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Trading Psychology (Part 1)A philosophy I engage in when trading the markets - I am not self-employed as a trader. - The market is my boss and my trades are my employees. - I merely manage those employees. Traders often have to think fast and make quick decisions, darting in and out of positions on short notice. To accomplish this, you need a certain presence of mind. You need the discipline to stick with your own trading plans and know when to book profits and losses. Emotions simply can't get in the way. It’s NOT that winning traders formulate better trading strategies It’s NOT that winning traders are smarter It’s NOT that winning traders do better market analysis One personal characteristic that almost all winning traders share is that of self-confidence . Winning traders possess a firm, basic belief in their ability to BE winning traders.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by JinDao_Tai
What to do in a Bear market?A few tips for making it through the bear market: Profile Rebalancing Rebalancing a portfolio means adjusting the weightings of the different asset classes in your investment portfolio. This is achieved by buying or selling assets, which changes the weighting of a specific asset class. Dollar Cost Average It is an investment strategy that aims to reduce the impact of volatility on the purchase of assets. It involves buying equal amounts of the asset at regular intervals. Re-evaluate Your Holdings Choosing investments is just the beginning of your work as an investor. As time goes by, you'll need to monitor the performance of these investments to see how they are working together in your portfolio to help you progress toward your goals. Generally speaking, progress means that your portfolio value is steadily increasing, even though one or more of your investments may have lost value. If your investments are not showing any gains or your account value is slipping, you'll have to determine why, and decide on your next move. To free up money to make these new purchases, you may want to sell individual investments that have not performed well, while not abandoning the asset allocation you've selected as appropriate. Fundamental Analysis To see if a cryptocurrency has an intrinsic value that isn't reflected in its current market price, you can employ a fundamental analysis strategy, which is the act of investigating and evaluating an investment to forecast its future worth. As an investor, you can then use this information to tactically buy or sell positions based on whether the coin is overpriced or underpriced, even while bearing in mind that cryptocurrency prices are volatile. After all, even well-known currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are subject to price fluctuations. Planning for Long-Term Big picture trading is about taking everything into account and making an informed decision. In my opinion, it's one of the best trading methods. A branch of hedge funds, known as Global Macro funds, takes this approach. Do Nothing for a While If you are stressed and freaked out from big loss do nothing for a while and let your mind rest. What else would you add to this list?
INDEX:BTCUSDEducation
by parissap
8
Position Sizing StrategiesPosition Sizing Traders spend much of their time looking at charts and analyzing using technical or fundamental analysis, or a combination of both. While this indeed is a very good thing to spend time on, not all traders take their time to focus on risk management, and more specific position sizing. I see a lot of new traders or old traders which trade only to have their accounts blown up by taking random positions with no plan whatsoever. Proper position sizing is a key element in risk management and can determine whether you live to trade another day or not. Basically your position size is the number of shares you take on a trade. It can help you from risking too much on trade and blowing up your account. Without knowing how to size your positions properly. You may end up taking trades that are far too large for your account. In such cases, you become highly vulnerable when the market moves even just a few points against you. Your position size or trade size is more important than your entry and exit when trading or investing. You can have the best strategy in the world. But if your trade size is too big or too small, you will either take too much or too little risk. So how do you prevent yourself from risking too much? How do you know the right quantity to buy or to sell when you initiate a position? Let's say you have $10,000 in your account, and there's a stock valued at $100 you like and want to buy. Do you buy 100 shares, 10 shares, or some other number? This is the question you must answer to how to determine your position size. If you decide to spend your entire account balance and buy 100 shares, then you will have a 100% commitment to the stock and this is not indicated also in taking a position that represents a large portion of your total portfolio. There is also the opportunity cost involved, you will have to pass up other trades that you may have liked to enter. Position Sizing is a critical issue that a trader needs to know beforehand and to do on the fly. It's as important as picking the right stock or currency to invest. Position Sizing Strategies ☀️ There are several approaches to position sizing and I will run down some of the more popular ones. 1️⃣ The first one and the most common one is "Fixed percentage per trade". Position Sizing can be based on the size of an overall portfolio. This means a percentage of that overall capital will be predetermined per trade and will not be exceeded. That would be 1% or even 5%. This fixed percentage is an easy way for you to know how much you are buying when you buy to use a simple example of fixed percentage position sizing. Let's take again the $10,000 account size and a $100 stock. If you take a simple one-person position based on your account size that comes down to a single share, you may be thinking you are no better than the person with a $100 account buying one share. The difference is that the $100 account holder has a 100% position size while the $10,000 account holder is putting just one percent at risk. Which position size allows a trader to sleep better at night? Of course, the second position sizing helps control the risk. A 1% hard limit on each trade allows you to tolerate many losses in your search for profits. Protecting your capital is your primary job. Your secondary job is allowing room in your portfolio to find other trading opportunities. The fixed percentage amount is an easier approach to accomplishing this 2️⃣ The second risk management approach involves a "fixed dollar amount per trade". This approach also uses a fixed amount for this time. It's a fixed dollar amount per trade, rather than a percentage of the actual portfolio. This involves choosing a number again and using the same $10,000 portfolio as an example. So you decide you won't spend any more than $200 on any trade. For traders with small account sizes, this can be an attractive approach because it limits how much you can lose. However, it also limits what stocks you can buy. You will have to roll out some securities based solely on their price. Of course, this is not necessarily a bad thing. 3️⃣ The third approach is "volatility-based position sizing" A more complex approach, but one that allows for more flexibility is position sizing based on the volatility of the security you plan to buy. It's more dynamic because it doesn't treat each stock the same. This approach allows you to drill down and exercise finer control over your portfolio. For example, growth stocks will invariably be more volatile, and that volatility will be reflected in your portfolio. To reduce that overall risk on your portfolio. You wouldn't buy less high volatility stocks than you would lower volatility stocks. You can measure volatility with something as simple as a standard deviation over a given period, say 15 or 10 trading days. Then depending on the deviation, you adjust the number of shares you buy when you initiate a position. This allows lower volatility stocks to have more weight in your portfolio than higher volatility ones. Position Sizing based on this ideology lowers the overall volatility within a portfolio. This strategy is frequently used in large portfolios. Even longer-term traders and investors face position sizing questions for them when the price of a security with their holding goes down. It represents more value. Adding to their position, in this case, is referred to as averaging down. Long-term traders can decide to average down using similar position sizing approaches by risking either a fixed dollar amount or a percentage amount when the stock trades down you can use standard deviation here as well to help figure out the dollar amount. Some additional common sense risk parameters seem worth mentioning and may be incorporated into your trade plan. For example, Once you've figured out how much you're comfortable losing a stop loss level for each trade should be determined and placed in the market. A seasoned trader will generally know where to put their stop loss orders after having optimized their trading plan and chart analysis is often performed when setting stop-loss orders rules of thumb should be followed when you use stops to manage risk on your positions. By now I hope you realized that correct position sizing is crucial. You should always consider how much you buy when you buy and also know how you came up with that number. Regardless of your account size. Take the time to come up with a consistent approach that matches your trading style and then stick to it. You can incorporate flexibility as well. For example, if you're willing to take more risks with your portfolio, you can die a lot of the person that you use. sound money management techniques can help make an average trader better and a good trader becomes great. For example, a trader that is only right half of the time, but gets out of losing trades before the loss becomes significant and knows the right winners to a substantial profit would be way ahead of most others with trade with no clear plan of action whatsoever. And you have to find the right balance because if you risk too little and your account won't grow and if you risk too much, your account can be destroyed in a few bad trades. 🌱 If you found value and learn something new, leave me a like to show your support. 👍🏼❤️
INDEX:BTCUSDEducation
by parissap
23
