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How to Trade Christmas and New Year Winter Holidays As the winter holidays are already around the corner, you should know exactly when to stop trading and close your trades, and when to resume. In this article, you will learn how Christmas and New Year holidays affect the financial markets and I will share with you my trading schedule. First, let's discuss how winter holidays influence the markets. Winter holidays lead to a dramatic reduction in trading volumes. Many traders and investors take vacations in that period. Major financial institutions, banks, hedge funds often operate with reduced staffing and early closes or are completely close for holidays. All these factors inevitably lead to the diminished trading activity. Look at the schedule of official banking holidays in many countries. Since Tuesday 24th, the banks are officially closed in Europe, UK, USA and so on. But why should you care? If you have free time, why can't you continue trading? Even if you trade technical analysis, you should admit the fact the fundamentals are the main driver for significant price movements. One of the major sources of high impact fundamentals is the economic news releases in the economic calendar. Look at the economic calendar. You can see that the last day of high impact news releases will be Friday, December 20th. After that, the calendar is completely empty. The absence of impactful fundamentals will inevitably make the markets stagnate, making trading very boring. Above is the EURUSD price chart with ATR technical indicator (the one that measure the market volatility). We see a clear drop in volatility during a winter holiday season. You can behold a similar pattern on Gold chart. With the big politicians taking vacations during the holidays season, we tend to see the local easing of geological tensions accompanied by a lack of significant foreign and domestic policy actions and announcements. That's the US congressional calendar. There are no sessions since December 23rd. But there is one more reason why you should not trade during winter holidays. The absence of big players on the market will decrease the overall trading volumes - the liquidity. Lower liquidity will unavoidably increase the bid/ask spreads. The widened spreads will make trading more costly, especially if you are scalping or day trading. And when should you resume trading? It always depends on how actively the markets wake up after holidays. The minimal starting day will be January 6th. I usually do not trade this week and just watch how the markets starts moving. I prefer to begin my trading year from Monday next week, the January 13th. Holidays seasons will be the best period for you to do the back testing and learning. Pick a trading strategy that you want to trade with in a new year and sacrifice your time to back test it on different instruments. Learn important theory and various techniques, relax and prepare your self for a new trading season. Have a great time, traders! ❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
FOREXCOM:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
4
This is how you know when to close a position, the right way!So many traders put the pressure of when to close their position on themselves When you have a method with a checklist, you have the earned privilege of putting that responsibility onto the system instead. This removes much of the 'heaviness' associated with trading when things don't go your way I've called the market moves accurately 'turn for turn' backed with solid reasoning Please reach out to me if you're someone who takes the markets seriously Ciao for now ;)
COINBASE:BTCUSD
by Blayno_MTOPS
Learn How to Avoid Margin Call in Trading Hey traders, In this educational article, I will share with you 5 simple tips that will help you not to blow your trading and avoid margin call. 1️⃣ Always Use Stop Loss. Let's start with the obvious - with the stop loss order. Never ever trade without that. Before you open your trade, plan in advance its placement, stick to it once the position becomes active and never remove it. 2️⃣ Manage Your Position Sizes I know that most of you are trading with a fixed lot. That is a bad habit. You should measure the lot size for each trading position you take. You should define in advance the risk percentage you are willing to lose per trade and calculate the lot sizes for your trades accordingly, then. 3️⃣ Avoid Taking Too Many Positions Remember that in trading, quantity does not imply quality. The more trades you take, the harder it is to manage each position individually. I would suggest opening maximum 5 trades per day and holding no more than 8 trades simultaneously. 4️⃣ Avoid Trading Too Many Markets The wider is your watch list, the harder it is to focus on each individual element inside. Do not try to control as many markets as possible, instead, narrow your watch list and concentrate your attention on your favorite trading instruments. 5️⃣ Remember About Volatility The more volatile is the market that you trade, the harder it is to trade it and the bigger stop losses you need to keep your positions safe. Remember, that the volatility is the double-edged sword. It can bring substantial profits, but it can also blow your entire account in a blink of an eye. Following these 5 simple rules, you will make your trading much safer. Study them and add them in your trading plan. ❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
1
