Is Trading “Gambling” or “Risky” ? Explained in business terms.Hi everyone:
The question that most people will ask is whether trading is the same as “gambling”.
Throughout the 9 years of my trading journey, this has always been brought up and asked about many times.
Of course anyone is entitled to think based on their perspective and view, so I am not here to argue or convince them otherwise.
Rather, I am here to share some key aspects of what I learned in trading for the last 9 years,
as well as years in the business world to discuss the difference between “Gambling” and “Risky” in trading and in business.
Most people who have never traded in their lives, but have heard about trading, usually assume trading is some sort of get rich quick scheme.
They often assume it's a type of “gamble”. Since most people around them probably lost money in trading.
It's not surprising as the statistics don't lie, 90-95% retail traders lose money in trading and quit eventually.
But what most people don't know is “why” and “how” they lose money in trading.
It's usually a combination of poor mindset and emotion.
No systematic plan, no risk management, get rich quick thinking, revenge/over trading, fear of missing out, and alot more psychological issues.
They did not put in the time and effort to succeed. Which then resulted in traders losing money and quitting.
Eventually making up excuses of why they fail in trading, and blame the market, the broker, the strategy.
All these no doubt also resulted in what normal people will say trading is a “gamble.”
On the other hand, is trading “risky” ?
Trading is just like any other businesses out there, that will be risky due to unforeseen circumstances.
Businesses face external factors that they can not control, just like in trading. Businesses have internal expenses, overhead costs, labour, loans, C.O.G.S…etc as well as many competitions within their respected industry.
It requires hard work and determination to succeed. Even for larger businesses that are where they are today, they were all risky when they started.
Was Amazon Risky ? Was Tesla Risky ? Was Facebook Risky ? Absolutely. But that did not stop their owners from putting in maximum effort and time to make it work.
Trading is no different, you are the owner, director and the CEO of your trading account.
So, don't confuse and get “gamble” and “risk” mixed up.
It's up to us individually to acknowledge and understand the difference between the two.
The truth is, successful traders understand the difference between “gamble” and “risk”.
To remove the “gambling” aspect from trading, is to have a well written trading plan, proper risk management, right trading psychology, positive mindset and control emotion.
Whatever strategy you decide to implement is not really the cause of your success or failure, but rather those I mentioned above.
This way, you remove almost all the “gambling” aspect away from trading, and it is now “risky” but bearable for you to handle.
Will trading always be “risky” ? Sure, it is a business and anything can happen unexpectedly and out of nowhere.
But successful traders understand the importance of treating trading like a business, so contingency plan, back up plan, trading plan, management plan,
and much more should be carefully thought out so you will know what to do when you are hit with sudden surprises like in a business operation.
The worst thing we can do is to not be part of any “risk”. If we are so relaxed, laid back, and have no stress to motivate us to move forward, then we stay within our “comfort” zone.
We become so glued to our 9-5 job which we then think it's safe. But, we will forever be in a rat race against many others who are better than us in credentials that will land that higher position/salary that we want.
“So to me, without taking a “risk” in life is the biggest “gamble” that you can do in life.”
Welcome to let me know and share with everyone what you think about this topic :)
Thank you
Jojo
Risk Management
My 5 Year Forex Journey so FarIf there is one thing to remember, it's that life is precious.
What may appear to be a setback is really a stepping stone towards
a better tomorrow. That's the one thing that really separates us from the
animals. They are not aware of the the Future. They have instincts built into their
complex physiology. This is also what makes them innocent. But awareness of the future
is a key distinction. If you you observe criminal psychology, criminals are quite impulsive.
They may cut corners to achieve their goals (Short-Sighted) and this lands them in custody of the more civilized and organized
humans. It is in our nature to pursue goals, because this is how we experience positive emotion. Setting goals has turned my life around, please here this, digest it.
I was on a devastating treacherous descent into the underworld. Immature, Impulsive, Addicted, Lost, Disgusted, these words describe a mindset, an attitude.
The underworld, let me tell you, was quite the experience. I feared for my life, and the health of my loved ones. "How?" I asked myself repeatedly.
Is this what I wanted for myself?
This is what I manifested, really?
Dear God. Help my soul.
Help me Take this 1 day at a time
Help me take it 1 minute at a time if that's what is necessary
Help me restore my dignity
Not from Society
Not From Others
Not even from God
I need to believe that I am worth it
I am worthwhile
I am a good person
I am just a man
I am am an imperfect man
I am an Ignorant Man
I am an Incomplete Man
I am a partially Broken Man
I am vulnerable Man
I am a tough man
But most importantly I am an unstoppable man. And to be quite honest, it doesn't matter what you think.
Because I can manifest anything my heart desires.
Elliott Waves. Possibility VS Certainty !Elliott wave practitioners are sometime subject of criticism because of their apparent mistakes !.
An important point that many people may not be aware of is that " Elliott waves analysis is about possibilities and probability of each possibility not about certainties ! ". In fact, there is no false or true analysis in the world of Elliott waves (if a supposed scenario governs all rules). It is about choosing what you think as the most probable scenario but keeping in mind which conditions confirm or invalidate your analysis. If a most probable scenario fails , an Elliott practitioner immediately thinks about second most probable one ! and so on.
TSLA at current price and wave form is a clear and typical example of different scenarios possibility. We will investigate those possibilities in the following paragraphs but before that it is worth to mention that general trend of TSLA is up and as I previously published one more leg up is still ahead in broader view .
TSLA showed a decline from ATH to 886.12 with an abc zigzag form hitting a strong proposed support at confluence of former ATH, 50 % Fibo retracement and base of down going channel. ( See related idea for more details). It then made a strong bounce back but never reached a new ATH and finished it's move at 1208 just slightly above 1201.95 minor high with another 3 leg up !. This setup offers several possible scenarios. I could predict 13 of them . Please note that possible scenarios would be considerably different if TSLA made a new ATH or showed a 5 leg up move !. Different possibilities!. We had another decline from 1208 to 980 and then a bounce back to current price.
At this current position TSLA may choose different paths. Be patient . We will make a conclusion at the end of idea !. Followings are the possible scenarios as shown on the chart. We have chart of TSLA on the left side and possible scenarios on the right. Please note that right side chart is just a schematic drawing so I kindly ask you to disregard dates and prices on the right side chart:
1. Double Zigzag or Double three Correction :
In this scenario , The move up from 886.12 to 1208 is a wave X which connects two correcting forms. Next correcting pattern can be either a flat or another zigzag. Actually we have 2 slightly different scenarios in this part. Difference is second part flat correction ( Double three) price goes just slightly below the 886.12 low but in double zigzag goes much lower. Forms are the same and price targets are different.
2. Double Three :
Triangles in the second part of corrections are more common in complex corrections. In this case , a triangle is going to form after decline from 1208 to 980. and price will never go below the 886.12 ( except expanding triangles which is not common). Triangles can have several forms themselves : Contracting, Barrier and expanding. Here we just showed a contracting triangle in second part. We have 3 somehow similar scenarios here with just 1 shown .
3. Triple Three:
We may have a boring and exhausting correction continuation which is triple three. I showed on more common triple three correction on the chart with first part being a zigzag, second part being a flat and third part being a contracting triangles. Considering the third part can be a flat and even zigzag (which is not a usual one) and triangles different forms we reach to 5 possible similar scenarios here with only 1 shown.
4. Terminal wave 1 as beginning of the new impulse after end of correction at support:
Impulsive waves are always 5 wave in classic Elliott waves however , there may be 3 waves wave 1 in harmonic Elliott. It may be the case for TSLA and a move up from 886.12 to 1208 can be labeled as wave 1. in this case we are in wave 2 and another leg down is expected before making a new ATH. If you doubt about occurrence of such wave 1 see SHOP stock from 26 March 2021 to 13 may 2021. We can find many other examples in the market.
5. Antic cycle wave 1 and 2 and end of correction at support :
Normally impulsive waves are 5 leg and corrective waves are 3 to form a wave cycle. Sometimes wave forms show an anti cycle with 3 legs in the direction of main trend and 5 waves in counter trends. In this scenario TSLA has completed wave 1 and 2 and we are in up going wave 3.
6. Very rare bearish scenario with 3 waves truncated wave 5 :
First of all, this scenario is very rare and I give very very little chance to it at the moment but I certainly keep it in mind as a possible one !. Wave fives sometime show 3 legs instead of 5. several examples can be found for example see BTC from 56206 to 68769. Truncated wave fives can not make a new ATH. Occurrence of these two together has very little chance.
One may ask : So what? Are we going to be confused? What should we do now? Do we have a clear answer ? Of course we have !
