Always factor in the possibility of the market’s developmentHello Traders:
First educational video since I went away 8 months ago :)
This topic has been brought up many times, and I wanted to prepare this video for those who are still struggling with the concept of possibility in the market.
Many inconsistent traders, when taking losses, often look at their strategy as the reason why the losses occurred.
They often fail to see that the real problem often lies with emotion, psychology, risk:reward, rather than strategy.
A good rule of thumb when approaching the market is to have a clear mind and expect anything can happen, regardless of technical analysis.
That means, even if a certain setup is developing, there is still probability that you will take a loss after entering. No strategy can give you 100% win rate.
No matter how clean the setup is, or how it mimics the past price action or setups, the market can still not go with what you wish it to go.
So, when we are waiting for a setup to happen before taking the trade, try to think on the other side as well.
If you are looking for a long setup, also think about whether there is a possibility of a sell, and does sell also make sense.
As an example, here on USDJPY, I have seen traders share their bullish view and bias.
Certainly nothing wrong to follow through with your own view and forecast, however, I would suggest to also look into the possibility of a sell potential. Does the sell potential also make sense ?
What if both bullish and bearish outlook exist ? then does it make sense to execute the trade ?
Trading Plan
5 red flags: When to change your trading strategy?Trading is a constant balancing act between risk and reward. Developing a successful trading strategy is a significant accomplishment in its own right, but it is equally important to know when it is time to adjust your approach or when to abandon it altogether. To help you stay ahead of the curve, I've identified the 5 telltale red flags that signal it could be time to change your strategy. Whether it's a shift in market conditions or a decline in performance, these red flags are crucial indicators that something needs to change.
Why can live trading results deviate from backtest?
It is not uncommon for live trading results to differ from the results obtained during backtesting. The main reasons for it are:
1. Improper Backtesting Methodology
This is kind of an "umbrella term" for everything that can go wrong while backtesting, but the facts remain: Backtesting requires a robust methodology to provide reliable results. If the methodology is flawed, the results of the backtest may not accurately reflect the strategy's performance. Common issues include overfitting to past data, using insufficient data ( or cherry-picking your data - talk about introducing a bias into your results! ), or not accounting for transaction costs.
2. Overfitting to Past Data
The most common culprit for live trading performance not achieving backtesting expectations is overfitting to past data. Overfitting occurs when a strategy is designed to fit the past performance of a market too closely, leading to a false representation of its potential future performance. Overfitted strategies have beautiful backtesting results but live trading performance fails to deliver even a resemblance of such results. A typical example would be using an overly specific period of any indicator - such as EMA(103).
3. Strategy Not as Robust as Thought
Backtesting can provide a false sense of security, and traders may not fully appreciate the limitations of their strategy until they begin live trading. For example, a strategy that performs well in a trending market environment may not perform well in ranging conditions, or a strategy may be vulnerable to certain market events that were not accounted for during backtesting.
4. Execution Issues
Live trading often involves executing trades in real-time, which can be subject to various challenges that were not present during backtesting. For example, slippage, latency, or data inaccuracies can all affect the performance of a strategy.
5. Market Conditions Have Changed
I almost don't want to add this one to the list, because I worry most people will use this as a scapegoat, and not examine in detail all the previously mentioned reasons, that they actually can influence. But the fact is, the market is dynamic, and conditions can change rapidly. Changes in central bank policy, the introduction of new market participants, shifts in investor sentiment, or changes in economic conditions can all impact a strategy's performance.
You must be aware of these potential issues and take steps to address them. This includes ensuring a robust backtesting methodology, regularly monitoring and adjusting the strategies, and being prepared to adapt to changing market conditions.
What to do if your strategy shows any of these red flags
When you encounter red flags in your trading strategy, it's crucial to take prompt and decisive action. Personally, if my strategy deviates beyond the backtested results in any of the five metrics mentioned below, I immediately stop live trading and switch to paper trading to monitor its performance.
A robust backtesting methodology should provide a reliable indicator of the strategy's performance, and any deviation from the backtested results should be taken as a sign that further examination is needed. I cannot recommend any leniency in this matter ( translation: Every time I did, it was a painful lesson ).
If you're getting to this position often, it suggests that your backtesting methodology is not robust enough. My guess is: you are either overfitting to past data, or introducing any of the dozens of biases that come with backtesting.
The red flags
I picked these red flags because of their importance or ability to provide a signal early on. It's important to note that the following list is possibly subjective. Not everyone will agree with me on this list. Everyone will agree, however, that it is a good reason to stop a strategy from live trading if it has significantly deviated from its backtested results .
Many traders mistakenly believe that an automated strategy is a "set-and-forget" system. It's not. It is crucial to monitor its performance and be prepared to make adjustments or even stop the strategy if necessary. You might monitor different parameters than me, but you need to monitor something. Make sure your hard work of testing and developing a strategy with a positive expectancy doesn't go to waste.
1. Max drawdown
The first and most critical red flag to watch out for is the difference in maximum drawdown between the live trading strategy and its backtested version . Maximum drawdown is a measure of the largest decrease from a peak to a trough in the value of your portfolio balance, expressed as a percentage of the drop from the peak value. Say you started with 100, traded the account up to 150 with a handful of wins, and now you are at 135 after two losses. Your current drawdown is 10%, and as long as your drop from the current peak was not higher until now, this is also your max drawdown.
The drawdown curve as a whole is a crucial indicator to monitor. Its other secondary parameters can provide further insight into the performance of your trading strategy. These include:
The steepness of the drawdown curve - a steep curve indicates a rapid decrease in value caused by a handful of big losses, while a more gradual curve indicates a slower decline - a longer streak of smaller losses.
The number of trades it took to reach the maximum drawdown - a high number of trades indicates a long period of poor performance, while a low number indicates a short period of sizeable losses.
Total recovery time - the length of time it takes to recover from the maximum drawdown can provide insight into the resilience of your strategy. Generally, you want a more resilient strategy with quick recovery.
By monitoring these parameters in addition to the maximum drawdown, you can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the performance of your trading strategy and make informed decisions about any necessary changes.
Side note: To help you gauge the downside risk, calculate your strategy's Ulcer Index .
2. The losing streak length and frequency
A losing streak is a consecutive sequence of trades that result in losses. If the maximum length of the losing streak in live trading exceeds the results obtained during backtesting, it could indicate that the strategy may not be as consistent or reliable as originally believed.
Try to examine how you would feel in these streaks. If, for example, your strategy regularly alternates between wins and losses, you'll probably feel fine. But if you have periods of long winning streaks and then periods of long losing streaks, it could be emotionally hard to handle. You could get an "itchy hand" and try to fiddle with your strategy even if the losing streak should have been expected since it occurred in the backtest.
3. The Recovery time
The total drawdown time can be oversimplified as follows:
Total Drawdown Time = Drawdown Time + Recovery Time
We looked at the Drawdown time already - in the first red flag, so let's examine the recovery time.
The recovery time is the time it takes for the strategy to return to a profitable state from the point of max drawdown.
For the recovery time, I have basically only one rule: It has to be more aggressive, than the drawdown time. I want to see a faster recovery than the drawdown time. This happens when your average win is larger than your average loss. Such behavior I consider healthy, and it only motivates me to look at the drawdown period more closely ( Is there a pattern in the drawdown occurrences? Can I identify them and filter them out somehow? )
4. Win rate
This red flag is self-explanatory. The win rate of your live traded strategy should not be significantly different from the backtested version. However, you need to make sure you have enough data before you make any decisions. And therefore it is not the first actionable indicator that something might have gone awry.
5. The trade duration
The trade duration difference between your strategy's backtested and live traded versions is another vital red flag to look out for. Trade duration refers to the time a trade is kept open, from entry to exit.
If, for example, the trade duration in your backtest was anywhere between 30 min and 4 hours, but in live trading conditions, you observe a handful of trades with a duration of 20 hours. Is that a cause for concern? Does it warrant stopping the strategy?
Consider the reasons behind such deviations, as it could be an early example of changing market conditions, mismatches in trade execution, or other factors. In the above example, if you opened a trade at the end of the New York session and closed in the London session, maybe the Asian countries had a national holiday and therefore left markets completely illiquid, but the strategy did what was expected.
It is also a good idea to look at the distribution of trades in time. For example, if your backtesting was calibrated to trade during the London and New York sessions, but the live trading strategy generates the majority of trades during the Asian session, this could be a sign of discrepancies that might need to be addressed.
Conclusion
Knowing when to stop a strategy from live trading is integral to the day trading process. By closely monitoring key metrics and values, and comparing them to the results of your backtesting, you can make an informed decision about whether to continue using a strategy, invest time in improving it, or stop it altogether and look for a better one. And whether you monitor the same indicators or develop your own, as long as you regularly check in on your strategy's results, you are on your way to improving your chances of achieving long-term profitability.
I wish you all the best in your trading journey!
An updated version of my limit order strategyIt's been a while since I've posted anything here. I mostly don't hang out on tradingview anymore, but still check in every now and again.
Anyway, if you're reading this, you're probably familiar with my old limit order breakout-retest strategy, where you're pricing the market on breakouts and collecting profits on retests. I've updated this for reliability, but it is more difficult to execute now so you'll have to pay attention and spend a good amount of time testing this for yourself on a demo account.
