Unlock Your Full Potential with our Trading Psychology CourseSuccess in trading goes far beyond technical analysis and market knowledge. True mastery in the financial markets requires a deep understanding of the psychological traits that drive consistent performance and resilience. To help traders of all levels strengthen their mental game, I’m excited to announce the Hercules Trading Psychology Course – a comprehensive, 13-lesson journey into the mind of a successful trader.
What You Can Expect:
For this course I am going to provide multiple lessons, each delving into key psychological principles that separate the top traders from the rest. Whether you're a beginner looking to establish a strong foundation or an experienced trader seeking to refine your mental approach, this course will provide you with essential tools to:
Master Initiative, Discipline, and Patience – the 3 core traits every successful trader needs.
Build emotional resilience to handle losing streaks, market volatility, and avoid costly psychological traps like FOMO.
Develop a structured mindset that supports consistent profitability across any market or timeframe.
Why is Psychology So Important in Trading?
The mental aspect of trading often gets overlooked, but it’s the difference between making rational decisions and being driven by emotions like fear, greed, or desperation. This course will help you strengthen your trading mindset and equip you with practical strategies to stay disciplined, focused, and confident in your decisions – even when the markets are unpredictable.
Course Structure :
Some of the covering topics are:
The 3 Essential Traits Every Trader Must Master
The Power of Initiative in Trading
Discipline – The Pillar of Consistent Profitability
Handling Losing Streaks with Emotional Control
Overcoming Desperation in Trading
How to Beat FOMO and much more.
Each lesson is designed to be easy to understand and filled with actionable insights you can start applying immediately to improve your trading performance.
What’s Next?
Stay tuned for Lesson 1 today, where we’ll dive into the 3 essential traits that form the foundation of successful trading: Initiative, Discipline, and Patience. By mastering these traits, you’ll build the psychological resilience needed to navigate the ups and downs of the financial markets.
Make sure to follow me to catch every lesson as it’s released. I’m looking forward to sharing this journey with you and helping you take your trading to the next level!
Success
Master the Trading Mindset: Lessons from Trading in the ZoneTrading in the Zone by Mark Douglas is widely regarded as one of the most important books for traders seeking long-term success. The book emphasizes that consistent profitability in trading is not only about mastering strategies or market knowledge but, more importantly, about trading mindset, mastering your own mind. Many traders focus purely on technical or fundamental analysis, but Douglas insists that psychological discipline is what separates successful traders from the rest.
By understanding the emotional and mental aspects of trading, you can turn potential obstacles into strengths.
Why Most Traders Struggle: The Illusion of Market Control
One of the core ideas in Trading in the Zone is that many traders enter the market under the false assumption that they can control outcomes if they make the right predictions. This mindset is deeply flawed. The financial markets are inherently unpredictable. Even with the best analysis, there are countless factors influencing price movements that are beyond any trader’s control.
Key Lesson: Embrace Uncertainty
Douglas emphasizes that successful traders must understand that the market is governed by probabilities, not certainties. You will never be able to predict the market with 100% accuracy, and that’s okay. The goal isn’t to be right every time, but to develop an approach that gives you a statistical edge—one that ensures you come out profitable over time, even when some trades fail.
Think of the market as a casino: while the house doesn’t win every game, its edge ensures that over time, it’s consistently profitable. Similarly, traders need to focus on building a system that works across a large number of trades, rather than getting caught up in trying to control individual outcomes.
Building a Winning Attitude: The Process vs. The Outcome
A major theme in Trading in the Zone is the need to shift your mindset from being outcome-driven to being process-driven. Most traders make the mistake of evaluating their performance based on whether they won or lost an individual trade. This creates a dangerous emotional cycle, where wins create overconfidence and losses spark fear or frustration.
Key Lesson: Detach from Individual Results
Douglas teaches that trading is a marathon, not a sprint. Consistent success comes from focusing on the process, not individual trades. You must follow your plan and rules consistently, regardless of the outcome of a single trade. Winning trades don’t always mean you followed your plan, and losing trades don’t necessarily indicate failure. Instead, long-term success comes from disciplined execution of your edge.
By focusing on process over profits, traders can eliminate the emotional highs and lows that lead to inconsistency. This mental shift helps you stay level-headed, even when things don’t go your way.
The Role of Beliefs in Trading: How Your Mindset Shapes Your Actions
Our beliefs influence how we behave in the market. If you have subconscious fears about losing money, or if you believe that being wrong is a sign of failure, these beliefs will manifest in your trading actions. You might hesitate to pull the trigger on a trade, cut winners too early, or hold onto losing positions because you’re afraid to admit defeat.
Key Lesson: Reprogram Your Mindset
In Trading in the Zone, Douglas explains that you must reprogram your mindset to align with the realities of trading. Accept that losses are part of the game. Successful traders understand that losses are inevitable, and they don’t let individual losses affect their confidence. Trading success comes from building a set of beliefs that supports objective decision-making.
For example:
Limiting belief: “I can’t afford to lose money.”
Empowering belief: “Losses are a natural part of trading; my edge will prevail over time.”
By changing these internal beliefs, traders can reduce emotional interference and make rational decisions in line with their strategy.
Thinking in Probabilities: Shifting to a Casino Mindset
Douglas spends considerable time explaining the concept of thinking in probabilities. He uses the metaphor of a casino to illustrate how successful traders operate. A casino doesn’t win every bet, but its edge ensures that over thousands of games, it consistently comes out ahead. Similarly, traders need to think of their trades in terms of probabilities.
Key Lesson: Your Edge is Everything
Your edge is your winning probability over a series of trades, not your ability to predict individual outcomes. Once you accept that losses are part of the game, the emotional attachment to individual trades fades. What matters is sticking to your system and letting the edge play out over time.
In practical terms, this means:
Don’t let a losing trade shake your confidence.
Don’t get overly excited about a winning trade.
Stay committed to your system, knowing that it will be profitable over time if you consistently apply it.
Overcoming the Fear of Losing
One of the biggest challenges traders face is the fear of losing. Fear of losing can cause you to avoid entering trades altogether or exit winning trades too soon. This fear stems from not fully accepting the risks of trading.
Key Lesson: Accept the Risk Before Entering a Trade
Before placing any trade, you must be at peace with the potential loss. Douglas emphasizes that you should only trade when you are completely comfortable with the risk. If you can’t emotionally handle the thought of losing a certain amount of money, you’re risking too much. By accepting the risk upfront, you free yourself from fear and allow yourself to trade objectively.
Douglas advises using smaller position sizes or setting tighter stop-losses until you feel confident about the level of risk you’re taking. Once you accept the risk, you can approach the market with less emotional interference and more discipline.
Consistency is Key: The Power of Discipline
Many traders struggle with inconsistency. They might have periods of great success, followed by periods of undisciplined trading that wipe out their profits. Douglas explains that the secret to long-term success in the markets is consistency—not in your results, but in your actions.
Key Lesson: Follow Your Rules
The most important trait of successful traders is that they follow their trading rules every single time. When you deviate from your rules because of fear, greed, or frustration, you open yourself up to unnecessary risk and losses. On the other hand, by consistently following your edge and your system, you guarantee that you will capitalize on your strategy’s strengths over time.
Consistency in following your plan leads to consistent results. Discipline becomes the foundation of a successful trading career.
The Psychological Barriers in Trading: Recognizing and Managing Emotions
Emotions such as fear, greed, impatience, and overconfidence are often the biggest roadblocks to successful trading. Douglas emphasizes that the key to overcoming these barriers is self-awareness. Traders must learn to recognize when their emotions are influencing their decisions and develop strategies for managing these emotions.
Key Lesson: Mindfulness and Emotional Control
By practicing mindfulness, traders can learn to separate their emotional responses from their actions. For example, when the market moves against you, instead of reacting impulsively, take a moment to assess the situation objectively. Is this a market move you’ve anticipated in your plan, or is it an emotional reaction to an unexpected event?
Douglas encourages traders to develop emotional control strategies, such as:
Journaling your trades to reflect on your emotional state during each trade.
Setting clear, predefined exit strategies to avoid emotional decision-making.
Practicing visualization and breathing techniques to stay calm during high-stress moments.
Developing a Rules-Based Trading System
Another crucial concept in Trading in the Zone is the importance of having a rules-based trading system. Many traders enter the market without a clear plan or rules, relying on gut feeling or market sentiment. This lack of structure leads to inconsistent results and poor decision-making.
Key Lesson: Create and Follow a Solid Trading Plan
To achieve success, Douglas emphasizes the need to create a trading plan that outlines:
Your entry and exit criteria.
How much you are willing to risk per trade.
The market conditions under which you will or won’t trade.
Having a plan allows you to remove emotion from your decision-making process. When you have clear rules in place, you don’t have to guess or second-guess your actions. Instead, you follow your plan with discipline and consistency, leading to more predictable results.
