absolutely nothing! How long does it take to enter an order? A click of the button. A few seconds. Maybe a few minutes at most to create bracket orders. So what do Professional Traders do the rest of the time? They wait. They wait until the market offers what they want or are looking for. Then after entering they wait some more to see if they are right. They wait for the market to provide them with the information to either hold, or exit. They allow themselves to Be, the trade to Be, the market to Be and do what it is going to do. They do not force actions or attempt to make the market do what they want. They wait until the action comes about on its own, until it is natural, a reflex. If you do not know what it is in the market that you are looking for, you will fold under pressure and confusion. A Professional Trader knows exactly what he wants (not just to make money), he knows what he is looking for in the market, and is willingness to wait for it to arrive. By doing so, he is rewarded and paid by the market for his patience and willing to do nothing. Even if this means not trading for hours, days, or even weeks depending on the time frame. It is far better to do nothing and avoid unnecessary losses, than to try and create tensions, forced actions, and lose money. You have to ask yourself "What is more important? The actual act of trading, or making money?" Lesson 5 Define your edge An edge is what you have defined as being what you want from the market in the previous lesson. This can be anything from a specific setup, to just plain context like a strong market. If you do not know what your edge is, you will struggle to perform consistently due to randomness. Many new traders, especially those who follow price action, believe they should be able to trade the market no matter what the context is. If you think you are just going to walk in to the market, trade based on whatever the market is doing and make money; you are fooling yourself. Doing so will lead you to trade randomly, entering willy nilly at the market, and make many mistakes which will cost you your profitability. Do you walk into Walmart or Aldi's without knowing what you want to buy until you get there? No, you have a list of items, or at least an idea of what you need before you go. Do you start a business because you woke up this morning and thought it would be nice to own a car wash? Hopefully not. You first identify an opportunity, and then create a business model after a lot of research. Then finally you open the business. Of course everyone thinks or says "well so and so does this and that, and he seems to be making money." Sure, maybe he is, maybe not. If he is, he has defined his edge and is simply employing it. What someone else does has absolutely nothing to do with what you should be doing. Once you have defined your edge, you must wait for it to arrive. If the market is not offering what you want or what your edge calls for, you do nothing until it is. If your edge is a trend trading method and the market is in a trading range, you do not trade until the market is trending. If you have not clearly defined your edge, you should not trade. If you do not know what it is in the market you want and are looking for, you have no business in the market. Simple as that. If you chose to do so, you are putting yourself at unnecessary risk and trading randomly. Yes this sounds harsh, but it is the reality of the market. The market will not give you anything, especially if you don't even know what it is that you want!
COINBASE:BTCUSDEducation
by tradersmentality
Lessons from an Experienced Trader #2Lesson 4     Know what you want in the market  Contrary to what most believe, successful traders do not actually trade constantly.  Attempting to trade constantly leads to increased commission costs, random trading, and compound mistakes.  In fact, successful traders spend most of their time doing absolutely nothing!  How long does it take to enter an order?  A click of the button.  A few seconds.  Maybe a few minutes at most to create bracket orders.  So what do Professional Traders do the rest of the time?  They wait.  They wait until the market offers what they want or are looking for. Then after entering they wait some more to see if they are right.  They wait for the market to provide them with the information to either hold, or exit. They allow themselves to Be, the trade to Be, the market to Be and do what it is going to do.  They do not force actions or attempt to make the market do what they want.  They wait until the action comes about on its own, until it is natural, a reflex.   If you do not know what it is in the market that you are looking for, you will fold under pressure and confusion.  A Professional Trader knows exactly what he wants (not just to make money), he knows what he is looking for in the market, and is willingness to wait for it to arrive.  By doing so, he is rewarded and paid by the market for his patience and willing to do nothing.  Even if this means not trading for hours, days, or even weeks depending on the time frame.   It is far better to do nothing and avoid unnecessary losses, than to try and create tensions, forced actions, and lose money.  You have to ask yourself "What is more important?  The actual act of trading, or making money?" Lesson 5    Define your edge An edge is what you have defined as being what you want from the market in the previous lesson.  This can be anything from a specific setup, to just plain context like a strong market.  If you do not know what your edge is, you will struggle to perform consistently due to randomness. Many new traders, especially those who follow price action, believe they should be able to trade the market no matter what the context is.  