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How to Identify Candlestick Strength | Trading Basics Hey traders, In this educational article, we will discuss Please, note that the concepts that will be covered in this article can be applied on any time frame, however, higher is the time frame, more trustworthy are the candles. Also, remember, that each individual candle is assessed in relation to other candles on the chart. There are three types of candles depending on its direction: 🟢 Bullish candle Such a candle has a closing price higher than the opening price. 🔴 Bearish candle Such a candle has a closing price lower than the opening price. 🟡 Neutral candle Such a candle has equal or close to equal opening and closing price. There are three categories of the strength of the candle. Please, note, the measurement of the strength of the candle is applicable only to bullish/bearish candles. Neutral candle has no strength by definition. It signifies the absolute equilibrium between buyers and sellers. 1️⃣ Strong candle Strong bullish candle signifies strong buying volumes and dominance of buyers without sellers resistance. Above, you can see the example of a strong bullish candle on NZDCHF on a 4H. Strong bearish candle means significant selling volumes and high bearish pressure without buyers resistance. On the chart above, you can see a song bearish candle on EURUSD. Usually, a strong bullish/bearish candle has a relatively big body and tiny wicks. 2️⃣ Medium candle Medium bullish candle signifies a dominance of buyers with a rising resistance of sellers. You can see the sequence of medium bullish candles on EURJPY pair on a daily time frame. Medium bearish candle means a prevailing strength of sellers with a growing pressure of bulls. Above is the example of a sequence of medium bearish candles on AUDUSD pair. Usually, a medium bullish/bearish candle has its range (based on a wick) 2 times bigger than the body of the candle. 3️⃣ Weak candle Weak bullish candle signifies the exhaustion of buyers and a substantial resistance of sellers. Weak bearish candle signifies the exhaustion of sellers and a considerable bullish pressure. Usually, such a candle has a relatively small body and a big wick. Above is the sequence of weak bullish and bearish candles on NZDCHF pair on an hourly time frame. Knowing how to read the strength of the candlestick, one can quite accurately spot the initiate of new waves, market reversals and consolidations. Watch how the price acts, follow the candlesticks and try to spot the change of momentum by yourself.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
9
Demo Account Will Not Make You a PRO TRADER Hey traders, In this article, we will discuss demo account trading . We will discuss its importance for newbie traders and its flaws. ➕ Pros: Demo account is the best tool to get familiar with the financial markets . It gives you instant access to hundreds of different financial instruments. With a demo account, you can learn how the trading terminal works . You can execute the trading orders freely and get familiar with its types. You can get acquainted with leverage, spreads and volatility. Trading on paper money, you do not incur any risks , while you can see the real impact of your actions on your account balance. Demo account is the best instrument for developing and testing a trading strategy , not risking any penny. The absence of risk makes demo trading absolutely stress-free. ➖ Cons: The incurred losses have no real impact , not causing real emotions and pressure, which you always experience trading on a real account. Your performance (positive or negative) does not influence your future decisions. Real market conditions are tougher. Demo accounts execute the orders a bit differently than the real ones. That is clearly felt during the moments of high volatility, with the order slippage occurring less often and trade execution being longer. Trading with paper money allows you to trade with the sums being unaffordable in a real life, misrepresenting your real potential gains and providing a false confidence in success. Even though we spotted multiple negative elements of demo trading, I want you to realize that it still remains the essential part of your trading journey and one of the main training tools. You should spend as much time on demo trading as you need to build confidence in your actions, only then you can gradually switch to real account trading.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
1
What is Support and Resistance in Trading. Key Levels Basics In the today's article, we will discuss the absolute basics of technical analysis: support and resistance levels. I will explain to you why support and resistance are important , how to identify them properly, and we will discuss what is the difference between support and resistance level and support or resistance zone. Let's start with a definition of a support . A support is a historically significant price level that lies below the current prices of an asset. While a resistance is a historically significant price level that is above the current prices. From a key resistance, a bearish movement will be anticipated in futures, while from a key support, a bullish reaction will be expected. Take a look at EURAUD pair, we can see a perfect example of a key resistance level. 2 times in a row, the market dropped from that in the past, confirming its significance. By a historical significance , I mean that the price reacted strongly to such price level in the past and a strong bullish, bearish movement initiated from that. Above is the example of a key horizontal support on EURCHF. The underlined key level was respected by the market multiple times in the past. From time to time, the market breaks key levels. After a breakout , a support turns into resistance and a resistance turns into support. Above is the example of a breakout of a key support on GBPNZD, after its violation it turned into resistance from where a bearish movement followed. Always remember, that in order to confirm a breakout of a key support, we strictly need a candle close below that. By the way, the structure here is also the zone, but we will discuss it later on. Above is the example of a breakout of a key resistance, that turned into support after a violation. Very often, newbie traders ask me, how many times the price should react to a key level to make it valid. I do believe that 1 time is more than enough, however, make sure that the reaction to that is strong . Above are key support and resistance on GBPCAD. Even though both structures were respected just one time in the past, the reaction to them was strong enough to confirm that the underlined levels are the key levels. However, historical significance of a key support or resistance is not enough to make it valid. What matters is the most recent reaction of the price to that. Key supports and resistance lose their significance with time, and your job as a technical analyst, is to stay flexible and adapt to changing market conditions, regularly updating your analysis. Above is a key resistance level on AUDJPY from where the market dropped heavily 2 times in a row. However, with time, the underlined resistance lost its significance. Such a structure is not a key level anymore. Remember a simple rule: if a key structure is not respected by the sellers, and by the buyers after its breakout. Or vice versa: if a key structure is not respected by the buyers, and then by the sellers after its