Mastering the "IF-THEN" Mindset: The Key to Stress-Free TradingIn this video, I’ll share how using IF-THEN statements helps me stay balanced in my trading. It’s simple: IF the price does this, THEN I’ll do that. Having a plan like this keeps me from getting caught up in emotions and helps me react to what’s actually happening in the market – not what I wish would happen.
This mindset keeps things smooth, makes trade management easier, and keeps me consistent. It’s all about staying ready for whatever the market throws your way.
If this vibe clicks with you, drop a comment, like, or follow – I’ve got plenty more insights to share!
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The 1% Rule: A Key to Long-Term Trading SuccessUnderstanding the 1% Risk Management Strategy in Trading
Effective risk management is the backbone of successful trading, helping traders preserve capital and avoid emotional decision-making. The 1% risk management strategy is one of the most widely used approaches, aimed at limiting the potential loss on any single trade to 1% of your total trading capital. Let’s break down how this strategy works and why it’s essential for both novice and experienced traders.
What Is the 1% Risk Rule?
The 1% risk rule ensures that a trader never risks more than 1% of their account balance on a single trade. For example, if you have $20,000 in your account, you would limit your risk to $200 on any given trade. The idea behind this rule is to safeguard your account from catastrophic losses that could occur from consecutive losing trades .
How to Apply the 1% Risk Rule
To apply the 1% rule effectively, you need to combine position sizing with stop-loss orders. Here’s how you can implement this strategy:
1. Determine Your Account Risk: Calculate 1% of your trading capital. For example, with a $10,000 account, 1% equals $100. This is the maximum amount you’re willing to lose on a single trade.
2. Set a Stop-Loss: A stop-loss helps cap your losses at the 1% threshold. If you’re buying shares of a stock at $50 and decide on a stop-loss 1 point below, your “cents at risk” is $1 per share. If you’re willing to lose $100, you can buy 100 shares ($100 / $1 per share risk).
3. Position Sizing: The size of your trade depends on the risk per share. By determining your stop-loss level, you calculate how many shares you can buy to keep your total loss within the 1% limit. This process prevents you from taking excessively large positions that could lead to significant losses .
Why the 1% Rule Is Effective
The 1% rule is effective because it keeps your potential losses small relative to your total capital. Even during periods of losing streaks, this strategy prevents large drawdowns that could lead to emotional trading or complete account wipeout.
For instance, if you experience a string of ten losing trades in a row, you would only lose 10% of your capital, giving you plenty of opportunities to recover without significant emotional stress .
Advantages of the 1% Risk Rule
1. Protects Your Capital: By risking only a small portion of your account on each trade, you prevent significant losses that could deplete your account.
2. Encourages Discipline: Sticking to the 1% rule helps instill discipline, keeping traders from making impulsive trades that deviate from their trading plan.
3. Provides Flexibility: The rule works for all market conditions and strategies, whether you are trading stocks, forex, or other assets. As long as you adhere to the 1% threshold, you can trade confidently without fear of losing too much on any single trade .
The Risk-Reward Ratio
An essential component of the 1% rule is pairing it with a favorable risk-reward ratio. Traders typically aim for a minimum reward of 2 to 3 times the risk. For example, if you’re risking $100 on a trade, you should aim for at least a $200 to $300 profit. This ensures that even with a 50% win rate, your profitable trades will outweigh your losses .
Conclusion
The 1% risk management strategy is a powerful tool for minimizing risk and protecting your trading capital. By incorporating proper position sizing, stop-loss orders, and a disciplined approach, you can navigate the market confidently while safeguarding your account from large drawdowns. Whether you’re a day trader or a swing trader, applying this strategy will help you build consistent success over time.
By maintaining a focus on risk management, traders can shift their mindset from seeking high returns to preserving capital, which is the key to long-term success in the markets.
4. e-Learning with the TradingMasteryHub - Risk Management 1x1🚀 Welcome to the TradingMasteryHub Education Series! 📚
Are you looking to level up your trading game? Join us for the next 10 lessons as we dive deep into essential trading concepts that will help you grow your knowledge and sharpen your skills. Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your strategy, these lessons are designed to guide you on your journey to better understand the markets.
📊 Manage Your Risk with These Three Simple Methods!
In trading, managing risk effectively is crucial to long-term success. Even the best strategies can fail if risk management is ignored. In this session, we'll explore three key methods that every trader should master to protect their capital and stay consistently profitable.
