WARNING! This will reflect on your tradingThe world thrives on drama, gossip and most people just want it to end by the way they think...
I can't blame them because most people are struggling to live their lives where they are working from pay check to pay check. Where they are hoping their boss will give them a half day off.
Where they are constantly feeding the fat cats of the world and paying taxes from their salaries.
But then trading comes along, where you can have some degree of control of your finances and investments.
Where you can risk what you wish and play the rules with growing a portfolio,...
BUT if you bring in your emotional aggression and tendencies, it will reflect on your trading...
Instead, you should work on yourself more.
Don't be angry over unnecessary things
Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill
Don't risk anything you can't afford to lose
Don't get angry over a small loss - you are in the trading den to make money NOT to be right
Take 10 DEEP breaths in and out before you make any impulsive decisions or take any abrasive action.
Focus on change and the whole world, your mind and your trading results will change with you...
Let me know if this helps by commenting below or at least liking this post.
Trade well, live free,
Timon
MATI Trader
Psychology
MOST DANGEROUS TRADING TRAIT!Most people talk about Fear and Greed being the barometers to failure...
I think there is an underlying trait that is far superior which leads to ultimate account catastrophe.
EGO.
They just want to be right or they will have a hissy fit.
They refuse to take a loss...
They refuse to accept that the market is moving against you.
They find ways to disagree with the market which gets them committing moe.
They move their stop loss away further away - which means they risk more.
Rinse and repeat - GONE.
Cut out your ego or the markets will cut you out. Simple.
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
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.
XLM/BTC Position Trading. Zones. Money management. PsychologyLogarithm. Time interval—1 month. The main trend since the beginning of trading.
Coin in coinmarketcap: Stellar.
Top trading pairs to bitcoin have significant liquidity. In position trading, you need to work in portions from support/resistance level zones with a predetermined size distribution.
Unlike pairs to the dollar, pumps/dumps are smaller in % ratio due to the % rise/fall of bitcoin itself. If bitcoin is cashed in the market, profits remain the same. Hence, the smaller % is illusory in nature.
BTC instead of stabelcoins .
In such pairs, the “money” is bitcoin. Consequently, even premature selling (there shouldn't be any, since the position is allocated in advance) forgives mistakes, since you get bitcoins instead of USD or stabelcoins. Currently, many stabelcoins are losing their $1 peg, meaning they are devalued. Trading in a bitcoin pair reduces that risk.
Work on such pairs is suitable foremost for medium and large participants of the market. It is not rational to work with a small amount in such a time/profit perspective.
Money (crypto assets) security Money management.
This is key. You don't need to hold a large position on the exchange for this kind of trading! Why keep coins or stabelcoins on exchange if you make transactions quite rarely, only large movements. You understand beforehand when it will happen and in what price zone you are going to buy/sell.
That's what all the big market participants who don't take part in price formation do. When you need to buy or sell, you transfer the assets to the exchange and sell or buy on the market. You withdraw right away. If the amount is large enough, you should do this procedure in installments, preferably on several exchanges.
At one time I worked for a long time (several years) on DOGE/BTC pair, when this coin was (scam, joke coin) nobody was interested in it, unlike the current time of hype. There is a trading idea of the principle of this work in Russian 2019.
In this work, you work only in the secondary trend, from the main support/resistance zones, considering the development of the trend. You absolutely do not need to be interested in crypto news, the opinion of the majority and so on. You can look at the chart even once every few months.
What's more, you also don't need to know the future highs and lows of the next cycle (though for traders, they are easily identifiable). You work piecemeal from the zones. You know in advance where and by how much you buy or sell. Locally you can trade 20-30% of your coins, so you will have extra profit. But you don't have to.
The price goes down — good for you.
The price goes up — good for you.
Trading is guessing market probabilities of price movements. Algorithmic thinking according to a trading strategy, devoid of any emotion, makes money. Anything else loses it in any market. In other words, you must initially be prepared for more likely (in your opinion) and less likely outcomes. Know under what conditions you buy and under what conditions you sell.
Buying/selling in portions of coins according to predetermined zones.
You work from the average recruitment price and from the average selling price in portions, similar to how large market participants work on the BTC/USD pair. You never go completely into cache or similarly into coins. Only the % ratio of coins to money changes depending on the market cycle.
Work from the average buy/sell price (of money and coins) on a global scale (large time frame), without any "what if this time will be different". If it does, it's none of your business.
Know in advance where you will buy more in case of drawdown, and where you will sell in case of pumping. Again, without the "It could be different this time" and emotional component.