breakout. Such a structure is not a key level , and you should not rely on that in the future. In our example, the resistance was broken - it was neglected by the sellers. After the breakout, it should have turned into support, but the buyers also neglected that and the structure lost its strength. Now, a couple of words about time frames, you can identify key support and resistances on any time frame, but the rule is that higher is the time frame, more significant are the supports and resistances there. In my analysis, I primarily rely on support and resistance on a daily time frame. Always remember that the financial markets are not perfect and the prices will quite rarely respect the exact support or resistance levels. Quite often, the markets may fluctuate around key levels so it is highly recommendable to rely not on single key levels but on zones. I recommend taking into consideration not only the exact level from where a strong reaction followed, but also a candle close level of such a candle. The support zone above is based on a wick and a candle close of a candle. Also, quite often there will be the situations when multiple key levels will lie close to each other. In such a case, it is better to unite all this structures in one single zone. Above we see multiple key resistances. We will unite all these resistances into one single zone. The upper boundary of a resistance zone will be the highest wick and its lower boundary will be the highest candle close. Above we have 2 key supports lying close to each other. We will unite these supports into one single zone. The lower boundary of a support zone will be the lowest wick and the upper boundary will be the lowest candle close. Here is how a complete structure analysis should look. Following the rules that we discussed, you should identify at least 2 closest key resistances and 2 closest key supports. These structures will be applied as the entries for various trading strategies. ❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
Education
by VasilyTrader
23
Profitable Triangle Trading Strategy Explained Descending triangle formation is a classic reversal pattern . It signifies the weakness of buyers in a bullish trend and bearish accumulation . In this article, I will teach you how to trade descending triangle pattern. I will explain how to identify the pattern properly and share my trading strategy. ⭐️ The pattern has a very peculiar price action structure : 1. Trading in a bullish trend, the price sets a higher high and retraces setting a higher low . 2. Then the market starts growing again but does not manage to set a new high, setting a lower high instead. 3. Then the price drops again perfectly respecting the level of the last higher low, setting an equal low . 4. After that, one more bullish movement and one more consequent lower high , bearish move, and equal low . Based on the last three highs , a trend line can be drawn. Based on the equal lows , a horizontal neckline is spotted. ❗What is peculiar about such price action is the fact that a set of lower highs signifies a weakening bullish momentum : fewer and fewer buyers are willing to buy from horizontal support based on equal lows. 🔔 Such price action is called a bearish accumulation . Once the pattern is formed it is still not a trend reversal signal though. Remember that the price may set many lower highs and equal lows within the pattern. The trigger that is applied to confirm a trend reversal is a bearish breakout of the neckline of the pattern. 📉Then a short position can be opened. For conservative trading, a retest entry is suggested. Safest stop is lying at least above the level of the last lower high. However, in case the levels of the lower highs are almost equal it is highly recommendable to set a stop loss above them all. 🎯For targets look for the closest strong structure support. Below, you can see the example of a descending triangle trade that I took on NZDCAD pair. After I spotted the formation of the pattern, I was patiently waiting for a breakout of its neckline. After a breakout, I set a sell limit order on a retest. Stop loss above the last lower high. TP - the closest key support. 90 pips of pure profit made. Learn to identify and trade descending triangle. It is one of the most accurate price action patterns every trader should know.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
1
Exploring Trading Basics: Expert Tips for New TradersWelcome to the thrilling world of trading, future market experts! If you’re stepping into this arena for the first time, it’s natural to feel both excited and a little overwhelmed. No worries — we’ve set up this nice value-packed TradingView Idea to make you feel at home. Read on for practical tips that will help you kick off your trading journey to a strong start. Ready, set, go? Let’s roll! 1. Get Yourself Familiarized Action Step : Your first step as a fresh trader is to familiarize yourself with the market fundamentals. Start by getting a solid grasp of basic market concepts. Learn about different asset classes like stocks , forex , or crypto . Understand how they work and what news or events influence prices across the board (spoiler: if you’re looking at the bigger picture and keep it high level, there aren’t too many things to consider — check the Economic Calendar Related Idea below). Spend an hour or two each week reading about market fundamentals. Knowledge of these basics will make you more confident in your trading approach and also help you see where you feel most comfortable putting your money. And don't forget about the trading psychology part . 2. Set Clear, Achievable Goals Action Step : Write down your trading goals and stick them somewhere you can see them. Aim for specific, measurable targets like “Hit a 2% monthly return” or “Learn a new trading strategy weekly.” This keeps your efforts focused and on track. But don’t stop there. Keep revisiting, updating, and refining your trading goals. Think of them as your compass or map that you need to follow in order to get where you want. In contrast, not having a goal or goals might throw you out in the open where you wander without a clear path or direction. 3. Stick to Your Budget Action Step: Decide on your total trading capital and how much you’re willing to risk per trade. Use the 1-2% rule: never risk more than 1% or 2% of your total capital on a single trade. This will help you protect your account from total wipeout. It’s easy to get swayed by some massive move in the market (yes, we know about Bitcoin BTC/USD ), but catching these waves is rarely an easy game. The better you are at sticking to a healthy level of risk exposure, the better your chances to stay in the game for as long as possible. 4. Stay Updated with Market News Action Step : Dedicate 15 minutes each morning to checking financial news. Keeping tabs on major economic reports and events will give you an understanding of what investors regard as important so you can add it to your agenda too. We’ve set up a nice and easygoing Top stories news stream that serves you only top-tier market-moving scoops, published daily and updated in real time. Make sure to frequent them so you can raise your level of knowing what’s happening in the markets. 5. Keep a Trading Journal Action Step : For every trade, jot down the details in a journal. Include entry and exit points, your reasons for the trade, and the outcome. Review your journal weekly to identify patterns and areas for improvement. If you want to get an even more precise look at your trading performance, add more columns to it and include prospect trades, or a watchlist of positions you’re interested in. Mark your monthly performance, year-to-date returns, and even how much you paid in commissions. 