1. Position Sizing: Trade Smart, Trade Safe
Position sizing is the foundation of risk management. I always set a daily and weekly stop-loss limit to ensure that I can recover mentally and financially from any losses. My daily stop-loss is capped at 5-10% of my entire trading account, and I never risk more than 30% of that daily limit on a single trade.
Each trade's risk allocation depends on the quality of the opportunity:
- 5-star setups: Up to 30% of the daily stop-loss.
- 4-star setups: Up to 15% of the daily stop-loss.
- 3-star setups: Up to 5% of the daily stop-loss.
I only trade 4-star setups and above to avoid overtrading and the temptation to jump into random market opportunities. This disciplined approach ensures that I’m only putting my capital at risk when the odds are strongly in my favor.
2. Stop-Loss Orders: Protect Your Trades with Precision
When setting stop-losses, I place them at strategic points highlighted by the market, such as significant support or resistance levels. To avoid premature stop-outs due to market noise, I set my stop-loss beyond the spread and the market’s natural fluctuations. For example, if the FDAX is in an uptrend with the last higher low at 17,000 points and the spread is 15 points, I would set my stop-loss at 16,967 points (17,000 - 15 - 17).
This ensures that my risk/reward ratio (R/R-ratio) is correctly calculated. Before entering any trade, I carefully assess whether the potential upside justifies the risk. If the R/R-ratio isn’t favorable, even for a 5-star setup, I might avoid the trade to protect my capital.
3. Diversification: Tailor Your Strategy to Your Comfort Level
Diversification is another critical aspect of risk management. As a trader, you can choose to focus on a handful of ticker symbols or spread your risk across a broader range of assets. The first approach, trading a few instruments, is easier to manage and ideal for strategies like market profile trading in FX or indices.
Alternatively, you might opt for a more diversified portfolio, trading up to 50 different stocks at once. In this strategy, each trade only represents a small fraction of your total risk capital—such as your daily stop-loss. This minimizes the emotional strain of trading, as each individual trade carries a smaller risk. With a solid strategy, you can manage all trades effectively, spreading your approach across calls, puts, different markets, industries, and volatility levels. However, this approach is typically better suited for larger accounts, where spread costs won’t significantly impact your profits.
🔚 Conclusion and Recommendation
Risk management isn’t just about protecting your capital; it’s about maintaining the psychological stability needed to trade consistently. By mastering position sizing, setting precise stop-loss orders, and choosing the right diversification strategy, you can navigate the markets with confidence and discipline. Remember, successful trading isn’t just about finding the right opportunities—it’s about managing those opportunities wisely to ensure long-term profitability.
By focusing on high-quality trade setups, calculating your risks accurately, and diversifying appropriately, you’ll find that you can maintain your composure even during losing streaks. This approach not only protects your account but also keeps your mind clear and your emotions in check, paving the way for sustained success.
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Traders, managers and loss aversion in investment banking█ Traders, managers and loss aversion in investment banking
In investment banking institutions, traders and managers exert immense pressure to maximize gains while minimizing losses. In fact, loss aversion, the tendency to prefer avoiding losses over acquiring equivalent gains, is what influences most of their decision-making. If not managed effectively, this bias can lead to suboptimal trading decisions and significantly impact the overall performance of financial institutions.
This comprehensive field study by Willmana et al., "Traders, Managers, and Loss Aversion in Investment Banking," examines how loss aversion manifests among traders and managers in four major investment banks. The study integrates insights from agency theory and prospect theory to explore the risk management strategies employed by both groups.
█ Background and Theory
Two critical theories, agency theory, and prospect theory, help explain how individuals within these institutions make decisions.
Agency Theory: This theory deals with the relationship between principals (e.g., shareholders) and agents (e.g., managers and traders). It posits that agents employed to make decisions on behalf of principals may not always act in the principal's best interests due to differing goals and risk appetites.
For instance, if you're a trader, you might engage in riskier behavior to maximize your bonuses. At the same time, your managers might prioritize stability and risk mitigation to protect their positions.
Prospect Theory: Introduced by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, prospect theory describes how people choose between probabilistic alternatives that involve risk. It highlights two main biases: loss aversion and the framing effect.
Loss aversion is the tendency to prefer avoiding losses over acquiring equivalent gains, and the framing effect shows that the way a problem or decision is presented can significantly impact choices.
█ Explanation of Risk Aversion and Loss Aversion
Risk Aversion: It is the preference for certainty over uncertainty. In the context of trading, risk-averse individuals prefer investments with lower risk and potentially lower returns over those with higher risk and higher potential returns.