The method is simple (to me at least):
1) With limit orders, you're attempting to go with the direction of the trend. This means that in an uptrend, you're going to find the breakout point of the current move and the swing low from the previous move.
2) From the breakout point to the latest high, you're going to either eyeball a 50% retracement level, or draw a chart for it (will show this below), and then you're going to be placing tiny limit orders going all the way from that 50% retracement down to the swing low of the previous move. You're going to price the market in a wide area this way. You will likely require a script or a bot to do this, as it's slow with inconsistent spacing if you do it by hand.
3) You're going to have a hedge stop instead of a stop loss, at the swing low of the previous move. This is where it gets dangerous and will require practice.
The hedge stop will be a stop order with a position size equal to all of your limits combined.
I said kind of a lot in all those pics, but I hope I got the message across. :D
Make sure you get yourself a script or bot of some sort to deploy those limit orders. If you do it by hand, you'll likely have less of them (which is fine), but always understand your risk before the play is made. On metatrader, I use a "Lines profit loss" indicator to show me the accumulated total of all of my trades. I can drag the line along the screen to see what my P&L will be if price reaches x point. You should get something like this too, or commission it if your platform doesn't have it. Understanding risk numbers is very important for this strategy.
Anyway. I hope this helps someone!
Manipulation strategyWe all know that markets are highly manipulated and the traders have to look for a signs of manipulation.
There are a lot of types of manipulation - imbalance, candle without wick, liquidity grab and so on. On the chart I marked few areas, where price was manipulated and reversed.
The strategy shows you how to recognise the manipulation patterns. It is based on smart money concept, but it is more focused on the liquidity grab and the low liquidity moves.
So for example:
On this chart I marked areas, where price created low liquidity moves and the results are strong movements on the manipulated direction.
Why these examples are low liquidity moves?
Because price cleared a lot of stop losses and inject fresh money in the market. The banks do not invest into the markets, they generate money in order to profit.
In the first rectangle (lower one) - price created triple bottom - this is a major reversal retail pattern and created major liquidity pool, but look closer. Creating the pattern, price also took out lot of liquidity and moved away.
In the second rectangle (the wedge) - price also created low liquidity move, because every time it gave strong signs of reversal tricking the traders to sell or buy and then took them out.
Rule : In order price to move in one direction the institutions must buy or sell. To accumulate orders they should inject money in the market. The injections are liquidity grab in many ways and types.
The markets can not move always with low liquidity moves and always stay in efficiency. The liquidity must to be created first, so that traders can come into the market and later to be taken out.
As every strategy the "Manipulation strategy" sometimes give us false signals, but it is most accurate strategy.
For example in consolidation we may see many false signals, but this is not because the strategy failed, it is because price was manipulated constantly.
This is not smart money concept. The strategy is not focused on order blocks and breaker blocks, it is focused on low liquidity moves.
The manipulation areas are also the true support and resistance, because when the banks buy or sell from the specific level, they will protect this level, if it is not targeted.
Markets moves up and down, taking the buy side and sell side liquidity, this is the way that swings are formed. They are not forming based on retail support and resistance or Fibonacci numbers.
How to use:
1) Calculate the liquidity - look for retail pattern - double top/bottom, previous high or low, support or resistance or every other obvious buy/sell zone.
2) Wait price to clear the level - liquidity grab.
3) Wait until price form low liquidity move(pattern).
4) Buy/Sell to the opposite liquidity pool.
🧊The Iceberg Illusion In TradingThe iceberg illusion in trading refers to the perception gap between what people think trading is and what it actually means. Many people see trading as a simple way to make quick profits and accumulate wealth, with the idea that all one has to do is buy low and sell high. However, the reality is far more complex. Under the surface of what appears to be a straightforward process lies a world of risk, stress, and uncertainty. Trading is not just about making money, it requires discipline, patience, and a deep understanding of the markets. Those who don't understand the true nature of trading may face financial loss, depression and failure, much like the hidden dangers beneath the surface of an iceberg. Success in trading often requires much more than just a basic understanding of market trends and patterns, and those who dive in without being fully prepared may face dire consequences.
🔷 Above the Iceberg
Above the iceberg, people often see the glamorous and attractive side of trading, characterized by success, wealth, and financial independence. They imagine traders as confident and knowledgeable individuals, making smart decisions and reaping the rewards of their investments. The image of traders making large profits in a short amount of time is one that is often perpetuated by media and popular culture. People often see the stock market as a fast-paced, exciting place where opportunities for financial gain are abundant, and the idea of being able to control one's financial future through trading is alluring. This perception of trading often creates a rosy and idealized image of what it entails, leading many to believe that success in the markets is easy to achieve.
🔶 Bellow the Iceberg
Below the iceberg, lies the reality of the challenges and difficulties that traders face on a daily basis. There are many hidden risks and uncertainties that are not immediately apparent to those who are new to the world of trading. Some of the things that people don't know that lie beneath the surface of the iceberg include:
🔸 Market volatility:
The stock market is a highly volatile environment, and prices can fluctuate rapidly and unpredictably. This can make it difficult for traders to manage their positions and minimize their losses.
🔸 Emotional stress:
Trading can be a highly emotional experience, and the pressure to make the right decisions can be immense. Many traders struggle with anxiety, fear, and depression, particularly when faced with losing trades.
🔸 Lack of understanding:
The stock market is complex, and it can be difficult for traders to understand all of the factors that influence market trends and prices. This can lead to costly mistakes and an increased risk of financial loss.
🔸 Competition:
The stock market is a highly competitive environment, and traders must be able to keep up with fast-moving markets and make quick decisions based on complex data and information.
🔸 Long-term success:
Many traders are focused on short-term profits and may not consider the long-term impact of their trading decisions. Achieving lasting success in the markets requires a well-thought-out strategy and a strong understanding of the markets and the risks involved.
🔸 Timing:
Successful trading often requires precise timing, as markets can change rapidly and prices can fluctuate. Traders must have a deep understanding of market trends and be able to make quick decisions to take advantage of opportunities.
🔸 Risk management:
Trading involves risk, and traders must be able to manage their positions and minimize their losses. This requires a well-planned and executed risk management strategy, including setting stop-losses and taking profits at appropriate levels.
🔸 Knowledge and experience:
Trading is not just about buying low and selling high. It requires a deep understanding of market trends, economics, and financial analysis, as well as years of experience to develop a successful trading strategy.
🔸 Discipline:
Trading requires discipline and patience, as well as the ability to stick to a well-thought-out strategy. Many traders make impulsive decisions based on emotions or market rumors, which can lead to financial losses.
Welcome to the hardest game in the world.
👤 @AlgoBuddy
📅 Daily Ideas about market update, psychology & indicators
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Become a Better Trader with Bar ReplayIf you're a trader, you know that success in the market requires both skill and experience. But what if you could gain experience without risking your hard-earned cash? That's where TradingView's Bar Replay feature comes in. It's a powerful tool that allows traders to improve their skills by replaying historical market data in a risk-free environment.
Bar Replay is like having a time machine for the market. With this feature, you can select any historical date and time and replay the market data as if you were trading in real-time. As the market moves, you can test out different strategies, analyze your performance, and make adjustments to your approach. And the best part? You won't lose any money if you make a mistake!
So, how can you use Bar Replay to improve your trading skills? Let's take a look at some tips:
Identify your weaknesses: One of the best ways to improve your trading skills is to identify your weaknesses. When replaying market data, pay close attention to the trades that didn't go your way. Ask yourself why they failed and what you could have done differently.
Fine-tune your strategy: Once you've identified your weaknesses, it's time to fine-tune your strategy. Test out different approaches and see how they perform in the historical data. Adjust your approach until you find one that consistently generates positive results.
Develop a routine: Trading can be stressful, and it's easy to make impulsive decisions. By developing a routine and sticking to it, you can reduce stress and improve your decision-making. Use Bar Replay to practice your routine and make it a habit.
Practice risk management: Risk management is crucial to successful trading. Use Bar Replay to test out different risk management approaches and see how they perform over time. By finding the right balance between risk and reward, you can improve your profitability.
In conclusion, TradingView's Bar Replay feature is a powerful tool for traders who want to improve their skills. By identifying weaknesses, fine-tuning your strategy, developing a routine, and practicing risk management, you can take your trading to the next level. So, fire up Bar Replay and start improving your skills today!
What Trading Consolidation Looks Like?Should you trade consolidation? Well, the real question is are you a consolidation trader? If so, what does consolidation trading look like to you?
Not all traders will have the same answer because no trader knows when consolidation will form until it happens. What you will do when it happens is solely based on what you believe to be true based on your beliefs about trading and your trading strategy.
What is a market condition?
A market condition is a type of way the market moves. Much like the weather outside, you dress based upon the temperature outside and you choose your style of clothing.
You can't control the weather, but you can control what you do. Much like you can't control how price moves, but you can control how you trade it.
The way price moves determines the strategy you choose to trade it based on your trading style.
When consolidation begins forming you may notice a few things such as:
1. Its hard to gauge the price direction
2. Price moves sideways between an extreme high and low for an extended amount of time
3. You may be stopped out more often or have to wait longer before placing a trade if you are a trend or breakout trader
4. You may trade well within the ranges of crazy price movement in between the extreme high and low prices.
The bigger question to ask yourself when you notice consolation forming is do you do well in this type of market?