TOP 20 TRADING PATTERNS [cheat sheet]Hey here is Technical Patterns cheat sheet for traders. 🖨 Every trader must print this cheatsheet and keep it on the desk 👍 🖼 Printable picture below (Right click > Save Image As…) In finance, technical analysis is an analysis methodology for forecasting the direction of prices through the study of past market data, primarily price and volume. Behavioral economics and quantitative analysis use many of the same tools of technical analysis, which, being an aspect of active management, stands in contradiction to much of modern portfolio theory. The efficacy of both technical and fundamental analysis is disputed by the efficient-market hypothesis, which states that stock market prices are essentially unpredictable, and research on whether technical analysis offers any benefit has produced mixed results. As such it has been described by many academics as pseudoscience. Fundamental analysts examine earnings, dividends, assets, quality, ratio, new products, research and the like. Technicians employ many methods, tools and techniques as well, one of which is the use of charts. Using charts, technical analysts seek to identify price patterns and market trends in financial markets and attempt to exploit those patterns. Technicians using charts search for archetypal price chart patterns, such as the well-known head and shoulders or double top/bottom reversal patterns, study technical indicators, moving averages and look for forms such as lines of support, resistance, channels and more obscure formations such as flags, pennants, balance days and cup and handle patterns. Technical analysts also widely use market indicators of many sorts, some of which are mathematical transformations of price, often including up and down volume, advance/decline data and other inputs. These indicators are used to help assess whether an asset is trending, and if it is, the probability of its direction and of continuation. Technicians also look for relationships between price/volume indices and market indicators. Examples include the moving average, relative strength index and MACD. Other avenues of study include correlations between changes in Options (implied volatility) and put/call ratios with price. Also important are sentiment indicators such as Put/Call ratios, bull/bear ratios, short interest, Implied Volatility, etc. There are many techniques in technical analysis. Adherents of different techniques (for example: Candlestick analysis, the oldest form of technical analysis developed by a Japanese grain trader; Harmonics; Dow theory; and Elliott wave theory) may ignore the other approaches, yet many traders combine elements from more than one technique. Some technical analysts use subjective judgment to decide which pattern(s) a particular instrument reflects at a given time and what the interpretation of that pattern should be. Others employ a strictly mechanical or systematic approach to pattern identification and interpretation. Contrasting with technical analysis is fundamental analysis, the study of economic factors that influence the way investors price financial markets. Technical analysis holds that prices already reflect all the underlying fundamental factors. Uncovering the trends is what technical indicators are designed to do, although neither technical nor fundamental indicators are perfect. Some traders use technical or fundamental analysis exclusively, while others use both types to make trading decisions. Best regards Artem Shevelev
BITFINEX:BTCUSDEducation
by ArShevelev
239
Hidden Costs of Trading You Must Know In this educational article, we will discuss the hidden costs of trading. 1 - Brokers' Commissions Trading commission is the brokers' fee for opening a trading position. Usually, it is calculated based on the size of the trade. Though most of the traders believe that trading commissions are too low to even count them, the fact is that trading on consistent basis and opening a couple of trading positions weekly, the composite value of commissions may cut a substantial part of our profits. 2 - Education Of course, most of the trading basics can be found on the Internet absolutely for free. However, the more experienced you become, the harder it is to find the materials . So you typically should pay for the advanced training. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the course/coaching that you purchase will improve your trading, quite often traders go through multiple courses/coaching programs before they become consistently profitable. 3 - Spreads Spread is the difference between the sellers' and buyers' prices. That difference must be compensated by a trader if one wished to open a trading position. In highly liquid markets, the spreads are usually low and most of the traders ignore them. However, being similar to commissions, spreads may cut the substantial part of the overall profits. 4 - Time When you begin your trading journey, it is not possible to predict how much it will take to become a consistently profitable trader. Moreover, there is no guarantee that you will become one. One fact is true, you should spend a couple of years before you find a way to trade profitably, and as we know, the time is money. More time you sacrifice on trading, less time you have on something else. 5 - Swaps Swap is the fee you pay for transferring a position overnight . Swap is based on a difference between the interests rates of the currencies that are in a pair that you trade. Occasionally, swaps can even be positive, and you can earn on holding such positions. However, most of the time the swaps are negative and the longer you hold your trades, the more costly your trading becomes. The brokers' commissions, spreads and swaps compose a substantial cost of our trading positions. Adding into the equation the expensive learning materials and time spent on practicing, trading becomes a very expensive game to play. However, knowing in advance these hidden costs, the one can better prepare himself for a trading journey.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
5