Loss Aversion: A central component of prospect theory, loss aversion suggests that the pain of losing is psychologically about twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining. This bias can lead traders to hold onto losing positions longer than is rational and to sell winning positions too quickly, seeking to lock in gains and avoid realizing losses.
█ Methodology
The study by Willmana et al. utilizes a qualitative research approach, focusing on detailed interviews to gather insights into the behaviors and attitudes of traders and managers in investment banking. The researchers interviewed 118 traders and managers across four leading investment banks. These interviews included questions about motivations, emotions, trading strategies, organizational culture, and experiences with gains and losses. Additionally, 10 senior managers participated in the management interview section, providing a broader perspective on organizational practices and controls.
█ Key Findings
Managers are primarily concerned with mitigating losses rather than maximizing gains. Position holders tend to intervene more aggressively when traders experience losses, emphasizing the need to cut losing positions quickly to prevent further deterioration.
The study found that managers used veto power primarily to reduce risk. As one manager said, "My veto works only one way—to reduce risk." Managers frequently highlighted the importance of controlling downside risk. One manager noted, "My role as a manager is to cover the downside rather than the upside. I try to enforce the discipline of cutting losses rather than pushing them to add to positions."
⚪ Differences in Risk Management Strategies
The study revealed traders often operate with significant autonomy and tend to take on more risk, particularly in pursuing higher bonuses. Conversely, managers focus on ensuring that risk levels remain within acceptable limits, stepping in mainly to curtail losses. The research showed that managers are generally ex-traders who understand the technical complexities of trading. However, their managerial role shifts their focus towards risk containment.
One trader mentioned, "95% of the time, managers are traders who have been in the business a long time and they have no real management skills." Traders have a strong ethos of autonomy, with managers intervening only when necessary. A manager noted, "I consider I have a veto on any positions my traders take, even when they are within their limits. But, to give you an idea, I think last year I used it once, the year before twice, and this year, not at all."
⚪ Impact of Bonus Structures and Incentive Systems
The study found that these systems often drive traders to take on higher risks to achieve performance targets, especially as the year-end approaches. Over half of the traders in the sample earned over £300,000 per annum, with bonuses constituting a significant portion of their total compensation.
The direction of risk-bearing behavior varied among traders toward the end of the compensation year. Some traders became risk-averse to protect their gains, while others increased their risk tolerance.
One trader stated, "Risk tolerance becomes infinite at the end of the year because we don't have any personal exposure to our results in the last couple of months; we can almost become less discriminating in the trades we put on."
█ Practical Implications for Retail Traders
Retail traders can draw several practical implications from the findings of this study:
⚪ Awareness of Loss Aversion: Retail traders should recognize their own tendencies towards loss aversion and implement strategies to manage this bias. This might include setting predefined stop-loss limits and adhering to them strictly to avoid letting losses run.
⚪ Structured Risk Management: Just as investment bank managers focus on controlling downside risk, retail traders should establish clear risk management frameworks. This includes setting risk limits for each trade and not deviating from these limits based on emotional responses.
⚪ Balanced Focus on Gains and Losses: While avoiding losses is crucial, retail traders should also develop strategies to maximize gains. This involves identifying opportunities for larger positions when the probability of success is high, without succumbing to undue caution after achieving small gains.
⚪ Bonus and Reward Systems: Retail traders should design their own reward systems to align with their trading goals. For instance, setting incremental performance targets and rewarding themselves upon achieving these can help maintain motivation and discipline.
⚪ Continuous Learning and Adaptation: Managers in investment banks often act as mentors, providing guidance based on their experience. Retail traders should seek out mentorship or peer support to learn from more experienced traders. Participating in trading communities and continuous education can help improve trading performance over time.
█ Applying Knowledge from the Study
Retail traders can apply the knowledge derived from this study in several ways:
⚪ Develop a Trading Plan: Create a comprehensive trading plan that includes risk management rules, entry and exit strategies, and guidelines for handling losses. Regularly review and update this plan based on trading performance and market conditions.
⚪ Implement Risk Controls: Use tools such as stop-loss orders, position sizing strategies, and diversification to manage risk effectively. Ensure that these controls are strictly followed to prevent emotional trading decisions.
⚪ Monitor Performance and Adjust: Regularly review trading performance to identify patterns of loss aversion or risk-seeking behavior. Use this analysis to adjust trading strategies and improve decision-making processes.
⚪ Seek Continuous Improvement: Engage in ongoing education through books, courses, and trading simulations. Stay updated on market trends and behavioral finance insights to refine trading strategies continuously.