If you think you are just going to walk in to the market, trade based on whatever the market is doing and make money; you are fooling yourself.  Doing so will lead you to trade randomly, entering willy nilly at the market, and make many mistakes which will cost you your profitability.   Do you walk into Walmart or Aldi's without knowing what you want to buy until you get there?  No, you have a list of items, or at least an idea of what you need before you go.  Do you start a business because you woke up this morning and thought it would be nice to own a car wash?  Hopefully not.  You first identify an opportunity, and then create a business model after a lot of research.  Then finally you open the business. Of course everyone thinks or says  "well so and so does this and that, and he seems to be making money."  Sure, maybe he is, maybe not.  If he is, he has defined his edge and is simply employing it.  What someone else does has absolutely nothing to do with what you should be doing.   Once you have defined your edge, you must wait for it to arrive.  If the market is not offering what you want or what your edge calls for, you do nothing until it is.  If your edge is a trend trading method and the market is in a trading range, you do not trade until the market is trending.   If you have not clearly defined your edge, you should not trade.  If you do not know what it is in the market you want and are looking for, you have no business in the market.  Simple as that.  If you chose to do so, you are putting yourself at unnecessary risk and trading randomly. Yes this sounds harsh, but it is the reality of the market.  The market will not give you anything, especially if you don't even know what it is that you want!
by tradersmentality
Lessons From an Experienced Trader #2Lesson 4     Know what you want in the market  Contrary to what most believe, successful traders do not actually trade constantly.  Attempting to trade constantly leads to increased commission costs, random trading, and compound mistakes.  In fact, successful traders spend most of their time doing absolutely nothing!  How long does it take to enter an order?  A click of the button.  A few seconds.  Maybe a few minutes at most to create bracket orders.  So what do Professional Traders do the rest of the time?  They wait.  They wait until the market offers what they want or are looking for. Then after entering they wait some more to see if they are right.  They wait for the market to provide them with the information to either hold, or exit. They allow themselves to Be, the trade to Be, the market to Be and do what it is going to do.  They do not force actions or attempt to make the market do what they want.  They wait until the action comes about on its own, until it is natural, a reflex.   If you do not know what it is in the market that you are looking for, you will fold under pressure and confusion.  A Professional Trader knows exactly what he wants (not just to make money), he knows what he is looking for in the market, and is willingness to wait for it to arrive.  By doing so, he is rewarded and paid by the market for his patience and willing to do nothing.  Even if this means not trading for hours, days, or even weeks depending on the time frame.   It is far better to do nothing and avoid unnecessary losses, than to try and create tensions, forced actions, and lose money.  You have to ask yourself "What is more important?  The actual act of trading, or making money?" Lesson 5    Define your edge An edge is what you have defined as being what you want from the market in the previous lesson.  This can be anything from a specific setup, to just plain context like a strong market.  If you do not know what your edge is, you will struggle to perform consistently due to randomness. Many new traders, especially those who follow price action, believe they should be able to trade the market no matter what the context is.  If you think you are just going to walk in to the market, trade based on whatever the market is doing and make money; you are fooling yourself.  Doing so will lead you to trade randomly, entering willy nilly at the market, and make many mistakes which will cost you your profitability.   Do you walk into Walmart or Aldi's without knowing what you want to buy until you get there?  No, you have a list of items, or at least an idea of what you need before you go.  Do you start a business because you woke up this morning and thought it would be nice to own a car wash?  Hopefully not.  You first identify an opportunity, and then create a business model after a lot of research.  Then finally you open the business. Of course everyone thinks or says  "well so and so does this and that, and he seems to be making money."  Sure, maybe he is, maybe not.  If he is, he has defined his edge and is simply employing it.  What someone else does has absolutely nothing to do with what you should be doing.   Once you have defined your edge, you must wait for it to arrive.  If the market is not offering what you want or what your edge calls for, you do nothing until it is.  If your edge is a trend trading method and the market is in a trading range, you do not trade until the market is trending.   If you have not clearly defined your edge, you should not trade.  If you do not know what it is in the market you want and are looking for, you have no business in the market.  Simple as that.  If you chose to do so, you are putting yourself at unnecessary risk and trading randomly. Yes this sounds harsh, but it is the reality of the market.  The market will not give you anything, especially if you don't even know what it is that you want!