Beware of Trading on Public Holidays! In this educational article, we will discuss why is it recommendable not to trade during the public holidays. I will explain to you how banking holidays affect the financial markets and how it may impact your trading. WHY??? 🏦 The main source of problems comes from the fact that the big market players like: banks, hedge funds investing firms are absent. Similarly to ordinary people, bankers and investors prefer to spend the holidays with their relatives and friends instead of staring at charts on Holidays. HOW??? But how does it affect the market? Big players are the main source of the market liquidity. The liquidity itself is the measure to which an asset can be quickly bought or sold in the market at a price of its quotes. Therefore, when the big players are missing, the market liquidity drops. WHAT??? 1️⃣ That fact instantly reflects in the market spreads. They become substantially bigger, directly increasing the costs of each trade and making it problematic to open a position at a desired price. 2️⃣ Secondly, low liquidity leads to a decrease in volatility. The market becomes weak and indecisive. As traders, we make the money on market moves. Our goal is to catch a bullish or a bearish wave. Their absence deprives us of profits or, at least, dramatically decreases them. Look at a chart above, it is EURJPY on a 4H time frame. Look how weak and boring the pair was in US Independence Day - official US banking holiday. And here is how weak and slow was Gold during US Independence Day on an hourly time frame . 3️⃣ Thirdly, when the liquidity is low, even small market participants can move the market. It dramatically increases the probabilities of false signals. Relatively low trading volumes may manipulate the market, substantially decreasing the efficiency of technical and fundamental analysis. Look at a density of false breakout on Dollar Index DXY on 15 minutes time frame the 19th of June - Juneteenth National Independence Day in US. All these breakouts were the manipulations and false signals. The increased costs of trading, low volatility and manipulations should have convinced you to stay from charts during the holidays season. However, the main reason to not trade on holidays is much simpler. Holidays give you an opportunity to stay with your family, to take a break, to recharge and relax. Even a part-time trading is very exhausting and requires a constant attention. Let yourself be distracted and return after holidays. ❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
1
Forex Trade Management Strategies. Techniques For Beginners I am going to reveal 4 trade management strategies that will change the way you trade forex. These simple techniques are aimed to minimize your losses and maximize your gains. 1. Trading Without Take Profit Once you spotted the market that is trading in a strong bullish or bearish trend, there is one tip that will help you to benefit from the entire movement. If the market is bullish, and you buy it expecting a bullish trend continuation, consider trading WITHOUT take profit. Take a look at USDJPY on an hourly time frame. The market is trading in the bullish trend, and we see a strong trend-following signal - a bullish breakout of a current resistance . After the violation, the price went up by more than 1000 pips, and of course, trading with a fixed target, most likely you would close the trade too soon. The same trade management strategy can be applied in a bearish trend. Above is a price action on GBPUSD. The pair is very bearish, and we see a strong bearish signal on an hourly time frame. The market dropped by more than 1000 pips then, and of course, trading with the fixed take profit, you would miss that bearish rally, closing the trade earlier. Even though the trends do not last forever, the markets may easily fall or grow sharply for weeks or even months and this technique will help you to cash out from the entire movement. 2. Stop Loss to Breakeven Once you open a trading position and the market starts going in the desired direction, there is a simple strategy that will help you to protect your position from a sudden reversal. Above is the real trade that we took with my students in my trading academy. We spotted a very bearish pattern on USDCAD and opened short position. Initially we were right, and the market was going to our target. BUT because of the surprising release of negative Canadian fundamental news, the market reversed suddenly, not being able to reach the target. And that could be a losing trade BUT we managed to save our money. What we did: we moved our stop loss to entry level, or to breakeven, before the release of the fundamentals. Trade was closed on entry level and we lost 0 dollars. Moving stop loss to entry saved me tens of thousands of dollars. It is one of the simplest trade management techniques that you must apply. 3. Trailing Stop Loss Once you managed to catch a strong movement, do not keep your stop loss intact. As we already discussed, your first step will be to protect your position and move your stop loss to entry. But what you can do next, you can apply trailing stop loss. Above is a trend-following trade that we took with my students on GBPCHF. Once the market started moving in the desired direction, we moved stop loss to breakeven. As the market kept setting new highs, we trailed the stop loss and set it below the supports based on new higher lows. We kept trailing the stop loss till the market reached the target. Application of a trailing stop will help you to protect your profits, in case of a sudden change in the market sentiment and reversal. 4. Partial Closing The last tip can be applied for trading and investing. Remember that once you correctly predicted a rally, you can book partial profits, once the price is approaching some important historical levels or ahead of important fundamental releases. Imagine that you bought 1 Bitcoin for 17000$. Once a bullish market started, you can sell the portion of your BTC, once the price reaches significant key levels. For example, 0.2 BTC on each level. With such trade management technique, you will book profits while remaining in your position. Even though, these techniques are very simple, only the few apply them. Try these trade management strategies and increase your gains and avoid losses! ❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