Trusting Yourself and Your System
One of the final messages in Trading in the Zone is the need to trust yourself and your system. Many traders fall into the trap of doubting their strategy after a few losses, even if the strategy has worked well over time. This lack of trust leads to system hopping, where traders jump from one strategy to the next, never giving any single approach enough time to prove its worth.
Key Lesson: Confidence and Commitment
Douglas emphasizes that once you’ve developed a solid trading system, you must commit to it fully. Trust that your system will work over a large number of trades, and resist the temptation to abandon it after a few losing trades. Confidence in yourself and your strategy is essential for long-term success.
The Zone: Peak Performance in Trading
Douglas describes the ultimate goal of every trader as achieving “the zone.” This is a mental state of peak performance, where you are fully in tune with the market, your emotions are under control, and you are executing your trades with clarity and confidence. Traders in the zone are not fixated on individual outcomes but are fully present and focused on following their process.
Key Lesson: Reaching “The Zone” in Trading: Achieving Peak Performance
In Trading in the Zone, Douglas introduces the idea of “the zone” — a state of peak performance where a trader is completely in sync with the market. In this mindset, emotional distractions are minimized, allowing you to make clear, confident, and unbiased decisions. When traders enter the zone, they’re fully focused on their process and not concerned with individual wins or losses.
Key Lesson: How to Achieve the Zone
Getting into the zone requires practice, emotional control, and mental discipline. By focusing on your trading process and minimizing emotional responses, you will begin to trade with precision and without hesitation. Some key steps include:
Mastering Emotional Control: Remove attachment to individual outcomes.
Focusing on the Process: Commit fully to your strategy and trading plan.
Trusting Your System: Develop unwavering confidence in your edge over time.
When you’ve trained your mind to operate in the zone, trading becomes a fluid experience, and you are better equipped to handle the challenges of the market.
Final Thoughts: The Psychology Behind Trading Success
Trading in the Zone offers profound insights into how the mind shapes success in the financial markets. The key takeaway from Douglas’ work is that mastering the mental game is essential for consistent, long-term profitability. Successful traders learn to think in probabilities, accept risk, and develop the discipline to follow their edge consistently.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace Uncertainty: Focus on probabilities rather than certainties.
Reprogram Limiting Beliefs: Accept that losses are part of trading.
Focus on Process Over Outcome: Build and trust your trading system, and don’t be swayed by short-term results.
Master Emotional Discipline: Be aware of how emotions like fear and greed impact your trading decisions.
Strive for Consistency: Following your rules consistently will lead to consistent profits over time.
By focusing on mindset and emotional control, traders can overcome common pitfalls and achieve the level of discipline required to succeed in the highly competitive world of trading. Through Trading in the Zone, Mark Douglas offers a blueprint for developing the mental resilience needed to thrive in any market environment.
If you’re looking to elevate your trading performance, internalize these lessons and put them into practice. The market may be unpredictable, but with the right mindset, you can navigate it with confidence and discipline.
Mindfulness : The Zen approach to Trading SuccessMindfulness is a practice that involves being fully present and engaged in the moment, aware of your thoughts and feelings without judgment. It originates from ancient Buddhist meditation practices but has been adopted widely in various forms across the world for its mental health benefits. In this post, we'll dive a bit deeper into what it is, where it comes from, and how it can help you when trading. Some practical tips and where to start are included as well, so keep on reading till the end.
❔ What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is like having a special tool that helps you pay close attention to what's happening right now, in this very moment, without wishing it was different. It's about noticing the little things - how your breath feels going in and out, the way your body feels sitting or standing, or even the sounds around you. It's all about being fully present and aware, like watching a movie and noticing every detail on the screen without getting distracted by thoughts of what you will do later.
When you practice mindfulness, you're training your brain to focus on the present moment. It's like when you use a magnifying glass to look at something closely; you see a lot more detail than you would if you were glancing at it. Mindfulness works the same way, but instead of looking at something outside, you're paying close attention to your thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
By practicing mindfulness, you learn to respond to situations with more calmness and less knee-jerk reactions. Instead of getting immediately upset or stressed by something, you give yourself a moment to decide how you want to react. It's like pressing a "pause" button, giving you the chance to choose your response.
In simple terms, mindfulness changes your mindset by helping you live more in the "now," handle your emotions better and be kinder to yourself. It's like having a secret garden inside your mind where you can go to find peace, no matter what's happening around you.
❔ Where does it come from?
Mindfulness, originating over 2,500 years ago within Buddhist meditation practices, transcends its ancient spiritual roots to address a universal human need: the desire to be fully present and aware in our lives. This practice, once cultivated in the serene landscapes of ancient India, has evolved beyond its religious confines, finding a place in various Eastern traditions such as Taoism and Zen Buddhism . Each culture enriched the concept, emphasizing awareness, intention, and compassion, and highlighting mindfulness's universal appeal and applicability.
The late 20th century witnessed a significant cultural bridge as mindfulness made its way into the Western world, largely thanks to pioneers like Jon Kabat-Zinn . His approach through the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School showcased mindfulness as a powerful tool for psychological well-being, stress reduction, and enhanced quality of life, irrespective of its religious origins. Today, mindfulness is embraced across diverse fields for its profound benefits, embodying a timeless practice that enhances the human experience by promoting a deeper connection with the present moment.
❔ Why Mindfulness for Trading?
Why is mindfulness important for trading? Think of trading like a big room full of buttons. Each button can make you feel something different – happy when you win, sad or scared when you lose. Mindfulness is like having a special guide in this room. This guide helps you walk through without hitting every button by accident. It teaches you to notice the buttons (your feelings) without having to press them all. This way, you can feel happy about the good things and not feel too bad about the not-so-good things, keeping your mind steady no matter what happens.
Mindfulness helps you stay calm and clear-headed. When you're trading, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement or worry a lot. Mindfulness is like putting on a pair of glasses that helps you see everything more clearly. You learn to pay attention to what's happening right now, instead of getting lost in thoughts about what might happen next or what happened before. This can help you make better decisions because you're thinking clearly and not just reacting to your feelings. It's like having a secret weapon that keeps you feeling good and thinking smart, no matter how wild the trading world gets.
❔ How does it help in trading?
Emotional Regulation : Trading can be an emotionally charged activity, with the potential for high stress, anxiety, and strong emotional reactions to wins and losses. Mindfulness helps traders recognize their emotional states without becoming overwhelmed by them, promoting a balanced approach to decision-making.
Improved Focus and Concentration : Mindfulness enhances the ability to concentrate on the task at hand. For traders, this means being able to focus on analyzing markets, monitoring trades, and making decisions without being distracted by irrelevant information or internal chatter.
Reducing Impulsive Behavior : By fostering an increased awareness of thoughts and feelings, mindfulness can help traders avoid impulsive decisions driven by short-term emotions such as fear, greed, or frustration. This can lead to more disciplined and considered trading strategies.
Stress Management : The practice of mindfulness has been shown to reduce stress levels. Given that trading can be a high-stress occupation, particularly during volatile market conditions, mindfulness can help traders manage stress, maintain clarity, and avoid burnout.
Enhancing Decision Making : Mindfulness promotes a state of calm and clarity, allowing traders to evaluate situations more objectively. This can improve decision-making by reducing the likelihood of decisions being clouded by emotions or cognitive biases.
Learning from Mistakes : Mindfulness encourages an attitude of non-judgmental observation. This perspective can help traders view losses or mistakes as learning opportunities rather than personal failures, cultivating a growth mindset that is crucial for long-term success.
Incorporating Mindfulness into Your Trading Routine
Here are a few things you can do to build in mindfulness routines in your trading day.
🧘🏽♀️Daily Meditation : Start with just 5 minutes a day. There's a plethora of apps like Headspace or Calm to guide you.
🤯Setting Intentions : Each morning, remind yourself of your trading goals and how you want to approach the day mindfully.
😤Mindful Breathing : Feeling overwhelmed? Pause and take ten deep breaths to reset your mental state.
⏸️Mindful Pauses : Before you click that trade button, take a moment to ensure this decision feels right in the gut.
✍🏽Reflective Journaling : End your day by jotting down your emotional journey alongside your trades. You might be surprised by the patterns you find.
📚 Get started:
Interested in expanding your mindfulness repertoire? Here are some resources to get you started:
Jon Kabat-Zinn's " Wherever You Go, There You Are " for mindfulness 101. ISBN 978-0-7868-8070-6
The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness by Andy Puddicombe for those looking to integrate mindfulness into everyday life. ISBN-10 1250104904
10% Happier for meditation skeptics who want practical insights. ISBN-10 0062265423
✅ Takeaway
Who knew that the path to trading success could involve a bit of Zen? By embracing mindfulness, you're not just becoming a better trader; you're investing in your overall well-being. So, here's to trading mindfully and finding that inner peace amidst the market's chaos. Remember, in the world of trading, the best investment you can make is in yourself.
📣 Join the Conversation!