Sell and buy assets a little bit before everyone else in the market in installments, "not knowing the exact future," even if you think you know it. This will keep you from making mistakes.
Coin trading in the local trend.
By trading part of a position locally, you will always have money from profits to buy (averaging the main position) in case of so-called local "black swans". This work is not mandatory, but desirable.
It helps some people a lot psychologically, especially if the initial entry into the asset was erroneous and the price dropped significantly. By increasing the number of coins of local work, you thereby reduce your previous losses or even come out in profit over time. Again, you don't have to work this way, but it is advisable.
The smaller goals you set, the more you end up earning on the distance .
An untouchable supply of coins and cache in case of market force of circumstances .
Always keep in mind the possibility of a “black swan,” even if it seems impossible. You always have 20-30% of your position depending on the cycle (money/coins) in case of force of circumstances.
Bearish—a “black swan” sell-off under the channel support zone (happens very rarely).
Bullish—the final hammer madness over the channel resistance (happens very rarely just in pairs with bitcoin because in a bull cycle bitcoin grows 5-8 times on average).
Remember that in the accumulation phase in most cases there is a residual price zone of capitulation, super fear. It is usually accompanied by a “black swan. When everyone gets rid of their assets out of fear. You, on the contrary, buy with a grid of orders with a large range, without emotion.
Consequently, always have a pre-allocated cache (or from the profits of a local trade) if such a trading situation is realized in the market. Turn someone else's negative emotions into your own profits.
You should always act according to your trading plan and be ready for any market situation, even an extremely unlikely one.
bull market highs zone (channel resistance).
At the peak of the market, you should already have more than 60-70% in bitcoin (cache) for the next market cycle. 10-20% of the rest of the position should be in a stop loss to protect profits. This is more rational if the last spurt occurs.
Coins sold for bitcoin can be held in bitcoin in a cold wallet (not rational if the overall market trend has reversed). You can also similarly sell on the market for cash (be sure to withdraw from the exchange), or put a stop-loss to protect profits, in case the market makes another spurt (additional profit on the BTC/USD pair).
Always sell when the price rises significantly (pumping). Protect your profits with a stop.
Always sell a substantial portion of your coins with a grid of pending orders during an active pumping phase. Another option is not to sell, but to protect your profits with a stop loss.
Bear market minima. (lower channel zone).
In a bear market, the lower the price falls, the more market participants wait even lower. Everything is similar to the distribution, only mirrored in the opposite direction. This illogical inadequacy of people is especially noticeable at the "peak of fear." Before that super minimum (there may not be one), you need to gain most of the coin position in advance, but be prepared for anything...
Again, you must know in advance where and for what % of the allocated amount you buy coins and under what conditions. There must be discipline in everything and determine in advance what your further actions will be in accordance with your trading algorithm, rather than an emotional component.
Always have a certain percentage of money that is comfortable for you in any dominant trend and phase of the market.
Bull Market .
In a bull phase, you should accumulate a large percentage of cache (stabelcoins) at the expense of profits.
Bear market .
In the bear phase (altcoins from -90% and below) you should accumulate in portions of cryptocurrencies you are interested in.
I'm sure most people have it the other way around. In a bullish phase, most collect promising cryptocurrencies bought near price highs (hype, everything goes up in value).
In the bear phase, on the contrary, most market participants load most of their trading depots into staplecoins (fear, everything is falling in price, expectation of inadequate floor prices). They are driven by the desire to buy back the lowest price of the trend, right before the reversal. The lower the market falls, the more most go from fear to stablcoins.
Trade market cycles, not individual cryptocurrencies. Because their price strictly follows market cycles, but not the other way around.
Options for the development of price movement on the pair XLM/BTC. .
I will show the percentages of the following 3 zones of this channel, depending on where and under what conditions the reversal of this secondary trend will occur (a downward wedge is formed).
1 variant of reversal. Candlestick chart. Butterfly formation, the wedge is not embodied.
1 reversal variant. Line chart.
2 reversal variant. Candlestick chart.
Version 2 of reversal. Line chart.
3 reversal variant. Candlestick chart. Full formation of the descending wedge on the classic TA.
3 reversal variant. Line chart.
Be aware of trends and accumulation/distribution zones .
Remember that a bear market, like a bull market, will not last forever. Where there is supposedly an end, there is always a new beginning.
Everything is subject to cycles. This is especially true of financial markets. Every cycle is the same to the point of triviality. Be guided by trends, that is, by accumulation/distribution zones, when they start and end.