6. Start Small and Scale Up Action Step : Begin with small trades to minimize risk while you’re learning. For example, if you have $1,000, start with trades of $50-$100 and keep your stop tight around the 2% mark. That way, you’ll gain experience and see how you feel when you have an open trade. Leave a trade overnight, watch it actively or let it run for a few days (provided you use a stop loss , more on it in the Stop Loss Related Idea below) — all these will help you ease into smoother trading and build better confidence. After that, you can gradually increase your trade size for bigger profits. And — most importantly — don’t rush it. The markets will be there tomorrow; but will you? 7. Use Stop-Loss Orders Action Step : Always set a stop-loss order when placing a trade. For instance, if you buy a stock at $100, set a stop-loss at $95. This means your position will be automatically sold if the price drops to $95, limiting your loss to $5 per share. The use of stop-loss orders, or simply stop losses, can’t be emphasized enough. No matter how confident you are on a trade, how much conviction you have to go big, always think of the downside, or how much you’re willing to lose. 8. Join a Trading Community Action Step : If you’re reading this, then you’ve already nailed this step. TradingView is the world’s largest finance, markets, and charting platform, boasting more than 60 million monthly visitors — one big, big community . This is the place where traders share tips and strategies, show off their charts, discoveries, patterns, price targets, and trading ideas. So, stick around, engage, ask questions, and learn from the experiences of others. 9. Diversify Your Portfolio Action Step : Spread your investments across different sectors and asset classes. Don’t just buy big tech stocks ; consider some auto companies as well or the volatile corner of cryptocurrencies. Diversifying your portfolio (learn about it in the Diversification Related Idea below) will help you balance your risk, ideally without reducing the potential for returns. You don’t have to go all-in on a trade and YOLO your entire life savings into a Solana meme coin. Think of the long term and tread carefully. Sometimes, you’re as good as your last trade. 10. Continuously Improve Your Skills Action Step : Dedicate time each week to learning something new about trading. Watch educational videos , read books, or dive into financial podcasts where big market events get broken down or where traders and investors share their experience and what made them successful. The markets renew each day, never resting, never ceasing to oscillate and presenting new trading opportunities. Always learn, never get complacent, and keep striving for more! Share Your Thoughts! So there you have it, folks! With these practical, actionable tips, you’re ready to jump into the trading game with some added confidence. Remember, every pro was once a newbie. Stay cool, stay informed, and most importantly, have fun with it (but also be smart). Happy trading! 🚀📈
SP:SPXEducation
by TradingView
4
How to Apply a Position Size Calculator in Forex Trading In this educational article, I will teach you how to apply a position size calculator in Forex and calculate a lot size for your trades depending on a desired risk . Why do you need a position size calculator? Even though, most of the newbie traders trade with the fixed lot , the truth is that fixed lot trading is considered to be very risky . Depending on the trading instrument, time frame and a desired stop loss, the risks from one trade to another are constantly floating . With the constant fluctuations of losses per trade, it is very complicated to control your risks and drawdowns. A lot size calculation , however, allows you to risk the desired percentage of your capital per trade , limiting the maximum you can potentially lose. A lot size is calculated with a position size calculator . How to Measure Lot Size for Trades? Let's measure a lot size for the following trade on EURUSD. Step 1: Measure a pip value of your stop loss. It is the distance from your entry level to your stop loss level. In the example on the picture, the stop loss is 35 pips. Step 2: Open a position size calculator Step 3: Fill the form. Inputs: Account currency, account balance, desired risk %, stop loss in pips, currency pair. Let's say that we are trading with USD account. Its balance is $10000. The risk for this trade is 1%. Step 4: Calculate a lot size. The system will calculate a lot size for your trade. 0.28 standard lot in our example. Taking a trade on EURUSD with $10000 deposit and 35 pips stop loss , you will need 0.28 lot size to risk 1% of your trading account. Learn to apply a position size calculator. That is the must-use tool for a proper risk management.
Education
by VasilyTrader
8
Do Not Overwhelm Your Price Chart! In this article, we will discuss a very important term in trading psychology - paralysis by analysis in trading. Paralysis by analysis occurs when the trader is overwhelmed by a complexity of the data that he is working with. Most of the time, it happens when one is relying on wide spectra of non correlated metrics. That can be various trading indicators, different news outlets and analytical articles and multiple technical tools. Relying on such a mixed basket, one will inevitably be stuck with the contradictory data. For example, the technical indicators may show very bearish clues while the fundamental data is very bullish. Or it can be even worse, when the traders have dozens of indicators on his chart and half of them dictates to open a long position, while another half dictates to sell. Above, you can see an example of a EURUSD price chart that is overwhelmed by various technical indicators: Ichimoku, MA, Volume, ATR support and resistance levels fundamental data As a result, the one becomes paralyzed , not being able to make a decision. Moreover, each attempt to comprehend the data leads to deeper and deeper overthinking, driving into a vicious circle. The paralysis breeds the inaction that necessarily means the missed trading opportunities and profits. How to deal with that? The best option is to limit the number of data sources used for a decision-making. The rule here is simple - the fewer indicators you use, the easier it is to make a decision. EURUSD chart that we discussed earlier can look much better. Removing a bunch of tools will make the analysis easier and more accurate. There is a common fallacy among traders, that complexity breeds the profit. With so many years of trading, I realized, however, that the opposite is true... Keep the things simple, and you will be impressed how accurate your predictions will become. ❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
Education
by VasilyTrader
18