Now, it's your turn! Have you tried integrating mindfulness into your trading routine? Notice any shifts in your decision-making or emotional resilience? Or maybe you've got some mindfulness tips and tricks of your own to share. Drop your stories, insights, or even your skepticism in the comments below. Let's build a community of mindful traders, learning and growing together. Can't wait to hear about your experience!
A Trader's Guide to Profitability and SuccessGreetings, fellow traders!
As a seasoned veteran of the financial markets, we've witnessed firsthand the transformative power of trading, its ability to elevate individuals to new heights of financial freedom and fulfillment. Yet, we've also observed the struggles of many aspiring traders, their goals & dreams marred by a lack of guidance and a clear understanding of the intricacies involved.
So, let's delve into the five key aspects that underpin long-term trading success:
1. Crafting a Trading Plan: Your Compass in the Market Storm.
A well-defined trading plan serves as your beacon, guiding you through the turbulent waters of the markets. It's not a rigid set of rules but a dynamic roadmap that adapts to changing market conditions.
2. Unveiling Market Secrets:
To make informed decisions, you must become an astute market detective, meticulously analyzing market trends, economic factors, and company fundamentals. This involves mastering technical and fundamental analysis, and always staying abreast of market-moving news and events.
3. Taming the Risk Beast: Risk Management – Your Shield Against Trading Perils
Risk management is the cornerstone of trading success, shielding you from the perils of impulsive decisions and excessive losses. It's about setting stop-loss orders, limiting position sizes, and diversifying your portfolio – strategies that safeguard your capital and ensure long-term sustainability.
4. Conquering Emotions: Mastering the Emotional Rollercoaster
The financial markets are a psychological battleground, where fear and greed can lead to disastrous trading decisions. To emerge victorious, you must cultivate emotional control, adhering to your trading plan and avoiding impulsive actions driven by fleeting emotions.
5. Embracing Continuous Learning: The Path to Perpetual Trading Prowess
The financial markets are a dynamic entity, constantly evolving and presenting new challenges and opportunities. To stay ahead of the curve, you must embrace continuous learning, stay updated with market trends, explore new trading strategies, and adapt to changing market conditions. Continuously refine your knowledge and skills to improve your trading performance.
Stay tuned for more educational content and don't forget to trade with care!
What is the best XAUUSD trading strategy?When it comes to trading XAUUSD (Gold/US Dollar), there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. The “best” approach is highly individual, depending on your trading style, risk tolerance, and personal preferences.
In this article, we will explore four popular trading strategies for XAUUSD:
Trend Trading
Breakout and Retest Trading
Swing Trading
Scalp Day Trading
We will consider strategy pros and cons, trader personality factors, highest potential yield, stop losses and other lifestyle factors.
📈 Trend Trading
The concept of this strategy involves identifying and following the prevailing trend in the XAUUSD market. Traders buy when the trend is upward (bullish) and sell or short-sell during a downward (bearish) trend. The main focus is to capture gains through large movements rather than small fluctuations.
Trend Trading uses technical indicators like moving averages, trendlines, or MACD to identify trends and enter trades.
Pros:
Following the dominant trend in XAUUSD can lead to significant profits, especially in strong, sustained market movements.
It’s relatively easier to identify and follow trends, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced traders.
By trading with the trend, traders potentially reduce their risk exposure.
Cons:
Trend traders might enter a trade after a trend has been established, potentially missing early profits.
Misidentifying a trend can lead to losses, especially in volatile markets.
This strategy requires patience, as holding positions for longer periods can lead to substantial drawdowns during retracements.
Suited personality: Ideal for patient individuals who are comfortable with holding XAUUSD positions for longer durations.
📈 Breakout and Retest Trading
For breakout and retesting, traders look for moments when XAUUSD price breaks out of its typical trading range or surpasses a significant resistance or support level.
This strategy capitalizes on the momentum that follows a breakout. A retest phase, where the price returns to the breakout point, often serves as the entry point.
Breakout and retest trading use chart patterns and volume indicators to identify potential breakouts and confirm their strength.
Pros:
Traders can capitalize on new trends early, potentially increasing profits.
This strategy provides clear signals for entry (breakout) and exit (retest failure).
It works well in various market conditions, especially during high volatility periods.
Cons:
Traders may encounter false signals, leading to premature entries and losses.
This strategy demands rapid responses to market changes, which can be stressful.
Setting stop-losses can be challenging, particularly in volatile markets.
Suited personality: Breakout and retest trading is best for decisive traders who can act quickly and are comfortable with a higher level of risk and uncertainty with Gold.
📈 Swing Trading
Swing traders hold positions in the XAUUSD market for several days or weeks to capture gains from short- to medium-term price movements or “swings.”
This approach balances between the longer-term view of trend trading and the short-term nature of day trading.
Swing trading uses a combination of technical analysis and a basic understanding of market fundamentals to identify potential swing opportunities.
Pros:
Requires less screen time than day trading, allowing for a more balanced lifestyle.
Swing traders take advantage of market “swings” or short-term trends, often leading to substantial gains.
Allows for diversification of trades over different time frames and assets.
Cons:
Positions might have to be held through periods of adverse market movements.
This strategy needs a good understanding of market fundamentals and technical analysis.
Holding positions overnight can expose traders to unexpected market events.
Suited personality: Ideal for gold traders who have the patience to wait for the right opportunity, and are comfortable with holding positions for several days.
📈 Scalp Trading
Scalping involves making numerous, rapid trades on small price changes in the XAUUSD market, accumulating profit from these minor fluctuations.
Scalp trades are held for a very short duration, often just minutes, and require quick decision-making and execution.
This strategy has a strong focus on liquidity, volatility, and using smaller time-frames like one-minute to fifteen-minute charts for precise entry and exit points.
Pros:
Scalpers can make numerous trades in a day, accumulating profits from small price movements.
Short holding periods reduce exposure to large market movements.
Offers an engaging and dynamic trading experience
Cons:
Requires constant market monitoring and quick decision-making throughout your trading period, however your trading period could be as little as 1 hour a day.
Risk to reward per trade are typically smaller as many scalping strategies aim for a 1:1 to 1:3 risk to reward
Suited personality: Scalping is best suited for people who can make quick, decisive moves. It’s most suitable for personalities who like to do highly focused work in small burst time periods and for traders who don’t want to hold positions overnight.
Which XAUUSD Strategy Gives The Highest Yield?
Determining which XAUUSD trading strategy can provide the highest yield and profits is a complex question and highly dependent on market conditions, the trader’s skill level, risk management, and the ability to consistently execute the strategy. However, we can explore theoretical scenarios for each trading style using a $10,000 trading account over a 6-month period, with each trade risking 1% from a stop loss. We will also consider the compounding effects of growing a trading account and trading Gold exclusively.
📈 Trend Trading
Yield Potential: Moderate to High
Trend trading can yield substantial returns over time, especially in strong, consistent market trends.
Scenario Example:
Assuming a conservative estimate of 3% profit per successful trade.
With 10 good trend-following trades over 6 months and compounding gains, the overall profit could be substantial.
However, the growth rate would be slower compared to scalp trading due to fewer trades and a longer holding period.
📈 Breakout and Retest Trading
Yield Potential: Moderate
This strategy can be profitable in volatile markets, but it may offer lower compounding effects due to fewer trades compared to scalping.
Scenario Example:
Assuming an average profit of 2% per successful trade and around 15 trades over 6 months.
The compounding effect would be present but less dramatic than scalping due to fewer trades and potentially more varied outcomes.
📈 Swing Trading
Yield Potential: Moderate
Swing trading can offer good returns, especially if large swings are captured, but the compounding effect is less pronounced due to the longer duration of trades.
Scenario Example:
With an average of 4% gain per successful trade and about 8 trades over 6 months.
The compounding effect would contribute to growth, but the overall yield would be less compared to scalp trading due to the lower number of trades and slower turnover of capital.
📈 Scalp Trading
Yield Potential: Very High
Scalping, with its high frequency and quick profit opportunities, offers the highest yield potential, especially when compounded.
Scenario Example:
Assume an average gain of 1.5% per trade, with 2 trades each day.
Trading 20 days a month, this results in 40 trades per month.
With compounding, each win adds more to the account balance, which then increases the amount risked (and potentially gained) in each subsequent trade.
Over 6 months, this compounding effect, coupled with a consistent win rate, could significantly amplify the initial $10,000 investment, potentially doubling it or more, depending on the exact win rate and consistency of the trader.
Considering all of the above strategies, scalp trading shows the highest potential for compounded yield due to its high frequency, larger per-trade gains and ongoing compounding effects. It also requires a high level of skill and consistency. Each XAUUSD trading style has its own risk-reward balance and compounding potential, and the choice should align with the trader’s capabilities, risk tolerance, and trading goals.