If so, what are the steps to trading this type of condition?
Do you look place horizontal trend lines?
Do you look for patterns such as wedges or flags.
If no, the current currency pair or asset will be best to ignore til it begins to trend again in your favor. What will that look like?
Is it a break out of the horizontal trend lines?
Is it a break out of your pattern?
Either way, as a trader, it's best you determine what consolidation looks like to you and decide to trade it or not to trade it. Construct steps around how you trade it and position your risk size according to this type of condition.
For me myself personally, I do not trade consolidation. I am a trend trader and my motto is, if I'm not in the trade before consolidation forms, I'm not trading at all.
I also don't create consolidation strategies. Thats just me personally. It helps with me mental capacity and keeps me focused on what works for me.
I'd like to know, do you trade consolidation and if so, whats your best strategy.
Lastly, thank you for reading my post. Be sure to like it. It lets me know you enjoy reading what I love talking about in my free time, trading. ❤️
Don't Blow Your Account | Learn How to Avoid Margin Call
Hey traders,
In this educational article, I will share with you 5 simple tips that will help you not to blow your trading.
1️⃣Always Use Stop Loss.
Let's start with the obvious - with the stop loss order.
Never ever trade without that. Before you open your trade, plan in advance its placement, stick to it once the position becomes active and never remove it.
2️⃣ Manage Your Position Sizes
I know that most of you are trading with a fixed lot. That is a bad habit. You should measure the lot size for each trading position you take. You should define in advance the risk percentage you are willing to lose per trade and calculate the lot sizes for your trades accordingly, then.
3️⃣Avoid Taking Too Many Positions
Remember that in trading, quantity does not imply quality. The more trades you take, the harder it is to manage each position individually. I would suggest opening maximum 5 trades per day and holding no more than 8 trades simultaneously.
4️⃣ Avoid Trading Too Many Markets
The wider is your watch list, the harder it is to focus on each individual element inside. Do not try to control as many markets as possible, instead, narrow your watch list and concentrate your attention on your favourite trading instruments.
5️⃣Remember About Volatility
The more volatile is the market that you trade, the harder it is to trade it and the bigger stop losses you need to keep your positions safe. Remember, that the volatility is the double-edged sword. It can bring substantial profits, but it can also blow your entire account in a blink of an eye.
Following these 5 simple rules, you will make your trading much safer. Study them and add them in your trading plan.
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My Backtesting Results on NZDCHFHolding trades is what I want to get better at and backtesting is going to help me do it.
I've backtested NZDCHF today and found that it was a remarkable session.
I was able to enter 4 trades in the span of 3 months gaining over what would have been 15% from the trades, but one trade hit my break even point so I gained around 12% from my trades.
I used the monthly, weekly, and daily timeframes with most of my entries coming from the daily timeframe.
I used my own strategy known as TMP. It stands for Trend, Market Structure, Price Action(or, pending orders).
I identify the trend first, then set my estimation zone, then place my pending order. In that order, thats it.
I don't use support and resistance, trend lines, or indicators for the most part. I like using price action. Its my preference that has changed throughout my trading career.
I've noticed I a few reasons why I don't enter my best setups are due it
1) Money trauma( family had poor money management)
2) Time limit( pressure from showing results)
To get over those, I have set parameters to take partials, move my trades to break even, and set pending orders to eliminate myself not entering my own trades.
This helps in the long run and has helped since collecting data on myself since the start of me using prop firms.
I can only pray that through my backtesting and trading journey, this can help you too.
Please let me know if you have questions regarding my backtesting or found something unique that helped you.
Safe trading❤️
🧠 The Mind Of A Smart TraderTrading psychology is influenced by emotions like greed and fear, which can drive irrational behavior in markets. Greed causes excessive risk-taking and speculation, while fear causes traders to exit positions prematurely or avoid risk. Regret can also cause traders to violate discipline and make trades at peak prices, leading to losses. These emotions can be particularly prominent in bull or bear markets and can have a significant impact on market outcomes. Trading psychology is a crucial factor in determining success in trading securities. It includes aspects of an individual's character and behavior that affect their trading decisions. Discipline and risk-taking are critical components of trading psychology, as is the impact of emotions like fear, greed, hope, and regret. It can be as important as knowledge, experience, and skill in determining trading success.
🧠10 Trading mindset tips:
🔹 Stay informed: Stay updated with the latest market news, trends, and developments, as well as your preferred assets.
🔹 Create a trading plan: This should include a clear set of rules for entry, exit, and risk management. Stick to your plan.
🔹 Manage your emotions: Avoid making impulsive decisions, especially during volatile market conditions. Keep a clear head and stick to your plan.
🔹 Continuously educate yourself: Enhance your knowledge and skills by reading books, attending seminars, and practicing with demo accounts.
🔹 Diversify your portfolio: Spread your risk across different assets and markets to reduce your exposure to any one particular market.
🔹 Stay disciplined: Follow your plan and stick to your rules, even if your emotions are telling you otherwise.
🔹 Set realistic expectations: Be mindful of your limitations and don’t overreach. Accept small losses and focus on long-term success.
🔹 Stay focused: Avoid distractions and keep your mind on your trading activities.
🔹 Keep a trading journal: Record your trades, track your progress, and reflect on what you could have done differently.
🔹 Take breaks: Avoid overtrading, which can lead to burnout. Take time to recharge and come back fresh.
👤 @AlgoBuddy
📅 Daily Ideas about market update, psychology & indicators
❤️ If you appreciate our work, please like, comment and follow ❤️
What I've learned after backtesting So, I love backtesting. Recently I've found my self in a 3% drawdown and needed to figure out what the cause of it was and trading at this moment won't give me that answer.
So, I decided to backtest.
Here is what I found:
1. I'm overtrading my system
I am a proud swing trader who got back into scalping the market in December 2022. It was mot my idea, but I thought I could handle it. I started out great, but then the market reminded me why I left the lower timeframes.
2. I'm not holding my trades long enough. Thanks Prop Firms!
Since joining a prop firm my mind has been changed to holding trades for less time than I normally would. I don't mind holding trades for weeks or months, but prop firms give you time limits during evaluation periods.
That was and still is a huge adjustment for me. Being a swing trader means I have to let my profits run. So, now, I've found a prop firm that will allow me to hold my trades with no time limits.
3. Not holding trades to my weekly and monthly targets.
I need to see past my daily targets. Normally my daily risk to rewards are between 1:1 and 1:2. I'm in drawdown because I'm not recovering from my losses with these risk to rewards.
So now, I'm only taking trades with RR over 1:2 and better. This way I'm trading less, holding longer(sometimes), and getting the best bank for my buck.
Backtesting helped me see my mistakes and how to correct them. This is called fixing your strategy.
Notice how I'm not changing my strategy. I'm tweaking my strategy to fit my mental capacity and trading style.
If you find you're in a drawdown and can't see, stop trading and backtest what you're currently doing and find a way to stop the behavior thats causing your drawdown. Then, stop doing that particular thing so you can see better results.
I pray this has helped you.
Let me know your key takeaway by commenting below.
Learn Why Most of the Traders Fail
The evidence suggests that only a very small proportion of day traders makes money year over year.
There are certain patterns which may separate profitable traders from those who ultimately lose money. And indeed, there is one particular mistake that in our experience gets repeated time and time again. What is the single most important mistake that led to traders losing money?
Here is a hint – it has to do with how we as humans relate to winning and losing.
Our own human psychology makes it difficult to navigate financial markets, which are filled with uncertainty and risk, and as a result the most common mistakes traders make have to do with poor risk management strategies.
Traders are often correct on the direction of a market, but where the problem lies is in how much profit is made when they are right versus how much they lose when wrong.
Bottom line, traders tend to make less on winning trades than they lose on losing trades.
Humans aren’t machines, and working against our natural biases requires effort. Once you have a trading plan that uses a proper reward/risk ratio, the next challenge is to stick to the plan. Remember, it is natural for humans to want to hold on to losses and take profits early, but it makes for bad trading. We must overcome this natural tendency and remove our emotions from trading.
That will help you to be a consistently profitable trader.
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The 5 Outcomes Of a Trade | How not to blow your account
Successful traders know there are 5 outcomes that can come out of a trading position. When managed well these outcomes can lead to great success. However, when manage badly can cause disaster to a trader’s account.
Below I’ll highlight and discuss the possible 5 outcomes of a trade and how you can manage them.
1. Small Profit
This is when a position ends in a very small profit, for trend traders, this is usually the case. However, in this situation, there is no loss.
2. Small Loss
This is when you lose a small amount at the close of your position. This is part of normal and good trading. In fact, you should cut your losses early. Taking small losses or cutting your losses early will help you stay in this business long term.
3. Breakeven
This is a position where you really didn’t make or lose any money. They’ll come too, they are not necessarily bad trades. These types of trades may just mean you should find re-entry to the position or may just be a quick exit without a loss or profit.
4. Big Profit
This is when a position ends in a very big profit. This type of trade does not come too often but when they do come they are the trades that move your general account return for the period to the next level. As a trader, these are the type of trades you should look forward to.