RSI Indicator LIES! Untold Truth About RSI! The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a classic technical indicator that is applied to identify the overbought and oversold states of the market. While the RSI looks simple to use, there is one important element in it that many traders forget about: it's a lagging indicator. This means it reacts to past price movements rather than predicting future ones. This inherent lag can sometimes mislead traders, particularly when the markets are volatile or trade in a strong bullish/bearish trend. In this article, we will discuss the situations when RSI indicator will lie to you. We will go through the instances when the indicator should not be relied and not used on, and I will explain to you the best strategy to apply RSI. Relative Strength Index analyzes the price movements over a specific time period and displays a score between 0 and 100. Generally, an RSI above 70 suggests an overbought condition, while an RSI below 30 suggests an oversold condition. By itself, the overbought and overbought conditions give poor signals, simply because the market may remain in these conditions for a substantial period of time. Take a look at a price action on GBPCHF. After the indicator showed the oversold condition, the pair dropped 150 pips lower before the reversal initiated. So as an extra confirmation , traders prefer to look for RSI divergence - the situation when the price action and indicator move in the opposite direction. Above is the example of RSI divergence: Crude Oil formed a sequence of higher highs, while the indicator formed a higher high with a consequent lower high. That confirmed the overbought state of the market, and a bearish reversal followed. However, only few knows that even a divergence will provide accurate signals only in some particular instances. When you identified RSI divergence, make sure that it happened after a test of an important key level. Historical structures increase the probability that the RSI divergence will accurately indicate the reversal. Above is the example how RSI divergence gave a false signal on USDCAD. However, the divergence that followed after a test of a key level, gave a strong bearish signal. There are much better situations when RSI can be applied, but we will discuss later on, for now, the main conclusion is that RSI Divergence beyond key levels most of the time will provide low accuracy signals. But there is one particular case, when RSI divergence will give the worst, the most terrible signal. In very rare situations, the market may trade in a strong bullish trend, in the uncharted territory, where there are no historical price levels. In such cases, RSI bullish divergence will constantly lie , making retail traders short constantly and lose their money. Here is what happens with Gold on a daily. The market is trading in the uncharted territory, updated the All-Time Highs daily. Even though there is a clear overbought state and a divergence, the market keeps growing. Only few knows, however, that even though RSI is considered to be a reversal, counter trend indicator, it can be applied for trend following trading. On a daily time frame, after the price sets a new high, wait for a pullback to a key horizontal support. Your bullish signal, will be a bearish divergence on an hourly time frame. Here is how the price retested a support based on a previous ATH on Gold. After it approached a broken structure, we see a confirmed bearish divergence. That gives a perfect trend-following signal to buy the market. A strong bullish rally followed then. RSI indicator is a very powerful tool, that many traders apply incorrectly. When the market is trading in a strong trend, this indicator can be perfectly applied for following the trend, not going against that. I hope that the cases that I described will help you not lose money, trading with Relative Strength Index. ❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
Education
by VasilyTrader
34
The Wisdom of Pro Traders vs. Newbie Naivety Hey traders, In this article, we will discuss the perception of trading by individuals . We will compare the vision of a professional trader and a beginner - trading vs gambling. Most of the people perceive trading performance incorrectly. There is a common fallacy among them that win rate is the only true indicator of the efficiency of a trading strategy. Moreover, newbies are searching for a strategy producing close to 100% accuracy. Such a mindset determines their expectations. Especially it feels, when I share a wrong forecast in my telegram channel. It immediately triggers resentment and negative reactions. Talking to these people personally and asking them about the reasons of their indignation, the common answer is: "If you are a pro, you can not be wrong". The truth is that the reality is absolutely different. Opening any position or making a forecast, a pro trader always realizes that there is no guarantee that the market will act as predicted. Pro trader admits that he deals with probabilities , and he is ready to take losses . He realizes that he may have negative trading days, even weeks and months, but at the end of the day his overall performance will be positive. Remember, that your success in trading is determined by your expectations and perception. Admit the reality of trading, set correct goals, and you will take losses more easily. I wish you luck and courage on a battlefield.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
3
WHAT IS TRADING ACCOUNT DRAWDOWN | 3 Types Of Drawdown Explained In my videos, I frequently use the term "trading account drawdown ". Many of you asked me to explain the meaning of that term and share some examples. What is Trading Account Drawdown? The account drawdown is the highest observed loss from the highest value of the deposit to the lowest value of the deposit at a certain period of time. Imagine you started to trade with 10,000$ account. At the end of the year, your account size reached 15,000$ . However, at some point through the year the deposit value dropped to 6,000$ . It was the absolute minimum for the one-year period. At some point, your net loss was -4,000$ or 40% of your account balance. The account drawdown is 40% . ❗️Knowing the account drawdown is very important for the risk assessment of the trading strategy. Usually, 50% and bigger drawdown signifies an extremely high risk. 3 Types of Drawdown 1. Current drawdown - a temporary drawdown associated with the negative total value of opened trading position(s) at present. Once you start trading with 10,000$ deposit, you open several trading positions. Being opened, with the constant price movements, your potential gains fluctuates from positive to negative. For example, with 3 active trades : EURUSD ( -500$ at present); GBPUSD ( +200$ at present); GOLD ( -100$ at present) Your current account drawdown is -400$ or 4% of your deposit. 2. Fixed drawdown - the negative value of the closed trading position(s) at present for a certain period of time. While some of your trades remain active, some are already closed . Imagine the same deposit - 10,000$ . On Monday you opened 6 trades, 2 still remain active ; 4 are already closed . Your total loss from your closed trades is -500$. Your fixed Monday's drawdown is 5%. 3. Maximum Drawdown - the maximum observed loss from the highest value of the deposit before a new maximum is reached. Starting to trade with 10,000$ you are already trading for 5 years . Your account were growing rapidly and at some moment it reached 25,000$ . Then the recession started. You faced a dramatic loss of 12,500$ before you started to recover. That was the maximum observed loss for the period. Your maximum account drawdown was 50% . ❗️Different types of drawdown give a lot of insights about a trading strategy. Its proper assessment will help to spot a high risk strategy and to find a conservative one. Constantly monitor your account drawdown and always check the numbers. What is your highest account drawdown?