Build a Trading System in 6 Steps✅ Step 1: Time Frame The first thing you need to decide when creating your system is what kind of trader you are. Are you a day trader or a swing trader? Do you like looking at charts every day, every week, every month, or even every year? How long do you want to hold on to your positions? This will help determine which time frame you will use to trade. Even though you will still look at multiple time frames, this will be the main time frame you will use when looking for a trade signal. ✅ Step 2: Find indicators that help identify a new trend. Since one of our goals is to identify trends as early as possible, we should use indicators that can accomplish this. Moving averages are one of the most popular indicators that traders use to help them identify a trend. Specifically, they will use two moving averages (one slow and one fast) and wait until the fast one crosses over or under the slow one. This is the basis for what’s known as a “moving average crossover” system. In its simplest form, moving average crossovers are the fastest ways to identify new trends. It is also the easiest way to spot a new trend. Of course, there are many other ways traders spot trends, but moving averages are one of the easiest to use. ✅ Step 3: Find indicators that help CONFIRM the trend. Our second goal for our system is to have the ability to avoid whipsaws, meaning that we don’t want to be caught in a “false” trend. The way we do this is by making sure that when we see a signal for a new trend, we can confirm it by using other indicators. There are many good technical indicators for confirming trends like MACD, Stochastic, and RSI. As you become more familiar with various indicators, you will find ones that you prefer over others and can incorporate those into your system. ✅ Step 4: Define Your Risk When developing your trading system, it is very important that you define how much you are willing to lose on each trade. Not many people like to talk about losing, but in actuality, a good trader thinks about what she or he could potentially lose BEFORE thinking about how much she or he can win. The amount you are willing to lose will be different than everyone else. You have to decide how much room is enough to give your trade some breathing space, but at the same time, not risk too much on one trade. Money management plays a big role in how much you should risk in a single trade. ✅ Step 5: Define Entries & Exits Once you define how much you are willing to lose on a trade, your next step is to find out where you will enter and exit a trade in order to get the most profit. ☀️ Entries Some people like to enter as soon as all of their indicators match up and give a good signal, even if the candle hasn’t closed. Others like to wait until the close of the candle. For example, in the chart below, entry was when the candle closed above the resistance line. ☀️ Exits For exits, you have a few different options. One way is to trail your stop, meaning that if the price moves in your favor by ‘X’ amount, you move your stop by ‘X’ amount. Another way to exit is to have a set target, and exit when the price hits that target. How you calculate your target is up to you. For example, some traders choose support and resistance levels as their targets. In the chart above, the exit is set at a specific price that is below the resistance zone. However you decide to calculate your target, just make sure you stick with it. Never exit early no matter what happens. Stick to your trading system! After all, YOU developed it! One more way you can exit is to have a set of criteria that, when met, would signal you to exit. For example, you could make it a rule that if your indicators happen to reverse to a certain level, you would then exit out of the trade. ✅ Step 6: Write down your system rules and FOLLOW IT! This is the most important step in creating your trading system. You MUST write your trading system rules down and ALWAYS follow them. Discipline is one of the most important characteristics a trader must have, so you must always remember to stick to your system! No system will ever work for you if you don’t stick to the rules, so remember to be disciplined. Oh yeah, did I mention you should ALWAYS stick to your rules? ✅ How to Test Your Trading System The fastest way to test your system is to find a charting software package where you can go back in time and move the chart forward one candle at a time. When you move your chart forward one candle at a time, you can follow your trading system rules and take your trades accordingly. Record your trading record, and BE HONEST with yourself! Record your wins, losses, average win, and average loss. If you are happy with your results then you can go on to the next stage of testing: trading live on a demo account. Trade your new system live on a demo account for at least two months. This will give you a feel for how you can trade your system when the market is moving. Trust us, it is very different trading live than when you’re backtesting. After two months of trading live on a demo account, you will see if your system can truly stand its ground in the market. If you are still getting good results, then you can choose to trade your system live on a REAL account. At this point, you should feel very confident with your trading system and feel comfortable taking trades with no hesitation. If you like this content help me grow ❤️🌱 GOOD LUCK ❤️🌹
Education
by parissap
11
What to include in your Trading RoutineMost people dive straight into trading without knowing how or why. They also don’t plan ahead. This is why most people are unsuccessful at trading. Having a well developed plan is KEY 🔑 to trading success! Let’s see what in must need in trading routine: 1. Trading Journal 📝 You won’t improve without a trading journal, your whole trading routine is built around your trading journal. The time you’re trading without one is wasted time period. 2. Backtest 📌 Do it every week at least once. Backtesting increase: - Confidence in your strategy; - Self-confidence to execute it; - Discipline (when you’re confident about your strategy, you are more likely to respect it.) Tip: Journal your backtested setups. 3. Weekly mental preparation ⏳ Write down things like: - What are the things you want to work on. - What are the habits you want to improve. - What are your goals for next week. 4. Technical preparation 💡 - Make your analysis. - Study the different price scenarios. - Prepare your trading ideas. You can do it weekly or daily depending on your needs. 5. Weekly performance analysis 🎭 Open the psychology section of your trading journal: - What did you do well? - What could have you done better? - What lessons did you learn? - Realization about yourself, your strategy and the market. 6. Wins and Losses analysis 🌓 - Open the charts of your trades one by one. - Read your mistakes - Write down at least one lesson you took from each trade. Tip: always take a screenshot at the exact entry point of each trade. This allows you to mitigate the hindsight bias and develop your pattern recognition skills. 7. Writing ✏️ Write down your thoughts and emotions on bad days. It helps you understand your mind and gives you clarity. It’s a great way to focus on the process and be patient. 8. Activities outside of trading 🚴🏻♀️🚣🏻♂️ You’re going to lose motivation and belief with your trading many times, you need to have extra motivational source. If you only rely on your trading results to feed your persistence, you ganna give up easily. If you like this content help me grow ❤️🌱 I’d be happy you add more tips to learn from each other
Education
by parissap
14
Don't worry there will be many more opportunities!sometimes you dont get what you give or what you are expecting! ive been looking this chart for few weeks now and i was expecting a nice trade from this, i did what i had to i read the chart understood it, and made a decision to look over the price and the structure that i drew. and after these days of analysis and studying the idea i had for this market didn't do what i expected. that also happens during our course of life, you want to see the things as you wish but they dont go that way. THATS NORMAL! JUST KEEP ON LEARNING FROM EVERY SITUATION, EVERY UPs & DOWNs, DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE CONCEPT OF RESULTs AND WININGs JUST GO WITH THE FLOW. LOVE THE PROCESS. and you'll sure find satisfaction.
TVC:USOILEducation
by lofitrend
Why Less Trading Gives Better Results!Hey hey traders! We're coming to you with a nice and short video on why trading less is actually better for you, atleast based on our experience! Being a full time day trader I found it hard to actually be at my best and trade all day long... at the end of the day trading is a means to an end, its only purpose is for you to exchange your knowledge, effort and focus for money, yet you do not need to sit there all day to do that, 60mins of focus is better than a whole day of nothing. Try what we preach for the rest of the week and you'll be amazed at your performance! Good luck trading!
OANDA:DE30EUREducation
by PrimedGroup
4
What are Moving Averages & how to make money on them?📚 🟢The main rule of using Moving Average is to track the general direction of the moving average: it indicates the dominant trend in the market. It is worth making deals only in the direction of this movement. Such a simple rule makes the moving average method a convenient tool for short-term forecasting. 🟢A universal tool in almost all markets is a simple moving average (SMA) with a 200-day averaging period. A longer-term moving average will allow you to see the global rise or fall of the asset, avoid short-term fluctuations or minor consolidation of the exchange rate. As a rule, short moving averages allow you to react more actively to price movements and are designed to search for short-term trends. When analyzing the price chart on a daily or even shorter interval, many traders use "fast" EMAS with different averaging periods (5, 7, 13, 21, 50). ✅To date, there are many recommendations for the period of the moving average (3, 5, 7, 13, 21, ...), as well as methods of its calculation (SMA, WMA, EMA). The general postulates are as follows: ✅The "faster" the MA (EMA) and the shorter the calculation period (3, 5, 13, ...), the more likely it is to receive false or ambiguous signals; ✅The "slower" the MA (SMA) and the longer the calculation period (50, 100, ...), the more likely the moving average is to lag behind the real state of affairs in the market. ❗️The moving average method is still a universal way to determine the trend in the asset market. Ease of use and unambiguous interpretation of the result allow the investor to determine the prevailing trend with a high degree of probability. This minimizes the risk of making unprofitable deals. The use of the method as an independent tool when deciding on a transaction is controversial, since all possible successful combinations of the intersection of moving averages or the average and the asset price are subject to cyclicity and sometimes give false or ambiguous signals. ❤️ Please, support our work with like & comment! ❤️
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by UnitedSignals
10
wedge top's 🔝 in a bear sell offhi there my friend to day I want to discuss about wedges (on of the most powerful setup's). true but there is always some details about it that make us so confuse, some of them that I just learned in past few years are. 1.the might be more than 3 wave's 2.35% of the times wedges will fail 3.if u want to be sure about the pattern wait until a fake breakout happens. I'm sure that u guys might know something else and I'll be happy if you just share them with me. cheers 🥂.