5. Big Loss
This is when a position ends up closing at a very big loss. This type of trade should never happen on your trading account as a pro-trader. This is the type of trade that can blow your trading account. It’s why you should know how to cut your losses quickly and take a small loss.
I’m glad I’ve been able to share with you the possible outcomes of a trade and how you can manage them properly. A simple knowledge like this can suddenly turn your trading account to become profitable.
Dear followers, let me know, what topic interests you for new educational posts?
Factor Forex Spread into Trades: A Guide to Bid & Ask PricesHave you ever found yourself in a situation where trade was closed out before reaching your intended stop loss level, or where the market reaches your profit target but the trade never closes in your favour?
It can be frustrating and confusing, leaving you wondering what went wrong. You may even start to blame your broker or the market itself, thinking they are conspiring against you. But the truth is, it's not the market or your broker - it's you.
The key issue is that you're not taking the market spread into account when setting your trade levels. A professional trader must always factor in the spread to avoid inconsistencies and mishaps in their trades. In this post, we will discuss the difference between the BID and ASK price, understand what the market spread is and show you how to factor it into your trade levels for a smoother and more successful trading experience.
As a professional trader, it is crucial to understand the BID and ASK prices. Failure to do so can result in costly mistakes when setting up trades. When placing a trade, these two prices are crucial to consider.
The BID Price
The BID price is something that every trader should have a good understanding of.
The BID price is the price that is displayed on the charts, for example, if the USD/JPY pair was displaying 110.00 on your chart, then the BID price is 110.00.
The BID price is the price that you deal with every time you press the sell button. This is because it is the price at which your broker is willing to purchase the currency from you. In other words, you are selling the currency to your broker at the BID price.
The ASK Price
The ASK price can be a little more complex, as it is often the cause of unexpected outcomes in trade orders.
Typically, you do not see the ASK price when you have your charts open, it is only visible when you open your trade order window or enable that option in your trading software.
The ASK price is the price at which your broker is willing to sell you the currency, and it is a completely different price than what you see on the charts. The ASK price is what you deal with every time the BUY button is pressed and it is typically more expensive than the BID price you are viewing on the chart.
Therefore, the ASK price is the price your broker is "asking" for to sell the currency. The BID price may be 1.45000 on the charts but your broker's ASK price may be something like 1.45030. This is where the concept of calculated Forex spread comes into play.
How to Incorporate Spread into Trade Planning
When placing trade orders, it is important to remember two key principles. These principles must be applied every time you enter and exit a trade, so it is essential to memorize them or keep them in a visible place for reference.
~ When going long, the market is entered at the ASK price and exited at the BID price.
~ When going short, the market is entered at the BID price and exited at the ASK price.
For instance, let's say you want to set a pending order to go long when USD/CAD reaches 1.30000 on the chart, you don’t simply place the pending order entry price at 1.30000. Remember the rule for long trades, you ‘enter the market at the ASK price because the ASK price is what your broker is willing to sell you the currency for. Whenever you are the buyer – the ASK price is quoted.
If your broker's spread is roughly 2 pips for USD/CAD, when the market reaches 1.30000 your broker will be "asking" for 1.30020.
So when the price on the chart reaches 1.30000 (this is the BID price), your broker will be willing to sell the currency for 1.30020 (when the spread is 2 pips).
Therefore, if you place your pending order with an entry price of 1.30000, your trade will not be triggered because your broker is not willing to sell you the currency for that price at that point in time. In this case, you would have to wait for the BID price to reach 1.29980, at which point the broker's ASK price would be 1.30000 and your trade will be filled.
In order to ensure that the trade is triggered when the BID price reaches 1.30000, you must factor in the market spread and set your entry order at 1.30020.
Determining Stop Loss and Exit Prices for Long Positions
Determining stop loss and exit levels for long positions is made relatively simple by utilizing the BID price. The BID price, which is the price at which your broker is willing to buy the currency back from you, reflects the prices that are commonly obtainable from the Interbank Market.
When exiting a trade, the currency is sold back to the broker at the BID price. The BID price is the one that is visible on the charts, and there is no additional commission to be taken into account. Therefore, stop and target levels can be set directly off the BID prices displayed on the charts, making the process straightforward.
Setting Up Short Trades
When executing short trades, the process is reversed. Short trades are entered at the BID price, so the price displayed on the chart is used for the short entry order.
However, the stop loss and target prices for short trades must take into account the Forex spread, as the trade will be exited at the ASK price, which is typically higher than the BID price due to the broker's commission.
To ensure that stop loss levels are not triggered prematurely, the Forex spread must be calculated and added to the stop loss value. This will allow the trade to move freely to its stop-loss level before being closed.
Additionally, the Forex spread must also be factored in for the target price levels of short trades. The target price should be found on the chart, the spread added, and that value should be used as the target price level for every short trade order.
By following the proper procedures for calculating and factoring in the Forex spread, you can now confidently place trade orders and enter the Forex market in an effective manner. This will prevent frustration and disappointment by ensuring that pending orders are executed correctly and that trades exit at the intended price levels.
Best advice for achieving success in trading!✅Here's the deal, guys. If you want to make this year a successful year in trading, you got to have an edge. It doesn't have to be rocket science, just a solid strategy. There are plenty of resources out there, so don't be shy to do your research. Once you got a strategy, test it out with a small account or paper money before committing fully.
And when you commit, commit fully. Don't be that person that changes their mind after one loss. Ignore the noise on social media and focus on your own system and 'PnL. It's none of your concern how other people are trading.
Don't buy the hype. You're not going to turn chump change into a fortune overnight. Trading has its ups and downs. So, don't be caught off guard and expect the unexpected. And always be ready for the ride.
And here's the truth, not every trade will be a winner. But there will be a select few that'll make up for the majority of your 'PnL increase. Just make sure you have enough capital to cover 'bills, taxes, and other boring stuff.
And don't be dumb and emotional. Risk management and trading psychology are crucial. If you're having panic attacks before executing a trade, it's a sign you're either not suitable for trading or you're taking excessive risks. Take a step back and assess your current financial situation and the amount of money you're putting in.
Embrace failure as fuel. It's not a setback, but a lesson in disguise. Realize that success is not a straight path, but a journey full of ups and downs.
And lastly, come prepared. Write down a plan for each day, whether it's a simple excel sheet or a written plan. It'll help you stay focused and aware of what's happening in the markets. And remember, trading is hard. Don't fall for the social media hype that makes it seem easy.
Happy trading!
🟢Support🟢 & 🔴Resistance🔴 in TradingView Land !!!👨🏫Hello, guys🤪; I'm Pejman, and today we will change the regular TradingView to TradingView Disneyland🎡 . I want to tell the story of Snow White and the trader dwarfs.
Once upon a time🌞, in the kingdom👑 of Stocktopia, there was a young princess👰♂️ named Snow White Charts. She was the heir to the realm of Stocktopia. Still, unlike her father, the King of Stocktopia, a successful businessman🧔, Princess needed help understanding the stock market. She often lost money💸.
One day, while walking in the forest🌿🌲, Princess Snow White Charts stumbled upon an old house called Dwarf traders. She became curious and decided to visit this house🏠.
Dwarves lived in this house🏠 whose job was to help the traders. They directed the price of different stocks by creating support and resistance lines or zones, and each dwarf was responsible for one of them.
The Princess did not know anything about these lines. So she decided to stay to learn about these powerful lines.
One of these dwarves, named Doc, looked older and wiser than the other dwarves. The Princess enlisted the help of Doc to learn how these lines worked.
Doc was proficient in various methods of technical analysis and had an exceptional talent for simplifying complex issues😝. So he tried to teach these lines to the Princess👰♂️ in the simplest and best way possible.
If you also want to master technical analysis like Doc before learning support and resistance lines/zones, read the following post to learn what technical analysis is. 🤓👇
Doc showed the following picture to the Princess.
Can you tell what the role of support lines is before reading Doc's explanation❓👇
As you can see in the picture, the candles are placed in a downward trend, and they go down🔴 like playful children🧒🧒 playing on the slide.
Doc explained that support lines are like a bouncy castle🕍 for price. When the candles reach these Lines, they'll push them up just like a trampoline; the price will grow.
Remember that they prevent the price from moving too far down or falling.😅 The candles are safe on the support lines, so Sleepy sleeps peacefully.
Doc believes that when a stock's price hits support lines, it can indicate a potential buying opportunity. Still, when it breaks down🔴 the support line, it can show a possible selling opportunity; but I will discuss this in the following.
Now you may ask, what are resistance lines❓ The exact same question came up for Princess Snow White Charts😁.
First, look at the chart below.👇
Resistance lines are like the roof of a bouncy castle. In an uptrend🟢, when the candles are happy and constantly jumping higher and higher, the resistance lines prevent them from going further.
The resistance line is guarded by Goupy, who pushes the candles down🔴 like a bully, whenever the candles hit the resistance line.
Let's suppose all these price lines & dwarfs want to lead candles in a particular direction.
Now that you are familiar with support and resistance lines, you might have the same question as Princess👰♂️had again. How to recognize and find these lines❓
According to Doc, there are several ways to find these lines:
Past Price Data:
Sir John says: "Price data is like a roadmap, showing you where the market has been and where it might be heading."