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
1
From Beginner to Pro - The Evolution of a Trader Hey traders, In this educational article, we will discuss 3 stages of the evolution of a trader . Stage 1 - Unprofitable trader 😞 The unprofitable trader has very typical characteristics: -total absence of trading skills Most of the time, people open a live account simply after completing some beginners course like on babypips website. Being sure that the obtained knowledge are completely enough to start trading, they quickly face the tough reality. -no trading plan Having just basic knowledge, of course, they do not have a trading plan. Why the hell to have it if everything is so simple?! All their actions on the market is just gambling. They open the positions randomly most of the time, simply relying on intuition. -poor risk management In 99% percent of the time, the unprofitable trader does not even think about risk management. The position sizing, stop placement and target selection are completely neglected. Trading performance of the unprofitable traders is characterized by small wins and substantial losses and negatively trending equity. Stage 2 - Boom and bust trader 😶 Usually, traders reach boom and bust stage after 1-2 years of unprofitable trading. At some moment, winning trades start to compensate losing trades, brining non-trending equity. Such traders have very common traits: -not polished trading plan Being unprofitable for so long, traders start to realize the significance of a trading plan. Sticking to the set of rules, they notice positive changes in their trading performance. However, trading plan requires to be polished and modified. It takes many years for a trader to identify all its drawbacks before it starts bringing net profits. -lack of confidence When one starts following a trading system, confidence plays a substantial role. The fact is that even the best trading strategy in the world occasionally produces negative results. In order to not give up and keep following such a system, one needs to build trust in that. The confidence that after a series of losing trades, the strategy will manage to recover. Such a trust can be built after many years of trading that strategy. Stage 3 - Profitable trader ☺️ That is the final destination. After many years of a struggling trading, one finally sees positively-trending equity. Winning trades start to outperform losing ones, leading to consistent account growth. Profitable trader is characterized by iron discipline, confidence and consistency. He knows what he is trading, when and why. His trading plan is polished, he fully controls his emotions. He never stops learning and constantly develops his strategy. Knowing the 3 stages of the evolution of a trader, one can easily identify at what stage he currently is. That will help to identify the things to be focused on to move to the next stage. At what stages are you at the moment?
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
4
How to Start Forex Trading. Step-by-Step Learning Plan Hey traders, If you are wondering how to start Forex trading, or you just started to trade, I suggest a 12 weeks intensive learning plan. Each week will be dedicated to a specific topic. Starting from the basics you will gradually mature and by the end of the intensive you will have a complete trading strategy. ✔️Week 1 - Practice market trend identification Learn to identify the direction of the trend. Master the recognition of a bullish trend, bearish trend and sideways market. ✔️Week 2 - Practice support and resistance. Learn to identify key levels. Master support & resistance recognition. ✔️Week 3 - Learn candlestick patterns. Study classic candlestick formations and practice their recognition. ✔️Week 4 - Learn price action patterns. Study classic price action patterns: trend-following patterns, reversal patterns and consolidation pattern and learn to recognize them. By the end of the first month, you will mature the basics of candlestick chart analysis. ✔️Week 5 - Practice supply and demand zones. Learn to identify supply and demand zones. Learn to combine candlestick analysis with support and resistance to identify the potential reversal zones. ✔️Week 6 - Practice multiple time frame analysis. Master top-down analysis. Learn to apply all the techniques studied previously on multiple time frames. ✔️Week 7 - Learn different entry strategies. With all the knowledge being obtained, you can practice different entry techniques. You can try trading candlesticks patterns or price action patterns, or simply key levels. Search what works for you. ✔️Week 8 - Learn risk management. Of course, entry strategies are not enough for profitable trading. Learn how to set stop loss and how to manage your risks properly. By the end of the second month, you will have a foundation for a strategy building. ✔️Week 9 - Practice trade management. Knowing how to enter the trade and how to manage the risks, the next step is to learn how to manage the active position (stop loss trailing, position protection, manual closing, etc.) ✔️Week 10 - Create a trading plan. Combine all the knowledge that you gained in a structured trading plan. ✔️Week 11 - Follow the strategy. Be disciplined and follow your rules. Test them and learn to be consistent. ✔️Week 12 - Review your plan. Following your strategy, you will inevitably find its flaws. Learn to constantly improve it. By the end of the third month, you will have a complete rule-based trading strategy. Of course, that won't be a perfect strategy, but you will have broad knowledge in technical analysis. The next 3 months alone should be sacrificed on polishing and improvement of your trading plan. Try this intensive, traders. I strongly believe that you will see a dramatic improvement in your trading upon its completion.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
1
Let’s Compare INVESTING, TRADING and GAMBLING Hey traders, In this post, we will compare investing, trading and gambling . 📈 Investing Investing is the act of putting money in a financial market with the expectations of a long-term positive return. The investing decisions are usually made using fundamental analysis. The main goal of an investor is to predict the long-term market trends and benefit on them. Professional investing also involves assets allocation and diversification aimed to hedge potential risks. 💱 Trading Trading is the process of selling and buying financial instruments expecting a short-term (occasionally, mid-term) profit. The trading decisions are usually based on technical and fundamentals analysis. The goal of a trader is to predict local price fluctuations and catch them. Professional trading implies strict, rule-based actions following a trading plan. 🎰 Gambling Gambling is the act of betting on a specific event with the expectations of winning some value. Being completely luck-based, gambling usually involves get rich quick schemes and pursuit of easy money. What differs professional trading and investing from gambling is the fact that professional trading / investing involves objective analysis and strict planning, while gambling remains purely intuition based. Unfortunately, most of the market participants pretend that they trade and invest professionally while acting as gamblers in fact. Remember that long-term, consistent profits can be achieved only with the plan. Your intuition may bring some short-term profits, but in a long-run it will most likely lead you to a bankruptcy.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
4