Except that rare scenario, all above mentioned possibilities suggest TSLA will finally make a new ATH . They all (except the bearish case) suggest taking out 1208 high as a strong buy point therefore If we do not have TSLA shares right now we can set our buy point above 1208 and if we already have shares we can hold them to capture the profit of next up going waves. This is how an Elliott practitioner makes the final decision considering all possibilities and probabilities. This one is a complicated one in short term but sometime we have much more easier process of decision making like TSM with a clear buy point above 135.5.
It is worth to note pre-requisite of all of this scenario is that TSLA has completed wave 1,2,3 and maybe 4 of larger cycle wave and will make the last wave 5. If this pre-requisite is wrong all above scenarios are wrong. For now. I am confident about the position in the larger cycle.
I spent about 10 hours to prepare this 10-min read publication so I deeply hope this to be useful and show you how can one be prepared in advance for different scenarios with the help of Elliott waves.
Good luck everyone and wish you all the best.
The Hardest Thing About TradingTrading You know—that’s the only job, you can’t be attached to the outcome. Other professions, you’ll need to be attached to the outcome—imagine a surgeon not being attached to his outcome; I can imagine how many bloods would be on his hands.
There’s only one way to succeed in this business and that’s: accepting that anything can happen. Having a trading relationship can be fun. But, just like any other relationship, You need to know if it’s gonna hit rock bottom or… till death do us path. In other to have that, it isn’t really about change; it’s about acceptance.
It’s a beautiful day, the sky is clear, the air is fresh. Exactly 2 years, 3 months, 5 days and 30 minutes, that’s how long I’ve been a trader. At least I think I am… Starting off, I always thought, “trading is easy”. In fact, we’d have gurus that will tell you that. I mean, who speaks the truth these days? Everyone is just great at marketing, selling hope to anyone who cares to listen.
So pathetic!
Trading Is Easy
Trading for me isn’t easy, Let’s quit the B.S. It’s not! To the robots—it probably is. Hello, there’s still blood running through those veins—Wake up! you’re human. It’s better to know the truth and accept it. Though painful, at least—you’ll be aware. Than to be told lies every new cock-crow. Well who am I to judge? Thanks to the media, we live amongst robots. The ones who would do anything for online gratification.
You know what?… Trading is a gift and a curse. A gift, because for the first time in your life, you’re free. Heh—Free to make your own choices, no bosses, no timing—just you. Anywhere in the world. How amazing is that? Here’s where the curse comes in… You’re responsible for every outcome. Know what’s funny? Traders are not supposed to be attached to this “outcome”.
Tell me, how can you say that’s easy?
If I create a problem, I have to accept the problem even if it leaves an emotional pain that “I” created. A pain that easily sticks, creates trauma—then I get addicted, obsessed with dealing with it. I have a thing for organization… How do I deal with failures, losing money, missing out on opportunities and giving the broker my money because of “my” own mistakes? Long rhetorical question there. Who’s the honest—one left to answer?
This is a job that requires balance, A balance between euphoria, over-confidence and fear… Now do you know what that means?
The Reality
Therefore, no excess excitement even if you just won; no fear even if you just lost. Now, how easy is that? Well, to you it might be. However, I need a trader that can boast of being completely emotionless when they started off. Want to know how these traders succeeded? They realized the truth, they either learnt it, figured it out or a kind person told them.
To the rest of the zombies—don’t be deceived. There’s nothing easy about completely shutting off your emotions. Like some animal…
“Self-control”, yeah I think that’s the word. It takes discipline and consistency. I mean when you started, all you knew was, you needed to make money right?
No-one told you about the choices you’ll have to make. People quit, commit suicide, feel like losers all their life—because of the constant lies. Don’t get me wrong, the fact that I’m saying this doesn’t mean you can’t work on being amongst the 1% . The reason I’m saying all this is—I need you to know what you’re up against. That way, you can get rid of expectations, the outcome and focus more on the process. Probabilities. Just like how we can’t tell who’s dying next, you can’t tell which trade would be a winner.
Imagine putting your cash in something you have no control over and not attaching yourself to its outcome…
Trading And Trust Issues
That’s trust right there. Newsflash, I have big trust issues. Meanwhile, also something to deal with. I’m probably ffed up right now because, I have to trust in my edge. An edge. That’s not even a solution. That’s just the probability of one thing happening against another. What the hell! Funny,
I think religion calls that—“faith”.
My life has been ffed up for the longest time. Trading just showed me my own reflection. Like the kanima, I got scared. How on earth do I improve this person, learn from my mistakes and get less attached to the outcome—whilst focusing on the process. I came for the cash right—When do I get it? Don’t you dare say, “patience”. Imagine you’ve never seen your naked body before only to see it for the first time and it’s filled up with scars, weird marks from injuries, surgeries… all that messed up stuff.
It’s something new; something different.
That’s hard man—especially if you’re surrounded by judge-mental f**ks. What’s the drive to overcoming fear? I don’t know of any guru that teaches you how to overcome fear. I mean, it’s not like they can make it disappear. Here’s something: if you still suffer from past traumas or you’re still scared of stuff—don’t believe someone can take that away from you. For instance, paying $2,000 to that marketer won’t take the fear away.
Don’t be foolish!
Pfft… easy my foot! Here’s to enlighten-ment… Let’s drink to that. In short, Trading is tough—are you ready for its challenge?
RISK : REWARD. Visualized breakdown
⚠️Regardless of whether you prefer day trading or swing trading, you need to understand the fundamental concepts regarding risk. They form the basis of understanding the market, managing trading activities, and investment decisions. Otherwise, you will not be able to protect and increase your balance.
We have already discussed risk management, position size, and stop-loss setting. But if you are actively trading, answer two important questions. How does the growth potential relate to potential losses? In other words, what is your risk-reward ratio?
In this article, we will discuss how to calculate the risk-to-profit ratio for any transaction.
✅What is the ratio of risk and profit?
🟢The risk-reward ratio (risk/reward or R/R ratio) allows you to understand what risk a trader is taking for the sake of a potential reward. In other words, it shows what the potential profit is for every dollar you risk when investing.
🟢The calculation itself is very simple. The maximum risk is divided by the net target profit. How exactly? First, think about where you want to enter into the transaction. Decide where you will take profit (if the trade is successful) and where to place a stop loss (if it is a losing trade). This is extremely important for effective risk management. Good traders set profit targets and stop-loss before entering a trade.
Now you have entry and exit points, that is, you can calculate the ratio of risk and profit. To do this, you need to divide the potential risk by the potential profit. The lower this coefficient is, the more potential profit you will receive per "unit" of risk. Let's figure out how it works.
✅How to calculate the ratio of risk and profit
🟢Let's say you want to open a long position on bitcoin. You perform an analysis and determine that your take profit order will be 15% of the entry price. Next, you have to answer the following question: where your position will be closed in case of a market reversal. This is where you will have to set a stop loss. In this case, you decide that your cancellation point will be 5% of the entry point.
It is worth noting that it, as a rule, should not be based on arbitrary percentage numbers. The profit target and stop loss should be determined based on market analysis. Technical analysis indicators are very useful for solving this problem.
🟢So, our profit target is 15%, and the potential loss is 5%. What is the ratio of risk and profit? 5/15 = 1:3 = 0,33. Everything is simple. This means that for each unit of risk we potentially win three times more. In other words, for every dollar we risk, we can get three dollars. Thus, if we have a position worth $100, then we risk losing $5 with a potential profit of 15.
🟢You can also move the stop loss closer to our entry to reduce this ratio. However, the entry and exit points should not be calculated arbitrarily, but solely based on analysis. If a trading position has a high risk-to-profit ratio, it is probably not worth "arguing" with the numbers and hoping for success. In this case, we recommend choosing another position with a good risk-reward ratio.
‼️Please note: positions with different sizes may have the same risk-to-profit ratio. For example, if we have a position worth $10,000, we risk losing $500 for a potential profit of $1,500 (the ratio is still 1:3). The ratio changes only if we change the relative position of our target and stop loss.
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RISK MANAGEMENT - WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE? 🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑 Hi traders!
Introduction -
I was reading a few articles around risk management, the psychology off a successful trader & common mistakes traders who fail make.
I stumbled across a concept which I thought resonated with me and made me really think about my psychology towards risk management and I thought I would share it with you. I hope this is just as fascinating to you as it was to me, and it has some intrinsic value to you.
Why is risk management important in Trading?
Trading in general can be regarded as a high-risk activity compared to not trading at all which would be regarded as having virtually no risk to any principal money you may have.
For this reason, I would regard risk management to be the most important concept in any type off trading regardless off strategy, instrument & individual ability. Let’s look at the definition of risk management:
“Risk management involves identifying, analyzing, accepting and/or mitigating trading decision uncertainty.” – Yahoo Finance
To summaries we know trading is risky, therefore risk management is a tool to control that risk & staying in control is the most important thing that you must never forget.