Stop Loss Considerations for XAUUSD Trading Strategies
These trading styles each have its unique characteristics that can influence the likelihood of hitting a stop loss. When a stop loss is hit, your current position is closed instantly, ending the trade, resulting a loss. Understanding these following factors is crucial for effective risk management and XAUUSD strategy selection.
📈 Trend Trading
Delayed Entry
Trend traders often enter a trade after a trend is established, which can increase the risk of a reversal hitting the stop loss.
Length of Trends
If a trend unexpectedly shortens or reverses, stop losses may be hit more frequently, especially in highly volatile markets.
Drawdowns During Retracements
Trends often have retracements. If the XAUUSD retracement is deeper than expected, it might hit the stop loss before resuming the trend.
📈 Breakout and Retest Trading
False Breakouts
A common risk in breakout trading is the occurrence of false breakouts, where the price breaks a key level but then quickly reverses, often hitting the stop loss.
Volatility Spikes
Around breakout points, volatility can spike, which can cause prices to fluctuate rapidly and hit stop losses unexpectedly.
Re-test Failure
If the price fails to re-test successfully and instead reverses quickly, it can lead to hitting the stop loss.
📈 Swing Trading
Overnight and Weekend Risk
XAUUSD swing trades are often held for several days, exposing them to overnight and weekend risks where gaps can occur, potentially hitting stop losses.
Market News and Events
Swing traders might be more exposed to the impact of scheduled economic events or unexpected news, which can cause sudden market moves.
Changing Market Sentiment
As swing trading involves a longer time frame, a shift in market sentiment or trend can lead to stop losses being hit before the anticipated move materializes.
📈 Scalp Trading
Rapid Price Fluctuations
Given the short time frame of XAUUSD scalp trades, rapid and unexpected price movements can easily hit tight stop losses.
Spread and Slippage
In scalp trading, the cost of the spread and potential slippage can be significant relative to the trade size, increasing the likelihood of hitting the stop loss. It’s important to trade with a broker with low spreads
Market Noise
Scalp trading is often affected by market noise (random price fluctuations), which can trigger stop losses more frequently compared to other styles.
Each trading style has its specific factors that can lead to the triggering of stop losses. Understanding these can help in refining stop loss placement, strategy selection, and overall risk management.
Best XAUUSD Strategies Based On The Trader
So we’ve finally made it to our key breakdowns and suggestions based on trader preferences. Based on the various aspects of XAUUSD trading strategies we’ve explored above, here are some suggestions tailored to different types of traders and objectives.
👤 What is the best XAUUSD trading strategy for beginners?
Trend trading is generally the most suitable for beginners. This style’s relative simplicity in identifying trends and its emphasis on patience and discipline provide a solid foundation for new traders. It allows beginners to understand market dynamics without the pressure of making rapid decisions.
This is not to say that beginner traders can’t start their trading journey with other strategies.
👤 What is the best XAUUSD trading strategy for advanced traders?
Scalp Trading is the most suited gold trading style for advanced traders. It requires quick decision-making, an in-depth understanding of market movements, and the ability to handle high-stress situations effectively. Advanced traders are typically better equipped to handle the fast movements of scalp trading, including the rigorous discipline and risk management it entails.
Scalp trading XAUUSD often becomes the natural progression of a gold trader.
👤 What is the best XAUUSD trading strategy for the highest potential yield?
When executed effectively, scalp trading offers the highest potential yield. It capitalizes on small, frequent price movements, allowing skilled traders to accumulate gains rapidly. However, it’s important to note that this high potential yield comes with increased risk and requires a significant amount of skill, experience, and psychological fortitude.
👤 What is the best XAUUSD trading strategy for people who want structure in their day?
Scalp trading can provide a structured trading day due to its high-frequency nature. It requires a trader to be active and focused during specific market hours. If you prefer a structured environment, and want to “work” only during certain hours and in short bursts, scalp trading offers this consistency. This can also provide freedom off the charts outside of your main scalping hours.
👤 Best XAUUSD trading strategy for people who want freedom away from screens?
For individuals seeking more freedom and less time glued to the screen, swing trading is suitable. It doesn’t require constant market monitoring and allows for trades to be held over several days or weeks. This approach provides more flexibility and free time, fitting well for those who value a less intense trading lifestyle. The downside is that there are far less trades meaning you could experience weeks or months with no profits, and also illiquid access to any profits made.
Scalping is a second alternative for freedom away from screens, especially for scalpers who aim to make 1 to 2 trades a day over a short time period then spend the rest of their day doing non-trading related activities.
📈 Best Overall XAUUSD Trading Strategy
Scalp trading stands out to us as the best XAUUSD trading strategy for these reasons:
Highest potential yield based on compounding gains
Ideal for both advanced traders and beginners (who are committed to learning)
Ideal for structure of your day and trading during specific hours
Ideal for traders seeking freedom outside of their screens by not holding on to open positions while they are away from their screens
Ideal for full-time job salary replacement in terms of liquid access to profits due to more frequent trades (Of course, this is performance dependent!)
For traders who have the necessary skills, discipline, and experience, scalp trading can be extremely rewarding and profitable. It offers a dynamic trading environment and the potential for high returns.
If you’re looking to scalp gold, it’s crucial that we emphasize that it requires a high level of education and mentorship before you commence scalping. Beginners are advised to start with the right foundations which we can teach you and provide a solid and stable learning curve to your scalping journey.
Unlocking Opportunities: Maximizing Dec. Gains Beyond TradingUnlocking Opportunities: Maximizing December Gains Beyond Trading
Introduction:
As December unfolds and the year draws to a close, it's not uncommon for traders to take a step back and assess their performance. The trading landscape experiences a shift, with many prominent investors winding down for the year, paving the way for unique opportunities for those who approach the market strategically. In this blog post, we'll explore how traders can benefit from the distinctive conditions of December, leveraging the year-end dynamics to refine their trading strategies and set the stage for success in the upcoming year.
1. Reflect on the Year:
Before diving into the specific opportunities December presents, take a moment to reflect on your trading journey throughout the year. Consider the overall performance of your trades, taking note of both successes and setbacks. This reflection is a crucial first step in understanding your strengths and weaknesses as a trader.
Take a comprehensive look at your trading performance throughout the year. Consider the following aspects:
Trade Outcomes: Evaluate the overall success of your trades. Identify the ones that were profitable and those that resulted in losses.
Market Conditions: Examine how your strategies performed under various market conditions. Note any patterns in your trading success or challenges during specific market trends.
As an example; I examine my trading performance throughout the year. I did observe that my swing trading strategy worked well during trending markets but struggled during choppy, sideways conditions. This reflection prompts me to consider adjustments to my strategy to better navigate varying market conditions.
2. Evaluate Pros and Cons:
Identify the pros and cons of your trading strategies over the past year. What worked well for you, and what didn't? Analyzing these aspects can help you fine-tune your approach, building on your strengths and addressing any weaknesses. Take note of the market conditions under which your strategies excelled or faltered.
Dig deeper into the strengths and weaknesses of your trading strategies:
Successful Strategies: Identify the aspects of your trading approach that worked well. This could include specific indicators, timeframes, or types of assets that consistently yielded positive results.
Challenges Faced: Analyze the reasons behind unsuccessful trades. Pinpoint any recurring issues, whether they are related to strategy execution, risk management, or market analysis.
Adaptability: Ask yourself, "Is your strategy working for you?" If there's discomfort or a sense that your current strategy is not aligning with your trading goals, consider your options:
- Explore New Strategies: Are you considering a shift in strategy? Perhaps there's a new approach or methodology that better suits your risk tolerance and market outlook.
- Give More Time: Alternatively, are you planning to invest more time in your existing strategy? Sometimes, patience and fine-tuning can enhance the effectiveness of a proven approach.
As an Example; I identified that my strengths lie in thorough technical analysis but acknowledges a weakness in managing emotions during periods of heightened volatility. I realized that implementing stricter risk management protocols could help mitigate losses during turbulent market phases.
3. Journal Your Trades:
If you haven't already, start journaling your trades. Documenting your trading activities provides valuable insights into your decision-making process. Review your trades and identify patterns, both in successful and unsuccessful scenarios. What emotions were at play during specific trades? This self-awareness can be a powerful tool for refining your trading psychology.
Initiate or revisit your trading journal, documenting each trade along with additional details:
Decision-Making Process: Record the factors influencing your decisions for each trade. This includes technical and fundamental analysis, as well as any emotional factors that may have played a role.
Emotional Reflection: Explore the emotional aspect of your trading. Note instances of fear, greed, or overconfidence. Understanding your emotional responses can help you make more informed decisions in the future.
As an Example; I started a detailed trading journal, recording the rationale behind each trade and the emotions I’d experienced. Upon review, I noticed that I tend to become overly cautious during winning streaks, leading me to exit profitable trades prematurely. This awareness prompts me to work on maintaining discipline during profitable runs.