By understanding the dynamics of loss aversion and the importance of structured risk management, retail traders can enhance their trading discipline and improve their chances of long-term success.
█ Reference
Willman, P., Fenton-O’Creevy, M., Nicholson, N., & Soane, E. (2002). Traders, managers and loss aversion in investment banking: A field study. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 27(1-2), 85-98. doi:10.1016/S0361-3682(01)00029-0.
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Disclaimer
This is an educational study for entertainment purposes only.
The information in my Scripts/Indicators/Ideas/Algos/Systems does not constitute financial advice or a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from the use of or reliance on such information.
All investments involve risk, and the past performance of a security, industry, sector, market, financial product, trading strategy, backtest, or individual's trading does not guarantee future results or returns. Investors are fully responsible for any investment decisions they make. Such decisions should be based solely on evaluating their financial circumstances, investment objectives, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs.
My Scripts/Indicators/Ideas/Algos/Systems are only for educational purposes!
A note to Risk Management and Exit StrategyI had a message and was inspired to speak my mind about correct risk management.
What is it? How can I use it? How does it serve me?
First of all, positions with no SL are a really bad idea, I don't care what bankers do. It is not cool or useful at all.
Depending on how refined your strategy is, you will be struggling with higher Exits in your beginnings.
Risk Management for Beginners:
Start with an 1:1 Risk Reward. Which means, exit all positions at the same amount where your Stop Loss would have been. It is the safest and fastest option until you know enough about the markets to aim for more. If not, most of your trades will land in BE and your losses will hurt even more. Trust me, I've been there.
Risk Management for advanced traders:
When your general win quota has reached about 70-90%, your account will not necessarily will be growing. Because we are humans and always will do some stupid experiments in between, whether we feel too safe with a bad idea, or want to try something new.
Its time to set 2-3 Exits. Use multiple positions, so you can leave them running.
2 Exit Strategy (50% at Exit 1 and 50% at Exit 2)
3 Exit Strategy (25% at Exit 1, 50% at Exit 2, 25% at Exit 3) This way you secure 200% with every successful trade.
Risk Management for Pros:
You can aim for higher exits minimize your Stop Loss. When you know where to find an Exit5 or Exit 10. Never reenter the same trade, the first idea is always valid.
Have a 4 Exit strategy without variation on the amount of risk per trade, and take an extra open trade for higher positions. Always know what your target is. (25% at Exit 1, 25% at Exit 2, 25% at Exit 3, 25% on the open position).
Do never vary the amount of your risk. Be aware that emotions do not matter and there is no difference in between trades. All aim to be profitable, otherwise we would not be trading. If you decide for 0.5% or 1 or 5%, it doesn't matter, just do not vary ever. Down or upscale slow, very slow.
Mastering Risk: Stop Loss in TradingTypes of Stop Loss
Money Stop
Definition: A trader sets a fixed amount they are willing to lose on a trade, for example, £20.
Issue: This approach often leads to larger losses because it doesn’t align with market movements.
Advice: Avoid using the money stop.
Time Stop
Definition: Used mainly by scalpers, this involves closing a trade if it doesn't move in the expected direction within a set time frame (e.g., 4-8 bars).
Key Point: It requires discipline to adhere to the set time limit.
Advice: Suitable for scalpers.
Technical Stop Loss
Definition: Based on price movements and market structure, this is the most effective stop loss for technical traders.
Types:
Initial Stop Loss: Set at the entry of a new position, usually at a momentum high or low. The trade remains valid as long as the price doesn't reach this point.
Technical Trailing Stop: Used to protect gains on a winning trade. As the price moves in your favor, adjust the stop to a new structure point that, if reached, invalidates the trade.
BTC Public Service Announcement. Plan for the Unexpected.This is a friendly PSA (Public Service Announcement), not a price prediction.
If you don't have a plan for any potential price movement over the coming months, make one. Make sure you can survive, or better yet, profit - regardless of which way we go from here
While there is substantial bull movement from a TA perspective and a non-TA perspective (i.e. ETF), history has shown that there is a real possibility of just about any price movement, up or down.
Don't try to fight the market. The market will win.
Five Habits for Safer TradingGreetings @TradingView community!
There are five everyday habits that can significantly limit your risk exposure and contribute to a more secure trading experience.
💜 If you appreciate our charts, give us a quick 💜
1. The Imperative Trading Plan
Despite repeated emphasis, many traders still operate without a well-defined trading plan, succumbing to impulsive decisions. Every trader should have a plan specifying entry and exit points, curbing emotional reactions to adverse price movements. A trading plan acts as a compass, navigating the unpredictable seas of the financial markets.