4
How to Identify Candlestick Strength | Trading Basics Hey traders, In this educational article, we will discuss Please, note that the concepts that will be covered in this article can be applied on any time frame, however, higher is the time frame, more trustworthy are the candles. Also, remember, that each individual candle is assessed in relation to other candles on the chart. There are three types of candles depending on its direction: 🟢 Bullish candle Such a candle has a closing price higher than the opening price. 🔴 Bearish candle Such a candle has a closing price lower than the opening price. 🟡 Neutral candle Such a candle has equal or close to equal opening and closing price. There are three categories of the strength of the candle. Please, note, the measurement of the strength of the candle is applicable only to bullish/bearish candles. Neutral candle has no strength by definition. It signifies the absolute equilibrium between buyers and sellers. 1️⃣ Strong candle Strong bullish candle signifies strong buying volumes and dominance of buyers without sellers resistance. Above, you can see the example of a strong bullish candle on NZDCHF on a 4H. Strong bearish candle means significant selling volumes and high bearish pressure without buyers resistance. On the chart above, you can see a song bearish candle on EURUSD. Usually, a strong bullish/bearish candle has a relatively big body and tiny wicks. 2️⃣ Medium candle Medium bullish candle signifies a dominance of buyers with a rising resistance of sellers. You can see the sequence of medium bullish candles on EURJPY pair on a daily time frame. Medium bearish candle means a prevailing strength of sellers with a growing pressure of bulls. Above is the example of a sequence of medium bearish candles on AUDUSD pair. Usually, a medium bullish/bearish candle has its range (based on a wick) 2 times bigger than the body of the candle. 3️⃣ Weak candle Weak bullish candle signifies the exhaustion of buyers and a substantial resistance of sellers. Weak bearish candle signifies the exhaustion of sellers and a considerable bullish pressure. Usually, such a candle has a relatively small body and a big wick. Above is the sequence of weak bullish and bearish candles on NZDCHF pair on an hourly time frame. Knowing how to read the strength of the candlestick, one can quite accurately spot the initiate of new waves, market reversals and consolidations. Watch how the price acts, follow the candlesticks and try to spot the change of momentum by yourself.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
9
Demo Account Will Not Make You a PRO TRADER Hey traders, In this article, we will discuss demo account trading . We will discuss its importance for newbie traders and its flaws. ➕ Pros: Demo account is the best tool to get familiar with the financial markets . It gives you instant access to hundreds of different financial instruments. With a demo account, you can learn how the trading terminal works . You can execute the trading orders freely and get familiar with its types. You can get acquainted with leverage, spreads and volatility. Trading on paper money, you do not incur any risks , while you can see the real impact of your actions on your account balance. Demo account is the best instrument for developing and testing a trading strategy , not risking any penny. The absence of risk makes demo trading absolutely stress-free. ➖ Cons: The incurred losses have no real impact , not causing real emotions and pressure, which you always experience trading on a real account. Your performance (positive or negative) does not influence your future decisions. Real market conditions are tougher. Demo accounts execute the orders a bit differently than the real ones. That is clearly felt during the moments of high volatility, with the order slippage occurring less often and trade execution being longer. Trading with paper money allows you to trade with the sums being unaffordable in a real life, misrepresenting your real potential gains and providing a false confidence in success. Even though we spotted multiple negative elements of demo trading, I want you to realize that it still remains the essential part of your trading journey and one of the main training tools. You should spend as much time on demo trading as you need to build confidence in your actions, only then you can gradually switch to real account trading.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
1
Profitable Triangle Trading Strategy Explained Descending triangle formation is a classic reversal pattern . It signifies the weakness of buyers in a bullish trend and bearish accumulation . In this article, I will teach you how to trade descending triangle pattern. I will explain how to identify the pattern properly and share my trading strategy. ⭐️ The pattern has a very peculiar price action structure : 1. Trading in a bullish trend, the price sets a higher high and retraces setting a higher low . 2. Then the market starts growing again but does not manage to set a new high, setting a lower high instead. 3. Then the price drops again perfectly respecting the level of the last higher low, setting an equal low . 4. After that, one more bullish movement and one more consequent lower high , bearish move, and equal low . Based on the last three highs , a trend line can be drawn. Based on the equal lows , a horizontal neckline is spotted. ❗What is peculiar about such price action is the fact that a set of lower highs signifies a weakening bullish momentum : fewer and fewer buyers are willing to buy from horizontal support based on equal lows. 