This is going to be the reason why the almost 90% of traders fail and why only 10% manage to achieve some sort off “success” from trading and its all to do with risk.
Now I know for sure we can all think back to a time where we fell into this trap, but the important thing is learning from that lesson.
90% of traders will lose more on their losing trades than they win on their winning trades and that’s why they are not in the 10% of “successful” traders
Understanding decision making from winning & losing
Here’s the way it goes:
Say I offered you a very simple wager and that wager was based on the flip of a coin. All you must do is predict whether the coin will land on heads or land on tails. The same principal activity off trading in its most basic form. Will price go up or will price go down?
A simple 50/50 chance off being right regardless of what strategy you use right. Here comes the interesting part, the part that changes everything.
The wager
Say I decide to give you two choices, we will label these option A and option B. Now remember we already know what we’re doing is risky, but our aim is to maximize profit and minimize losing and put our money to work.
Now thinking logically Option A is the one which maximizes our profit (which is our goal). That doesn’t make Option B wrong however as this option means you are guaranteed to make a profit you just aren’t maximizing what you could make. You will not be surprised that in this scenario then more than likely the most popular option is option B. Guaranteed profit with little to no risk. That’s a thumbs up from a risk management perspective.
Here’s where I’ll highlight why 90% off traders fail.
Let’s turn this scenario upside down and on its head and instead of talking making profit lets talk about making a loss.
Now before I fully explain it lets put it into the concept of trading.
Option A – A trade is going against you. Its about to hit your stop loss and you decide that you’re going to move your stop loss into further loss as there is the potential that you can get back to breakeven and you hate losing money.
Option B – A trade is going against you again. Its about to hit your stop loss and you decide that you would rather take the guaranteed loss off -£400 rather than take the risk your loss could exceed.
In the second scenario we all know that option B would be the most sensible option as it means we are managing our risk and staying in control of the situation. Remember as I said that’s the most important thing, stay in control. However unlike in scenario one where we are likely to choose option B when it comes to making money in scenario 2 when it comes to losing money, we seem to become risk driven and would rather roll the dice on losing more money for the chance to get out without losing anything at all rather than take the guaranteed risk.
The scenario shows the reason I think traders lose more than they win and by understanding the simple concept you can give yourself the best possible chance of long-term success. Remember our goal is not to be right in forex, it is to make money. To make money we need to limit our risk and stay in control.
The best way to combat this and to remove the emotional influence is to have predetermined targets. Know where you will get out of a trade; win or lose & don’t allow anything or anyone to influence that pre-determined decision.
Hope this was insightful for you and thanks for reading!
The Fx Chartist
Trading on Financial Markets | Your Guide to Trade Planning 📝
Hey traders,
In this post, we will discuss 6 crucial things in your trade planning and the main elements of trade results assessment.
1 - Before you open a trading position, make sure that you analyzed the chart. You should identify a market trend and spot major key levels.
2 - Once the chart is analyzed, you should identify the safest trading areas for your strategy (preferably the zones of supply and demand).
You should patiently wait until one of these zones is tested.
3 - Once the zone is reached, you should look for a confirmation. You can either look for a reversal candlestick/price action pattern, some fundamental trigger, or some indicator. The point is that you should rely on a trigger that is backtested and that proved its accuracy.
4 - Getting your confirmation, you should have a precise entry strategy. Some traders prefer aggressive entries on spot while others are waiting for a retest of some major/minor level.
5 - You must set a stop loss. Remember that your stop-loss defines the point where you become wrong in your predictions. Be extremely careful on that step and give the market some space for fluctuations.
6- Know your exact target level(s). Know the point where you start protection of your position, where you start profit-taking. Be very strict and don't let your greed and fear intervene.
Only then a trading position is opened.
No matter what will be the end result of your trade, you should assess it:
1 - You should journal the trade outlining its end result, trading instrument, and your entry reason.
2 - Note any peculiar thing about this trade that you noticed.
3 - Record your gain/loss percentage.
4 - Identify whether any mistake was made and if so, learn from that.
Here is your minimum plan to follow. Of course, as you mature in trading your trade assessment plan will be more sophisticated.
Do not underestimate its importance and treat it as the main element of your trading routine.
Do you plan your trades like that?
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How To Review Your TradesI've always made videos on "trade reviews" but I got a private message that read, "how do I review my trades or Journal properly"...
So this video will show you what I look at when reviewing and journaling---which should improve your trade performance and make you a better trader generally.
Be sure to digest it all!
PS. if YOU LOVE MY FEEDS, BE SURE TO FOLLOW ME, SMASH THE LIKE BUTTON AND COMMENT YOUR THOUGHTS..
cheers,
Lazyluchi.
Why Traders Should Not Give UpTraders randomly wake up and call it quits. Well, I was this close to becoming these traders until…
“Mail’s here!”… A man in orange pants and blue collars—brings a letter for me. “What could it be?”, I thought. Took a cutter out the kitchen’s cabinet and tore it open—It read, “Hey sweetie, if you’re reading this, I’m probably dead”… Tears rushed down my cheek as I said, “mom”.
You probably don’t know my mom Sylvia—she’s one of the best traders that ever lived and she’s my inspiration. It was a note from her trade journal—My mom kept journals but, I never read any Cos’ personally, journals are private for a reason. If she sent me this, now, it means it’s for a reason. Though dead—it’s like she knows I’m really struggling.
Turned on the reading lamp, cleaned my bulged teary eyes and read aloud…
A Short Story For Traders
We look at the myths related to “trading the market”—There are misconceptions that give many people—new to the world of “trading the markets” wrong impressions of this art. Causing them to miss out on the opportunities that this art can provide.
The art of trading—is the world’s largest market for buying and selling. Billed as the riskiest financial career, it is involves approximately $3 trillion worth of transactions each day.
Today being the end of the year, I’m tired of running away from my problems. I keep learning and learning but it seems there are guys who have some special power to trading—than I will ever have.
A problem that I have failed to acknowledge because, I’m scared of the outcome—afraid to be seen as weak. My problem is the “fear of failure”.
Now I wake up every day, “positive mindset only”, I mutter to myself. You know—whatever happens, I’m ready to soak it in.
The lies; the deceit, every time. Why do I keep doing this to myself? I wonder. My words don’t match my actions.
“You can lie to everyone but—the one person you should never lie to is—yourself”. Sylvia catches me lying to that very person every-day. The one person I should love more, trust more is denied of this gratification.
Disappointed doesn’t even come close to how I feel everyday.
My Reality: Mind And Risk
Most times, I forget that I am a mere retail trader. My thoughts exactly—I might not know of the secret ingredient to the art… but, I know that there are two ways to be very successful in it. One is owing your mind and secondly, accepting the risk.
The mind is a crazy mansion—I’ll let you on a recent occurrence in my life.
One faithful afternoon, the ground started spinning, my muscles were stiff and I was super confused.
“What’s happening to me?”, I mulled.
This lady started experiencing something she has never encountered before in her life. “Never had to faint before but—if this is the feeling, Lord, I’m not interested”, I prayed silently.
Many don’t know but—I have a phobia for death. So, for the first time I’m actually sick—the phobia kicked in.
Now, this fear of being sick, made me actually sick. The doctors, clueless. From malaria to typhoid, “we can’t find anything wrong with her. She needs to see a psychiatrist”, Jemima uttered to my hearing.
Mind Games
It’s 4am, suddenly—the air is tight—I encountered what the doctors believe is a “panic attack”. It became a challenge… controlling my mind because—that’s the only way I can avoid this attack.
Why am I telling you all this?
It’s because, I got to realize how powerful the mind is. The reason for your failures, your sickness, your successes is—your mind. Not even bluffing… but, this happened to me recently. The only escape is… not to think about it and channeling your mind to think positively.
Jami, my friend, told me…
“It is easier for one to take risks and to chase his dreams with—a mindset that he has nothing to lose. In this lies—the immense passion and the great advantage of avoiding a materialistic, pleasure-filled way of life.”
So, what exactly do you think of when you trade?
Traders Here’s The Trick
The trick here is: think of wins only. Don’t just think, Believe!
If you take a trade and all you think about is—how you don’t want to lose that trade and how successful the trade will be. Then, you have already lost before—the outcome of the trade.
“It’s hard to beat a guy when he’s got his mind made up that—he’s going to win”.
Finally,
In terms of “risk”, I’ve never known a person who was successful… that didn’t at first—establish a mindset of success. No one and I repeat—no one, can predict his own life.
Don’t let anyone deceive you—The risk-takers are the ones in flashy cars and big houses. These things take time!
If losing a million/thousand dollars makes you uncomfortable, what gives you the impression that—you can make a million/thousand dollars. You are only ready to be rich when… you are ready to stop caring.