Best SUPPORT and RESISTANCE Indicator to Identify Key Levels In this article, I will show you a simple technical indicator that will help you to identify support and resistance levels easily trading any financial market. And what I like about this indicator is that it is absolutely free and it is available on all popular trading platforms: tradingview, meta trader 4, meta trader 5, etc. This indicator is called Zig Zag. After adding the indicator, the price chart will look like that. First, I recommend changing its settings. Price deviation - 1.5 Pivot legs - 5 Here are the inputs that I recommend for structure analysis on a daily time frame. And in style remove labels because they really distract. What this technical indicator does, it underlines the significant impulse legs. The completion and initial points of the impulses will be the important structures. Your key structures will be the areas based on the initial/completion points of impulses based on wicks and candle closes. A key horizontal support will be based on the initial point of the impulse and the lowest candle close. Key supports will be all the structures that are below current price levels. A key horizontal resistance will be based on the initial point of the impulse and the highest candle close. Key resistances will be all the structures that are above current price levels. Also, the completion/initial points of the impulses will occasionally compose the vertical structures - the trend lines. Underline all the supports/resistances based on Zig Zag indicator. All these structures are significant and can be applied for pullback/breakout trading. Also, remember that you can modify the inputs of the indicator. Increase Price deviation and Pivot legs number will show the stronger structures, while decreasing these numbers more structures will appear on the chart. On the left chart: Price deviation - 1.5 Pivot legs - 5 On the right chart: Price deviation - 5 Pivot legs - 10 The right chart shows just 2 structures, but very important ones. This indicator is very powerful and it can help you a lot in learning structure analysis. ❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
8
Here is WHY You Must Learn TRADE MANAGEMENT Hey traders, In this post, I will share with you my tips for trade management in Forex trading . But first, let me elaborate on what is exactly a trade management . Trade management is the set of rules and techniques applied for managing of an already active position. Trade management is a very important element of any trading strategy that should never be neglected. 1. Never remove a stop loss Being in a huge loss, many traders refuse to admit that they are wrong. Instead, watching how the price moves closer and closer to a stop loss, they remove stop loss hoping on a coming reversal. The alternative situation may happen when the price is going sharply in the desired direction. Watching the increasing profits, traders remove a stop loss (and occasionally take profit), being afraid to miss bigger profits. Both situations may lead to substantial, higher than initially planned losses. Driven by many factors, the market can easily burn all gains and move against the desired direction much longer than traders stay solvent. Take a look at this long trade on Gold. When the price comes closer and closer to a stop loss, many traders can not take a psychological pressure and remove stop loss, being afraid to take the loss. However, most of the time, stop loss will help you to limit your losses. You can see that after Gold reached stop loss, the price dropped much lower. Removing the stop loss, you would inquire bigger losses. Never remove a stop loss. It must be always set. 2. Never modify your stop loss if a position is in loss Watching how the price moves closer and closer to a stop loss is painful. Instead of removing stop loss, some traders move it and give the market more space for reversal. Even though such a technique is safer than the complete stop loss removal, it is still a very bad habit. Each stop loss adjustment increases the potential loss, not giving any guarantees that the market will reverse. It is highly recommendable to keep your stop loss fixed and let the price hit it and admit the loss. Above is one more example, why the earlier you close the trade in a loss, the better. Modifications and adjustment of your stop loss will most of the time lead to even bigger losses. 3. Know in advance your profit protection strategy Where do you take your profit? Do you have a fixed tp level or do you apply trailing stop? You should always know the answers. Coiling around take profit level but not being able to reach it, the price makes many traders manually close the trade or move take profit closer to current price levels. Another common situation happens when the market so quickly reaches the desired TP level so the traders remove TP hoping to make bigger than initially planned profit. Such emotional interventions negatively affect a long-term trading performance. TP removal may even burn all profits. Do not let your greed intervene, and always follow your rules. Above is the example of trade management rules in Forex trading. After GBPUSD reached a key support, a long position was opened from that. Once the price moves up by a certain distance, stop loss will be moved to entry. Take profit will be the closest key resistance. 4. Never add to a losing position Watching how the price refuses to go in the intended direction and cutting a partial loss, many traders add to a losing trade in hopes that the market will reverse and all the losses will be recovered. Again, such a fallacy usually leads to substantial losses. Remember, you can add to a position only AFTER the market moved in the desired direction, not BEFORE. Just imagine what could happen with your trading account, if you kept adding to a losing short position in a recent crazy bullish market on Gold. 5. Close the trades manually only following rules Quite often, newbie traders manually close their trades because of some random factors: they saw someone's opposite view, or they simply changed their mind. Remember, that if you opened a trade following your trading plan, you should always have strict rules for a position manual close. Do not let random factors affect your trading. Above is the example how you could easily miss a lot of pips on Gold, simply because the market temporarily stuck on some resistance. Following these 5 simple tips, your trading will improve dramatically. Remember, that it is not enough to spot and accurate entry. Once you are in a trade, you should wisely manage that, following your plan.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
8
Top 4 Price Action Signals For Beginners. Best Trading Entries I will reveal 4 accurate price action signals that even a newbie trader will manage to easily recognize. Watch carefully because these signals alone will help you to make a lot of money trading Forex, Gold or any other financial market. Change of Character Change of character is a strong signal that indicates a trend violation and a highly probable market reversal. In a bearish trend, the change of character will be a bullish violation of the level of the last lower high. Check how the change of character accurately indicated a bullish reversal on EURJPY pair. In a bullish trend, a bearish violation of the level of the last higher low will signify a change of character and a highly probable bearish reversal. Bearish violation of the last higher low level and a change of character on USDJPY gave a perfect bearish signal. Breakout of Consolidation No matter what time frame you trader, you probably noticed that quite often the markets become weak and start consolidating . Most of the time, the prices tend to consolidate within horizontal ranges. Breakout of one of the boundaries of the range can give you a strong trading signal. Check how the price acted on GBPCHF. The breakout of the support/resistance of the range always gave an accurate signal, no matter what was the preceding direction of the market. Trend Line Breakout of a Pattern There are a lot of trend line based bullish and bearish price action patterns: the ranges, the wedges, the triangles, the channels. What unites these patterns is that the violation of the trend line of the pattern gives a strong trading signal. A bullish breakout of a resistance line of a falling wedge, a bullish flag and a symmetrical triangle will give us a strong bullish signal. Just look how EURUSD bounced after a bullish breakout of a resistance line of a