Looking at past price data is like checking the tracks of a criminal. It may be seen, but it is simply not correct. You can know how he behaved in the past because he may repeat the same behavior in the future.
So, to better understand the price, you must also know its past. Even Philip Fisher also believes that: "Price data is the lens through which we can see the market's true nature."
Previous Lines:
By finding previous support and resistance lines, it's as if you've found a criminal's 🔫 recorded files.
Price data is the story of the market, and those who ignore it are doomed to repeat their mistakes. You can't predict the future without understanding the past, and the market's past performance is the best indicator of its future performance.
Wow, speak of the devil🤐, I forgot that indicators also have important points to say too.
Indicators:
Maybe price data is like a roadmap🚨 or past lines like a criminal recorded file. But indicators are like GPS.
Indicators are the GPS of the financial markets, and they guide us to our destination and help us avoid getting lost.
Indicators are the financial markets' fingerprints, revealing the underlying patterns and trends.
Doc and I found some indicators helpful in identifying supply(resistance) and demand(support) zones, such as:
Moving Average/Parabolic SAR/Bollinger Bands/Ichimoku Kinko Hyo/Fibonacci/Pivot point
There are many ways to recognize these lines and even indicators that help you find them like an assistant, but you should still try to know and learn them yourself.
For example, Doc says there are additional support and resistance lines. Like the slides in the game, they can be straight or sloping, going up🟢 or down🔴. I'm kidding, but they really have these types 🙂.
In the previous pictures, I showed you only static lines. Now, look at the pictures below because I will show you all the types of these lines with examples.
For example, if the support and resistance lines are like a road🛣 on the ground, they are called static support and resistance lines .
Now, what if this road turns into steep ropes❓ Well, it is known that they are called dynamic support and resistance lines .
For example, if you want to go mountain🗻 climbing, it is as if you are climbing with dynamic support. In general, in an upward🟢 trend, dynamic support lines like a ramp🚧 prevent the price from falling.
Now that we are talking about climbing let's introduce another game🎲. The zipline🤐😄.
The price decreases from the dynamic resistance lines like a zipline in downward🔴 trends. 😄
I must say that theoretically, the price will go down after hitting the dynamic resistance lines and these lines prevent price growth🟢.
Dynamic resistance or support is also called a trend line. Trendlines are helpful in many parts of technical analysis, such as classical patterns.
Just take a look at the below post. You will find that trend lines help us effectively identify these patterns or trade with them. That's how I am! COOL!😎😎.👇
Don't worry and don't rush because, as said: Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
Soon I will teach all these patterns in future posts, but we have to go step by step together.😎😎😎
But I must add that the price is also very playful😛. The price may cross these lines, be above the resistance or below the support, and escape from them.
"If price can make a credible breakout, this could be a good place to trade and make some sweet dollars," Doc whispered to Princess Snow White Charts.
What is a valid breakout❗️❓
This was the question that arose in the Princess's 👰 mind, and I think it is your question as well.
Imagine that the resistance line is like a prison that confines the candles. A diligent & playful candle needs the support of buyers to escape from this prison. If the buyers support it, it can get out of this prison.
After escaping the breakout candle, if another candle, called the confirmation, escapes from this prison and jumps above the breakout candle, the way will be clear for other prisoners, and they can run. So a valid breakout will happen.
A valid breakout is created with a strong candle called a breakout candle(such as the Marubozu candle); after that, a candle as a confirmation candle will confirm this breakout.
Don't worry about selling below the Support line or buying above the resistance line. If a valid breakout has occurred, the target stock will decrease/rise further, and the trend will not stop or end anytime soon.
Let's walk through an example of a valid breakout with Doc.
As you can see, the price broke this line with a strong candle and made a confirmation candle. As a result, we consider this a valid breakout.
If you have noticed, finally, the price went back to this line to greet the previous line. This movement is called Pullback .
In general, to say that a breakout is valid, there are several conditions:
Preferably, the breakout candle and the confirmation candle are the same color.
The point where the breakout candle closes must be above resistance or below support.
The breakout must have happened with the body of a candle, not with the candle's shadow.
Even the closing point of the confirmation candle should be above the resistance breakout candle or below the support breakout candle.
But I should mention that the trading volume increases when a valid breakout occurs.
Now that you know a valid breakout, we can also check an invalid breakout, so dive down🔴 to the chart below.
As you can see, the price tries to be playful😜😜 and break the support line. But there are no buyers to support the price for this movement, so this breakout will be temporary and short-lived.
The price will soon return below the Support line. The invalid breakouts are sometimes known as bull traps or bear traps which I will explain in future posts.
I advise you to only sometimes look for a straight line for support or resistance.
I use support and resistance lines in my analysis to draw trend lines. But when I want to determine the support and resistance of a currency, I draw them as support and resistance zones.
Using zones makes you no longer involved in each line's small & fake breaks, and you won't make mistakes with each break.
Now that you have learned almost everything about these lines😎😎, it's time to start fishing and apply these tips to real trades.
I have considered all the necessary items for trading with these lines in the chart below. You might understand the reason for trading by looking at the picture before reading the description.
( The First Method )
The picture shows the price below this resistance zone, and they tried to escape several times.
Still, finally, when the trading volume and the number of buyers increased, it could cross its resistance zone with a strong candle(breakout candle), and then the confirmation candle formed.
Now, as traders, we should place our Entry Point(EP) slightly higher than the confirmation candle. And also, be careful;😱 maybe this break is invalid, or it returns below its resistance. So we place our Stop Loss(SL) a little lower than the breakout candle.
Now, look at this chart again. But I am going to teach you another method for trading.
( The Second Method )
You should only sometimes enter into a position at one point.
For example, when the price returns to its resistance to greet(Pullback), it's a good time to divide your money into two parts & re-enter the position.
With this, your average Entry Point will be lower, and the Risk/Reward(RR) ratio will increase.
( I know that the Risk/Reward(RR) is something that some of you are unfamiliar with, so don't worry cause I'm going to talk about it in future posts.)
There is another way to trade with these lines.
(The Third Method)
You've got another way to trade with two Entry Points. You can enter the position when the pullback accrues; the other entry point is a little higher than the highest price before the pullback.
In this method, you will be more confident about the position, but at the same time, the Risk/Reward (RR) is decreased compared to the previously mentioned methods. The Stop Loss is the same as the others.
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Prince Snow White Charts learned all these tricks along with Doc and the other Dwarves.
Excited to try this new knowledge, he immediately returned to Stocktopia😊and applied what he had learned to his trading. To his surprise, his trades became more profitable.
The king was pleased with his daughter's improvement, & these lessons were taught to all the traders in the kingdom👑 of Stocktopia.
From that day, Stocktopia was known as the kingdom with the most successful traders, thanks to the wisdom of Doc and Princess Snow White Charts.😊😊
Stocktopia's traders lived happily ever after, thanks to the protection and guidance provided by the Seven Dwarfs of Support.😇😇
I hope you enjoyed this story and use support and resistance lines/zones in your trading. But never forget that before using any new method, try it several times to master that method.😎😎😎.
Now let's leave the world of stories and return to the real world of traders. Take advantage of the following posts.
In the end, I wish you health and success.
Black Swan Event: The Biggest Crypto Market Risk!In today’s article, we will be discussing a risk known as Black Swan Event. Now what is the Black Swan and why it is considered as the most unexpected event in the course of any economic crisis is the greater factor to be discussed.
The most unexpected event that has the maximum possibility to occur in the market is called Black Swan, this term was first coined by NYU professor and economist Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
The main attributes that shape the possibilities of Black Swan events:
Unpredictability
Potential Severities
Widespread impact
According to Taleb:
A black swan is an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences.
They are impossible to predict due to their extreme rarity, yet have catastrophic consequences, it is important for people to always assume a black swan event is a possibility, whatever it may be, and to try to plan accordingly.
Some believe that diversification may offer some protection when a black swan event does occur.
Black swan events are characterized by their extreme rarity, severe impact, and the widespread insistence they were obvious in hindsight.
Extrapolating, using statistics based on observations of past events is not helpful for predicting black swans, and might even make us more vulnerable to them.
The last key aspect of a black swan is that as a historically important event, observers are keen to explain it after the fact and speculate as to how it could have been predicted. Such retrospective speculation, however, does not actually help to predict future black swans as these can be anything from a credit crisis to a war.
What is the impact on Institutional markets?
We know that somehow, we can use normal factors of prediction and probability over mass numbers of people like the result predicting based on Normal distribution curve, for such things, even the extrapolation method is not working.
Hence Black Swan can take the market in any form that is not predefined, that can attack a market with several forms like crashing of prices and regulatory risk of digital exchanges.
What are the two different types of Black Swan risk?
Black Swan occurs within two types one is the positive impact and another one is a negative impact, now the inability to predict the accurate possibilities is the driving force behind the execution of the Black Swan event.
Any clampdown on the trading of cryptocurrencies and other digital money can directly crash the prices of other currencies.
The crackdown of Cryptocurrency exchanges by any third parties or other factors can also be counted as the Black Swan effect, many particular exogenous events can be forced to occur like:
Inverse Volatility
The crackdown of Crypto exchanges
Regulatory risk of Crypto exchanges
Low liquidity and low trading volume
Having said that, 2022 has been the year of the “Black Swan” throughout the world of cryptocurrency. From the fall of LUNA to the insolvency of 3AC, Celsius, FTX and now BlockFi, the market has taken major hits in value and credibility. Each one of these events seemingly was viewed as a once in a lifetime event.