Education
by trader2613
ELON MUSK QUOTES. For powerful thinking👨‍🎓 1️⃣"When it is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor." 2️⃣"No, I don't ever give up. I'd have to be dead or completely incapacitated." 3️⃣"Persistance is very important. You should not give up unless you're forced to give up." 4️⃣"I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary." 5️⃣"Don't confuse schooling with education, I didn't go to Harvard, but people who work for me did." 6️⃣"Constantly think about how you could be doing better and keep questioning yourself." ❤️ Please, support our work with like & comment! ❤️
Education
by UnitedSignals
12
5 Possible Outcomes Of Your Trades | Trading Basics 👶 Hey traders, Depending on your actions, you can get 5 completely different results taking just one single trade. 1️⃣The first outcome is a small win. By a small win, I mean a winning trade producing up to 2.5% account growth. 2️⃣The opposite situation leads to a small loss. To me, a small loss is a losing trade producing up to -1% account decline. 3️⃣Occasionally once the price starts moving in the predicted direction, one can protect his trading position moving his stop to entry and making a position risk-free. Being stopped out such a trade produces 0% profit. The level where the position is closed is called a breakeven point. 4️⃣If one perfectly predicts a future direction of the market and opens a trading position accordingly, occasionally, a huge profit can be made. A winning trade producing more than 2.5% net account growth is called a big win. 5️⃣Being wrong in the predictions, however, one can adjust and trail a stop loss not letting himself be stopped out. Such behavior may lead to a substantial loss or even a margin call. A losing trade that produces more than -1% net loss is called a big loss. ❗️Learning how to trade, I strongly recommend you eliminate the 5th outcome. Managing not to lose more than 1% of your account will substantially improve your trading. ❤️Please, support this idea with like and comment!❤️
COINBASE:BTCUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
19
The Trader As An ArtistArtist What is art? I hear people say that word (art) a lot. In my opinion, everyone should stick to what they consider it to be. These arguments have been going on for the longest time. Ain’t stopping soon. Funny, when most hear the word “art” they’d have already imagined: the Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry nights. Art is actually one of the first way we learnt to explore the world—Through its elements and principles. Today I opened my desktop… or is it laptop? Any-hoo, that’s not the point. I opened this piece of work and decided to do an in-depth research on the definition of “art”. According to the Oxford languages, They said, “Art is expressing or applying human creative skill or imagination in visual or non-visual form”. Honestly, I don’t even think that’s the definition I was looking for. I mean—not everyone knows they have the “creative skill”… What’s this creative skill anyway? A creative skill is basically the ability to think about a task or problem in a new or different way. Meaning it can be anything right? P.S—Some-one said, “the best creative skill anyone can have is patience”. So are you trying to say, I need a creative skill to do an “art”. Huh… Well… Hey now, don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to argue with oxford. Maybe that’s their view of this word. Who am I to judge? Like I said, “it really can be anything; any-thing you can think of at all” here’s why: Is Art Just About The Creative Skill? Talking with Jules the other day—I heard her linguistic teacher say, communication is an “art” of… Wait, hold up. Heh, so communication can be an art. I mean—people do this thing everyday, How else is information passed if not through communication. All the definitions I’ve looked up on the word (art)—has the word “skill” in it. Any skill at all. I mean if oxford says the skill has to be creative well, their problem. Ergo, can we say, we all do “art” in one way or the other. Lol! I just felt insanely proud saying that out loud. Anyway, my view point is—the definition of art is subjective, we’re all right. Art is basically anything. It’s a language. Not just a thing, can also be a way. Anything that can be done by us humans (mammals), is definitely an “art”. I might be wrong but, I’ll come back to that. What Is Art? Back to my definitions—Then there’s that word “imagination”. You know what, I believe anything you can imagine is an art. Defining art is hard because—there’s no right or wrong in the definition of art. If you go on the internet now or ask someone, you’ll hear gazillion definitions. More Definitions Of Art Leo defines it as: experiencing an emotion and transmitting it onto others. A creative work of a human. It’s more than practice, it’s a way of life, Form of expression, quality of doing something. Also, An activity that manifests beauty, and The mastery and ideal way of doing something. The definitions are infinite. Till today, the definition is subjective, open, debatable—It’s so amazing how one thing can mean different things. Art can be an emotion or feeling, an expression, imagination… It’s such an interesting word. You watch movies and you cry, how exactly can a movie make you cry? How can one be so talented in evoking: feelings, moods or emotions on others—just by a single act? My British friends will say, “Amazing inn it”. A Work Of Art There’s a term that intrigues me, “a work of art”. Since the word “art” there is subjective it can be anything you make it to be. Art is an expression. Your job can be a “work of art” That can mean different things to different people. This Friday, I took a stroll on google—came across Anita Louise’s blog. Anita made reference to an artist who said: he’s art has no meaning. She says, “the no-meaning is the meaning”. That took me down memory lane. I remember my first sculpture class in—art class, we were supposed to create whatever anything at all. Mr. Jake said, “become art”… Heh, I remember picking tooth picks, more than a thousand of them. Had no clarity of what I wanted to make. Decided it’s best I play around with it. In the evening, I discovered that it gave me some kind of shape that I couldn’t describe. That piece didn’t make sense to me. To my out-most surprise, I scored the highest. Jake said, “Woah, Jamal this is interesting…” it made him curious. He also stated: that’s exactly what art means. Mr. Jake’s statement left me in a state of awe. That’s the message Anita was trying to convey. Most times—the meaningless art pieces are so intriguing that it becomes meaningful. That’s the beauty of art. The language of art is about appreciating any and everything—bringing the most senseless things to life. Art And Interpretation For you to interpret art, you need to ask yourself three questions: What’s the meaning? What’s the message? What do the patterns mean? In philosophy—the point of view is different. It’s grouped in two ways: Intentionalism and Anti-intentionalism. Intentionalism is: viewing the art from the artist perspective, whereas—Anti-intentionalism is: viewing and interpreting it from our own point of view—based on how we feel about it. The gift of art is that, no two persons can have the same interpretation. That’s what makes art very unique, interesting and fun. In an art class, if a still-life composition is placed in front of you, most artist would decide to do hyper-realism, others a sketch. The shading is different as well, That is, some would use pointillism, others hatching, cross-hatching or scribbling. What I’m saying in essence is: it’s all about the interpretation and expression. After the class, you’d hear different interpretations. In all honesty, Art is such an amazing thing. Not just in drawing but—other forms as well. Types Of Art Listen, I know the main topic is, “the trader as an artist” but I need you to stay with me—see where I’m headed. The main purpose of this topic is: to appreciate the art of trading, to give beauty to the person behind these charts. In addition, to appreciate something is to understand the meaning behind that thing—more on this in—the principles and elements of trading. Colleges today, galleries or wherever people get their information from these days will tell you—there’re two types of art: visual and Non-visual. Visual art—The term “visual” means sight, to see. Therefore, visual art is an art of vision. It involves the art that’s seen and felt psychically. Non-visual art—In addition, Non-visual art is an art of the soul and the brain. This type of art—can’t be seen but rather felt, it evokes feeling both good or bad in humans. Who’s an artist On Saturday, I went to the Library to check-out the new books. There’s a book on objective and subjective POV. There was a write-up, “when you become objective about art and not just subjective, that’s when you start to see artists all around you”. The carpenter in your neighborhood or the gardener across your yard. The writers, traders… Oops, I just said traders. Of course why not. You may not create a master piece that ends up in a museum, but, if you find yourself involved or doing something in your life that—combines a sense of purpose with practiced skill, honey, you’re an artist. Mark joined me in the library, I wasn’t even paying attention to him, because I