4. Statistical Analysis:
Dig deeper into the statistics of your trades. Examine metrics such as win-loss ratio, average gain/loss, and drawdowns. These quantitative measures can offer a more objective view of your performance, helping you identify areas for improvement. Look for patterns in your trading data and consider how adjustments to your strategy might enhance overall profitability.
Delve into the quantitative aspects of your trading performance:
Win-Loss Ratio: Calculate the ratio of your winning trades to losing trades. A higher ratio indicates more successful trades.
Average Gain/Loss: Evaluate the average profit and loss per trade. This metric helps you gauge the effectiveness of your profit-taking and stop-loss strategies.
Drawdowns: Identify periods of significant drawdown. Understanding these downturns is crucial for risk management and improving overall stability.
As an Example; I analyze my trading statistics and discovered that while my win rate is respectable, I experience larger drawdowns than what is comfortable for me. I decided to adjust my position sizing to limit the impact of losing streaks on my overall portfolio.
5. Spend Time in Backtesting:
Utilize the quieter period of December to engage in thorough backtesting:
Strategy Validation: Test your strategies against historical data to validate their efficacy. Identify any potential adjustments needed to align with current market conditions.
As an Example; Taking advantage of the quieter December market, I dedicate time to backtesting. I test variations of strategies against historical data, identifying adjustments that improve performance. This process gives me the confidence to implement refinements in the live market.
6. Set Goals for the New Year:
As you assess your trading performance, set clear and realistic goals for the upcoming year. Define what you aim to achieve, whether it's improving your win rate, reducing drawdowns, or exploring new trading opportunities. Establishing these objectives provides a roadmap for your trading journey in the year ahead.
Establish clear and actionable goals for the upcoming year:
Specific Objectives: Define precise objectives such as achieving a target percentage return, improving risk-adjusted returns, or expanding your trading skill set.
Realistic Targets: Ensure your goals are realistic and achievable within a given timeframe. Unrealistic expectations can lead to frustration and poor decision-making.
As an Example; Reflecting on past years, I acknowledged that setting overly ambitious goals led to frustration. This year, I’d set realistic expectations, aiming for a modest increase in overall profitability. This approach allows me to focus on consistent improvement without the undue pressure of reaching unrealistic targets.
Overall:
December offers a unique window for traders to step back from active trading, assess their performance, and strategically plan for the future. By leveraging this period of reduced market activity, traders can gain valuable insights, refine their strategies, and set achievable goals for the upcoming year. Make the most of this opportune moment to position yourself for success in your trading endeavors.
🥶 FACT: Most traders quit year one. Hmm, but why? 🤔You all heard the statistic, "gambling is more profitable than trading - 13 out of 100 gamblers leave the casino with gains compared to 1 out of 100 traders". Yeah yeah. Nice story. Now tell us the real story. The market is not a casino. Don't compare. What about the thousands of traders making consistent gains?
It's a FACT that most traders quit their trading "hobby" or "career" within their first year of trading.
But what's ALSO a FACT is most traders:
Don't take profits when they see them (keep holding for more).
Go too heavy on a single trade.
Go all in on a single trade.
HODL for glory, even when they're super green on a trade.
Are too bullish/ bearish and turn a blind eye to the other bias.
Are over-speculating all the time (i.e. " NASDAQ:AMD 120 tomorrow. All in calls"
Trade without a chart.
Have no risk management.
Don't follow their own rules.
Have no trading strategy.
One cannot state the first "fact" without stating the other; the real reason. Otherwise, that's a shallow statistic. That's like looking at a 15 min chart and not realizing that each candle is constructed of 1,000+ mini candles.
Here's a 15 min NASDAQ:AMZN chart:
Here's the same chart in 15 second candles:
Zooming in to the chart gives you a clearer picture. Digging deep into the "quitting" traders' psychology, you'll get the answer. Also, I wouldn't say they quit. It's possible that the energy they were putting in wasn't paying off, and they didn't want to waste their time any further.
Treat your trading like a job. Be strict. You see quick +20% profit? Take it. But you believe it's going higher? Still take it. Find another trade. Baby gains add up!
Most traders who got burned on NYSE:AMC NYSE:GME , kept HODLing.
This is coming from someone who bought NYSE:AMC at $2.13 pre-split in 2021 and sold around $25 and $70:
ACHIEVING SUPER GAINS WILL RUIN YOUR MENTALITY!
You will start treating the market like a casino.
You will stop appreciating the smaller 20 to 40% gainers that you can do once per day or week.
You will see yourself starting to go heavy because you "believe" that "this is the next banger".
To avoid all this headache, build a strategy slowly over time, use the right tools to plan your trade, find a community to trade with, use proven strategies (i.e. support/ res, supply/ demand, patterns), go light in your first 1,000 trades, and so on. Happy to help if you have any questions below.
Follow for more insight and for live trade swing & day-trade ideas! Good luck trading! Trade safe and don't go all in.
Baby gains add up.
High vs Low in Time-frame Decisions🕒🚀🕒 Big Timeframes: Imagine looking at a painting from a distance – that's the essence of big timeframes. Daily, weekly, and monthly charts offer a broader view of an asset's performance over extended periods. They help you identify long-term trends and major price movements.
📊 Small Timeframes: Now, picture examining a single brushstroke – that's small timeframes. Hourly and minute charts provide granular details of short-term price action. They're useful for spotting quick trading opportunities and assessing market sentiment in the moment.
💡 Investment Approach: When it comes to investing, consider your goals and risk tolerance. Big timeframes are great for long-term investors who prioritize stability and are willing to ride out market fluctuations. Small timeframes suit traders looking to capitalize on short-term price movements.
🚀 Finding Balance: There's no one-size-fits-all answer. Many investors use a combination of both big and small timeframes. Large timeframes provide context, while small timeframes offer insights into entry and exit points.
So, what's the takeaway from this timeframe comparison? 📈 It's about understanding that different timeframes offer unique insights. Whether you're a patient investor or an active trader, the key is to align your timeframe with your investment strategy.
Stay curious, stay adaptable, and remember – the art of investing involves choosing the canvas that best suits your artistic vision! 🎨🚀
12 Habits of a Successful TraderHey, TradingView community! In this article we are going to go over 12 things that complete our trading style here at Investroy. Navigating in financial markets can be highly rewarding, but it also comes with its fair share of challenges and risks. Successful traders are not only armed with a deep understanding of market dynamics but also possess certain habits that contribute to their consistent success. Whether you're a novice or a seasoned trader, incorporating these habits into your trading routine can significantly enhance your chances of achieving your financial goals. Without further due, let's get started!
1. Continuous Learning: Successful traders are lifelong learners. They dedicate time to stay updated with the latest market trends, economic news, and trading strategies. They are open to learning from both their successes and failures, constantly refining their skills to adapt to changing market conditions.
2. Disciplined Approach: Discipline is the cornerstone of successful trading. Establishing a well-defined trading plan, setting clear entry and exit points, and adhering to them helps traders avoid emotional decisions driven by fear or greed.
3. Risk Management: Prudent risk management is non-negotiable for successful traders. They never risk more than a small percentage of their trading capital on a single trade. This approach safeguards their accounts from catastrophic losses and allows them to weather market fluctuations.
4. Patience Pays Off: Impulsive trading rarely leads to success. Successful traders exercise patience, waiting for high-probability trade setups that align with their strategy. This prevents them from overtrading and falling into traps set by the market's volatility.
5. Emotional Control: Controlling emotions like fear and greed is a critical habit. Successful traders remain level-headed, even in the face of unexpected market moves. They make decisions based on analysis and logic rather than succumbing to emotional impulses.
6. Adaptability: Markets are dynamic, and successful traders know how to adapt. They recognize that what works in one market condition might not work in another. Being flexible and open to adjusting their strategies helps them stay ahead of changing trends.
7. Journaling and Analysis: Keeping a trading journal is a habit embraced by top traders. They meticulously record their trades, including entry and exit points, reasoning, and outcomes. Regularly reviewing this journal helps them identify patterns, strengths, and weaknesses, facilitating continuous improvement.
8. Mindfulness and Self-Care: Trading can be stressful, and successful traders prioritize self-care. Engaging in activities like exercise, meditation, and spending quality time with loved ones helps them maintain a healthy work-life balance and reduces burnout.
9. Long-Term Perspective: Successful traders don't get discouraged by short-term setbacks. They have a long-term perspective and focus on consistent, incremental growth. This perspective helps them navigate through losses and keeps them motivated during winning streaks.
10. Cultivating a Growth Mindset: Successful traders embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. They see losses as lessons rather than failures and are always seeking ways to improve. This growth mindset helps them adapt to changing markets and fosters resilience in the face of setbacks.
11. Diversification: Top traders don't put all their eggs in one basket. They diversify their portfolio across different assets and industries, reducing the impact of a single market's volatility on their overall capital.
12. Position Sizing: Successful traders adjust their position sizes according to market conditions. During high volatility, they reduce their position sizes to manage risk, while during calmer periods, they may increase exposure (within 1-2% obviously).