To sum up, the Black Swan event is described in the following summarized manner:
This event is so rare that it has many unknown possibilities occurring suddenly.
Also, the impact is so huge that it can have a catastrophic effect.
The hindsight conclusion if the prediction comes as true.
Conclusion
At last, one could conclude that many events could turn into a Black Swan in crypto trading such as, Network Congestion where everyone is rushing to have Ethereum and it subsequently raises the price of gas.
In this case, when Black Swan occurs, the problem increases tenfold times and also this affects the liquidation process and also low-value transfers can simply attack the blockchain system.
If you liked it, make sure to support with a like, follow and a comment!
Best Regards, CryptoQueens.
7 Reasons why Elite Traders Crush the CompetitionHello TradingView world,
I have been trading for almost 15 years and have learned some serious lessons about trading and the markets. I have also been fortunate enough to interact with many great traders over that time that have helped me tremendously, however I still struggled for a long while and wondered why I wasn’t making the progress I desperately wanted to make.
I thought just like everyone else, that if I found the perfect trading strategy, all of my problems would vanish and profits would rain down from the sky like salt bae letting salt drip down off his forearm.
Well guess what happened? I ACTUALLY DID FIND IT.
In fact, my analysis in the market was so damn good that in 2013 I was invited to speak on a worldwide webinar hosted by Daily-FX which was then owned by FXCM.
I’d have a 50 pip stop with a 500+ pip price target and I was nailing the trades left and right, so this was the reason I was invited on. I was working at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York during this time and I ended up leaving that job to trade full time that same year.
Things went smoothly for a while. I partied… A LOT. Did all kinds of reckless and stupid things with my time and money and I ultimately lost it all by 2015. I pondered for a long time about what happened and once I removed my ego and stubbornness, I figured out that what makes a trader great has nothing to do with the outside and has everything to do with the inside.
This is the TRUE secret of trading success. It’s all about YOU and how YOU approach trading. There is so much more to the story but without further hesitation, based on what I have learned from other great traders and have personally learned through brutal hard lessons, this is why Elite traders crush everyone else in the market and if you begin employing these lessons in your own trading, I can guarantee that you will see a dramatic change in your results.
#1 - ELITE TRADERS ARE LEAGUES ABOVE YOU IN PATIENCE
Everyone gets into trading for one thing and one thing only; to make money and to make as much of it as possible. One thing that the majority of traders do is that they also want to do it in the FASTEST way possible. This is where they screw up but is it any surprise that this is the case? I mean look all around you in terms of social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) it’s all over the place with people touting “Watch me turn $1,000 into $10,000 in just a few days!” … This gets views, it gets attention and it encourages other traders to continuously take on massive risks in order to achieve this.
Is it possible to do? YES, because many traders (Including myself) have done it but what does it also do? It creates detrimental habits that keep you in this mindset of turning a small account into a large account quickly and then that one day comes when you take on massive risk on a trade that looks “good” but ends up going violently against you for a huge loss or COMPLETE destruction of your account.
Another factor is that the majority of traders want to be in the market ALL of the time. They can’t resist staying out and staying flat during times of uncertainty or when the charts aren’t clear enough to validate putting their capital at risk. Elite traders can wait hours, days and even WEEKS before putting on another trade because they understand, their trading opportunity is not yet clear and they rather wait as long as possible in order to enter the market at the most optimal time and conditions.
Think about it; do you want to be in the market on a consistent basis? Are you able to wait a few days or a few weeks before putting on a new trade? It’s a very difficult thing for many traders to do while Elite traders have mastered the game of patience to their advantage. It’s not a matter of how long is the next trade going to take to develop? Rather, I’ll take the next trade when the optimal conditions are met regardless of how long it takes.
#2 - ELITE TRADERS KNOW THEIR OWN WEAKNESSES
Everyone has weaknesses whether we like to admit it or not. Some traders are severely impatient, some have a problem with risk management, some have a problem with making impulsive trades and become reckless, some have a problem with over analyzing their charts or trying to look at multiple markets at the same time, etc. Most traders either try to suppress them or choose to ignore them completely and this causes many to struggle and stay frustrated.
Have you ever thought to yourself, “Shit, why did I do that!?” or “Why did I get out when I should have stayed in” or “Why did I chase it! I knew I should have stayed out” … There is a weakness there that you have not learned to master or work on improving it. Even if you finally acknowledge it and try to write it down or post it on your wall by your trading desk… You STILL end up making that mistake and frustration takes over.
Elite traders through trial and error have learned to master their INTERNAL trading character. They know what triggers them and have found a way to stop it in its tracks so that mistakes are kept under control. They also understand that when these weaknesses start to creep up on them, they can identify WHY it’s happening and talk themselves out of it.
For example, if the market is rising and it looks like it’s going to get away from them, they understand that by chasing after it, the market could turn around and leave them with an unnecessary loss or trap them in a position that they should have not gotten into in the first place. Their attitude is “The market did not give me the optimal trading opportunity that I wanted therefore I will wait. Let the market do whatever it’s going to do, I don’t care. I only care about my optimal trading opportunities” This tie’s in with reason #1 (Patience). They will not let ANYTHING force them into trades they shouldn’t be in.
#3 - ELITE TRADERS FOCUS ON ONE MARKET/PAIR/SECTOR
This is not only true of trading but life in general, focusing on one thing and mastering that one thing to become great at it. There are a multitude of instruments and markets to trade and it gives us traders the freedom to choose where we’d like to put our capital to work but as many of us know, too much choice can actually be a bad thing. When it comes to the Forex market, we have many pairs we can work with and that can actually be a problem.
Everyone has a watch-list of pairs that they want to trade but is that causing you more trading struggles for you or keeping you confused? Whether the answer is yes or no, why are you doing that? And the answer is most likely because you believe it presents more trading opportunities but that is not always the right way to go about things. Each pair moves and reacts differently during certain market conditions and what works well on the EUR/USD may not work on the GBP/JPY. While the EUR/USD moves at a more stable pace and a big day would be considered a 1% move, the GBP/JPY can become wildly explosive and relentless when it comes to market volatility.
Elite traders know this and they stick to ONE thing and become a master at it. I personally stick to the EUR/USD and that is MORE than enough to make profitable trades on. Elite traders do not divert to other markets or other pairs to try and make more profits but they lock down and focus on that one pair and crush it. It’s not common for the majority of traders to do this because they feel that they will be missing out on other trading opportunities but are they really? Or are they just finding multiple ways to take losses?
In order to trade this way, it would require the ability to stay incredibly patient but it would allow for you to stay away from multiple charts and remain disciplined while not putting your capital at risk and avoiding impulse/emotional trades.
This is not common but then again… this is why Elite traders do it and the majority does not.
#4 - ELITE TRADERS PREFER A LONGER TERM OUTLOOK
Just look at the screenshots of charts scattered on trading forums, social media or any other discussion outlet, more times than not everyone’s looking at the 1 Minute all through the 4 Hour time frames. You’ll find a few daily charts here and there and even less Weekly+ charts. Most traders want to be in the market every day and this is why Day trading is so enticing, it gives them a reason to log in, open up their charts and look for trading opportunities to make money. That’s a Mistake.
You’re probably noticing that the previous 3 reasons tie into this reason and that’s because this is just another manifestation of lack of patience or inability to focus on one thing. Short term charts give the impression that there will be more moves to get in and out and not staying in a position overnight. Yes, I get that some traders out there prefer to just get into the market and then be done with it at the end of the day but more times than not, you’ll end up making impulsive trades that creates a string of losses if you don’t have your emotions in check.
Elite traders like to look at the “whole picture” and prefer looking at the daily charts and up. Since longer time frames take time to develop, this is perfectly fine for them as it gives them more time to prepare for the upcoming trade and analyze the levels, they want to take a position and take profit. Once they enter a position, they set their stop and let the market work for them.
They don’t need to check their positions multiple times per day since they know the market will take its time doing what it’s going to do and therefore have time for other activities in their lives or businesses.
#5 - ELITE TRADERS VIEW TRADING FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
“How much can I make per day”, “How much can I make per week” or “How much can I make per month” … This is what you’ll usually hear from the majority of traders but how many times have you heard “We’ll see how performance looks at the end of the Quarter”? I’m willing to bet, not many. There is a lot of hype about how much can be made in one day or week but trading is not about just one day, one week or one month, it’s about the long game and how results look over time.
Some Elite traders even go as far as looking at profit-loss on a yearly basis but because market conditions change throughout the year, reviewing how performance looks like at the end of the quarter is preferable. There is no rush to try to make a gain at the end of the day, week or month. Spacing out P/L review allows opportunities to both develop and play out especially if the market is trending.
Elite traders don’t mess around in the market either, this is not a game or hobby for them while many amateurs in the market don’t take it as seriously as you would think. They know that the market is a battlefield and the other side of the trade won’t hesitate for a Nano-second to take their money. They understand that trading should be treated with the same care as running a business and properly deploying their capital out into the market is essential in bringing back even more capital for future trading opportunities that yield larger profits.