came across an article that said, “Trading isn’t an art”. The writer said, the statement is ridiculous. That you can’t bring Picasso or Gogh into the picture. That really got me irritated. I find it funny how rigid one’s mind can be. To the writer everything “art” should either be a painting of some sort. Years back, I remember when someone asked what I studied—I’d tell them “art”, the next question that pops up is—woah, so you can draw? Pfft, man I get so tired. Back to the article, I mean he’s definitely an artist Cos’ his piece got to me. Anyway, the one who’s good at something especially if it involves something with skill—that’s an artist. What Is Trading And It’s Relation To Art. Trading is the act of buying and selling. Everyone can buy and sell, but, not everyone can do this consistently—without having your emotions involved in someway. Buying and selling isn’t always a positive act, especially if it involves money. Your emotions come to play. Controlling them is what makes you successful in this act. Right? That’s where the skill comes in. Since I need to acquire some sort if skill to become great at this profession, Why can’t I call trading an art? Without the skill, you’ll lose. Art requires skill; trading requires skill. What more do you need—That’s equilibrium there. This isn’t some sort of debate though. Not debunking anything. In other words, trading is an art since it requires a skill. There’s a saying that trading is a pattern and number game. Ergo, if trading isn’t an art, how do you recognize the pattern? There’s something called “pattern” in art. A pattern is a repetition. It also involves the elements of art. However, I could go on and on. My point is, trading is an art; a trader is an artist. Finis. The Trader As An Artist Since I parked my bike outside, I’ll probably go pick it up. Most people don’t know this but, traders are probably one of the smartest people ever. These guys have mastered the art of emotional intelligence, self-control, discipline, and patience. Hear me out, this is a mental skill. A tough work like this doesn’t get much appreciation. Trading is both a visual and non-visual form of art. Visual in the sense that, The charts can be seen, It’s patterns, structure and cycle. All these have their different meanings and interpretations. However, it’s the work of a trader to read these patterns and understand them. All these require a specific skill. The up and down tics in trading come from market structure, price-action and market cycles all which is—a graphical representation of both buyers and sellers in the market. Each tic represents a humans decision. The only way traders can really survive is: by knowing the intentions of the market. In some cases, that’s nearly impossible. Well, these guys do it anyway. Furthermore, It can be non-visual—due to the feelings and emotions this art evokes in the traders. Traders who can’t control their emotions encounter problems. Whereas—the ones who have mastered emotional intelligence, can see its rewards. The Trader As An Artist -The Market’s Interpretation Finally, how we interpret the market falls under the—intentionalism and anti-intentionalism of the philosophical interpretation of art. Intentionalism: We are interpreting the market’s movement from the it’s own perspective. That means you are trading what you see. Anti-intentionalism: Traders who interpret the market like this, trade what they think they see and react based on that. After reading—trading in the zone by: Late Mark Douglas ,I think most professional traders would rather stick with—the intentionalism part of the market. Let’s step back a little to—art and it’s interpretations. Traders also have different ways we interpret the market, different strategies, and different styles. Just like the different forms of drawing and different shading techniques (More on this in the next article). It’s all about expression. That’s why I found that article about, “Trading isn’t an art” really funny. In conclusion Art is about expression. Similarly, trading involves movements. These artist (traders) have learnt to read this movements, to understand its meaning, and they react accordingly. Traders developed the internal ability to control both their mind and actions. The trader as an artist is someone who has polished their chart reading skills, market analysis skills, through pattern recognition and have in the process learnt the art of emotional intelligence. Anyone can be a trader but not everyone can be—a trader. Furthermore, to be a successful trader, means—you are a successful artist.
OANDA:NAS100USDEducation
by lazyluchi
Is Trading “Gambling” or “Risky” ? Explained in business terms.Hi everyone: The question that most people will ask is whether trading is the same as “gambling”. Throughout the 9 years of my trading journey, this has always been brought up and asked about many times. Of course anyone is entitled to think based on their perspective and view, so I am not here to argue or convince them otherwise. Rather, I am here to share some key aspects of what I learned in trading for the last 9 years, as well as years in the business world to discuss the difference between “Gambling” and “Risky” in trading and in business. Most people who have never traded in their lives, but have heard about trading, usually assume trading is some sort of get rich quick scheme. They often assume it's a type of “gamble”. Since most people around them probably lost money in trading. It's not surprising as the statistics don't lie, 90-95% retail traders lose money in trading and quit eventually. But what most people don't know is “why” and “how” they lose money in trading. It's usually a combination of poor mindset and emotion. No systematic plan, no risk management, get rich quick thinking, revenge/over trading, fear of missing out, and alot more psychological issues. They did not put in the time and effort to succeed. Which then resulted in traders losing money and quitting. Eventually making up excuses of why they fail in trading, and blame the market, the broker, the strategy. All these no doubt also resulted in what normal people will say trading is a “gamble.” On the other hand, is trading “risky” ? Trading is just like any other businesses out there, that will be risky due to unforeseen circumstances. Businesses face external factors that they can not control, just like in trading. Businesses have internal expenses, overhead costs, labour, loans, C.O.G.S…etc as well as many competitions within their respected industry. It requires hard work and determination to succeed. Even for larger businesses that are where they are today, they were all risky when they started. Was Amazon Risky ? Was Tesla Risky ? Was Facebook Risky ? Absolutely. But that did not stop their owners from putting in maximum effort and time to make it work. Trading is no different, you are the owner, director and the CEO of your trading account. So, don't confuse and get “gamble” and “risk” mixed up. It's up to us individually to acknowledge and understand the difference between the two. The truth is, successful traders understand the difference between “gamble” and “risk”. To remove the “gambling” aspect from trading, is to have a well written trading plan, proper risk management, right trading psychology, positive mindset and control emotion. Whatever strategy you decide to implement is not really the cause of your success or failure, but rather those I mentioned above. This way, you remove almost all the “gambling” aspect away from trading, and it is now “risky” but bearable for you to handle. Will trading always be “risky” ? Sure, it is a business and anything can happen unexpectedly and out of nowhere. But successful traders understand the importance of treating trading like a business, so contingency plan, back up plan, trading plan, management plan, and much more should be carefully thought out so you will know what to do when you are hit with sudden surprises like in a business operation. The worst thing we can do is to not be part of any “risk”. If we are so relaxed, laid back, and have no stress to motivate us to move forward, then we stay within our “comfort” zone. We become so glued to our 9-5 job which we then think it's safe. But, we will forever be in a rat race against many others who are better than us in credentials that will land that higher position/salary that we want. “So to me, without taking a “risk” in life is the biggest “gamble” that you can do in life.” Welcome to let me know and share with everyone what you think about this topic :) Thank you Jojo
BITSTAMP:BTCUSDEducation
by jojofang0901
41
⭐ THE HOLY GRAIL💥 There are varying concepts, strategies and ideas regarding trading. The primary objective is to stay profitable no matter the kind of strategy you use. 💥 Ironically some traders have this idea that there's one strategy that stands out amongst every other one out there. In my opinion, that's BS. 💥Anything and everything works in the market as long as it is back-tested with proven returns. Even the basic Support and Resistance can outperform the most sophisticated strategy if used properly by the trader with consistency and proper risk management. 💥 Every strategy out there has flaws and cannot guaranty 100 percent success rate. There will be losses and inadequacy with every given strategy out there. ***There's NO HOLY GRAIL in trading. Find that strategy that is in line with your trading style. Back test to measure the success rate, if good enough, stick to it and remain consistent with it. Sage Trader's Nugget