CME_MINI:MES1!
by tradersmentality
Lessons from an Experienced Trader Lessons from an experienced trader. Lesson 1. Never scalp. Although scalping seems to be the most profitable and best method in today's market, it is certainly not. Scalping is the hardest method to achieve a consistent performance. High frequency trading firms scalp, but they have many advantages over the retail trader including direct access to exchanges, highly developed algorithms with no emotions, and extremely low costs to name a few. When you are scalping you are competing against these firms or trying to manually do what they do with a computer. This above is only one problem. The bigger issue is the risk involved. When scalping, you must use a wide stop and be willing to scale in. One bad trade will erase 20 or more good trades. You must be extremely proficient at reading price charts, and be able to act without hesitation. This is virtually impossible for anyone who has not been trading for at least 3 years and has done extensive work on himself to develop the ability to flow with the market, constantly, without any internal conflict. And worst of all, scalping leads to bad habits. Once you get into the mindset of "get out quick" it is very hard to correct down the road. This makes swing trading more difficult later on after you realize it is a better method. Lesson 2. Swing Trade the best setups Swing trading is much more forgiving than scalping, offers a larger reward, and allows for a smaller risk (usually). This makes it much easier to make money long term. When swing trading you only have to win on around 40% of your trades to make a profit. If you can develop the patience to wait for strong setups, you can increase the winning percentage to anywhere from 50-70% and greatly increase your traders equation. A swing trading approach is also more forgiving when it comes to reading price charts. Some of those who discuss Price Action would lead you to believe you can predict what the markets are going to do next. This is simply not true, no matter how good you are at reading a chart. There is always a degree of randomness in the market, with any edge, any setup, or any context. When swing trading, you can afford to be wrong and make mistakes. So what setups should a swing trader take? Well, it depends if you want to always in trade or swing trade with signal bar stops. Either is fine, although an always in approach takes more practice and is harder to get right until you are good at reading charts. An always in trader has two choices. One to take every logical reversal (hardest to accomplish), and constantly reverse when necessary. Or two; wait for the always in direction to be clear and enter any in any fashion until the market flips. The second method is easier, although still tough, and slightly less profitable. An always in trader does not trade when prices are in a trading range. The reward is simply too low, and there are too many reversals to take and that fail, resulting in repeated losses and increased commission costs. What about a swing trader? A swing trader typically uses a signal bar stop, but can also use a swing stop to increase his probability. A swing trader does not have to take every trade he sees (unlike the first always in trader). In fact, it is best to wait for the best and clearest setups. What setups are these? High 2's, Low 2's (large) reversals and flags, Wedge reversals and flags, failed breakouts, and failed reversals. The first two are much easier to identify correctly for someone with less experience. The later two often trick newer traders, or fail once or twice before succeeding, making it a bit harder to get right. Lesson 3. Work on your self Like discussed before, most new traders and even those who have been around but haven't reached consistency believe that eventually you can read prices well enough to predict what will happen next. It does not matter how long you have traded, you will never predict the market. If it were possible to do so, the market would cease to exist! So instead of only focusing on reading charts and price action, you must work on your self. You must understand your strengths and weaknesses. You must be aware of your emotions and how they affect your performance. If you do not believe your emotions are directly related to your performance, you will not achieve consistency long term. We are all humans, a computer cannot do what I do. And you cannot remove emotions, no matter how hard you try to do so. So what is the alternative? Develop awareness of them, and use them to your advantage! It is as plain and simple as this. Trading requires you to understand your self, on a deep and internal level. You must be in tune with your self and the market. If you chose to ignore this fact, you may succeed temporarily, but it is only a matter of time before your performance diminishes. In order to make a lot of money, you must feel you deserve it. If you do not work on yourself, this simply will not happen. Does a professional athlete become a star by waiting around for his coach to tell him what to do? No. He dedicates himself in every possible way to his sport, including conditioning his mind to outperform his competition. Rather than waiting 2 or 3 years before realizing this, start working on your self from the very beginning. Not only will you become a better trader faster, you will become a better person; a better you.