🔔 Such price action is called a bearish accumulation . Once the pattern is formed it is still not a trend reversal signal though. Remember that the price may set many lower highs and equal lows within the pattern. The trigger that is applied to confirm a trend reversal is a bearish breakout of the neckline of the pattern. 📉Then a short position can be opened. For conservative trading, a retest entry is suggested. Safest stop is lying at least above the level of the last lower high. However, in case the levels of the lower highs are almost equal it is highly recommendable to set a stop loss above them all. 🎯For targets look for the closest strong structure support. Below, you can see the example of a descending triangle trade that I took on NZDCAD pair. After I spotted the formation of the pattern, I was patiently waiting for a breakout of its neckline. After a breakout, I set a sell limit order on a retest. Stop loss above the last lower high. TP - the closest key support. 90 pips of pure profit made. Learn to identify and trade descending triangle. It is one of the most accurate price action patterns every trader should know.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
1
How to Apply a Position Size Calculator in Forex Trading In this educational article, I will teach you how to apply a position size calculator in Forex and calculate a lot size for your trades depending on a desired risk . Why do you need a position size calculator? Even though, most of the newbie traders trade with the fixed lot , the truth is that fixed lot trading is considered to be very risky . Depending on the trading instrument, time frame and a desired stop loss, the risks from one trade to another are constantly floating . With the constant fluctuations of losses per trade, it is very complicated to control your risks and drawdowns. A lot size calculation , however, allows you to risk the desired percentage of your capital per trade , limiting the maximum you can potentially lose. A lot size is calculated with a position size calculator . How to Measure Lot Size for Trades? Let's measure a lot size for the following trade on EURUSD. Step 1: Measure a pip value of your stop loss. It is the distance from your entry level to your stop loss level. In the example on the picture, the stop loss is 35 pips. Step 2: Open a position size calculator Step 3: Fill the form. Inputs: Account currency, account balance, desired risk %, stop loss in pips, currency pair. Let's say that we are trading with USD account. Its balance is $10000. The risk for this trade is 1%. Step 4: Calculate a lot size. The system will calculate a lot size for your trade. 0.28 standard lot in our example. Taking a trade on EURUSD with $10000 deposit and 35 pips stop loss , you will need 0.28 lot size to risk 1% of your trading account. Learn to apply a position size calculator. That is the must-use tool for a proper risk management.
Education
by VasilyTrader
8
Learn How to Apply Top-Down Multiple Time Frame Analysis In this article, we will discuss how to apply Multiple Time Frame Analysis in trading . I will teach you how to apply different time frames and will share with you some useful tips and example of a real trade that I take with Top-Down Analysis strategy. Firstly, let's briefly define the classification of time frames that we will discuss: There are 3 main categories of time frames: 1️⃣ Higher time frames 2️⃣ Trading time frames 3️⃣ Lower time frames Higher Time Frames Analysis 1️⃣ Higher time frames are used for identification of the market trend and global picture. Weekly and daily time frames belong to this category. The analysis of these time frames is the most important . On these time frames, we make predictions and forecast the future direction of the market with trend analysis and we identify the levels , the areas from where we will trade our predictions with structure analysis . Above is the example of a daily time frame analysis on NZDCAD. We see that the market is trading in a strong bullish trend. I underlined important support and resistance levels. The supports will provide the safest zones to buy the market from anticipating a bullish trend continuation. Trading Time Frames 2️⃣ Trading time frames are the time frames where the positions are opened . The analysis of these time frames initiates only after the market reaches the underlined trading levels, the areas on higher time frames. My trading time frames are 4h/1h. There I am looking for a confirmation of the strength of the structures that I spotted on higher time frames. There are multiple ways to confirm that. My confirmations are the reversal price action patterns. Once the confirmation is spotted, the position is opened. Analyzing the reaction of the price to Support 1 on 1H time frame on NZDCAD pair, I spotted a strong bullish confirmation - a triple bottom formation. A long position is opened on a retest of a broken neckline. Lower Time Frames 3️⃣ Lower time frames are 30/15 minutes charts. Even though these time frames are NOT applied for trading, occasionally they provide some extra clues . Also, these time frames can be applied by riskier traders for opening trading positions before the confirmation is spotted on trading time frames. Before the price broke a neckline of a triple bottom formation on an hourly time frame on NZDCAD, it broke a resistance line of a symmetrical triangle formation on 15 minutes time frame. It was an earlier and riskier confirmation to buy. Learn to apply these 3 categories of time frames in a combination. Start your analysis with the highest time frame and steadily go lower, identifying more and more clues. You will be impressed how efficient that strategy is.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
17