This is my final piece to you—I hope you can correct the great rich quick mentality, stay consistent in all you do. Consistency, leads to growth—that germination will one day lead to you also having the lifestyle you once dreamt of.
Till we meet again…
Love, Mom.
I turned off my reading lamp, went to my bed and wailed!
How to analyze any market from scratch (Impulse & Correction) #2Hello everyone:
I received positive feedback on the last video on how to analyze the market from scratch,
and many have told me to make more of these similar contents. So here we go :)
I will go through multiple examples of how I would analyze the market by following these simple steps:
Multi-time frame analysis (Top Down Approach) Start from HTF to LTF
Identify the Impulse Phase and Correction Phase
Identify whether the Corrections is Continuation or Reversal
HTF Bias > LTF Confirmation > LTF Entry
Any questions, comments or feedback welcome to let me know :)
Thank you
How to analyze any market from scratch #1
DISCLAIMER:
-My forecast and analysis are NOT financial Advice, you should not trade and invest solely on this information.
-There are many scammers & fakers impersonating me, my channels/platforms to scam people. Be very careful as I will NEVER private/direct message you first no matter what.
A brief explanation on the importance of risk managementEvery human activity has its ups and downs. You may face good days and bad days and it’s a norm in any other human kind activities.
Read history! Did all dynasties get consistently stronger?
In politics, did popularity rates of political figures get better day by day?
Sure not!
Even in natural events, you see uneven decreases and increases. Not only the annual rainfall rates are not always the same, but the rate of increases and decreases varies from year to year.
So strategies and setups won’t always work because they simply are man-made things to predict a human-based activity! They may fail, expire or disused someday, because this is the neutrality of nature and creatures including humans and their markets. For the last instance, even stars grow and fall.
I know there are some traders who claim their strategy will never expire. They may be liars, but they are not necessarily liars! Those who believe their strategy will never expire will admit that their strategy had bad days too. I like to say their strategy has expired and reactivated again and since they consider longer cycles (monthly, yearly or even bigger) they believe their setup has never expired. If we want to be more precise their strategy has expired but just for shorter periods (may be just for hours!).
Let me explain a little more technical, every setup is compatible with specific conditions of the market and they will fail in other markets’ conditions and traders are not foreteller but predictors, so they sometimes may get conditions have changed and sometimes they predict it wrong or get the change so late! So they sometimes make profit and sometimes don’t. For example RSI overbought and oversold strategy do not make profit in trending market on the side of the trend! I mean if markets are bullish, overbought is a norm not a sign of reversal (most peak of reversals happens in overbought or oversold but not every oversold is a sign of reversal in a trending market) and in a super bullish trending market you almost can’t find any RSI oversold. So you should use another setup! ( some traders using kind of strategy which has different setups for different conditions of market, they actually guess when their strategy is going to expire)
I divide the professional traders by methods that they choose to avoid using an unsuitable for market conditions into four general categories.
1- Ignorers: Since they got a conservative risk management strategy and they could easily ignore expiration phenomena and trade without worrying about expiration.
2- Rule makers: They have different setups for different conditions. They specify some rules to distinguish market conditions and adapt new setups to their trades. Rules could be created by using both indicators or indicator-free (price action) chars.
3- Sentimental Market traders (in case of expiration): Some traders do not use specific rules! They simply just sense market conditions has changed. They differ from rule makers because they don’t use a specific rules every time. They may use some rules unconsciously but those rules may differ time to time.
4- Equity curve analyzers. They simply analyze equity curve! They make specific rules to start using or stop using a strategy! For example they will stop using it if it is a loss-maker one for 2 weeks (this one won’t work in most strategies) or they simply try to use price action rules to analyze EC of a setup! “Mark Douglas (1990) is saying that if traders were to chart their equity, these charts would look very much like the typical bar charts and charts like these also can have the same predictive value as in the markets” “Procedia Economics and Finance 32 ( 2015 ) 50 – 55” these kind of traders may use indicators like SMA or WMA to predict profitability of a setup in future and they are also eager to use price action rules.
I believe no method is superior to another, the way an experienced trader use the method is important! But having a method to avoid large losses is necessary. And all traders consciously or unconsciously use one of them. Most price action traders are ignorers. Their strategy may expire but for short period of time. For example mine is expired right now but I’ll continue using it cause I know it’s temporarily and I don’t know when exactly it will reactive again. I also use a self-made auto-trading expert which use different indicator based setup and since the period of expirations of that setups are long, I use EC analyzing methods to detect expirations .
No matter which method you use, you can’t be an always winner trader! Ignorers may loss and they will name it exceptions. Rule makers’ rules may detect and signal expiration too soon or too late! The 3rd and 4th kind of traders may make mistakes too. There is no single trader in the world with 100% win rate in long-term!
That's why you need to limit our risks, I like optimism in life (I prefer pessimism in back-tests) but you should not be deluded, you should think what happen if you lost some consecutive trades?
If you risk more than you can handle consecutive losses emotionally, You will empty your trading account, no matter how good a teacher you had or how much you have practiced or how great trading past you have or how experienced you are or even how much you believe your emotions are in control of you
(you actually can’t control in real big loses trading), YOU NEED TO LIMIT YOUR RISK by managing it in a way that your trading is profitable enough and simultaneously do not be destructive at certain times
"Profit a little less but more consistent."
There are also too many other important rules for money and risk management and you should take them into consideration too.
Best Regards, Alisignals
TRADING PSYCHOLOGY | Common Traps You Must Know 🧠💭💫
Hey traders,
Trading psychology plays a very important role in a learning curve of a trader. In this post, we will discuss common biases and traps that every struggling trader is occasionally facing.
⚓️Anchoring Bias
People rely too much on a reference point from the past when making a decision for the future - they are "anchored" to the past.
Imagine you spotted a great trading opportunity & made a nice profit. Encountering a similar setup in the future you trade it again. It turns out that you lose.
Next time - same thing. The setup that initially brought you nice cash refuses to work.
Even though the probabilities indicate that the identified pattern produces negative long-term returns, you keep taking that because you are "anchored" to the initial winner.
🙅♂️Loss Aversion
This is when people go to great lengths to avoid losses because the pain of loss is twice as the pleasure received from a win.
You see a great trading setup. You are 100% sure that it will play out. You open a trade and guess what? The market goes in the opposite direction. You can't believe that you are wrong. Instead, you decide to hold your position just a bit more adjusting your stop loss. And again, the market refuses to go in the direction that you projected. It is a vicious cycle that most of the time leads to substantial losses.
✅Confirmation Bias
The confirmation trap is when traders seek out the information that validates their opinions and ignores any theory that invalidates them.
You spotted a great long opportunity on GBPUSD. Checking the ideas of other traders on TradingView you consider only the ones that confirm your predictions completely ignoring the opposite ones.
👑Superiority Trap
Many traders have lost large sums of money in the past simply because they have fallen prey to the mentality of overconfidence.
Imagine that you caught a winning streak. You feel like the king of the world. You spend less and less time and reflection on each consequent trading decision that you make, you lose your focus. At some moment the reality kicks in and your gains evaporate.
🐮Herding
As a trader, you should execute your own analysis & avoid the temptation to blindly follow the majority.
Analyzing a EURUSD chart you make a conclusion that the market is bearish. However, then you see that 90% of the traders are very bullish on TradingView.
Instead of following your own analysis, you decide to join the herd.
These biases are common and most of the time we fall prey to them unconsciously.
The more you self-reflect, the more you analyze your thoughts and actions, it would be easier for you to avoid them.
Have your ever fallen prey to these traps?
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A Traders Psych Evaluation
1. Asides money, why else do you trade?
2. When you’re not trading, what do you do with your free time?
3. If you bagged a million dollars in trading today… what’s your first step?
4. Your favorite trading book—if any?
5. Who do you admire most in trading?
6. What are you most afraid of in trading?
7. If you could change everything about your trading career—what would it be and why?
8. What subject in school made the most impact in you?
9. If you died today, what do you wish to be remembered for?
10. Are you addicted to trading?
11. What’s the most defining moment of your trading career?
12. Your dream destination?
13. Your favorite trading memory?
14. What do you feel most proud of?
15. Who introduced you to trading?
16. What’s your worst/best childhood memory?
17. If you had a chance to do-over in life… what would you do differently?
18. What’s your strongest quality?
19. Most embarrassing thing you’ve done in trading?
20. What’s a skill in trading you wish to learn and why?
Why Do You Want To Become A Trader? HI Traders, welcome back to another workshop. In this workshop, I'll be sharing my thoughts on various considerations before becoming a full-time trader.
Most people begin their trading journey with a mindset of "How can i get rich quick?".