Becoming a successful trader requires more than just understanding market mechanics. It's about cultivating the right habits that promote discipline, continuous learning, and emotional resilience. By incorporating these 12 habits into your trading routine, you'll be better equipped to navigate the complex world of trading and increase your chances of achieving your financial goals.
Forex Trading Key FactorsImportant factors that if well approached, will ensure your long term success.
Forex trading is a popular form of investing that involves buying and selling currencies in the foreign exchange market. As with any form of trading, success in forex trading requires a deep understanding of the market and the key factors that impact profitability. In this blog post, we'll discuss some of the most important factors that traders need to keep in mind when trading forex.
Liquidity: The Lifeblood of Forex Trading
Liquidity refers to the ease with which a trader can buy or sell an asset without affecting its price. In forex trading, liquidity is crucial because it ensures that traders can enter and exit positions quickly and at a fair price. Traders should look for currency pairs that have high trading volumes and low bid-ask spreads to ensure they have access to liquid markets.
Void Gaps: Managing Risk and Protecting Profits
Void gaps occur when there is a sudden and significant change in the price of a currency pair due to unexpected news or events. These gaps can be dangerous for traders because they can cause losses or missed opportunities. To avoid void gaps, traders should use stop-loss orders and other risk management strategies to protect their positions and profits.
Mindset: Discipline and Focus are Key
Forex trading requires a disciplined and focused mindset. Traders must be able to control their emotions, avoid impulsive decisions, and stick to their trading plan. Common psychological traps that traders should be aware of include fear, greed, and overconfidence. By developing a disciplined and focused approach to trading, traders can improve their chances of success.
Selecting the Right Trading Sessions: Timing is Everything
Forex markets are open 24 hours a day, five days a week. However, not all trading sessions are created equal. Traders should select the sessions that align with their trading style and goals. For example, traders who prefer short-term trading strategies may find the London and New York sessions to be the most active and volatile, while those who prefer longer-term strategies may focus on the Asian session.
Patience: The Virtue of Successful Traders
Patience is a virtue in forex trading. Traders should avoid the temptation to jump into trades too quickly or exit them too soon. Impatience can lead to costly mistakes, such as entering trades that don't meet the trader's criteria or closing profitable positions too early. By exercising patience and waiting for the right opportunities, traders can improve their chances of success.
Execution: Putting Theory into Practice
Executing trades properly is essential for success in forex trading. Traders should use stop-loss orders, position sizing, and risk management strategies to protect their capital and maximize their profits. They should also be aware of the potential impact of slippage, which occurs when the price at which a trade is executed differs from
See FAILURE DIFFRENT!!Hey God bless you guys! i wanted to come and talk about failure in this i broke down why its important to have important goals whenever you trade and not only focus on the money and its important to switch your mind to see failure as a growing moment not a quitting moment i know this video is going to bless you i hope you enjoy it and you take notes!!
🏆 10 Trading Rules For Success 🏆🏆 Accept the losses . Losses are inherent in trading. There is no earning trader who will not suffer a loss from time to time. In the case of trading, a mistake involves a loss of capital, which can be painful at the very beginning of learning, but as you develop your skills and expand your range of competencies, you begin to understand that it is impossible to successfully win against the market without occasionally incurring a cost for this struggle in the form of losing trades.
🏆 Don't Risk Money You Can't Lose . Playing the financial market involves constant risk in which the most at risk is our capital which we trade. We can't afford to bet with money we can't lose, by which I mean money meant for living, savings, family money, selling usable items to fund an account with a broker. There is always the temptation that if only we had a bigger trading account we would play better and take less risk, which is of course nonsense. No matter how much money we trade with, whether it's hundreds, thousands or even hundreds of thousands we will always be tempted to play with even more money to make profits even bigger, unfortunately, most likely the only thing that increases is the loss on the trading account. Each of us must find the right amount of money for him, I would suggest at the very beginning to operate with money that we are able to recharge the broker in a few weeks, for some it will be 10% and for some 30% of monthly income.
🏆 Treat Trading Like a Business . Trading is such a business venture of ours, starting with the capital we have to put up to get into it, then developing a strategy that will bring us profits, after protecting ourselves from losses, including costs such as (cost of opening a trade, swap, spread), taxes. We can't treat trading as a hobby or as a job from 8-8. Profits on the financial market are not so predictable that we can say with a clear conscience how much we'll earn next month, and what's more, it may turn out that instead of earning, we'll lose. As for the fact that trading should not be considered a hobby, I can only add that trading requires much more focus and commitment than typical hobby activities, inherent in it is the theme of making and losing money, which for most is a very emotional subject.
🏆 Control Your Emotions . Control of emotions is a key issue in any field if we talk about the master level, from many interviews of professionals in their fields we can repeatedly hear about how control of emotions is of great importance in their field especially on the results they get. As trading is a competitive field. Someone wins someone loses. As our earned money is at stake, I don't need to stress that this doesn't make the whole thing any easier. The most important thing is to realize that emotions will occur and instead of suppressing this fact we should accept it. In order to control emotions, the most important element is to realize that we are under its influence. Because taking action under the influence of some extreme emotions is simply a mistake and it is best in such a case to step away from trading for a day and sometimes even a week to simply cool down. One of the best ways to reset your emotions is to sleep, take a nap and even meditate, and for all those who think that meditation is not for them, but only for tree huggers, I would like to introduce you to one of the famous personalities from the world of investment, which is Ray Dalio, who since 1985 has served as co-head investment director of the world's largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates. Whose fortune amounts to $19.1 billion and has repeatedly mentioned that transcedental meditation was the best investment he made in his life.
🏆 Manage risk . Such a broad topic that I will prepare a separate post for it, in short, we need to determine what % of capital we can devote to one concluded transaction, in my opinion we should not risk more than 1 to 2% of capital per position. In my opinion, we should not risk more than 1 to 2% of capital per position. We must also take into account the possibility of correlation, because what does it matter if we open 10 transactions with a rate of 2% if all of them are concluded on correlated markets such as forex or stocks. Then our risk is no longer 2%, but in the worst case 20%.
🏆 Stay disciplined . Learning to trade should be perceived more as a marathon rather than a sprint, on our way we will meet many disappointments and failures that are inherent in learning any field, we must not give up, we must remain disciplined and focused on the final result, in trading there is no room for distraction and making decisions on the spur of the moment. Markets are not forgiving of any mistakes or distractions, sometimes one moment of absentmindedness can affect the state of our portfolio. As traders, we must remain in a constant circle of learning and acquiring new skills. We will not achieve any results if we approach trading once a quarter. Taking up trading should be considered in the category of a future source of income about which we want to learn as much as possible.
🏆 Know your strategy . We need to know and understand perfectly the reasons and the way to trade, we need to be 100% aware of when to take trades and when we are remote from the market. We need to know what risks we can take on a given taransaction when we close it and what we will have to do (if).
🏆 Forget The Holy Grail . Just forget about it, if you are still looking for an idle indicator that will only give you profitable signals with your only right parameters, forget about success. Trading is something much more broad and deep than just the intersection of two moving averages. There are so many factors at work on traders' decisions that affect price movement that we can't even comprehend with our brains. I'm not saying here that it's not worth using indicators or fundamental data. I mean only not to base your decisions on them and not to get stuck in a vicious circle of testing a new strategy every week.
🏆 Trend is Your Friend . I'm not going to elaborate here. You simply have a higher probability of success playing with the trend and that's it.
🏆 Never stop learning . Never but never stop learning, read everything that falls into your hands and you find valuable at any given time. Watch, listen read about trading meet other traders ask questions and never stop learning. Remember follow my profile fits perfectly into the circle of continuous learning :D
🏆 Like the post? Follow my profile for more!
Reminescence of a Scam Operator (ANTI SCAMMER GUIDE)Reminiscent of the roaring 1920s, the 2020 epidemic and the inability to work for many people brought an influx of new retail investors to the public market. Furthermore, the FED's decision to prop up the market by dropping interest rates combined with stimulus checks handed out by the U.S. government lured in even more investors who were hungry for profits. Although the market sensation also brought a rise of omnipresent scams across all trading platforms.
Lack of workforce, sophisticated methods, and automated bots often play into the hands of perpetrators who try to get ahead of the platform and its users. Therefore, we decided to write this concise article with the purpose of helping new investors to recognize good apples from bad ones.
The most common means of communication for criminals is to use private chat, public chat, comments, ideas, and headline references. Several examples of red flags are shown below.
RED FLAGS AND OTHER POINTS:
Asking for personal information and TradingView account information
One common tactic criminals use to exploit their victims is to ask for personal information or account information (login and password). This information should not be disclosed to anyone, including someone claiming to be a platform's employee/support (as these people tend to have access to this information).
Asking for trading account information
Another standard method bad actors use is asking for trading account information. On such occasions, a perpetrator asks for existing account information or requests a victim to create a new account; then, a perpetrator usually asks the victim to invest money into the account and let them use it in return for shared profits.