Although trading is now offered to the masses and anyone can pretty much open a brokerage account and begin to trade, there are millions of traders that are misinformed and approach the market incorrectly and unprofessionally. “But, I’m not looking to trade professionally, I just want to trade casually” sure, that is completely fine however guess who’s going to eat you alive in the markets? That’s right, the Elite traders who do take things seriously and professionally.
#6 - ELITE TRADERS PROTECT THEIR CAPITAL AT ALL TIMES
In the boxing world, what is one of the warnings referees issue to the fighter’s right before the fight begins? “Keep your hands up and Protect yourself at all times!” and for good reason, right? So that they do not put their hands down and get a crushing hard punch to the head that knocks them out cold. It doesn’t matter how well you trained or for how long you’ve trained because one lazy mistake can cost you the fight, in some cases brutally.
If you’ve been in the trading scene for any length of time, you have read or heard it countless times “manage your risk, manage your risk, manage your risk!” but how many traders ACTUALLY do it? You’d be surprised at how many do not do it at all because it’s painful to do. Painful? How so?... Well, it requires one to make small gains over time instead of putting the pedal to the metal and use high leverage on one single trade. That’s very difficult for the majority of traders to do because that means no “Account Flips” or trying to hit a homerun trade every single time and let’s face it, everyone is trying to get “rich” quickly.
Elite traders know that just one mistake of not practicing sound money management by either not using a stop loss or using too much leverage can be extremely dangerous to their account and they know that it’s just not worth it. On another note, they understand that following risk control is instilling good and strong habits for their subconscious mind and it will carry along for the rest of their careers if they just stick to that simple principle.
If there’s one major reason the majority of traders fail while a small percentage of traders make money consistently, it’s a lack of risk management and account/capital protection.
Before you step into the unforgiving arena (Forex) be sure to protect your account at ALL times! Keep your "Guard" up and play defense!
#7 - ELITE TRADERS AVOID DISTRACTIONS AND NOISE
This is a pretty interesting and controversial one. It can be difficult to ignore the distractions and noise because us traders want to be part of a group or community so that we can share ideas and forecasts along with everyone else but sometimes, you’ve got to be careful with this. You may have an idea or outlook that goes against what others think is going to happen and it could get you off track. You may have experienced this a few times where you believe the market is going to go in one direction and others share the complete opposite view which then causes you to doubt your analysis. You end up cutting the position too early for fear of being wrong and ultimately the market goes in the direction you thought it would and you’re left frustrated.
Distractions can also come in the form of upcoming economic data such as the Federal Reserve coming out with Interest Rates or its chairman Jerome Powell talking about certain economic projections. Volatility spikes up and it sucks you into the hype but if you have a sound trading strategy and rules, you may have noticed that even during high volatility, the market still respects order on the charts. It just moves as a faster pace.
I have personally experienced this through my years of trading, in fact a recent memory comes to mind in 2020. I was invited by an online friend to a private Meta trading group and I wanted to offer some help and insight into what I knew, so I shared a screenshot of my outlook of the EUR/USD going forward.
It was a powerful chart pattern I had seen countless times on the weekly chart and the EUR/USD was trading around 1.0850. Once I shared my screenshot calling for the Euro to make a strong 1000+ pip move and trend towards 1.2000 to 1.2200, some other group member immediately called my analysis a joke and that chart patterns were garbage and useless.
I was going to retaliate back but I thought to myself, this is childish, unprofessional and really unproductive, so I immediately left that group. My friend apologized and said the other guy had a chip on his shoulder because he was former banker for a massive global investment bank (I won’t say which one but I can guarantee you, everyone knows it). I appreciated the apology and left it at that. I the end, all that mattered to me was that as the months went by, the EUR/USD did in fact trend towards the exact projected price levels. That was a lesson for me to avoid detrimental opinions from others.
Elite traders know about this type of noise and are sure to remove any of that from their trading. This is why many stay “undercover” and you don’t really hear about them. They stay under the radar and just do what they do and do it well.
The overall lesson here is that a community should be about helping others and uplifting them, even when they’re wrong. No matter how great a trader is, he/she still deals with losses and nobody is ever correct 100% of the time. Trading is already difficult, so by encouraging and helping others become better at trading the markets, everyone improves as a whole.
Conclusion
There you have it, just some of the basics of what Elite traders do and what has transformed my own trading results tremendously. We all know that there are a variety of ways to approach the market but if there is one takeaway from all of this is that, Top Level traders have learned to master themselves and how they mentally approach trading. It’s actually quite simple and straight forward however it can be hard to implement in real time but that doesn’t mean that it cannot be done and transform your own trading. I wish you the best in your trading journey. I personally know it can be VERY tough but it's well worth it. Keep at it and never give up.
Investing and Trading Should be Easy!My Background
I was a young man working for an Insurance company and being a quiet trouble-maker with a healthy affinity for analysis of numbers, I was thrust into a position that fed this desire to the max. My boss then told me, "Runya in this job you must have a sixth sense, insurance agents earn commission and if they get a chance to falsify numbers to get paid they will do it, you are the gate keeper". Those days insurance agents would put fake business through, get paid and the claw back (recouping paid commission) would be few months later. Some would then abscond starting a lengthy process or using current commission to recover the monies. It was at this point that I also became interested in representing workers, Zimbabwe at the time was going through hyper-inflation so salary increases were a seriously contested area, the employees needed me for my analytical skills, to corner the employer and show why they could afford the 100-200% salary increase. It is in the debates with company executives that we always ended up scrutinizing what money was invested and where. The bulk was in the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, those days shares were moving hundreds of percent. With our meagre salaries we jumped into the money making machine, everyone was trying to beat inflation and beat the exchange rate. Buy today, sell a week later with 2000% profit and hope by time funds cleared you would be able to buy the US dollar making a gain. I remember the adrenalin rush, it was insane. Often we lost the battle waiting for funds to clear forcing us to buy again.
The Money Lesson
See as a child my father died, I could tell at his funeral that he was a notable employee at the national airline, pilots, general managers all came to pay last respects. Later I learnt he had worked hard, to each child he left a sizable amount of money. We all had bank accounts where funds were put, the bank was called Post Office Savings Bank (POSB). In today's money it would have been several thousands. We let that money sit in a savings account and at that time the economy was undergoing structural adjustment guided by IMF, inflation was ravaging this money so much that within 2 years it was all gone. What followed was substantial suffering to near destitution. Though I was young, the experience from plenty to nothing was rather intriguing. Trauma leaves a mark on all of us, with me being introverted meant I digested things long after they had reason to be at the back of my mind.
Back to insurance, I was now able to piece together how money worked. The confusion of childhood was now finding answers. It was like the universe conspired to put me in a place where my confusion would be solved. I also got a front row view of the monster called inflation and the unfairness of the pension and retirement management companies. While we argued to be paid fairly, management would tell us the money sitting on the balance sheet was for policy holders. On the other hand the same policy holders who had put hundreds of dollars, some from as far back as 1980s, were being told their policy value was not enough to afford a loaf of bread. Many would not travel to claim the matured policies for they would spend more in transport charges that the payout. So it happened that insurers saw the paper obligation go to zero, while the assets purchased by premiums from those paper contracts multiplied to match inflation. Long story short, policies got wiped out, insurers gained assets with no obligations tied to them, it was a sad situation.
Into the Markets
I started doing analysis, the very basic, buy low and hold, sell at a profit. I have analyzed some great opportunities where I could have turned $200 into $20,000. But I saw them and said I would act on them later, later I never got the change but serious regret as that money would have saved me a recession. I lost my job abruptly during the Great Financial Crisis. By 2017 I went back to the markets, I knew my greatness was in there, I strongly believed I could teach people to be careful, to think of their pensions and manage them differently especially in Africa. I put a lot of time into studying, listened to many hours of Anton Kriel, he sounded convincing being an ex-Goldman Sachs employee. I listened to the likes of Lance Beggs who traded by the minute and the likes of Rayner Teo whose ways were an adrenalin rush. I thought I was ready, read the candle patterns and bed on them. It didn't turn out so well, I lost something close to $10,000. Being an introvert, adrenalin was not doing me good, blood pressure spiked. I was losing more than I was gaining, everything was complicated on the right side of the chart, history is easy to read, telling the future was a wild animal, untamable.
The world of trading is complicated, one must find where their personality fit, some prefer to be glued to many screens constantly. I was not cut out for that clearly. I wanted some certainty so I can relax and not bother what price was going, if ever I did I would look quickly and finding a convincing reason why things were so. I started learning cycle analysis, I began solving for time rather than price. The things I learnt through earlier traders were great, I credit Lance Beggs for his comprehensive tutorial and candlestick patterns. But I felt I arrived when I came across Malcolm the cycle analyst. It was hard learning cycle analysis, having had many failed attempts, I was skeptical. The more I dug into it, the more it made sense. Today I use mostly cycle counts to determine price direction. In my trading ideas, I simplify it leaving out technical jargon so that the man on the street or just starting can follow, confirm and profit from the ideas.