It is often just a matter of time where reality hits them awake, then they'll notice that trading isn't an ATM. Instead, it is a money churning machine that most people just keeps throwing their hard earned savings into.
To become a successful trader, it is going to take a lot more than an affirmation "I want to be rich/ I want to become a successful trader."
Personally, the definition of trading success is the ability to organize your emotion and performance to achieve high performance, ultimately, scale your trading business.
We don't need to make hundreds of thousands a month to become a successful trader. If you're able to just provide your family a better and more comfortable living through trading as compared to your 9-5 job, you've already achieved success.
Think about it.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Do not forget to like if you enjoy the content, and share with someone who need to listen to this.
Your Success Formula | What Drives a Big Change 🏔️
Hey traders,
There’s a well-known Chinese proverb that says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
The one thing that prevents you from attaining your goal is hidden in your psyche, deep inside your soul. People usually look for shortcuts and want to accomplish their goals in one night. But the thing about long-term goals is that they can not be accomplished in a single day! It’s not like they require one huge, monumental effort to be achieved.
The only way you’re going to accomplish something really big and ambitious – the kind of goal that will transform your life forever – is by consistently taking one small step at a time in the direction of your dreams.
The importance of small incremental steps should be recognized by everyone, life is full of challenges, ups, and downs, but one should not lose hope or give up during the process. Failure should be considered as a learning point, an opportunity for growth.
Be ready for a journey of thousand miles this year. Be ready to meet the chaos and unknown. That is the only way to evolve and be better.
Remember that nothing is impossible to achieve unless you decide to do it at all costs.
Do you agree with this quote?
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What did I learn from 2021 in Trading, & what can I improve on ?Hello traders:
Welcome to 2022 in trading. I am very happy to start off the year with a positive attitude and get ready for the year.
This year will be my 9th year in trading, so certainly a journey thus far.
What I usually will do is to look at trades that I have taken in the whole last year, to find areas to improve.
What can I do better, and what can I change/modify to my trading plan that will help me to become a better, consistent, sustainable trader.
I highly suggest everyone to review their 2021 trading journals, find mistakes that you made, and work on them.
Revisit your trading plan to see what areas can be changed and modified. They can be entry, SL/TP, management and much more.
Below are a few things that I personally find that I can improve more on:
Trade Management:
-Specifically, whether to take profit always at 3:1 RR, or hold onto the trade for longer
-Pros and cons and no right or wrong when it comes to this part.
-Sometimes holding a trade longer term may see price reverse and lose profits
-Sometimes taking profit too early will see trade continue to its desire direction
# of Trades Taken:
-Last year was aiming for about 15 trades per month last year
-The more trades we take, the more potential “Mediocre” trades we enter, those can eat up our good trades’ profit
-Can argue and reduce the # of trades to even less
-Instead of 1-2 same currency pairs allowed, cut down to just 1. Unless I can move it to BE
Understand and Accept the Market can Change/Evolve:
-Market is ever changing and evolving with no pre-determine factors. It can be a variety of factors that is out of our control as a trader
-Key is to always stay in “sync” with the market and its behavior.
-Never “blame” the market if your trading hits a draw down or doesn't “work out” from before.
-Understand as traders we need to adapt to any type of situations to remain consistent and sustainable in the long run
-Find solutions to work around it.
Thank you all
Treat trading like a business or you might not succeed:
Performance Anxiety In Forex & TradingPerformance anxiety starts with your belief… Where do you stand presently in—trading?
In previous years, I have witnessed people having mind attacks—because they tell themselves convincing stories of how they can’t achieve stuff.
You’re probably wondering what these mind attacks are?
Well, mind attacks as the name implies is—when your mind overcomes your consciousness. Monte sahaja referred to it as, “an opportunity to check in yourself”. The ideal question here is, who is attacking your mind?
I want to believe that—the mind is actually the most convincing liar that ever existed. Well, a topic for another day!
There’s a lot to talk about and I wouldn’t want to complicate things. So, mind attacks leads to anxiety, which leads to doubt and we gradually build the P.A.
My early days of high school, I would seat at talk-shows—then go home to talk to mirrors and shadows. But, when invited to speak, I freeze. “There’s a problem”, I thought. What could it be?
Jane will say, “you can do it”… But, I know it’s easier said than done. After-all, more is said—than done, sometimes.
A boy from the audience, can’t really remember his name shouted, “Anx-boy”. The others would laugh.
“What is anx-boy?”, I asked.
“It’s a boy who suffered from anxiety”, Jane muttered.
What, I don’t have anxiety or do you think I do?… I mean—it’s because I’m new right?… Funny how you convinced yourself into believing that lie. Pfft, rubbish!
“Shut up Judith!”, Jamal mouthed. Agh… I hate her she doesn’t just know when to shut-up. Everyone just thought I was weird but, you need to meet Judith she’s annoying.
Only Jane understood. The rest, well, I was this mad guy that speaks to himself or better yet—anx-boy.
Performance Anxiety And It’s Meaning
Each time I try to do something, I become anxious and I mull over different possibilities. Judith left me a funny note one day. It read, “Hey, nut job—what’s faster than light?”. Heh! she’s rude.
Anyway, I pondered as to why she asked that but, couldn’t figure it out.
Every time I see this yellow and green vehicle—I let out a huge sigh, yet another day of bullies. Anyway, I had an assignment from Judith. The sun pale; the wind on my face feels like burger and cheese—maybe I was just craving it. “We’re here!”, Jane brings me back to reality.
“I’ll meet you in chemistry”, I told Jane—as I hurriedly left for the library. The mid-day high’s library was the biggest in England—You could get lost in books over there. Haha! I love playing with words.
Strolling down mid-day’s library, I picked up every book I could find on—“what’s faster than light?”. “This girl (Judith) must be joking asking me that”… “Maybe she wanted me to figure something out”, I gasped.
All books I read, said—nothing was faster than light; that’s the speed of the universe. She must have lost her damn mind. Moving away from the library, I stumbled over a book with an interesting title, “Our thoughts and mind are faster”. Hmm… Okay this looks interesting.
Hovering over the lines for 2 hours, I figured out Judith’s riddle. “It’s my mind”… I remembered “anx-boy” then, it occurred to me that Judith was only trying to help. “Thanks Judy”, I smiled.
Pulled out my backpack, took my pen and wrote, “New mission, what is anxiety and why do I have it before a task”.
Terrible memories in England’s mid-day and the only thing that didn’t suck were—the school’s WIFIs. Yep! those bronskies were really fast. Pulled out a computer-chair, started my research.
What Is Performance Anxiety?
Well, I had no idea what anxiety meant, I started my research with the little computers we’ve got. The dictionary definition of “anxiety” is—worrying excessively about an uncertain outcome. Heh, made it easier for myself. It made sense now why I was called that. I just worried so much about futuristic plans and my perfectionist self—just couldn’t stand it going wrong.
So, that means there are different kind of anxieties. I randomly just typed, “What is the anxiety you get when you want to do something? And… Performance anxiety popped up.
Woah, just realized not all anxieties are from doing stuff. What then is performance anxiety?
It’s the fear someone experiences before or during a specific type of performance. When someone has performance anxiety, they fear that the performance will be a failure even if they are well prepared.
Usually—occurs when fear of outcome, interferes with the process of doing.
It’s Meaning…
If we can train ourselves to not overreact to negative outcomes, then we won’t have to deal with P.As. It occurs when we become so worried or concerned about the outcomes of our performance that our nervousness interferes with the performance itself.
“Damn you PA!” I can’t believe you’ve ruined my life. Uhm—What else do they have on this anxiety?
Classic examples include “freezing up” when giving a public speech.
Under conditions of performance anxiety, people will make decisions to manage their emotional states—rather than to properly manage their reality. Very often, these guys will have good ideas but will never participate due to—fear of failure. “Well, that’s true”.
You know, anxieties are just stories we tell our minds… It’s one of the paradoxes of performance; we are ready to win when we are no longer threatened by our failures.
For real? I mean that’s true though cos’ I be imagining different possibilities of failure. Then, I come up with the conclusion that maybe that’s what I am. “Anx-boy the failure!”
Why Traders Suffer From PA?
Sorry! I zoned out a little. The story I was telling, is actually going to be told in my book (coming soon). Back to the actual first sentence—Where do you stand presently in—trading?
Traders who suffer from PAs, are mostly seen as perfectionist or fear holders. What kind of fear am I speaking of?—It’s our very own, “atychiphobia”. But, you’re probably wondering why—I’ll help you.
When you trade to not lose, instead of win, you find yourself in the bubble of performance anxiety. You start avoiding future performances—because you believe failure will/might result in humiliation or rejection.
I keep coming for the media traders!
People of this generation, actually love the idea of social gratification—that they believe anyone who post cars and money. Why? I mean who doesn’t like the goodies of life… It’s just that most times, these goodies aren’t really what you need as a beginner.