BLACKBULL:SPX500Education
by Sage_Trader
3 Stages of Trading 🚨Every trader goes through these stages. I remember starting out on demo thinking this would be the easiest way to make money quickly. Oh, how I was wrong. It seems like sunshine and rainbows on a demo account but when you move onto a live account, the real problems begin. Your expectations of quick money quickly vanish due to the psychological aspects of trading. This usually results in big losses. Excitement is followed by pain, this is where most traders quit. If you make it past the pain and develop, you will reach your trading goals. Do these stages seem similar to your trading? 💬
Education
by UnknownUnicorn34088517
3 Things I Wish I Was Told Before Becoming A TraderTrader Jamal… Hey, Finn—What you doing here… Are you here to wind me up? No, Jam! Shucks—Just heard you’re rich now. Trading stole our red-collar boy. How has it being though? Tough!… I won’t even lie to you man. It’s being real tough. I even told my story here to people. You know what they said, “I told you so”. I mean all I wanted was “financial freedom”. Pfft—I don’t even know what I was thinking. I’m broke man! Everything I’ve done has really messed me up, Finn. I’ve lost close to $70,000 in total. Mistakes, hesitations, personality problems, and fear. I think… I might just quit—Maybe trading isn’t for me man… Came to get some food. We’ll talk later Finn—Bye! “As a trader, the key is to learn more about yourself”… Huh! What do you mean sir?—Are you talking to me? Yes, Forgive me son—I overheard your complaints to your friend. 43 years ago—I was exactly like you son. If I may ask, how long have you been trading? Umm, 2 years sir. It really hasn’t being that long. Then why are you complaining? … I’ve been in the game for 43 years and I didn’t achieve consistency—until after 10 years of trials and lots of errors. So, don’t give up yet! Erg! sir… —I just don’t know what I’ve been doing wrong. I can’t tell. The Old Trader tale Everything I’ve done has been a total fail. You know, I went to school of candles Pretoria—Nothing has happened, so far. Tell me sir, what else should I do? All right Jamon… … It’s Jamal sir Jamal, can I tell you my story… I’ll appreciate that sir. November 3, 1850, I became a trader—A friend introduced me to trading, when I was at my lowest. A short story… What do you mean sir? I don’t understand… I’m going to let you in—on my secret. But, you have to make sure, you’re patient enough to listen. On January 5, 1849 I graduated with a first class honors in Business and Finance. It was the greatest day for me—Cos’ I could finally become the Businessman/Banker I’ve always wanted to be. I thought to myself, “Isn’t this great?” So I started job hunting, I focused more on the banking sector… I searched and foraged around Beverly hills but—It was total disappointment. Until, I finally got it. Hey! guess which bank came through—It’s The First Republic Bank. They took me in. Good pay and all; it was my dream job. I mean you must be asking, “why quit and become a trader?” Simple! it wasn’t the life I pictured. I know I wanted to be in the financial sector—Wanted that classy business guy life—But, the idea of sitting in a spot to make money… wasn’t what I imagined. Two words, “It’s Boring”! Why Quit Your Job Trader The questions I asked myself was, “Is this where you really see yourself in 5 years?”… That was the only bank that offered me a great job—I knew that per fas et nefas, I am definitely going to have my financial freedom. So, I started my search again. This time I was specific—No bosses, anywhere in the world and My own time. You should know what that means, right Jamal? Oh! Yes sir I do… Just curious to how trading met you… Sir, you graduated with a first class honors in finance yet, you spent 10 years in becoming a consistent trader What happened? Don’t worry I’m getting there. Most traders don’t know this yet but, “It’s really mind over market; EQ over IQ” here. You’ll think that, because I came out with such good grades—I’ll be a market wiz in a short period. That’s not how trading works! You know, my friend Victor once said, “The key to trading success is emotional discipline. If intelligence were the key, there would be a lot more people making money trading… Ergo—the single most important reason that people lose money in the trading is because—they become too emotional, in denial, and cannot control these emotions”. That’s why Jamal, Trading is really not about your IQ; It’s more or less about you as a person. Your mindset, beliefs, character—everything about you would be tested. As a trader , you are really playing against yourself. It’s you versus you! I Discovered The Art Of Trading! Before I continue my story, I’ll ask you a question—Do you understand your personality? Shucks, well… Yes! I do. But, the change hasn’t been easy sir. I realized that my character flaws gets in the way of my progress. Exactly! Jamal… Back to my story. I wasn’t happy with my job; even though it felt like it was my dream job. After working there for a year and reflecting—I realized, “No! man this isn’t what I expected”. It’s a bore! Most people are like you Jamal. They’d ask, “Why spend 10 years in figuring out trading, if you graduated with a—first class Honors”. It’s because… trading is more than IQ! In trading, the intelligent also encounter problems, if not more—in trading. You know… You and I. That’s why I used victor’s quotes. Now, I was looking for my dream job, which was, making money whilst at the comfort of my home. My degree couldn’t give me that. I needed to have a skill. But, I’ll let you on a secret Jamal–-“A degree without skill is just nothing more than, a unit of angle measurements”. Something happened—on the 15 September, 1850, there was a seminar. The bank made sure every of its staff were in attendance—Most grumbled, some happy, others indifferent. I actually wanted to reject the offer… until I saw the topic of the seminar. It read, “Your missing key to financial freedom”. Of course I went. That’s what I wanted! Ugh… That seminar alone changed my view of the finance industry and I discovered the art of trading. A beautiful art I must say; The best! Immediately, I saw a reflection, I imagined what it would feel like—If I became a trader. Self-Reflection The moderator said something, he said, “What kind of life do you want to live? A 9-5 till your 60 or an anytime you want till your 30”. You see, I pondered on that quote for the longest time. I don’t think I’ve ever had to think so hard. Anyway, I made a choice! I have to know how to trade! That’s what I said to myself. But, I didn’t quit my job just yet. I needed that job at least, till—I was great at the art of trading. Damn! I probably shouldn’t have quit my job right? Heh! Listen, what’s already done shouldn’t be spoken about. You made a decision that was best for you at that time. Jamal you’re still young and there’s still time to make better decisions. As a trader, allow yourself make mistakes; if not, you’ll avoid them only to meet them at the finish line. Do you understand!… Yes sir. When I told myself that, I started looking. I searched for articles, books and listened to colleagues. We had no YouTube then—all we had were newspapers and the lying broadcast. But, I didn’t give up! Working in the bank kind of gave me an upper hand—because I had access to financial data. Jimmy was our foreign exchange (forex) wiz. I needed Jimmy to be my friend. I had to become a trader! Becoming a trader, gave room to a lot of challenges—I encountered… The first was putting up with old Jimmy’s attitude. Jimmy wasn’t a friendly person but, Jimmy had what I needed. Did that stop me? No! I had a goal. “I had to become a Trader!”… Old Jimmy wasn’t going to be a hindrance to that plan. Secondly, I had to be patient because I knew Old Jimmy might say—The words I dreaded the most, “No!”