Conclusion
The goal is to build a trading and investing system that anyone can use especially the financially illiterate. The misfortunes I suffered, I am certain I can save many from that kind of calamity. I have spent the past 3 years building data into Google Sheets, some semi-automated updates here and there. I like what I am building and by end of 2023 I want to be covering JSE, NYSE, ASX & LSE (FTSE). I believe what big corporates have made a complicated process, we must make it simple and if possible make money from there. In Africa money must not be dormant, it must not be subjected to buy and hold where one does Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) & pray after 10 years it will be twice or more. In Africa one must ensure money is always on a voyage, moving from profit in one market and into cheaper alternatives but ready to move towards profit. This is because the challenges in Africa tend towards economic bust, if one can use the limited time to build a war chest spread across major bourses, they can save themselves and many from poverty. I believe in innovation and that it can lift Africa somewhat from poverty, however only when we can turn our dollar into ten dollars can we think of putting five dollars into innovation. It begins with getting good returns relative to time. Slow but sure can work for others, we need speed to catch up. The ideas I share, I usually go over them and ensure I share where confidence levels are high. I used to share ideas before I was good, I saw many were not going as planned, I quit. It is great discomfort to share something that can lose a person money. So stay tuned as we try to disrupt the markets for Africa's sake. It's possible!
Learn to Read the Strength of the Candlestick | Trading Educati
What it is?
Candlestick rejection strategy is a pure price action swing trading strategy. It makes use of the concept of price rejection or candlestick rejection patterns to invalidate counter-trend momentum for a trade continuation.
By applying such candlestick rejection strategy onto swing trading, it allows trades to capture spots at which market prices are at rest during retracements before rejoining back the existing dominant trend.
How to use?
Some trade recommendation for such candlestick rejection strategy is to use it as a candlestick rejection pattern on counter-trend moves. This means that we pick candlestick rejection pattern only for the sake of searching for breakout continuation with the dominant trend at counter trend waves.Entry can be made after the breakout occurs at the high or low of The Mother Bar and stop loss order can be placed at the opposing breakout side's high or low.
Further trade help can also be incorporated to help increase the trade's probability of success. For instance, it can be used together with other technical tools such as dynamic moving averages and Fibonacci retracement tool. Some may even want to consolidate other trading strategies to further increase trade’s probability of success.
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Strategy Coding E01: Adding a custom Trailing-StopIn my experience there are phases to creating a strategy. In this episode we will cover one of the most important steps: establishing an exit strategy. Exiting a position is crucial to risk management. If your entries are terrible but you have a good exit strategy, you might get by and not lose a lot of your capital. And vice-versa, if your entries are great, but your exit strategy is terrible, you my not make any profit.
Concepts we will cover in this episode:
Integrating an indicator value as a trailing stop.
Lowering the trailing stop sensitivity by using the Average True Range (ATR).
Customizing the ATR value.
Brief introduction to 'modules'.
10 Golden rules of investing Investments are neither complex nor difficult. There is a set of golden rules that help investors stay on track to achieve their ultimate financial goals. When it comes to money management, investments play a key role in creating wealth. At first, it can be difficult for you to decide which product to choose, where to invest, how much to keep, and so on. But as you continue, you will get a better understanding of how the investment market works.
Keep in mind that no matter how disciplined you are and no matter what rules you follow, investing comes with risks and you can still get back less than you invested.
Here is our summary of the 10 Rules Every Investor Should Know:
1. Do your own research
Don't blindly trust what someone says on the internet, make sure it's backed up by multiple credible sources. Most people are biased about the cryptocurrencies they own, so naturally they can't say anything but good things about the coins in their portfolio while attacking the ones that aren't. Do your best to understand the positives and negatives of cryptocurrencies and develop an unbiased opinion.
2. Set clear goals
Knowing your financial goals and the time frame for which you are investing can help you stick to your strategy. For example, if you have long-term goals, such as saving money for your children's education or for a personal retirement that may be decades away, you may be less tempted to invest before that time.
3. Never invest in something you don't understand
Before investing in any investment, take the time to research it thoroughly so you understand exactly what is involved and what the risks are. Funds, for example, issue a Key Investor Information Document (KIID) or a Key Information Document (KID) that explains the fund's main functions and fees. You must read this before investing. If you are investing in individual projects, make sure you know what the company is doing and how it plans to make money in the future. In the cryptocurrency market, projects also have various documentation, white paper, roadmap. Before investing, you need to study all this and subscribe to the social networks of the project in order to understand the general mood of the project and investors and be aware of the latest news.
4. Don't put all your eggs in one basket
Today, this rule is more relevant than ever. We all know the saying "don't put all your eggs in one basket", but it's especially important to apply this rule when investing. Spreading your money across a range of different asset types and geographies means you won't be too dependent on one type of investment or region. This means that if one of them performs poorly, some of the other investments may make up for those losses, although there are no guarantees.
5. The greater the potential return, the higher the level of risk
The prospect of higher returns may be attractive, but there is usually a greater risk of losing funds. Think carefully about your approach to risk. You may be more comfortable choosing less risky investments, even if returns are likely to be lower. However, remember that no investment is without risk, and there is always a chance that you can return less than you invested. If, nevertheless, the temptation to enter a highly profitable and high-risk asset eats you up from the inside - invest, however, with a very small part of your total deposit.
6. Long-term investments are not always accompanied by high returns.
First of all, it is necessary to understand for ourselves what profitability we want to receive from a company or project. Reading the documentation and roadmap, we do not assume that the company will exist for decades. First of all, we argue that with due efforts, the capitalization of the project can double. Yes, it may take several years. However, the goal should be expressed in terms of percentage of profit, and not in terms of the investment period. After all, it may happen that the value of assets will return to the price values of a decade ago or, even worse, the company will simply close.
7. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.
Beware of highly speculative investments that seem too good to be true, don't follow the crowd and invest (or sell) just because other people do. For example, many investors invested in the digital currency bitcoin in the second half of 2017, when its price rose, but its value fell by half in a month. In mid-December 2017, Bitcoin was trading at almost $20,000, but by mid-January 2018, it had fallen below $10,000. Those who at that moment could not cope with stress and sold “at the bottom” lost
A fortune.
8. Income reinvestment or cost averaging can help increase overall returns
The DCA strategy helps to avoid asset volatility and allows you not to constantly monitor a company or project. If you are not looking for a quick return on your investment, then you may want to consider reinvesting your funds to buy more of your investment, which will potentially increase in value and increase your overall profit. Simply put, your earnings also generate a return, which is known as compound interest. However, keep in mind that reinvesting income rather than receiving it as cash means you could lose it or see its value drop. If any income you receive is automatically reinvested – for example, if you invest in shares directly and subscribe to Automatic Dividend Reinvestment (ADR) – you will also not be able to choose the price at which you will buy any additional shares, so it can be low or high.
9. Review your portfolio and rebalance
Markets are constantly changing, and so are your investments. You will be investing for many years, so it is important to carry out regular checks to stay on top of your money. Sometimes your initial asset allocation can get out of balance, so you need to rebalance it. For example, the market can fluctuate in different directions, effectively changing the percentage of your investment. Do you want to work on maintaining a percentage that will help you reach your goals? If you don't take action, you can have a lot more of one asset class than another when the market fluctuates.
As part of the rebalancing process, you buy or sell certain investments to return to your desired asset allocation. This can help prevent a portfolio from being too aggressive when the goal is to minimize risk. In addition, by rebalancing you will avoid having too many assets of a certain class and restore your portfolio back to the original set of assets.
10. Don't try to time the market
In an ideal world, you could buy investments just before they appreciate and sell before they fall. However, no one knows which direction the stock markets will move next, so trying to predict market ups and downs can result in you buying or selling at the most inopportune times. Buying and holding investments can help you stay committed to your investments for the long term by avoiding panic decisions when the markets are volatile.
If you want to start investing, use these golden rules. By using these simple investment strategies, you can make your money work for you and take care of your future. If you think that the potential reward is not worth the risk, then investing is not for you.
DEMONS OF TRADING | Don't Think Like This
Have you ever wondered what helped all those professionals of Wall Street become successful? You will be surprised, but the key to their reached heights is hidden in their mistakes. Yes, that is right. Most professional and successful traders made many mistakes before they got to the top.
Making mistakes is ordinary and sometimes even necessary because you learn when you make them. The crucial point of this idea is never to repeat those mistakes because some errors may cost us a fortune. That is why we gathered 10 most common trading mistakes to prevent you from faults and losses.
Little preparation
Entry to the Forex market is relatively easy, so people have a light-minded attitude towards trading knowledge. Beginner traders, especially, think that theory is not a big deal, and they will be able to build it up without a peep. However, it does not work this way.
Miscalculating the risk/reward ratio
For some reason, many traders believe that higher win trades are more profitable than lower ones. Sometimes, this idea even gets paid off, and due to blind luck, trades, where the potential risk exceeds the reward, benefit. However, in most cases, such trades are a sure way to lose money in the longer term.
Avoiding risk management
Risk management should be the core of your trading because it helps cut down losses. Trading without risk management is like skydiving without a parachute.
Neglecting market events
Relevant market news is essential as economic events influence the direction of trading during the day. So, if you are not aware of the financial reports or earnings, you might skip the volatility.
To win the game, you need to develop your thinking and how you participate in the game. You are in a market trading against professional traders. Your goal is to think like a professional. That is the only way to survive in this game.
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