Yeah-yeah, we all love a good motivation but—we get in the game (trading) without realizing that—it’s not as easy as it looks. The simple reason traders suffer from PA is—they avoid losses so much that, it actually takes their willpower of actually making trade orders.
The other day, I was at a seminar and this guy said, “the only skill a trader needs to be successful is—to know how to click you mouse”. If you think about it—it’s true. Anyone can tap a buy or sell and be in profit. In one of my podcast episodes, I spoke about the difference between being a trader and being profitable.
So, to me—PAs are just signs of ego and the fear of rejection.
The One That Fears Rejection
Day 53 of personality exploration…
What if I fail, don’t get it right or they don’t like me?—That was all I was thinking about. I mean, no friends, bullied, just plain rejection or at least, that’s what I “thought”.
You know—mama would say, “Humans are like shells, we seek to protect our interior from any potential harm” Heh, or is it crabs? She definitely used an animal. It’s funny how most times—fear can only be an “illusion” that we created by “ourselves” using our own minds.
It may be due to loss, trauma or just experience itself. Most people don’t realize how powerful they are—because they’ve lived their life in a bubble, they created. You know what I think, Fear is only an illusion. A dream only comes true if you believe it. Have you ever imagined the life you want and I don’t mean the, “Oh! I want to succeed” kind of imagination. I mean in details!
The moment I realized how much I can do with my mind, that’s when I started journaling every single move, decision, and step I made.
Every failure and successes in our life, started with a single thought. Now a thought is just a noun but—it becomes a verb when you believe it.
Similarly, performance anxieties are created from just a single thought of, “What if”… Here’s a riddle I created for you: When is a thought not a thought? Answering that alone, would make you as powerful as, God himself. I mean—we’re made from his own image right? You only take the image of a god—when you realize just how powerful you are.
Trader Lydia’s Story
A friend once said, “Thoughts have no power till they have your attention”. The fear of rejection tends to affect our ability to succeed in personal and professional areas of our lives.
Sylvia, my mom, told me of a trader who was so lonely that—she sought after validation from others. Ergo, she chose perfection over progression. Never wanted to be seen as weak in front of other traders, never acknowledged her losses—in-fact, she was embarrassed by them. How else was she going to be accepted—by the rest of the traders, in a pack?
Lydia was scared of rejection!
This affected her performance as a trader. She was never able to trade properly as she now developed performance anxiety (PAs). Funny, she had an edge, the right knowledge of the markets but, she just couldn’t pull the trigger. Many will say, “she’s a coward” but—I just think Lydia needed acceptance. You see, once you learn to accept certain truths—life won’t have to be difficult; trading won’t have to be difficult.
Traders have grown to believe you need a team to succeed—I just want to let you know that, “There’s no T-E-A-M in Trading, There’s an I.”
Her story changed when she realized, she only had herself to impress.
The One With Ego
Day 54 of personality exploration…
Every morning I wake up I tell myself, it’s okay to be proud of yourself but, mom would say, “too much of everything is bad”. Heh, everyone has an ego. I just think ego means knowing yourself well enough to know what you’re worth. It’s knowing that your unique and can stand up for yourself.
There’s something funny about the ego though—egos live in the past and the future, they don’t believe in acceptance as well, attachments come easily to them.
It’s 9:00 am and all I’m thinking about is my pitch. I remember what happened when I was 15—there was panic, people laughed, most wooed. I wonder if it will happen again?
Did you notice what I did there? That was my ego speaking. Ego thought of the past and the future in just a single sentence. That’s what happens when we do too much of everything. Mom would say, “On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom”.
Having PAs that day was because—my ego is sometimes the bad guy. When you live in the past and future you give “ego” a power to ruin your entire life.
Before I close off, Maxime said I should let you know that you should, “Destroy your illusions so you can see reality. Destroy your fears so you can take risks. Destroy your ego so you can see life”.
So, where do you presently stand in—Trading?…
‘Wake up Jam’, Jane screamed… it’s your turn to give your pitch.
Make 2022 Great Again!!!Top 10 Things To Work On in 2022 Related To Forex Trading:
1) Price Action is #1
2) Risk Management (will help you or hurt you)- always trade only 1% to 2% of account on one individual trade. Lot sizes, stops, targets etc...
3) Always use a stop loss ( let trade breath give it room for price action to go wrong way, before price action does what your trading plan says it would)
4) Use major supply or resistance or demand or support areas to set up trades (check into using pivot points- especially if day trading or scalping)
5) Remember these four things: Right pair, Right price, Right session(s) and Right Time
6) High liquidity and volume are from Tokyo end to London end (12 hours)- consider only trading between these hours. Other time, have some fun!!!
7) Use ATR (average true range) of all pairs you trade to determine- entry, stops and targets
8) If day trading or scalping (under 50 pips per trade)- look for engulfing, harami and pin bar set ups at key psychological price levels to set news trades up.
9) Keep your charts as naked or clear of indicators as possible, more clutter on charts in Forex trading is actually a bad thing. Keep trading simple!!!
10) Finally, no place for both emotions and greed in Forex trading- take your little piece of pip pie (profit) and move on to next trade.
Always remember in Forex trading and Life the following: Yesterday is history, today is a present and tomorrow is a gift!!!
Risk Management: the Beauty and the Main Principles of itHey, magicians, hope you are all doing great and enjoying the holiday season! After receiving multiple requests from you, we are back with another Educational Post and the topic is the following: Risk Management and its Principles.
As we have already discussed in some of the previous educational posts, Risk Management, alongside with other componenets, is one of the most important elements that need to be followed in the world of Trading. If one wants to be successful and profitable in this journey, obeying the fundamentals of Risk Management is a MUST.
We have created a visual illustration which will explain how Risk Management really functions, and how one can be successful by implementing it in a correct way. In order to better understand the table, let us make the following assumptions:
-We are journaling our last 28 trades
-We have risked 1% on each transaction (trade)
-Our win rate is only 50%
-We do not have any BREAKEVEN trades, meaning we have left all our positions run open till TP/SL
As we can notice from the graphical illustration, most of the trades have different Risk-To-Reward ratios (for example: 1:3, 1:2, 1:1.8 etc.). With only 50% win rate, our Winning Trades will make us a nice +35.2% return, while the losing trades will set us back by -14%. If we do quick maths, we will see that the total return from our last 28 trades will constitute 21.2%!
There is no "Holy Grail" in trading, but following the principles of Risk Management can lead one to the door of consistency and profitability. Of course, Risk Management is not the only element, as psychology, patience, mindset, and some other factors should be considered and mastered as well.
We will be looking forward to covering other psychological aspects of trading in the next few educational posts! Until then, stay safe and happy, and if you have any requests or proposals, feel free to let us know in the comment section below!
Investroy would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy upcoming New Year!
Risk Management Basics | Retest Trading 💡
Hey traders,
Being breakout traders we have two options for trade entries:
when the breakout is confirmed we can either open a trading position aggressively once the candle closes above/below the structure or we can be conservative and wait for a retest of the broken structure first.
What is peculiar about the second option is the fact that the majority of pro traders prefer the retest entries. In this article, we will discuss the pros and cons of retest trading.
✔️First, let's discuss whether the retest is guaranteed. NO. How often do we see that? Around 50-55% of the time. Does it mean that 45-50% of breakout trades will be missed? YES.
The main disadvantage of retest trading is that a lot of trading opportunities will be missed. Occasionally the breakout triggers a strong market rally not letting the price return back to the broken structure.
So what is the point to wait for a retest then? Why let the market go without us in case if there is no retest?
✔️Most of the time the breakout candle closes quite far from a broken level. Opening the trading position once the candle closes and setting a stop loss below/above the broken structure, one can get a very big stop loss. Such a big stop that its pip value exceeds or equals the potential return.
🖼️In the picture, I drew a classic channel breakout trade.
The aggressive trader opened a long position as the candle closed above the channel's resistance.
His stop loss is lying below the lower low of the channel.
Analyzing his risk to reward ratio, we can see that his reward equals his risk.
On the right side is the position of the conservative trader.
His stop loss in lying on the same level.
However, instead of opening a trading position on a breakout candle, he decided to wait for a retest of the broken resistance of the channel. Just a slight adjustment of his entry-level gives him a completely different risk to reward ratio.
❗️Patience pays in trading. Missing some trades a retest trader will outperform the aggressive trader in the long run.
Trading is about weighting your potential gains & losses. Paying commissions and swaps for every trade, it is much better for us to trade less but pick the setups that give us a decent potential reward.
What type of trading do you prefer?
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3 Things I Wish I Was Told Before Becoming A TraderTrader Jamal…
Hey, Finn—What you doing here… Are you here to wind me up?