falling wedge pattern. While a bearish breakout of a support line of a rising wedge, a bearish flag or a symmetrical triangle will indicate a highly probable bearish continuation Here is how a bearish breakout of the support of a symmetrical triangle formation helped me to predict a bearish movement on Gold. Neckline breakout of a horizontal pattern There are a lot of different price action patterns. One element that unites many of them is the so-called horizontal neckline. In bearish price action patterns like double top, head and shoulders, descending triangle, triple top, etc. a horizontal neckline represents a support from where buyers are placing their orders. Bearish violation of such a neckline will be considered to be an important sign of strength of the sellers and a strong bearish signal. In bullish price action patterns like double bottom, inverted head and shoulders pattern, ascending triangle, cup & handle, etc. a horizontal neckline represents a resistance where sellers a placing their orders. Its bullish violation will a strong bullish signal. Below is a perfect example how a bullish breakout of a neckline of an inverted head and shoulders pattern on Bitcoin triggered a strong bullish rally. Here is how a breakout of a neckline of a double top on USDCAD confirmed an initiation of a bearish correctional movement. The most important thing about these price action signals is that it is very simple to recognize them. You should learn the basic price action rules and a couple of classic price action patterns, it will be more than enough for you to identify confirmed bullish and bearish reversals on any time frame and any trading instrument. ❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
7
Trading Psychology and Your Losses Hey traders, In this post, we will discuss a common fallacy among struggling traders: overestimation of a one single trade . 💡The fact is that quite often, watching the performance of an active trading position, traders quite painfully react to the price being closer and closer to a stop loss or, alternatively, coiling close to a take profit but not being managed to reach that. Fear of loss make traders make emotional decisions : extending stop loss or preliminary position closing. The situation becomes even worse, when after the set of the above-mentioned manipulation, the price nevertheless reaches the stop loss . Just one single losing trade is usually perceived too personally and make the traders even doubt the efficiency of their trading system. They start changing rules in their strategy, then stop following the trading plan, leading to even more losses. ❗️However, what matters in trading is your long-term composite performance . A single position is just one brick in a wall. As Peter Lynch nicely mentioned: “In this business, if you’re good, you’re right six times out of ten. You’re never going to be right nine times out of ten.” There are so many factors that are driving the markets that it is impossible to take into consideration them all. And because of that fact, we lose. The attached chart perfectly illustrates the insignificance of a one trading in a long-term composite performance. Please, realize that losing trades are inevitable, and overestimation of their impact on your trading performance is detrimental. Instead, calibrate your strategy so that it would produce long-term, consistent positive results. That is your goal as a trader.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
1
Don't Trade These Trend Lines | Forex Trading Basics A lot of traders apply trend lines for trading and making predictions on different financial markets. Trend line can also be an important element of price action patterns. However, only few knows that some trend lines are better to be avoided. In this article, I will share with you the types of trend lines that you should avoid and not rely on for making trading decisions. Invalidated Trend Line Even the strongest trend lines may lose their significance with time. Before you take a trade from a trend line, make sure that it still remains valid. If the trend line is not respected by the buyers and then by the sellers, or by the sellers and then by the buyers, we say that such a trend line lost its significance, and it is better to not trade it. Have a look at that rising trend line on USDCAD. We see strong bullish reactions to that, and we may expect a bullish movement from that, once it is tested. However, it was violated and after a breakout it should turn into a vertical resistance. Retesting that, the price easily went through the broken trend line. The trend line lost its significance, and it is better to not trade that in future. 2 Touches Based Trend Line When you are looking for a strong trend line to trade, remember that the trend line should be confirmed by at least 3 touches and 3 consequent bullish / bearish reactions to that. Above is the example of a valid and reliable trend line. However, quite often, newbie trade 2 touches based trend lines. Most of the time, such trend lines are neglected by the market. Moreover, relying on 2-touches-based trend lines, your chart will look like a complete mess. Simply because there are too many trend line meeting that criteria. Receding trend line There are the trend lines that go against your trade with time while remaining valid. Have a look at a major falling trend line on NZDCHF on a daily time frame. You may open a swing long position from that on a daily or a day trade on intraday time frames like an hourly. You can see that the market may easily go against your predictions for a long time, while perfectly respecting a trend line. The price was sliding on that trend line for 6 consequent days before it finally started to grow. Such trend lines are better to be avoided . Make sure that a trend line and your trade have the same direction. Trend lines can provide very safe points for trading entries. However, the trend lines are not equal and while some of them can be very profitable, some of them can lead to substantial losses. ❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
20
HOW TO SET STOP LOSS | 3 SIMPLE STRATEGIES 📚 Hey traders, In this post, we will discuss 3 classic trading strategies and stop placement rules . I will teach you how to set a safe stop loss, relying on price action. 1️⃣The first trading strategy is a trend line strategy . The technique implies buying/selling the touch of strong trend lines, expecting a strong bullish/bearish reaction from that. If you are buying a trend line , you should identify the previous low. Your stop loss should lie strictly below that. Buying a test of arising trend line on GBPCHF, stop loss is lying strictly below the previous low. If you are selling a trend line , you should identify the previous high . Your stop loss should lie strictly above that. 2️⃣The second trading strategy is a breakout trading strategy . The technique implies buying/selling the breakout of a structure, expecting a further bullish/bearish continuation. If you are buying a breakout of a resistance , you should identify the previous low . Your stop loss should lie strictly below that. If you are selling a breakout of a support , you should identify the previous high. Your stop loss should lie strictly above that. Selling a retest of a broken structure on AUDJPY, Stop Loss is strictly set above the previous high. 3️⃣The third trading strategy is a range trading strategy . The technique implies buying/selling the boundaries of horizontal ranges , expecting bullish/bearish reaction from them. If you are buying the support of the range , your stop loss should strictly lie below the lowest point of support. Opening a long position from the support of the range on Dollar Index, stop loss is placed below its support. If you are selling the resistance of the range , your stop loss should strictly lie above the highest point of resistance. As you can see, these stop placement techniques are very simple. Following them, you will avoid a lot of stop hunts and manipulations. How do you set stop loss?