AEducation
by tradersmentality
4
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
Education
by tradersmentality
1
Trading Psychology 4 "Now Moment"Trading the "Now moment" Most of the time, prices do what they have been doing or normally do based on the current context. But what about when they dont, or instead do the opposite? For instance a strong bear breakout of a bull channel. Five minutes ago prices were rallying higher and higher, with no end in sight. Now prices are falling dramatically, what is a trader to do? Is he going to continue trading as a bull channel or trading range? Or does he exit his longs with a loss and sell at the market? Unless he accepts the reality that in a market truly anything can happen and anything is possible, he will more likely be unable to let go of the past and not willing to recognize the opportunity being presented right now. In this scenario he would probably fail to take the later action, and instead continue to fight the strong bear breakout because his mind is convinced prices are still in some form of bull trend or bull flag trading range. Until a trader truly accepts this fundamental point of market reality, it is easy to get caught up in what should happen and the true opportunity continues to elude him. The reality of the market is; every moment in the market is unique, and every opportunity has a different set of risk, reward, and probability. What worked today, may or may not work tomorrow. Most beginners fail to appreciate or even realize this is the case, as they attempt to apply rigid rules to a constantly changing environment. This prevents a clear, objective view of what prices are likely and not likely to do. As a result, this does not allow the trader to correctly identify the opportunity being presented "right now." Awareness A major obstacle to trading the "now moment" is where a traders awareness lies at any given time. Is he thinking about what happened an hour ago, or what may happen by the end of the day, or is he intently focused on what is transpiring in this very moment? Identifying and becoming aware of what is occuring internally while trading is helpful in this situtation. The idea is not to fight or prevent emotions from occuring, but rather acknowledge they are present and inturn may lead to a poor trading decision. Most trading errors are due to an emotional outburst or the traders awareness being somewhere else other than the market. Beathing exercises such as focusing on the breath and taking slow, deep breaths, can help ease the internal tension and return focus back to the market. This is a form of awareness training (mindfulness), which can help a trader with concentration and placing his awareness on the trading task at hand. It is also beneficial to practice some form of mindfulness outside of trading to become more intune with yourself, and ultimately the market. Trading along side stress / emotions What makes the difference between an amateur and professional trader is not the lack of thoughts, emotions, or stress. Professional traders too have these characterstics as we are all human, although they may be less obvious to the observer. However, a professional does not act on these feelings, and instead does what is necessary based on the market structure, not how he feels or what he thinks. He may find himself distracted with thoughts or an emotion, but then brings his awareness back to the trading task at hand. Amateurs do the opposite by allowing these feelings and emotions to lead to actions in the market, which more often than not are trading errors. Amateurs get stuck so to speak in the stress or emotion rather than the correct trade action. Moving past this is not easy, but returning awareness to the market rather than internally is the first step. An easy way of accomplishing this is to periodically throughout the day ask yourself "Where is my awareness?" or "Where is my mind?" The next question is, "What is the opportunity being presented right now?” or “What is the market telling me to do right now?” Continued...