No, Jam! Shucks—Just heard you’re rich now. Trading stole our red-collar boy. How has it being though?
Tough!… I won’t even lie to you man. It’s being real tough. I even told my story here to people. You know what they said, “I told you so”.
I mean all I wanted was “financial freedom”. Pfft—I don’t even know what I was thinking. I’m broke man! Everything I’ve done has really messed me up, Finn.
I’ve lost close to $70,000 in total. Mistakes, hesitations, personality problems, and fear. I think… I might just quit—Maybe trading isn’t for me man… Came to get some food. We’ll talk later Finn—Bye!
“As a trader, the key is to learn more about yourself”… Huh! What do you mean sir?—Are you talking to me?
Yes, Forgive me son—I overheard your complaints to your friend. 43 years ago—I was exactly like you son. If I may ask, how long have you been trading?
Umm, 2 years sir. It really hasn’t being that long.
Then why are you complaining? … I’ve been in the game for 43 years and I didn’t achieve consistency—until after 10 years of trials and lots of errors. So, don’t give up yet!
Erg! sir… —I just don’t know what I’ve been doing wrong. I can’t tell.
The Old Trader tale
Everything I’ve done has been a total fail. You know, I went to school of candles Pretoria—Nothing has happened, so far. Tell me sir, what else should I do?
All right Jamon… … It’s Jamal sir
Jamal, can I tell you my story… I’ll appreciate that sir.
November 3, 1850, I became a trader—A friend introduced me to trading, when I was at my lowest. A short story…
What do you mean sir? I don’t understand… I’m going to let you in—on my secret. But, you have to make sure, you’re patient enough to listen.
On January 5, 1849 I graduated with a first class honors in Business and Finance. It was the greatest day for me—Cos’ I could finally become the Businessman/Banker I’ve always wanted to be. I thought to myself, “Isn’t this great?”
So I started job hunting, I focused more on the banking sector… I searched and foraged around Beverly hills but—It was total disappointment. Until, I finally got it.
Hey! guess which bank came through—It’s The First Republic Bank. They took me in. Good pay and all; it was my dream job.
I mean you must be asking, “why quit and become a trader?”
Simple! it wasn’t the life I pictured. I know I wanted to be in the financial sector—Wanted that classy business guy life—But, the idea of sitting in a spot to make money… wasn’t what I imagined. Two words, “It’s Boring”!
Why Quit Your Job Trader
The questions I asked myself was, “Is this where you really see yourself in 5 years?”… That was the only bank that offered me a great job—I knew that per fas et nefas, I am definitely going to have my financial freedom.
So, I started my search again. This time I was specific—No bosses, anywhere in the world and My own time. You should know what that means, right Jamal?
Oh! Yes sir I do… Just curious to how trading met you…
Sir, you graduated with a first class honors in finance yet, you spent 10 years in becoming a consistent trader What happened?
Don’t worry I’m getting there. Most traders don’t know this yet but, “It’s really mind over market; EQ over IQ” here. You’ll think that, because I came out with such good grades—I’ll be a market wiz in a short period.
That’s not how trading works!
You know, my friend Victor once said, “The key to trading success is emotional discipline. If intelligence were the key, there would be a lot more people making money trading… Ergo—the single most important reason that people lose money in the trading is because—they become too emotional, in denial, and cannot control these emotions”.
That’s why Jamal, Trading is really not about your IQ; It’s more or less about you as a person. Your mindset, beliefs, character—everything about you would be tested. As a trader , you are really playing against yourself. It’s you versus you!
I Discovered The Art Of Trading!
Before I continue my story, I’ll ask you a question—Do you understand your personality?
Shucks, well… Yes! I do. But, the change hasn’t been easy sir. I realized that my character flaws gets in the way of my progress. Exactly! Jamal…
Back to my story. I wasn’t happy with my job; even though it felt like it was my dream job. After working there for a year and reflecting—I realized, “No! man this isn’t what I expected”. It’s a bore!
Most people are like you Jamal. They’d ask, “Why spend 10 years in figuring out trading, if you graduated with a—first class Honors”. It’s because… trading is more than IQ! In trading, the intelligent also encounter problems, if not more—in trading. You know… You and I.
That’s why I used victor’s quotes.
Now, I was looking for my dream job, which was, making money whilst at the comfort of my home. My degree couldn’t give me that. I needed to have a skill. But, I’ll let you on a secret Jamal–-“A degree without skill is just nothing more than, a unit of angle measurements”.
Something happened—on the 15 September, 1850, there was a seminar. The bank made sure every of its staff were in attendance—Most grumbled, some happy, others indifferent. I actually wanted to reject the offer… until I saw the topic of the seminar. It read, “Your missing key to financial freedom”.
Of course I went. That’s what I wanted! Ugh… That seminar alone changed my view of the finance industry and I discovered the art of trading. A beautiful art I must say; The best!
Immediately, I saw a reflection, I imagined what it would feel like—If I became a trader.
Self-Reflection
The moderator said something, he said, “What kind of life do you want to live? A 9-5 till your 60 or an anytime you want till your 30”. You see, I pondered on that quote for the longest time. I don’t think I’ve ever had to think so hard. Anyway, I made a choice!
I have to know how to trade!
That’s what I said to myself. But, I didn’t quit my job just yet. I needed that job at least, till—I was great at the art of trading. Damn! I probably shouldn’t have quit my job right?
Heh! Listen, what’s already done shouldn’t be spoken about. You made a decision that was best for you at that time. Jamal you’re still young and there’s still time to make better decisions. As a trader, allow yourself make mistakes; if not, you’ll avoid them only to meet them at the finish line.
Do you understand!… Yes sir.
When I told myself that, I started looking. I searched for articles, books and listened to colleagues. We had no YouTube then—all we had were newspapers and the lying broadcast. But, I didn’t give up!
Working in the bank kind of gave me an upper hand—because I had access to financial data. Jimmy was our foreign exchange (forex) wiz. I needed Jimmy to be my friend.
I had to become a trader!
Becoming a trader, gave room to a lot of challenges—I encountered… The first was putting up with old Jimmy’s attitude. Jimmy wasn’t a friendly person but, Jimmy had what I needed. Did that stop me? No!
I had a goal. “I had to become a Trader!”… Old Jimmy wasn’t going to be a hindrance to that plan.
Secondly, I had to be patient because I knew Old Jimmy might say—The words I dreaded the most, “No!”. Which he did—severally!
Each time I got home, I’d tick my trading boxes. Each time, I realized how far I was—from becoming this trader. But, I stayed.
Months passed, days tripled and I finally got a demo account.
Trader Jimmy, Here—I Come…
Jimmy insisted I start with the demo. His words, “You need to get familiar with the system”. So, I started practicing what I’ve learnt and I was doing surprisingly well.
Also started making paper trading cash—I became obsessed with the reality that—it could all be mine. I assumed, “Maybe that’s all I need from learning”.
So, I quit!
Left the bank, told my colleagues, “bye”… I was out!
Hmm… thought to myself, “Hey, Trader …here I come”.
Months passed and I finally invested 50% of my salary into—a live account. I was ready or—I thought I was.
The first few trades were great; an account of $50,000 tripled. “Woah! I can’t believe that worked—what have I been doing in the bank since?”, “Could have been earning twice my salary in a day”, I mulled.
It’s a Friday morning. Hurrah! NFP… “the best time to get the bag”, that’s the phrase Jimmy would use.
Wham! I opened several positions and… Sighs, it ate my equity. Damn! it’s all gone. As if that wasn’t enough—I added more money. Told myself, “You can’t give up now” This is all you have!
In my bank account, $70,000 was left. Hmm… “well, it’s all or nothing” I exclaimed. Dialed the broker and added $30,000… left $40,000 for emergency reasons. Cos’ if I could lose $50,000—then it’s possible to lose more of that. Wasn’t going to be foolish twice!
But, it was actually worse…
For 9 horrible years of my life… I couldn’t figure it out. This Trader became miserable, broke and hurt.
Until, I realized…
One thing the demo does for the trader is, it reveals to you all you can achieve if—you didn’t have emotions. But, you’re human!
We all have emotions—that’s actually a problem. After my years of failing and picking myself up from the fence, I understood the market was trying to teach me something.
Jamal, I’m going to share with you 3 lessons I learnt from my Chi-Fu called, “market”. These lessons all come with sacrifices… It should help you pick up your art and become its master. The first…
As A Trader Become A Great Loser
Jamal, can you think of a trader who actually boasted about his losses?
Most people don’t like to show the black eye and swollen lips—they show you the beauty marks and glittering veneers. Obsessions over something makes you have less of it. To be a good winner; you have to be a good loser.
Huh! what does that mean sir?