2. Trading Detox: Take a Step Back
Feeling trapped in a trading rut? Fundamentals and technical analyses losing their edge? Taking a step back from trading provides a valuable reset. By disengaging emotionally from positions, traders gain a fresh perspective on market themes and chart patterns. A break allows for reflection on past trades, often revealing insights that lead to an improved trading plan upon return.
3. Profit Lock-in Strategy
Often overlooked, locking in profits on winning trades is a prudent risk management practice. While riding a trend is tempting, securing a portion of profits limits exposure to potential volatility. Following strategies like STA or scaling techniques, where positions are adjusted based on market conditions, allows traders to secure gains even if trends abruptly reverse.
4. Precision in Execution
The ease of electronic trading comes with a caveat—erroneous commands. The infamous "fat finger" event of May 2010, resulting in a trillion-dollar market drop, serves as a cautionary tale. Double, triple, and quadruple-checking your orders is crucial. Make reviewing commands a routine, taking only seconds of your time but preventing costly blunders.
5. Regular Withdrawals for Stability
While seeing an account grow is gratifying, regularly withdrawing profits is a prudent move. It prevents overexposure and guards against impulsive decisions associated with additional capital. Being consistently profitable requires a focus on the trading process rather than profits. Treat yourself to the fruits of your labor by withdrawing money, enjoying a well-deserved break, and maintaining a healthy trading perspective.
Incorporating these habits into your daily trading routine can enhance your risk management strategy, contributing to a safer and more successful trading experience.
The Power of Risk ManagementRisk management is one of the key topics in forex trading that is not emphasised enough. Instead, there is too much emphasis on solely focusing on being on the right side of the market to consistently make money while ignoring proper risk management in the process. This post will completely debunk this, so after you have finished reading, you will hopefully have a completely new mindset on how to actually succeed long-term in forex.
Absolute Uncertainty
The forex market is a place where the majority of people struggle to find consistency. This is due to the nature of the market, where uncertainty is constant. What I mean by this is that the market is completely irrational and neutral; when you want to buy, there is somebody else on the other side that wants to sell, and vice versa. The market is filled with millions of other participants with their own goals, beliefs, and motivations; therefore, the market will go where it wants to go. Unfortunately, not enough people really grasp what this means and are obsessed with how many trades they can get right to make money.
The main purpose of risk management in forex is to reduce your trading risk and grow your trading capital safely. It is great to have good skills in determining the market's direction, but more importantly, you need to have good risk management skills too.
Two different traders, Same Trades, Two different outcomes
Let's put this into practice. Let us assume that two different traders both took the exact same ten trades and both won five of the ten trades taken. Let's call these traders 'Trader A' and 'Trader B. Trader A is just obsessed with being right in the market. The trader is quite skilled in understanding the market, but the trader is just focused on how many trades are closed at profit. Trader A risks about 2% per trade; however, trades are usually cut short, and thus ends up taking profit at about half of the initial risk (2% risk per trade and 0.5:1 risk-reward). Trader B understands that the market is completely irrational, where anything can happen at any time, and to trade the market succesfully, must treat trading like a business, causing the trader to have strict risk management rules (2% risk per trade and 2:1 risk-reward) that are stuck to at all times.
As you can see from the above image, Trader A ended up with a 5% decrease to the account and Trader B ended up with a 9.98% increase to the account after both traders taking the same ten trades, why did this happen? The answer is simple Trader A cut the profits short and ran the losses whereas Trader B ran the profits and cut the losses. It does not matter if you are right or wrong in trading what matters is how much you make from your right trades and how much you give back to the market on your wrong trades.
Forex Journey Ends Before Getting Started
Due to many people not understanding the power of risk management, their journey in forex ends before it even gets started. To explain further, a lot of traders either do not calculate their risk before they trade the markets or they are aware of their risk but decide not to place high importance on it (a fatal mistake). This is one of the biggest killers of forex traders, and all it takes is one bad trade before the market takes all your hard-earned money and you are out. The market is an unforgivable place that will not care if you are blown out; it will continue to go on with or without you participating, and you must give it respect. The higher your risk, the lower your long-term survivability probabilities are. Remember, if you don't have funds to trade, you can't participate! It is as simple as that, so you must treat trading as a business and not as a casual hobby if you aim to consistently make money over the long term. Let's see how your survivability chance decreases the more you risk.