Education
by tradersmentality
Trading Psychology 3 Fear Keys to building a strong Traders Mentality (Probability Mindset) There are many hindrences to developing the probability mindset, and it would be easy to write an entire book dedicated to them all. However most of these issues fall into four broader categories; fear, false beliefs, trading the "now moment", and edge execution. In the following paragraphs we will touch on these key issues and simple ways to address them. Fear As humans we all experience fear throughout our lifetime and so much so the "fight or flight" response has been genetically enbeded into our DNA. Many traders believe they will natuarlly be able to “trade as a computer” after X amount of practice or experience. They assume these components of human nature will eventually give way and soon they will be able to trade without fear or emotions. There is a problem with this theory. We are not computers, and never will be. We are human, which means we are susceptible to emotions and fear responses that are built into us. We are also far from perfect, and full of mistakes, furthering us apart from computers. With this said, it is extremely unlikely a trader will be able to over-ride his natural insticts without slowly and gradually changing his way of thinking first. The best way to overcome fear is through exposure in small doses. For example someone who is afraid of heights, is not taken to a fifty foot cliff and forced to jump off. And he surely does not overcome this fear spontaneously, or naturally after any period of time. Instead he is slowly exposed to heights and as he gets comfortable, taken to increasingly higher points. He may jump off a ten foot cliff, then twenty, and so on until he reaches the fifty foot cliff and jumps off. It is important to realize his fear was never removed completely, but rather he was able to cope with the fear and still jump. This model can be applied to trading, whether it is slowly building a position size, executing an edge every time it is present, or getting comfortable being in the market with looming uncertainty. Fear can often be debiliating, and is a major hurdle to overcome when transitioning from an amateur to professional trader. The most common result of fear is "anaylsis paralysis" where a trader is unable to make an action due to information overload. There are many different types of fear that occur while trading. Fear of failure, success, missing out, leaving money on the table, and mistakes, just to name a few. It is normal to feel uneasy when putting on a trade or while in a position. The problem lies within hesitation when fear prevents you from entering an otherwise reasonable trade, or any other necessary market action (take profits, cut a loser, hold longer, ect). If you find yourself not entering a trade, there are only two reasons why. First, the trade does not meet your edge criteria, which is a completley valid reason to not enter a trade. The second which is a problem, is fear. When a trader stops entering trades meeting his criteria due to internal fears, he begins to cherry pick trades, and skews his traders equation. This can mean the difference between a profit and a loss at the end of a series of trades. Understanding and recognizing fear within yourself and the market is vital to profitable trading. Awareness of fear within yourself is the first step to overriding and correcting it. And recognizing fear in the market is often a good opporunity to position a profitable trade. It can also be helpful to realize fear only exists in terms of one's ego and is not actually real, only percieved. Using "Halfsky" position to overcome fear Many traders experience fear and hesitation after a series of losing or winning trades. When he passes on a trade which works, he is upset he missed out. If he enters and loses, he is upset he gave back profits. This back and forth continues to build, and again leads to cherry picking trades as he believes he can identify w
Education
by tradersmentality
Trading Psychology 2 How Strong is your Trading Mentality?How strong is your Trader Mentality? Signs of an "Amateur Mindset" If you identify with any of these characteristics while trading, you are suffering from an Amateur Mindset. These are normal when first learning how to trade, and even common in advanced traders who have not yet mastered their trading psychology. Very succesful traders may still occasionally experience some of these symptoms while increasing positions, but as far as day to day, do not. Hesitation to enter positions meeting edge criteria Fail to exit trades not performing to expectations Feelings of fear (missing out, failure, success, leaving money on the table, etc.) Upset/mad when prices go against you or happy / relief when prices go your way The market is too painful to watch (pain avoidance) Market actions led by emotions / feelings / stress Forms and applies rigid rules for entry / exiting market Afraid to make mistakes / upset after mistakes Signs of a "Probability mindset" or Professional Trader Enters or exits trades without hesitation Does not experience internal conflict while entering, or managing trades Willing to take a loss (accepts his risk) Flows with the market seemingly effortlessly Not attached to outcome of any trade Emotions / stress do not lead to market actions Enters / exits however necessary Accepts mistakes and moves on Interestingly, it is easy to separate a professional trader from an amateur, not based on profits or losses, or the amount of ticks he makes a day; but based on his actions in the market. By observing how a trader interacts and engages with the market it is obvious if his actions were led by emotions or intuitively based on what the market told him to do at the time. Professionals flow with the market, and do not fight or resist it in any way. As a result money seems to flow effortlessly into their accounts, and their equity curve is that of a healthy bull trend. Amateurs are constantly fighting the market and themselves, with actions led by what they think, perceive as a threat, or the false belief that they know what is going to happen next. The outcome is a slowly depreciating account balance, and an equity curve that is flat or in a bear trend. The later is a sign of trading errors made by the trader and not that of an edge being executed properly. Continued...