You have to come to terms with losing. In-fact, losing should be an opportunity for you to learn something new about—yourself and the markets. Learn to appreciate your losses.
Why sir? It hurts! That’s my hard-earned money… Jamal cries.
Exactly, Jamal! It should. Life is all about lessons and so is the market. Have you ever received something without giving?
Uh… Not that I can remember.
Exactly! It’s because you haven’t. In everything, there’s a relationship. Now—this relationship can either be mutualistic or parasitic. Trading is only parasitic if the lessons aren’t fully digested.
Listen, If I gave you $500 and you misplaced it; you became careless—It got missing. What will you do?
Err, I probably look for it Sir.
“What if you don’t find it, remember it’s not your money”, The man responds.
“I’ll probably cry Sir. How else would I replace it”, Jamal interjects.
Okay great, You know that “crying” doesn’t bring the money back right? That’s exactly what happens in the market. We fail to learn from our mistakes, we let our emotions take over, instead of listening to the actual lesson.
The next time someone gives you $500—I know for a fact—Jamal, that you’ll be more careful. You know why? Because there’s being a loss before. Now, you either learn to protect it or become careless again.
What will you choose?
I’ll learn to protect it Sir.
Good! That’s the first lesson. In the market however, you might keep losing this $500—Each time there’s a loss, there’s a lesson. Right?
Which brings me to my next lesson. It’s a question first; then after the question—comes the lesson. Are you ready for it Jamal?
Heh, yes sir!
Haha! Nice, you want to take down notes. Interesting…
Will You Allow The Market Bully You?
Have you ever been bullied in life? Either a childhood school bully or a boss… “Oh, my God—Yes sir!”,
Heh!… okay, That was a fast response—seems you can’t forget that one. It was bad huh?
Bad!
Anyway, bullies’ have power—only when they feel superior. It’s just like a Cat and Mice, the cat seems very powerful when ever he sees a mice—Cos’ he’s bigger. But, most times—The mice is smaller and wiser. A mice that isn’t wise gets trampled upon.
So, If that school bully comes now and tries to bully you, will you allow it?… Of course not. I’m probably a lot bigger now and It ain’t possible anymore.
Exactly, Jamal. You got better!
If you’re that kid that got bullied in school, You know it’s no different from the market. The market is that childhood bully, that boss at work—but this time around, I want you to see the market as “Jimmy”. Yeah, he would bully you but—you should allow him: to gain from him.
Try to come to terms with his agreement. Now, you have to be friends with this bully…
What!… Why, I mean how do you get a bully to be your friend?
“You don’t force the bully to be your friend Jamal, he doesn’t have to like you—but you have to like him.”, The man responds.
The reason you allow this bully (market) to get to you—is because, you get to gain from him (the bully). The bully is a tough nut to crack but, knowing that each pain becomes an experience is the goal. Have you ever lost something valuable before Jamal.
“Uh… Yeah” Jamal stutters, while answering.
Okay, great—how did you feel? Not a pleasant emotion, right?… but, what happens—you learn from the experience. Two choices: you either decide to move on or avoid it right?
What do you do Jamal?
“Run away—I guess. Cos’ I really don’t want to feel that pain again. It’s horrible so why try to experience it twice?”, Says Jamal.
Trading should a pleasurable pain—like a woman who just lost her virginity. A bittersweet experience…
I thought you will say that. Listen Jamal—the bully is going to keep hurting you, as long as, you still in that school. Likewise, you’ll probably encounter more losses—as long as, you decide trading is what you want to do.
Listen, in life change or experiences just don’t happen—they only happen when they become a necessity.
You decide you want to change; when you know that beating becomes unbearable. It’s not something you run from.
Don’t be a wuss Jamal!
Face it!…You’ll need to actually face it.
Most traders are wimps—looking for the nearest rat… because, the elephant becomes too big for them to handle. So, are you a wimp or are you valorous? The more you learn from the experience—the better you become.
But, the more bruises..
Until, you become so good that—you no longer fear the bully and you might even learn to face this bully. Do you get it? I’ll give you some time to digest that before the last and final lesson.
Try to know the other side
“I’m ready sir!”
Great! A wise man once said, “Certainty is the only illusion a trader has.” Do you know what that means? … I’ll take that as a “no”. Anyway, have you ever seen a coin before? Heh—who am I kidding, you probably have some in you pockets now.
So, a little exercise—shall we?
Now, look at the front of the coin you’re holding—carefully study it, Now—tell me what’s at the back of it? Eh… I have no idea sir—I’ll have to flip it.
Exactly, most traders don’t actually flip this coin—you see. They don’t even want to know what’s on the other side. You know why? It’s because they love their comfort zone. These are the wuss traders; the ones who run from the bullies.
We call them, “routine traders”.
There are always two sides to a coin but most times, until you flip it… you’ll have no idea what the other side looks like. I won’t even lie—we always like the safe route to things. If something is safe for you, you might just tell yourself, “uh, well—I like it here. Why stress to know what’s on the other side?”. But, in trading—there’s no safe route.
Don’t hold strong opinions about things you don’t truly understand.
You have got to take that risk. No shorts to this cut, Jamal. There are two sides to a trader: the one who runs from the bullies—because the pain become unbearable and the ones who face the pain—knowing that the end to that tunnel is great.
The question is, what side are you on?
Most traders quit because they prefer the latter—“I like it here tommy, don’t pull me out yet—I can’t face the world”, They’ll say.
My final lesson is; have an open mind. The strong willed—don’t always will lots of bucks here. Try not to have a strong opinion in your trading decision. Be the trader who adapts to the changes of the market—not the one controlled by it. Remember, be the lame kid who takes the blow.
Painful but, worth it.
Now You Know… What Next?
You know Jamal—I tell people, “those who have strong opinions about the markets are either knowledge-able or totally ignorant”. The only strong opinion you should have about trading, Jamal, is—you shouldn’t be married to an opinion. A dangerous thing about trading is that—it isn’t really a game for spectators. If you ask me, the most dangerous sport out there is—trading.
Traders are also the most dangerous people on planet… where-ever you breathe right now.
You know why?
These guys take crazy risk, without any form of medication in place. The number of heart breaks a trader has in a day/week will be enough to make him never believe in love. Haha! Nah trading is actually fun but—don’t let anyone deceive you into thinking, it’s all roses and sunshines. It’s really not!
It’s a mental game—about emotions. Where the emotional ones get kicked out; The heartless/ruthless ones always make it far. Simple!, they really “don’t care”.
My friend Scott will say, “i’m suspicious of people who have strong opinions on complicated stuffs”. Heh! people who sugar-coat things—they don’t tell you what you should hear. They’re also the ones who post for the media sake.
Now most traders try so hard to understand the market that—they actually fail to make money. Don’t lose yourself in trying to beat the market… You can’t!
She’s way smarter and richer. You’re a pauper!
Stick to management cos’, this one’s a thief. She’ll dig you of all your diamonds if you think you can beat her. Probably the smartest woman out there! Anyway, Jamal, I think with this few lessons of mine—you should never, ever, think you’re the worst trader on earth. The fact that you even lost means you tried.
Well, it’s a good thing you met me. Hey! i’m Trader Steve—the worst trader on earth.
HOW NOT TO LOSS OUR DIGITAL ASSETS PART twoHow to make a suitable portfolio?
First of all, it should be noted that people who do not look at this market as a job and have come only for profit, do not involve more than 10 to 20% of their total capital in this market. In case of loss, their sentiment will not destroy their entire account and they will not have stress in dealing with different market conditions.
We must first divide digital assets into safe assets and low safety assets. Safety is considered here in terms of value preservation.
In Crypto, I consider BTC and ETH as safe assets. But certainly BTC's share of the portfolio is larger than ETH.
Now let's move on to how to manage a portfolio:
1. Out of 100% of our total account, we should allocate about 40 to 50% to safe assets. Because in the event of a market downturn, these assets perform better and retain their value better. Of course, you should buy these assets in the right place, not in any market conditions. Not on top.
2. You can allocate about 10 to 15% of your account to major Altcoins. Major Altcoins are those with a market cap of $ 2 billion to $ 3 billion. You can roughly count the top 50 coins in the coinmarketcup.com
3.You can allocate about 10% of your account to middle Altcoins. middle Altcoins are those with a market cap of $ 300 million to $ 2 billion.
4.You can allocate about 10% of your account to minor Altcoins. minor Altcoins are those with a market cap blow of $ 300 million. These coins have a high risk but also a higher probability of profit.
5.We keep about 10 to 20% of the account tether, to buy in more suitable places or use it for short-term trade.
Of course, in some situations, with changes in dominance and other things in mind, changes can be made to these percentages to work better, but this can be a major base in portfolio management.
I hope you have a good year. Merry Christmas