. Which he did—severally! Each time I got home, I’d tick my trading boxes. Each time, I realized how far I was—from becoming this trader. But, I stayed. Months passed, days tripled and I finally got a demo account. Trader Jimmy, Here—I Come… Jimmy insisted I start with the demo. His words, “You need to get familiar with the system”. So, I started practicing what I’ve learnt and I was doing surprisingly well. Also started making paper trading cash—I became obsessed with the reality that—it could all be mine. I assumed, “Maybe that’s all I need from learning”. So, I quit! Left the bank, told my colleagues, “bye”… I was out! Hmm… thought to myself, “Hey, Trader …here I come”. Months passed and I finally invested 50% of my salary into—a live account. I was ready or—I thought I was. The first few trades were great; an account of $50,000 tripled. “Woah! I can’t believe that worked—what have I been doing in the bank since?”, “Could have been earning twice my salary in a day”, I mulled. It’s a Friday morning. Hurrah! NFP… “the best time to get the bag”, that’s the phrase Jimmy would use. Wham! I opened several positions and… Sighs, it ate my equity. Damn! it’s all gone. As if that wasn’t enough—I added more money. Told myself, “You can’t give up now” This is all you have! In my bank account, $70,000 was left. Hmm… “well, it’s all or nothing” I exclaimed. Dialed the broker and added $30,000… left $40,000 for emergency reasons. Cos’ if I could lose $50,000—then it’s possible to lose more of that. Wasn’t going to be foolish twice! But, it was actually worse… For 9 horrible years of my life… I couldn’t figure it out. This Trader became miserable, broke and hurt. Until, I realized… One thing the demo does for the trader is, it reveals to you all you can achieve if—you didn’t have emotions. But, you’re human! We all have emotions—that’s actually a problem. After my years of failing and picking myself up from the fence, I understood the market was trying to teach me something. Jamal, I’m going to share with you 3 lessons I learnt from my Chi-Fu called, “market”. These lessons all come with sacrifices… It should help you pick up your art and become its master. The first… As A Trader Become A Great Loser Jamal, can you think of a trader who actually boasted about his losses? Most people don’t like to show the black eye and swollen lips—they show you the beauty marks and glittering veneers. Obsessions over something makes you have less of it. To be a good winner; you have to be a good loser. Huh! what does that mean sir? You have to come to terms with losing. In-fact, losing should be an opportunity for you to learn something new about—yourself and the markets. Learn to appreciate your losses. Why sir? It hurts! That’s my hard-earned money… Jamal cries. Exactly, Jamal! It should. Life is all about lessons and so is the market. Have you ever received something without giving? Uh… Not that I can remember. Exactly! It’s because you haven’t. In everything, there’s a relationship. Now—this relationship can either be mutualistic or parasitic. Trading is only parasitic if the lessons aren’t fully digested. Listen, If I gave you $500 and you misplaced it; you became careless—It got missing. What will you do? Err, I probably look for it Sir. “What if you don’t find it, remember it’s not your money”, The man responds. “I’ll probably cry Sir. How else would I replace it”, Jamal interjects. Okay great, You know that “crying” doesn’t bring the money back right? That’s exactly what happens in the market. We fail to learn from our mistakes, we let our emotions take over, instead of listening to the actual lesson. The next time someone gives you $500—I know for a fact—Jamal, that you’ll be more careful. You know why? Because there’s being a loss before. Now, you either learn to protect it or become careless again. What will you choose? I’ll learn to protect it Sir. Good! That’s the first lesson. In the market however, you might keep losing this $500—Each time there’s a loss, there’s a lesson. Right? Which brings me to my next lesson. It’s a question first; then after the question—comes the lesson. Are you ready for it Jamal? Heh, yes sir! Haha! Nice, you want to take down notes. Interesting… Will You Allow The Market Bully You? Have you ever been bullied in life? Either a childhood school bully or a boss… “Oh, my God—Yes sir!”, Heh!… okay, That was a fast response—seems you can’t forget that one. It was bad huh? Bad! Anyway, bullies’ have power—only when they feel superior. It’s just like a Cat and Mice, the cat seems very powerful when ever he sees a mice—Cos’ he’s bigger. But, most times—The mice is smaller and wiser. A mice that isn’t wise gets trampled upon. So, If that school bully comes now and tries to bully you, will you allow it?… Of course not. I’m probably a lot bigger now and It ain’t possible anymore. Exactly, Jamal. You got better! If you’re that kid that got bullied in school, You know it’s no different from the market. The market is that childhood bully, that boss at work—but this time around, I want you to see the market as “Jimmy”. Yeah, he would bully you but—you should allow him: to gain from him. Try to come to terms with his agreement. Now, you have to be friends with this bully… What!… Why, I mean how do you get a bully to be your friend? “You don’t force the bully to be your friend Jamal, he doesn’t have to like you—but you have to like him.”, The man responds. The reason you allow this bully (market) to get to you—is because, you get to gain from him (the bully). The bully is a tough nut to crack but, knowing that each pain becomes an experience is the goal. Have you ever lost something valuable before Jamal. “Uh… Yeah” Jamal stutters, while answering. Okay, great—how did you feel? Not a pleasant emotion, right?… but, what happens—you learn from the experience. Two choices: you either decide to move on or avoid it right? What do you do Jamal? “Run away—I guess. Cos’ I really don’t want to feel that pain again. It’s horrible so why try to experience it twice?”, Says Jamal. Trading should a pleasurable pain—like a woman who just lost her virginity. A bittersweet experience… I thought you will say that. Listen Jamal—the bully is going to keep hurting you, as long as, you still in that school. Likewise, you’ll probably encounter more losses—as long as, you decide trading is what you want to do. Listen, in life change or experiences just don’t happen—they only happen when they become a necessity. You decide you want to change; when you know that beating becomes unbearable. It’s not something you run from. Don’t be a wuss Jamal! Face it!…You’ll need to actually face it. Most traders are wimps—looking for the nearest rat… because, the elephant becomes too big for them to handle. So, are you a wimp or are you valorous? The more you learn from the experience—the better you become. But, the more bruises.. Until, you become so good that—you no longer fear the bully and you might even learn to face this bully. Do you get it? I’ll give you some time to digest that before the last and final lesson. Try to know the other side “I’m ready sir!” Great! A wise man once said, “Certainty is the only illusion a trader has.” Do you know what that means? … I’ll take that as a “no”. Anyway, have you ever seen a coin before? Heh—who am I kidding, you probably have some in you pockets now. So, a little exercise—shall we? Now, look at the front of the coin you’re holding—carefully study it, Now—tell me what’s at the back of it? Eh… I have no idea sir—I’ll have to flip it. Exactly, most traders don’t actually flip this coin—you see. They don’t even want to know what’s on the other side. You know why? It’s because they love their comfort zone. These are the wuss traders; the ones who run from the bullies. We call them, “routine traders”. There are always two sides to a coin but most times, until you flip it… you’ll have no idea what the other side looks like. I won’t even lie—we always like the safe route to things. If something is safe for you, you might just tell yourself, “uh, well—I like it here. Why stress to know what’s on the other side?”. But, in trading—there’s no safe route. Don’t hold strong opinions about things you don’t truly understand. You have got to take that risk. No shorts to this cut, Jamal. There are two sides to a trader: the one who runs from the bullies—because the pain become unbearable and the ones who face the pain—knowing that the end to that tunnel is great. The question is, what side are you on? Most traders quit because they prefer the latter—“I like it here tommy, don’t pull me out yet—I can’t face the world”, They’ll say. My final lesson is; have an open mind. The strong willed—don’t always will lots of bucks here. Try not to have a strong opinion in your trading decision. Be the trader who adapts to the changes of the market—not the one controlled by it. Remember, be the lame kid who takes the blow. Painful but, worth it. Now You Know… What Next? You know Jamal—I tell people, “those who have strong opinions about the markets are either knowledge-able or totally ignorant”. The only strong opinion you should have about trading, Jamal, is—you shouldn’t be married to an opinion. A dangerous thing about trading is that—it isn’t really a game for spectators. If you ask me, the most dangerous sport out there is—trading. Traders are also the most dangerous people on planet… where-ever you breathe right now. You know why? These guys take crazy risk, without any form of medication in place. The number of heart breaks a trader has in a day/week will be enough to make him never believe in love. Haha! Nah trading is actually fun but—don’t let anyone deceive you into thinking, it’s all roses and sunshines. It’s really not! It’s a mental game—about emotions. Where the emotional ones get kicked out; The heartless/ruthless ones always make it far. Simple!, they really “don’t care”. My friend Scott will say, “i’m suspicious of people who have strong opinions on complicated stuffs”. Heh! people who sugar-coat things—they don’t tell you what you should hear. They’re also the ones who post for the media sake. Now most traders try so hard to understand the market that—they actually fail to make money. Don’t lose yourself in trying to beat the market… You can’t! She’s way smarter and richer. You’re a pauper! Stick to management cos’, this one’s a thief. She’ll dig you of all your diamonds if you think you can beat her. Probably the smartest woman out there! Anyway, Jamal, I think with this few lessons of mine—you should never, ever, think you’re the worst trader on earth. The fact that you even lost means you tried. Well, it’s a good thing you met me. Hey! i’m Trader Steve—the worst trader on earth.