False promises
The third point probably accompanies every other point on our list. This point relates mainly to false promises about trading achievements, which often include statements about having a high win rate, high net worth, and an unbeatable trading system.
Financial gurus and lavish lifestyles
A high follower count and strong social media presence do not equal reliability. Perpetrators often portray lavish lifestyles across social media platforms to entice more people and trick them into buying a trading signal service or trading course (or any other service). The public image does not necessarily have to match a person's authentic lifestyle. Indeed, trading as a career is highly time-consuming and does not come with trading from a vicinity of a pool or ski resort; that is just public perception.
Trading signals and trading courses
Unfortunately, most of the time, trading signal services (for buy) lack performance and do not consider subscribers' risk tolerance and account sizes. In regard to trading courses, we hold a similarly low opinion of them as we think learning a skill to trade goes far beyond a few hours of any trading course.
Unrealistic win-rate claims
Most brokerages report that their retail clients lose about 50-90% of the initial capital, especially when trading CFDs. Therefore, we would like to put in perspective how realistic claims about a high win rate really are. Professional traders tend to peak at approximately a 50% win-rate over a consistent period. Thus, claims about a 90% or higher win rate are likely to be false.
Guaranteed moves and risk-free investments
Another tactic of scamming utilizes guaranteeing moves in the market. However, there is nothing like a guaranteed move since the market constantly changes and is influenced by complex factors.
These are just few points we included, however, we ask a public to share their own points in the comment section.
DISCLAIMER: This content serves solely educational purposes.
3 Rules To Follow When Trading While Working Full-Time👋 Hello, and welcome my name is Dean Muller from WealthTIP where our tip for wealth is to trade invest and prosper, today’s post is focused on the 3 rules that I believe you need to follow if you want to actively and successfully trade the markets while still working a full-time job, business, or side hustle. So, if you enjoy this type of content then go ahead to leave a thumbs up and that way we know that we’re on the right track to meeting your content needs. Now that we covered that, let’s jump over to the first rule you need to implement as a trader, working full-time.
1. 📝 Create a Watchlist
I remember when I started trading I only traded one pair, and that was the GBPUSD, as I began honing in on my skills as a technical trader, I started looking at a few more pairs, and the more pairs I looked at the more opportunities I saw, the problem was however, that I wasn’t able to keep up with the movements of each pair and this coursed me to lose focus on the pairs I had positions on and ultimately mismanage a lot of the trades.
I then reached out to a good friend of mine and he suggested I create a watchlist now at the time I had absolutely no clue what a watchlist was, and if you don’t know what it is, it’s simply a list of pairs that according to your strategy has potential trade setups coming together with a probabilistic profitable outcome.
Now if you would like me to do a video showing you how to put a watchlist together, then simply write a comment in the comment section below and if we get 100 likes on this video then I will be happy to put one together, but for now This is a cardinal rule for anyone trading, while still working full-time.
2. ⏰ Set Trade Alerts
When you are working, vary rarely are you able to access the charts freely, this means that you could miss out on the very opportunities you identified when you put your watchlist together. The best way to combat this is to use platforms like tradingview that allows you to set trade alerts that will notify you when the market is on an area you deem significant.
Setting these alerts ensures that you aren’t distracted by the charts while you working and you won’t have to check your phone every 5 min, instead, you only jump on the charts once you are notified, making it easier to focus on your job, while still having a hand in the markets.
3.🎯 Use Pending Orders
Pending orders are a powerful tool that trading platforms provide all traders with, and no one benefits more from pending orders than someone working a full-time job. Personally after putting my watchlist together I have a good idea with regards to where I intend to enter the markets, and because I do my watchlist over the weekend when the markets are closed, I set all my pending orders as soon as the markets opens Sunday midnight.
What this allows me, is the freedom to focus on other things while still having a hand in the markets. Now if you would like to know more about how you can use pending orders to make your trading easier give this video a thumbs up and I will be sure to put that into our project list.
And always remember, if you frustrated, annoyed, angry or anxious when trading, then you doing it wrong, and should check out our Foundation Series, where we explain the process to successful technical analysis in a plain, and simple way.
Furthermore, I really do hope that you were able to extract some value from today’s post, and if you did be sure to hit like and share so that we can continue creating content that not only serves you, but equips you to successfully and joyfully navigate your way through the financial markets.
So until next time, you should keep well and bye for now.
Stairway to Success Let’s start our day with some good news: if you’re reading this article, you’re already ahead of 90% people and have successfully completed the first stage “Start”, right now and right here. Most of us see success as something chaotic, lucky coincidence per say. Recently, we made an article, where success was depicted as a visible tip of the iceberg, while underneath there were much more to it. What about the road to success? As you would rightfully guess, it’s not quite linear either. Usually, people would show it with arrows: up and down. Indeed, that is the way progress works. However, growth to success on the other hand is an absolute value of that graph. It reminds me more of a staircase. Let’s go over each step on the picture.
As mentioned right at the beginning, you’ve already done a major step by opening TradingView and reading this article. Let’s not stop here. Start thinking. What currency pair or stock I want to trade today? Once that’s established move on to your “Analysis”. After performing thorough fundamental/technical analysis, you have a sense of where the trade is going. It’s important to note that this is only a small portion of the way. Success and Failure are not black or white, they’re part of a spectrum. Planning is extremely crucial, as it would determine the level of success/failure. Setting Stop Losses, Take Profits, having a trading plan are part of it. However, what’s the point of all this if you’re too scared to execute? Don’t let FOMO run your life, but plans without execution are just dead ideas. So, TRY and DO. If necessary, do again. Keep on doing until you achieve the result you wanted at the beginning of this staircase.
Note from author: when we say keep on doing, it’s implied that this is done in a healthy manner, without the destructive emotions such as revenge. Learn and earn, fellow TradingView members!
How To Succeed In Your TradingFocus on one single trading strategy
One thing that many people try and do is switch between strategies constantly. This is setting you up for failure, and if the concept of probabilities is truly understood, you will comprehend the reasons why a single strategy will work.
Any strategy is not going to have a 100% win rate, so first you should attempt at getting 50% of your trades right. After that mastering a 2:1 Reward to risk ratio is what will make you profitable. Trying to juggle many strategies will have you working tirelessly, but not moving forward in any particular one.
Less trading, more education
Many people have the conception that spending countless hours in front of the screen looking for potential set ups is how it should be, however that is completely wrong in my eyes. I spend minimal time now looking at charts and set ups, I highlight key levels I want to look at, along with alerts, and simply wait for the market to head there. Time spent looking at charts should be simply for education and mastering your strategy through back testing or simply understanding previous data.
Approach the market from a neutral position
Anyone that knows me knows how big I am on trading psychology and how I believe it is the most important aspect of trading.
Emotions in trading can be one of your greatest enemies as it can lead you to failure even after your success. There are scenarios where you can take trades and be in positive which will lead you to feel over confident, happy, and those will ultimately will lead to irrational decisions if you let them. Those emotions will make you believe you are better than the markets, or that you can outsmart them, ultimately leading your successful trade to turn into a failure. The same can happen when you feel the opposite and lack confidence to enter another trade due to a loss, or think have feelings of doubt.
This is why the market needs to be approached by a completely neutral position. Once you understand that for every person on one side of a trade, there is someone on the opposite side, you will begin to understand that the market itself is just a whole bunch of neutral information moving in nobody’s favour.
Write your goals
Affirmations are great and something that has helped me in every aspect of my life and not just trading. It is very important to write down your goals in order to manifest them into reality. All ideas first begin in the mind, and then come into the physical. Your goals need to be solidified, definite, and written down in order for your mind and yourself to know exactly what you are going after.
Every single day, you need to read your goals aloud, envision them in your mind with every bit of detail possible in order to bring them into the physical. In order to achieve a goal you need to arrive at the destination first in your mind.
Relax
There is no need to rush a single thing in your trading journey, and believe me take it from my experience, every time I tried to, I failed. People attend university for years before going out into a career which then takes many years before mastering it, yet people want to master trading in a year.
Patience is required in all aspects of trading, whether it’s on the charts themselves, or with your strategy, or with your learning curve. It all requires patience. If you are going after trading as a serious life career which you aim to remain in, then relaxing and taking your time is the first step. Nothing great comes from rushing it, especially the markets.
Know how to handle your trades
Based on your strategy and the concept of probability there are a number of things needed in order to appropriately handle your trades.
Firstly, don’t touch your stop loss. I cant say this enough, but stop losses are determined as the final barrier before the trade is invalid, and they are determine before entering the trade. If you find yourself moving your stop, ask yourself why. You will find out mostly its out of fear of losing your money, which is one of the 4 fears of trading. Accept your loss and let the trade stop out, you had it there for a reason.
Also, don’t leave trades behind out of fear. If you have a strategy that you have confidently developed, you should understand that the overall should be a greater number of winners than losers, and you should not leave trades behind out of fear, because they can be the ones that perform the best and make up for the losers.