Position Sizing
Now that you understand how crucial it is not to risk too much of your account in a trade but do not know exactly how to calculate how much you should be risking per trade, how do we calculate this?
In forex, a pip movement on a one-lot contract is approximately $10, so if you enter a trade on a forex pair and it moves 20 pips against you, you will be approximately $200 down. It is very important to understand this because if you do not, you will not know how much you should be risking per trade, and you may end up overexposed in the market with a high chance of blowing your account. For example, if you have a $10,000 account balance and want to risk 2% ($200) of your account per trade on a one-lot contract, that is 20 pips; therefore, your stop loss should be around 20 pips.
However, on the same account balance, if your stop loss is 100 pips, let's say, and you are not aware of pip calculations, you are potentially risking 10% of your account in that trade alone, which is extremely dangerous, and as seen in the above example, it only takes 10 trades in a row to blow your account on 10% risk per trade. But what if your strategy requires a 100-pip stop loss, as that is where your stop loss level is, and you really want to enter the trade? You just have to trade a smaller position size! 2% of $10,000 is $200, and we know that 1 pip is equal to around $10, so $200 is equal to 20 pips. Now how do we trade this with good risk management if we want a 100-pip stop? Let's see the image below:
So as you can see in the above image, if you are on a 2% rule, which is good risk management, all you need to do is reduce the position size if your strategy requires a larger stop. There is nothing stopping you from entering the position. In the forex market, safety must come first at all times. To add, it is not worth having a smaller stop loss just to be able to trade a bigger position size, as this can be very detrimental to your trading due to the fact that in forex, there is a lot of market noise due to so many participants, and it is very easy to get whipsawed on a small stop loss and get taken out of your position.
The next time you are about to enter a position, ask yourself if it would be better to have a larger stop to protect yourself from getting squeezed out of the position. If so, just reduce your position size accordingly and have a larger stop. Always remember that the market does not limit you from trading your opportunities if you have a larger stop but do not want to risk a large percent of your account in the trade; you just have to trade smaller.
Plan, Analyse, Assess, Review
1. Plan
Before you take a trade, always have a plan for your risk management. The 2% risk per trade rule is always a safe rule, and the best traders tend to use this rule. Always know what your account balance is, what your risk amount should be, and exactly where your stop-loss needs to be. Always remember that if your stop is too tight, try trading a lower position size to give you more leeway.
2. Analyse
When you get a trade setup, before you pull the trigger and enter the trade, ask yourself, "Is there enough reward in this trade setup that it is worth entering the trade?" If the answer is no, do not take the trade! Remember, trading is not just about being right or wrong; it is also about how much you take or give to the market when you are right or wrong. The reward must always be worth the risk, and you must constantly analyse this before entering the market.
3. Assess
Make sure you often assess your current risk management, especially when you are in a trading position. For example, if your position is about to reach your take-profit target but the market looks like it wants to keep going past your target, instead of coming out of the position completely, why don't you instead take some of the position out and keep the rest of the position in? You can trail your profit to your original target and potentially make extra profits this way with nothing to lose. The same goes on the other side: if you enter a trade and at some point are no longer comfortable with the position, do not be scared to cut the position short and exit the position. Always listen to your gut instinct, as it may be telling you something for a reason.
4. Review
Always review your risk management. Take a look at your past trades and try to learn from them. Was your stop-loss too tight in a lot of your trades? Was your stop not tight enough in a lot of your trades? Are you cutting yourself short, and could you have a higher risk-to-reward ratio in a lot of your trades? There is always room for improvement, and the only way to improve your risk management is to review your previous trading history to see what possible adjustments you could make to your risk management. Remember, you should treat trading as a business if you want to succeed long-term, and most, if not all, successful businesses constantly review their risk management.
The power of risk management is absolute. If this post has not done enough to convince you of this, always remember that you are always one bad trade away from being put out of business. The majority of beginner traders blow their accounts in the first three months of trading; this is not due to them not understanding the markets but due to poor risk management and not treating trading as a business. Always remember to maximise your profits and cut your losses. All trading involves risk, and there is no 'holy grail' strategy that can eliminate risk entirely. However, by managing your risks effectively, you can reduce the impact of risk on your trading and increase your chances of long-term success.
BluetonaFX
Learn the ONLY REASON Why You Should Try on RETEST!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.
Take a look at that triangle pattern on Bitcoin. The price broke its support BUT did not retest it, so trading only the retest, the opportunity would be missed.
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?
Let me know, traders, what do you want to learn in the next educational post?