OANDA:NAS100USDEducation
by lazyluchi
2
The Hesitant Trader ...A Must Read!The hesitant trader … Do “trading hesitations” mean—low self-esteem?… Oomph What’s the major cause of—hesitations? I once met Qetsiyah… Qetsiyah (or Tessa as she prefers) was one of the most indecisive humans I’ve ever—come across. Tessa had some major issues with making decisions… As little as, “What will you eat?”… She would mull and dawdle over it for hours. Ta-ta… I’ll always laugh at her situation… But, I realized that—people like that sometimes have self-esteem issues… most come off as—Insecure. Qetsiyah’s case was different… Maybe she just hid hers pretty well. Or… I mean it’s kinda tricky. Self-esteem issues (insecure) or just—poor at decision making (dilly-dallies). If you are an expert, what’s the correlation? Anyway, Tessa is me; I am Tessa. What do I mean… Well, for starters… I’m really not a perfect human being… Pfft… I already told you my story—here! But, I didn’t talk much of… My personality. So, what’s my personality? My friend Tessa would always tease me with—my zodiacs. Pfft… She’s a Libra; Likewise me. If you haven’t heard—Libras are popularly known for their… indecisive nature. It’s not ephemeral—Mostly inevitable. So, hug a libra today… Let them know they don’t have to mull over that food-choice-making decision. The Hesitant Trader …A Personality Check Wait, before I dive into how I became… the hesitant trader … Hold-up… I left you hanging (did I mention I’m also forgetful… not ignorant—just forgetful)… Uh… I’m supposed to carry you along. Anyway, back to reality… What’s my personality? Firstly, …“I’m not perfect, I’m human—We make mistakes.” When it comes to making decisions… I’m definitely failing the—Class. A beautiful “f” is all I’ll get. Decision making—A fail, Confidence—Hmm, uh, heh… Now that I talked about it, I have areas in my life I’m not confident of. Can I call that being insecure? (still think it’s connected)… If we’re being totally honest, we all have our insecurities. Some—their looks; others—their work. What else… Um, yeah… Trust issues! I have mad trust issues. A big plus… Failure! I hate the word; I hate to fail. can’t stand the thought of it. Literally, I give up too easily because… Once I fail, once… twice… I quit trying. I’m practically scared of—failure. That guy… Creed—would serve as a mentor. He practically took a punch for a living. Me… I’ll run, yield… whatever I can do to avoid that situation. I stand to be corrected… But I think there’s a word for it… Atychiphobia! Lastly, Impatience … This one—I mean I’m usually always in a hurry. My mom (Sylvia… a beautiful human) has a nickname for me. Heh… Butterfly! She has her reasons… But, thinking of it now—It’s probably because I’m always on the move (literally). Know Your Roots Honestly, before you begin trading, I’ll suggest you do a—personality check. Most times… what’s holding you back from becoming the next “Cue Banks”—might just be inborn. I’ll tell you… It’s really not easy getting rid of a personality—Not to speak on changing it. In reality, change is tough—but needed. You know, there’s a big difference between… “Hesitate” and “Hesitant”. One’s an adjective—the other, a verb! A verb is an action word or… Whatever your teacher told you in school. You are still in the action right… It’s really not you. Hold that thought! This is the tricky part… The adjective. I mean when something is a verb… it doesn’t hurt right (well most… since we’re speaking of actions. A punch will.) Now, Imagine it as an adjective… An adjective on the other hand—describes a person. Now that action has become a leach. It’s now a part of who you are. In some cases, that’s bad. Should I leave you to figure out… which is which? Pfft… Don’t worry I’ll help. To hesitate means—to pause… Verb. To become hesitant… keyword “become” (adjective) means… You are now—cagey, unsure, reluctant, dubious (ouch), undecided… the list goes on. The question here… is it a good thing—or a bad thing? You know, according to Walter… The word “hesitant” is grouped under—Neutral. This means… it can serve as a positive or negative component—in a human’s life. For me… I think Sir Walter didn’t know the difference between the two (hesitate and hesitant)—Cos’ when you become “hesitant” It’s bad, terrible, negative… Another word for bad will suffice. How Can One Become Hesitant? Mr. Oxford says, the word “hesitant” comes from the Latin word “haesitant” meaning “being undecided”. There are different ways one can become—Hesitant. I mean Oxford says, “Being undecided”…. But, what leads to that? How do you become this thing, this person… I mean it doesn’t just show up overnight—There’s a trigger! What’s that trigger? Well, for starters… The most common trigger is—Fear! The funny thing is… This person sometimes becomes “this person” without realizing it. You condition your brain into having a—Defense Mechanism. Remember… when you hesitate, it’s normal. But, when you repeat this… over and over again. It builds into a habit. This habit… becomes a part of you. When faced with that—situation again, you become this person (the hesitant trader). Bringing back my character flaws… Pfft—I spoke about that earlier. There’s a development… Each with its own story. Here are the flaws in my personality and… Ways one can become hesitant: Atychiphobia (fear of failure) Trust issues. Insecurities (Low self-esteem, self-doubt…) Impatience. Indecision. You must think I have big issues. But, I mean I wasn’t born this way. Someone once said, “To know why you are hesitant, you have to know its roots”… Just like an Armed robber trying to rob someone—but dilly-dallies to pull the trigger. Like I said earlier, It’s not an entirely bad thing… till it becomes a habit. Till you literally become a—Coward! Generally, you are just plain scared of—The consequences and outcome! How It All Began… Uh… Okay, stop with the music. This isn’t theatre. You know growing up… My mom was the kind to compare my life with the neighbors. She’ll say, “Why not be like Tony… look at Lynn she’s so great in school”—I would be so pissed, cos’ I hated being compared. I feel like my whole life I haven’t felt—Good enough. If I wasn’t good enough for her; I wasn’t good enough for me. In my previous article, I remember asking, “… Does your community affect your success as a trader?—It might be someone, something…” Our mind, lifestyle… It’s like a staircase. The further we go; the higher the influence. the more… the habit or constant comparison is inflicted—the more the damage. Developments… Off topic… Parents—Please do better. Stop the unnecessary comparisons. Imagine being compared every day of your life. These character flaws (listed above) start to develop… It becomes a lifetime problem. You’ll never feel good enough… Trust issues—developed because I don’t even trust myself (I mean what if I mess up). I don’t trust people… Humans can be weird. Also kinda grew up isolating myself due to these comparisons. My mom would shout, “Don’t go out”. Imagine staying locked up all your—life. Don’t get it twisted… I’m not writing this so you pity me. No!… I’m just letting you know that… Sometimes, your problems are stuck… inborn… Most times, you don’t even see it as a problem. you basically grew up thinking it’s normal. Atychiphobia, self-doubt, impatience, indecision… are all basic end-products of my childhood lifestyle. You’re scared of failing because… If you come home… You are about to be spanked. Funny… Schools don’t even help—cos’ Charity or whatever that woman called herself… Began at home. Now you’re scared of trying, scared of pulling the trigger, scared of the consequence, scared of the outcome… The Hesitant Trader Uh… my arm hurts from telling you this story… Anyway, You quit… run away from all your problems. The question is, “How long do you keep running” Cowardice becomes your daily practice. I mean why try—when you’ll be damned. The hesitant trader is a story of a cowardice trader… A trader ruined by his own childhood lifestyle, A trader stuck in a loop because—growing up had more negatives than positives. Someone who has been running all his life—Afraid to move on, afraid to give up… afraid to try. This trader is stuck… stagnant… afloat. Believing in “fake it till you make it” actually became a reality. The difference is, this trader—didn’t make it. That life… A fake! Most of us… traders—Are like the hesitant trader …who can’t pull the trigger because of their—emotional and mental baggage. Here’s a quick one… You start trading, get excited… post your wins but never your losses. Uh… Ego—Another commoner… for this trader! Why do you think some traders don’t post their losses… Why do you think they apportion blames on the market… Simple—They are runners. In reality… most of us are running from the truth. Hard to accept, hard to swallow—Like bitter paracetamol. What’s that truth? We are our biggest problems. We can’t accept it… because most times we don’t know or We practically can’t imagine the thought of starting—again. Pfft… “Everything is connected”. It’s a little dark but I’ve got to finish. So for this trader—quitting is usually an option. We have more traders quitting every single day… some depressed and others—Get stuck on the demo cos’ they can’t take the risk of losing… How else will they get customers? They need to display… impress and deceive. Remember “fake it till you make it”. What Are You Scared of? Heh… Don’t pay any mind to your social media traders. Most of them are like the hesitant trader …It’s like a drug… that constant need of online gratification. But, in reality… they’re stuck! So… since you’re still here—I’ll ask this question… What are you scared of and why are you scared of… what you are scared of? The reason for that question is—for a solution, you need to conquer your fears first. Everything in life has its past… The biggest problem is—most times we don’t heal before moving on. I know people would blab about letting go… But, letting go isn’t the only solution. You need to heal! These emotions build… as I said, You don’t just become hesitant overnight. Once you start to avoid or… run away from your problems continuously—The damage becomes more visible. Can I let you in on one of my biggest fears… why I think it’s from not letting go and How it’s been haunting me. It’s actually a very sad story. So… I won’t be specific about the details. July 25th, 1873… A call came in. I remember it being a—fellowship day (before I dropped out). A feeling I couldn’t shake popped up… I felt it in my guts—Something was wrong! Oh!… No, it’s raining… The sick feeling got worse. Crazy—I thought. What’s wrong, what’s happening… I left for my house. Hello… Who’s this? Jamal What! What’s happening—tell me… Please tell… (was sure of that feeling now) me. Please! Jamal… Your mom … Your mom’s dead! Uh… Heh… What! you’re kidding right? No!