AMEX:SDSEducation
by tradersmentality
BTCUSD: Taking a Buddhist approach: Seek the middle ground.I'm fairly new to the crypto-currency markets, but have thoroughly enjoyed reading the extreme dichotomy of views. Today I'm hoping to add a more "middle of the road" approach. I'm not discounting TA by any means, but I'm going to say some things that might be contradictory to many points of view and I welcome all constructive criticism in return. After all this should be a place of thought exchange, not a place of ignorance. Looking at the entire bitcoin lifespan there have been some wild swings. I don't think any one would deny that. However, taking into account the highest highs and the lowest lows, the middle path is probably where we should be setting our sights. We know how high BTC can go and we know how low it can go; every self proclaimed TA expert out there tells us where it should be at any given moment. What's strange to me is that every one should in essence understand that it can go up and it can go down. However, I don't think people are listening, they are only reacting. Let the following put some newbies at ease. If year end estimates put BTC at $4,000 on the low end and $25000 on the high end, lets say that in reality at the end of the year it should be somewhere in between. All likelihood it will probably finish out the year at somewhere around 11.5k. If we close above that awesome, we're ahead of schedule, but we'll probably see a down turn. If we close below that, wait a few weeks, I'm sure we'll meet the metric. Next, I want to thank all of the hardcore bears out there that think bitcoin will be going down to zero. With out you I couldn't have improved my position. In DEC I bought some BTC for a crazy amount just to have some skin in the game. What this drove me to do is ask some fundamental questions as an economist. "Why did I do it?" "How should I approach this?" "Does crypto-currency actually fulfill a need in society?" "Is this a long or short term position?" Let's just say now after answering these questions I own about ten times the amount at about half the price. With out the bears and short-sellers driving the market down, I never would have been able to put myself in a better position. This leads me to why I'm long term crypto and diversified. I don't care how much markets go up and go down. It makes no difference to me because I'm not expecting to get rich overnight. I've never wanted to own a Lamborghini. Drive one, sure, but not own one. Looking at the steady rise of crypto even on the lowest of lows, it's an emerging market and it definitely isn't going anywhere. I can spend day in and day out trying to make 1% or I can spend my time doing other fun stuff. As for diversification, it would be great if every crypto I'm in always went up and never went away. In reality the failure of one crypto means additional funds to another. I'm going to conclude with this thought though. We have some of the brightest minds in the world working on crypto-currency right now. If you tune out the noise you can easily see that it has "the potential" to be world and life changing. (Long) But why do we see such crazy parabolic increases as of late? Do some research into the Keynesian Cross and market adoption. Developed nations have an advantage here in the adoption cycle because we can receive more information more quickly hence the rise of incoming money. Yes the market cap rises and decreases. Again, look long term. There are certain low points that you just never see again. Secondly, this is going to cause some leap frogging in technology. Just as third world countries never adopted landlines because cell phones were easier to implement, a lot of third world countries are never going to adopt traditional banking systems and go directly to block-chain and crypto-currency. When that happens, it will be the equivalent of a double injection of capital into crypto-currency. First the institutions of the developed world and then secondly the rest of the world.