Another thing to have in place is an appropriate strategy for exiting your trades. Many people have trades that are in profit, however due to the lack of knowledge on how to exit their trades, they still end up not profitable. You need to have a system on how to exit your trades appropriately and at what levels. Always remember, the profit running on a trade is not yours until its closed.
Risk management
Yes, I know you have heard it and read it a thousand times already, but you have no idea how important risk management is until the day you master it and recognise it was the single greatest thing holding you back from success.
People can have amazing strategies, the best reward to risk ratios, but with the inappropriate risk management trust me it means absolutely nothing. I have seen people overleverage on a trade simply because it “looked too good” compared to other trades, only for it to be the worst of the bunch.
I have seen people lose tremendous amounts of money and one thing I can promise you is not a single one of these people lost 100 trades in a row at 1% a trade. Every single one of them lost their entire accounts due to ONE trade that they married.
Risk management should be one of your main areas of focus, because believe me if you have mastered it, even with an average strategy you are doing much better than someone with an exceptional strategy with no adequate risk management.
Keep track of your performance
The only way to improve in any aspect of life is to first recognise what needs change and then work on it. It is very important to actually understand your positives and negatives and have them all tracked. A journal is one of the first steps in order to look in the mirror. Being completely honest is the only way a journal will work, and lying is only lying to yourself. If you are after serious improvement you need to appropriately identify all your flaws in order to better them.
You should never feel down or behind, remember trading the markets is one of the biggest psychological challenges one can face, and that is exactly why not everyone is suited for them. Instead see it as a challenge to better yourself and achieve the perfection and discipline you have always desired on and off the charts. Trading the markets will teach you lessons that you will carry with you throughout your entire life and not just on the trading floor.
HOW TO BE THE 1% 🤔💫🤩
Our culture is obsessed with the rich, famous, and successful people, yet what is left behind is both the hard work and sacrifices of those who «made it»
And millions of those who failed miserably en route to fame and became nothing.
There are multiple theories on and philosophical systems, that reflect on success, but ill bring out the key points:🔑
➡️ Genetics, upbringing, and connections determine 70% of the outcome.
Oh yes, as much as we don’t like to think about it, it is genetics that determines our capacity for sports, singing, our intelligence, speed of reaction, etc.
For example, musical talent is determined by the specific structures in the brain, and some people have those from birth, and some people do not.
These structures might differ by a factor of 10.000 from person to person, even though the brain size would be the same.
So you might spend 20 years in musical training and be good, but you will never be a Mozart without those structures in your brain.
Training and upbringing, In turn, affect whether you will be able to use these Brain structures, as well as the society in which you were born, determines if your talents will be useful or not.
One might be born a genius mathematician, but if he did not get good training, or if he was born in the dark ages, his talent would have been wasted.
One's family and social circle affect which connections will the person have in adult life , and it is for better or worse but cronyism and nepotism as still widespread, And the connected ones, even without being super bright, usually outdo those that aren’t.
➡️ Pareto 20/80 Rule, or risky business VS the safe one.
Almost everything in life follows the Pareto Rule, which says that 20% of your effort brings you 80% of the result.
There is another interpretation too: 20% of people will have 80% of all success in the given industry.
This rule applies best and in its extremes to the high-end risky businesses with ultra-high failure rates paired with the ultra-high payoff.
These industries are Acting, Music, Sports, and Trading!
As you can see, in acting, which is the extreme case, 1% of the actors make 80% of the Income generated by the industry. The same goes for music and sports where the select few make the big buck, and those that aspired but failed, barely make a living. Compare this to being an engineer or a doctor. The failure rate is much lower, which lowers the risk of entering the profession, but the highest potential income is lower too!
This applies to Trading too, as once you’ve learned how to be consistently profitable, the sky is the limit. There is no difference in the cost of labor or time spent on making a trade with the risk of 100$ and making a trade with the risk of 100.000$
Of course, at some point, your trades will get so big, that YOU will start moving the market trying to enter the trade, but that’s a story for another day.
➡️ Your power of will, determination, patience, and readiness for sacrifice.
Trading is a unique industry, where ANYONE can succeed , without needing a diploma, connections, or looks.
In essence, trading at its core is about pattern recognition . You discover a pattern, learn to find it on the chart, and then find a way to use this knowledge to extract monetary gains by playing this pattern with the probability being on your side. That's it. That easy.
Then why is it, that 99.9% of those who try trading, ultimately fail?
In my years of trading, I’ve noticed a pattern: 💡
A - GET RICH FAST attitude
B - Do not spend time educating themselves
C - Do not treat Trading like a business
D - Lack of Patience
E - Can not follow rules
⚠️ People think that forex is a Magic Money Tree, just stretch forth your hand, and you will drown in gold …
In reality, however, learning to trade will take YEARS , will cost you a fortune and no one will guarantee you success.
HERE IS MY ADVICE TO THE NEW TRADERS: 🤓
🎯 HAVE THE RIGHT MINDSET
1)Prepare for failure, disappointment, and tears
2)Realize that you will train for YEARS
3)Learn to fight and not to give up
🎯 GET GOOD HABITS:
1) We ARE our habits , so recognize what is good for you, and make it a habit
2)Staying in good health is underestimated, while in reality, your physical condition has a direct effect on your mind.
3) Work on your mistakes. You will never learn If you do not access your previous work critically.
4) Make a plan for a week , then break it into daily tasks. Do it for a month and that will become a habit.
🎯 MANAGE YOUR FINANCES WELL
1) Learning to trade is expensive and time-consuming, so make sure you have an income.
2) Learn basic financial literacy and spend less than you make. Easy right? But if you lose an account that cushion will help.
3) Do NOT quit your job the moment you became profitable. This sounds obvious, but the market will test you multiple times, and unless you’ve got enough savings to last for 1 YEAR without working, ditching a stable source of income will not only make you vulnerable but will also affect you mentally which will negatively affect your trading.
📈 FOLLOW these steps and you will increase your chances of success in trading by a factor of 10!
PLEASE LIKE AND COMMENT TO GIVE ME A BOOST!
The value of struggle in tradingHappy Friday Traders!
In this video we go over the value of struggle in trading and how I failed over and over again only to succeed because I looked at my mistakes as golden opportunities to learn and improve so I can earn as a trader!
We hope this video helps you on your journey to profitable trading!
What role does strategy play in trading?Sunzi begins by establishing the importance of strategy. Although the word bing has been translated as "war" in most works in the west, once you approach the original Chinese manuscripts and the sense of Sunzi's work, you immediately come to understand that he was not talking about warefare, instead, Sunzi wants us to appreciate how important it is to develop strategic skills to avoid our own destruction when competing.
Of course trading is man-made, but competition is a natural process. We are all the products of evolutionary competition, however, the true skill in competition—that is, an understanding of strategy—is not inborn. For most of us, competition creates problems, but only in the sense that if we don’t understand strategy, life is unnecessarily difficult. We earn our livelihood, love, and everything else through strategy.
When we say that skill in strategy is important in our lives, we are saying specifically that strategy is a skill. It isn’t inborn any more than the knowledge of mathematics is inborn. We must learn strategic skills. We develop these skills by working at them. Some people are more comfortable competing than others are, but to become successful at any level of competition we all have to work.
Competition in trading brings out the best in us. It enriches the world in which we live. It replaces less effective methods with more effective methods. The trading world competes for every single dollar. In doing so, traders constantly improve their operational choices and decrease the costs of their operation. Competition eliminates poorly developed traders and and leaves only the best in each category.
So, do you really have what this vast compettition arena requires?
HOW-TO: Backtest Your Forex Strategy & Increase Your Win-RateIn my earlier article, " Proving Your Trading System with Backtesting ", I demonstrated how, in the Futures market, you could backtest your trading system, see what works and what doesn't, change your variables, and rinse & repeat until you have a winning trading formula.
You GET this winning formula by torture-testing (ahem, *back*testing) your system under every market condition.
My last video backtested Futures as an example and I received dozens of requests to demonstrate and develop a similar system using Forex, so here it is! This video will show you HOW you can backtest your own Forex Trading system over time, determine its results, and refine it until it is bulletproof (or marketproof!).
All you need is a Trading System, a Spreadsheet, and a great trading platform (ahem, like TradingView) :-)
Trading can be the most rewarding of careers, but only after putting in the hours of hard work. And like everything else in life, if you don't put in the work, you won't get the results. And if you put in the work AHEAD of time, you won't have to put a DIME of your hard-earned capital into the market until you are CONFIDENT that your system will multiply that money in your account rather than feed the market monster.
I hope you enjoy the video... but more importantly I hope it will help you become a better trader. If this was beneficial to you please feel free to leave a like, a follow, or a comment... I'd love to hear from you and stay in touch as we all move forward in our trading journeys!
Trade hard, and trade well!
-Anthony