… no that’s not possible… No-o-o-o The After-Math At that moment I could say all the “No’s”… It won’t change a thing. But, the funny thing was how fast I moved on. I don’t even think I grieved or mourned. The next day (after the burial) I was on my way for a competion. It was like… nothing happened. No one knew anything. I didn’t talk about it—completely dismissed the fact that I just lost my Mom. So the question was… I moved on right—But, did I heal? No!… I didn’t. Well, at that moment—I thought I did. It all began to make sense when I completely shut everyone out. You want to know why… It’s cos’ I didn’t want to end up like my—Mom. This woman lost everything… I have dreams, there are stuffs I need to do, countries I need to visit—I was so obsessed with making it, making money that I became so desperate. That right—there… Became my biggest problem. Fear… cos’ I just can’t lose, impatience—in my mind, there was no time—Life’s short, and Trust issues… Where were you guys when she needed you (No one helped). The harder I tried… The more I failed. Self-doubt (a memory that’s been stuck… Maybe my mom was right “I wasn’t good enough) resurfaced again… Then came indecision. What could I do? How was I going to succeed? I moved from one job to another. Once I failed, I quit… I’ll say, “Maybe it isn’t for me”. So you see… Just one issue, one problem—haunted me for years. I kept running and I must say… I’ve been running ever since. My question for you reading this… Right now… is—What are your fears and what’s being chasing you? The Hesitant Trader …Reality! Yawns… Okay, I’m trying to round up—I need sleep. Accepting your faults, accepting your problems, accepting yourself… Helps this trader. When I realized… I was the problem, everything changed—Cos’ asides every fault I’ve listed about my personality… Ego kills! I didn’t have to place “ego” as one of my character flaws—I know I’m not a proud person. Just listing it in case that’s yours. Once you have an ego, you won’t be able to accept your wrongs. If there isn’t “acceptance”… There would be no room for the growth of the hesitant trader. Ever found yourself in this situation… You plan a trade… You know deep down—within you that you did the assignment (sticking to your strategy) but, once the trade presents itself—You become a chicken… get scared and can’t seem to have the b*lls to take the trade. Pfft… Heh… Has that happened to you before? Happens to the best of us… you know. Doing that over and over again—makes you the hesitant trader …Well, your welcome to the club. Here’s a welcome quote: “A Moment of Hesitation… May cause a lifetime of regrets” There’s an end product though. Do you want to know?… The end-product is usually—Guilt! Cicero said something… He said, “Guilt is present in the very hesitation—even if the deed hasn’t being done” Hesitation itself is defeat. Opportunities have been missed because of hesitations, Lives have been lost because someone, a doctor—hesitated. The Market Waits For No Man! In the market… Each candle matters, each second counts. Do you know how many traders have blown account because… They hesitated. Most people don’t realize that… If you decide not to decide, you’ve already decided. But, you lose your power of—Choice. So all your indecisions are personal choices. Personally… thinking about it now… There is no indecisive person. Cos’ again… If you decide not to decide, you’ve already decided. The most important skill a trader needs to have—Making decisions on time. I think I just let out a secret the books… won’t tell you. Ssh! Just like time, the market waits for no man. “Hesitation of any kind is a sign of mental decay in the young, of physical weakness in the old.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest Most traders become successful after 2 years—while some… 10 years. Sometimes—it’s due to series of hesitations made. The popular saying, “Doing the same thing over and over… and expecting a different result” just justifies that. Reminds me of Mr Robert’s quote… “On an important decision one rarely has 100% of the information needed for a good decision no matter how much one spends or how long one waits. And, if one waits too long, he has a different problem and has to start all over. This is the terrible dilemma of the hesitant trader …decision maker”. Heh… The million dollar question should be… Will there be regrets? The Hesitant Trader …Final Words Am I still that trader? The answer to that question is… a solid—Yes. You want to know why… It’s cos’ it’s my personality that requires a series of growth procedures. These changes/procedures aren’t easy to overcome. They take time. So This is my journey and since we’re basically alike. Why not join me in actually—tackling this and stop running away from it. We need to heal; we need to grow… Practice these… Here are steps I’ll be taking for this growth: Acceptance: you have to accept this person; you have to accept you. Be truthful to you! Think then act: Listen! There are many analyst out here (trading industry) but, they are really broke. Simple… they think without acting. If there’re no actions—then it’s hesitations… No in-betweens! Understanding fear: You can’t be scared… of your fears… you need to understand it. So I’ll ask again—what are you scared of? You know, after my mom’s death… my fears haunted me (dying without realizing my goals) I don’t know if I’ve fully understood it… Cos’ I once suffered from series of—panic attacks. Mine might take a while. It’s necessary we know our fears and understand it. Limit your research: When you learn a lot of stuff, you get stuck—mental blocks. You don’t want that. A strategy is enough to make a buck. Accepting the power of “good enough” by trusting that you can’t hurt you. These decisions are yours—I want to believe you won’t do anything to hurt yourself—right? If so… You need to trust every decision made. Lastly, Heh… this is a hard nut to swallow—but, Failure is better than hesitation. Knowing that—It’s a day at a time, a step at a time. Change is tough… But, change is needed. If you want to tackle this with me… Let me know—leave a comment below saying, “I am the hesitant trader”… As you know—the first step is… Acceptance!
OANDA:NAS100USDEducation
by lazyluchi
3
How to trade fundamentals (AUDUSD BUYS)Hey traders! A common question I get is, do I trade fundamentals?? -From my experience it is to hard to trade off the back of data releases as the moves are to quick to happen and usually get very messy... -Fundamentals I believe just help push a currency in the right direction as technicals give us the entry points to catch these moves -For me its a rule to always have my stop-loss at breakeven when trading around the times of any news event or data release. -It is important that we always know when a big event or release is coming out to cover any trades we currently have running or are about to open, price can move so quick and cause slippage on accounts especially if you are over leveraged. -So the answer is I do and I don't trade fundaments, the aim of the game for me is to already be in a position with stops at breakeven to catch the bigger move but also protecting my account at the same time, at the end of the day we never know what's going to happen and price can do some wild things... ......... fundamentals overall control the market but technicals provide us with the entry points and create market structure.........
Education
by jamison_fx
14
COMPOUND INTEREST. Time is on your side📚 ❗️As it turned out, not all traders are familiar with such an important concept as compound interest. Meanwhile, the use of compound interest in trading can be a very effective tool for making a profit. In short, compound interest is the accrual of interest on interest, and if in detail, then read on. ✅The formula for calculating compound interest has the form: Compound percentage = (P (1 + g)^ n) – P, where P – the amount originally invested; r – interest rate; n is the investment period. Let's say you invested an amount of $ 10,000, every year the interest received is added to the principal amount, and new interest is accrued for a larger amount. If the investment period is 5 years, and the interest rate is 10% per annum, then after the specified period, taking into account the compound interest, you will receive a profit in the amount of: (10000(1+0.10)^5)-10000=6105.1$ And without taking into account the compound interest, the profit for the same period will be: 10000*5*0,10-10000=5000$ As you can see, using compound interest (or in other words reinvesting profits) brought additional income in the amount of: 6105.1-5000 = 1105.1 $. ✅It seems that the figures presented above are not impressive, but the use of compound interest in trading can truly work wonders. In what way? Let's take another look at the compound interest formula described above. It is obvious from the formula that you can increase profit by increasing any of its components. Let's not touch the amount originally invested, but play with the value of the investment period and the interest rate. To begin with, let's imagine that we will reinvest the profit not every year, but every month. Then the investment period will be 12 *5 = 60 months. The interest rate corresponding to this investment period will be equal to: 10%/12=0.833%. Let's substitute these values into the formula for calculating the compound percentage: (10000(1+0.00833)^60)-10000=6449,8$ As you can see, under the same conditions, but with monthly reinvestment of profits, the income will already be $ 6449.8- $6105.1 =$344.7 more. Well, if the trader's income is not 0.833% per month, but, for example, 5% monthly, then under the same conditions and for the same period, the profit will already be: (10000(1+0.05)^60)-10000=176791,86$ Felt the difference, impressive, isn't it? And what if you reinvest profits not monthly, but daily? Let's figure it out. With an average yield of 5% per month, the average daily yield will be 5%/21= 0.238% (here 21 is the number of working days in a month). The investment period will be 5*360=1800 days. Let's substitute the data into the compound interest formula: (10000(1+0.00238)^1800)-10000=711617,5$ This is already 711617.5-176791.86 = 534826 $ more than with monthly reinvestment of profits. More than half a million dollars (and this with an initial investment of only ten thousand)! That's impressive. That's what compound interest is in action. ⚠️This is about theory. In practice, it is impossible to achieve a constant percentage of profit every day. Some days a trader inevitably ends up with a loss, some with a profit, and the size of these losses and profits is always different. So it is unlikely to substitute the value of the percentage of profit per day in the above formula. However, the very essence of compound interest, clearly shown above in figures, gives the trader a fairly powerful tool for earning. A trader can and should use compound interest when creating his own money management system. ❤️ Please, support our work with like & comment! ❤️
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by UnitedSignals
6