COINBASE:BTCUSD
by whiprush3
Bitcoin BTC - Deep Breath, Exhale Sloooowwwlly...BTC has everybody in a twisted mental frenzy right now. Up! Down! All-around!!! But I want to assure you, it will be here tomorrow. And, the next day. And, the next. Unless we get a ballistic warhead screamin' down upon us tonight from above with a Red Star or cryptic lettering! But back to business. Just so you know, I don't trade BTC, because BTC doesn't have the profit multipliers that the alts do. So why would I post this? Because BTC is the crypto that I study and research the most. Bitcoin is what drives the alts. If BTC doesn't move, then it's very difficult for anything else to have sustained growth. I was going to post (too tired) this the day before "some of" the shorts got wrecked and we all woke up to, "The Surge." I was really sensing the up pressure, but never expected that sudden of a shot. There's so much more going on with crypto right now behind the scenes. Honestly, I've been waiting for it to go lower, possible under $5K. The weaker the market, the more a good long trader will pounce. This post is about my optimism for BTC's future. Scourer the news. The moves into the crypto-sphere from the institutional side is astounding. It's just going to take time to see it make a big dent. So, what's a trader to do? $6,500 to $6,800 was an incredible entry point for bitcoin, and obviously somebody felt the same way... Bottom line, don't trade with fear and emotion, trade with a strategy. Simple strategy is to accumulate at main levels of support and resistance on the way down, with very low RSI values. On the way up, stay out of the whipsaws, let the smoke clear for a bit. Watch for good RSI entry points again of 30% or less or if a really good break-out pattern develops. You don't always need to be trading, or even have a position for that matter. Sometimes it's better to hang on the sidelines with a pile of cash, waiting patiently for a good entry position. The market will move eventually, it always does. Personally, I feel people have been waiting, everybody looking around at everybody else, like, "You goin' in?" "Thinkin' 'bout it." Then it becomes, "I'll go if you go!" Next thing you know, we're blasting thru $20K. Could be three months or three years, but when it happens, it's gonna be violent. We still may be in for more pain, a lot's going on in the world right now. Maybe more chaos means more people are afraid of fiat and will transition more into crypto? But hell, at the moment, enjoy the ride! My personal prediction for BTC before the end of the year? I think we can push $30K with an overall market cap between $1T - $1.5T. That would be a pretty good run going into 2019. This post is meant more for long-term traders. Not so much for short-term or day traders. The psychology is the same, but you're dealing in nano-seconds with day trading.
BITFINEX:BTCUSDLong
by Get_Some
Probability vs PossibilityThe battle that wages on every market, in every trade... Probability versus Possibility. Now I've seen SO MANY predictions and forecasts lately telling of breakouts, moons and lambos - It's disgusting. Why? Because while ANYTHING can happen (possibility), one must consider the chances of these events occurring (probability) . Now i don't mean to insult your intelligence by defining the words in such a basic means, I'm merely setting an argument. Let's consider Bitcoin for a moment, and where it is currently. IT IS STILL IN A DOWN-CHANNEL. It has NOT broken the resistance as of yet, and every time it's tried since it's fall in December, it has fallen further. Now the healthy channel of recovery is below us, it's baseline sitting in the 7.7K-8.2k zone. The green channel extending from this is the area in which Bitcoin feels comfortable. The most probable course of action is a fall, to either the 9-9.7k area before a reattempt at the resistance, or a straight skydive to the baseline. These two options are far more likely than bitcoin breaking out and seeing a new A-T-H. This is not just trade advice, this is life advice - Please consider the most likely course of actions before investing your hard earned money, before listening to all the hype, before letting yourself be led into disappointment. Now if I am wrong, if Bitcoin breaks the resistance and goes for a climb, you can jump aboard and sail the profitable seas at your leisure with slightly less profit than you could have. If i'm right however, you stand to lose up to 20-40% if you haven't taken the correct means of protection in a small and volatile time period. DON'T let emotion rule your decisions, this is a game of numbers and probability. Whatever you decide, i wish you the best in the coming days :)
by Disaster_Chartist
4
XRPUSD - This is R.I.P. to me...Unless It's NotAgain, and again the shorts seem to still be holding down Ripple, funny enough the action of the volume spike earlier this morning seems to be the shorts covering after hitting the 0.750 level. Crazy right? Again, I see a retest of that same 0.750 support level or recovery from optimistic longs for a 0.990 resistance level retest. Watch the 1.066 and 1.128 levels too especially because of how broke through them. If Ripple can be string to overcome the resistance around the 0.990 level, the levels I mentioned above it will be very interesting to watch. But again, let's wait and see; big moves happen when emotions are high.
BITFINEX:XRPUSD
by themdtrader
7