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
5
HARMONIC PATTERNS TRADING | ABCD PATTERN & HOW TO TRADE IT Harmonic ABCD pattern is a classic reversal pattern. In this article, I will teach you how to recognize that pattern and trade it properly. This pattern is composed of 3 main elements (based on wicks of the candles): 1️⃣ AB leg 2️⃣ BC leg 3️⃣ CD leg The pattern is considered to be bullish if AB leg is bearish. The pattern is considered to be bearish if AB leg is bullish. AB leg must be a strong movement without corrections within. A is its initial point and B is its completion point. BC leg is a correctional movement from B point after a completion of AB leg. The price may fluctuate within that. B is its initial point and C is its completion point. CD leg must be a strong movement without corrections within. C is its initial point and D is its completion point. ❗️ABCD movement is harmonic if the length and the time horizon of AB and CD legs are equal. By the length, I mean a price change from A to B point and from C to D point. By the time, I mean a time ranges of AB leg and CD leg. If the time and length of AB and CD legs are equal, the pattern is considered to be harmonic, and a reversal will be expected from D point at least to B point. 🛑If the pattern is bullish, stop loss must be placed below D point. 🛑If the pattern is bearish, stop loss is placed above D point. Initial target level is B point. Usually, after reaching a B point the market returns to a global trend. What pattern do you want to learn in the next post?
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
1
DON'T TRADE THESE SUPPORTS AND RESISTANCES When it comes to technical analysis, the understanding of which support and resistance levels to not trade can be as important as knowing which ones to trade. In this article, I will show you the structure levels that professional traders avoid to maximize their profits and minimize losses. Invalidated support and resistance Invalidated support/resistance is the structure that has a clear historical significance, but that lost its strength and was neglected by the market during the last 2 tests. Have a look at that key horizontal support. We can see that in the recent past, the price bounced from that multiple times, confirming its significance. Then, the price suddenly broke and closed below that support. According to the rules, that structure should turn into a resistance after a violation. However, after its test, the price bounced and violated that to the upside. The structure became invalid, and you should not trade that in future. Resistance in a Bullish Trend If the market is trading in a bullish trend, according to the rules its last higher high composes a key horizontal resistance. USDJPY is trading in a strong bullish trend. The price dropped once it set a new higher high higher close. It composes a key horizontal resistance. Always remember, that in a bullish trend, the price tends to set new higher highs and higher lows over time. Quite often, the test of the level of the last high leads to a further bullish continuation and a formation of a new higher high. For that reason, it is better not to trade such resistances. Support in a Bearish Trend In a bearish trend, the last lower low is always considered to be a key horizontal support. Above is a price action on USDCHF. The pair is bearish and recently set a new lower low. It is a key horizontal support now. However, in a bearish trend, the price tends to set a new low after a retracement. Most of the time, it does not respect the support based on the last lower low. I recommend you not to trade such supports. I always repeat to my students that key levels work, but they are not equal in their significance. While some of them are very strong, some are better to be avoided. ❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
3
Learn to Take Losses. Trading Psychology Basics Hey traders, In this post, we will discuss a typical psychological mistake that a lot of traders frequently make, facing a losing streak. 🤑 Analyzing different charts, we may spot a decent trading setup. Being 100% sure in our predictions, we open a trading position. After some time, we are stopped out. Instead of admitting that we were wrong, we are looking for a reason why it is not our fault: market manipulation, stop hunting, news. Instead of reevaluation of our analysis, we start forcing our previous predictions. 🧠 We open a position again, being sure that it is a perfect moment for us to recover the loss. And we are wrong one more time. What the hell is going on? Who to blame? Of course, that is not us. These ugly hedge fund managers again sunk our trade. 😢 But we stay strong, we have a big trading account, so we decide to show this schmo who is a real pro here. Consistency! That is the secret of success in trading. So we open the third position again. And... we screwed. 🤬 Eureka! The market reversed! It's time to open the position in the opposite direction. The trend has changed, and it's time to get on board and recover this losing streak. We open a trade, however, it's too late already: while we were forcing our previous predictions a new impulse has already gone exhausted. We s*ck... That is a typical situation every struggling trader faced. The psychological barrier to take the loss and admit the mistake makes many people leave this game. The only way to proceed is to learn to take losses. Take losses and reevaluate your analysis. "It's ok to be wrong. It's unforgivable to stay wrong!"
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
5
What to Do If You Are Losing in Trading? Have you ever been in the following situation? You pick a trading strategy, you make nice profits and then, for some unknown reasons, you start losing. You take one trade after another and the strategy stops working. That is a very common thing that happens will every trader. I am trading for more than 9 years, and you know what, this year I got a trading week when I got 4 losing trades in a row. In this article, I will explain to you what to do in such a situation and how to deal with losses. So here are the trades that I took. I shorted EURJPY, EURNZD, GBPJPY and USDCAD. I bought AUDJPY. All the trades a rule based, they were strictly taken in accordance with my trading strategy. AUDJPY, EURJPY, EURNZD, GBPJPY trades closed in a loss and USDCAD closed on breakeven. It is a l osing streak of 4 trades. Does it mean that a trading strategy doesn't work anymore? What 90% of traders do when they face the situations like that, they start trading with a new strategy. They win, they face a losing streak and the cycle repeats. The truth is that there is no trading strategy that does not lose occasionally. Losing streaks are the part of the game. For the last 5 years, my strategy shows 64% average win rate. It means that among 10 trades, the first 4 can be the losing ones and the 6 remaining can be the winners. It is the game of statistics. Now, imagine the potential distribution of winners and losers in 100 trades. If you know that your strategy is historically profitable , if you back tested that, and it proved its efficiency what you should do, you should keep trading that. The more losses you face, the higher is the probability that the winning streak is coming. Each losing trade will increase the chance that the next one will be finally profitable. With so many years of trading and faced various drawdowns and losing streaks, what I learned is that if you keep trading your strategy, if you keep trusting that, the market will always give you a chance to recover. But if you stop, if you drop the strategy once you face a losing streak and pick a new one, you will simply miss the winning streak. Repeating that cycle at the end of the day you will lose everything. That is the hard truth about rule-based trading. ❤️Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
FOREXCOM:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
3