Bitcoin — as more than a decade of cycle history shows, this is from -70-82% of the secondary trend high. This does not mean that the subsequent cycle will have the same percentage trend value, but there is a possibility.
Alts average -90-96% and lower depending on the liquidity of the crypto coin. The lower the liquidity (people involvement), the higher the risk. You should also understand that the lower the liquidity, the higher the slippage at “peak fear” can be. Many altcoins, especially those with low liquidity, do not survive to the next cycle.
Also be aware of market capitulation shocks as a consequence of so-called “black swans.” It won't necessarily happen, but the possibility always exists.
The price of something that is worthless can be turned into absolutely anything on the market, to the point of inadequacy. It's not a real commodity whose value people understand.
Psychology. Indicators of distribution/accumulation zones in cycles.
Allocation zones —resetting to “hamsters” (fools or inexperienced market participants) is expensive.
In a bull market, the higher the price rises, the higher the expectations. Up to inadequacy in the last reset zone in the distribution. “Hamsters” buy very expensive “promising coins” near trending price highs (marketing, information noise) and wait even higher.
Accumulation Zones — Large market participants buy on the cheap from “hamsters”, constantly scaring them with various bikes and imitations. There is a massive build-up of negative news.
Hamsters sell cheap and wait for an even lower price. No matter how low the price is, it cannot satisfy people like them.
In other words, their thinking is sharpened to the opposite. Projecting onto trade what they are in life. Anything to do with money reinforces this effect. Buy expensive, sell cheap. Don't inherit this tendency of those who lose money in the market.
As a rule, most people don't buy at flea markets; they are afraid. They wait for those who should be selling to them to say, "Fools, it's time to buy in the very expensive.")
What matters is how much you earn when you're right, and how much you lose when you're wrong. You should know these potential values initially before you make a deal. If you can't determine them, or the risk is too high — refrain from trading.
Immunity to guessing lows and highs .
Most fools do this in all cycles. Forget the hamster concept of selling at the peak or buying at the low. Leave it to those who are destitute and will be even poorer because of it.
Again, it's all in the head. What a person is like in reality is what a person is like in trading. Kill your greed.
For example, in all bitcoin cycles (I have my third), the so-called hamsters (fuel) and pseudo traders (fuel) always want to guess the highs and lows of the price. The question is, why do we need to do this? The answer lies in the thinking of the poor and lack of understanding of simple logical things.
The ability to wait for your goals.
Be patient. Cycles, both local and global, tend to recur with their own time interval, which cannot be identical to the previous one. Consequently, only the patient earns.
Learn to be out of the market,
In areas of uncertainty, if the market doesn't let you make money, why burn time in vain? This time can be used with benefit both for yourself and for others. Take a rest, read an interesting book, go somewhere, do something useful. The main thing is not to immerse yourself on the Internet.
It is important how much you earn when you are right and how much you lose when you are wrong. Initially, before entering a trade, you should know these potential values. If you can't determine them, or the risk is too high, then refrain from trading.
Treat the numbers on the screen as numbers, not as money.
No equation with the value of "what you can buy with that amount of money on the screen." That is, you have to identify with the percentage of profit/loss, not the money — the amount of profit/loss.
When -5% to $100 is $5, and you are not afraid of such a loss.
But, for example, when your balance is over $10 million, then -5% would be $0.5 million. For a fat hamster, that's a tragedy. For a big trader, it is a calculated risk. The drawdown can be much more significant, but the risk is always considered and accepted in advance. In the end, the profit more than compensates for such a drawdown. I think you understand the logic. It allows you to understand whether you are ready to work with large sums or not.
I purposely wrote a large amount as an example to provide a clear contrast because everyone is ready to lose temporarily, namely temporarily $5?
But $500,000 is an unimaginable amount for most people. But to be ready to work with big sums, you need that discipline and attitude towards money at the very beginning of your hobby of trading. Everyone wants to work with large sums in the future when they trade, or am I wrong?
As a rule, most market participants cannot overcome this barrier because of their "lust for money" and identification: the numbers on the screen are real money, not just profit/loss % figures.
A trader's behavior in the market is a result of his thinking. Your way of thinking affects your habits, and your habits are what makes or loses money in the market.
Margin is bad .
The exception (not necessarily) is an adequate short position with minimum leverage and risk limitation.
If you want to steadily earn in the market and never get nervous - don't use margin at all. Absolutely never. As a rule, the poor use margin, and the poorer they are, the higher the leverage. Perhaps that is the secret of their poverty. I'm not talking about margin in the first place, I'm talking about the mindset that generates higher margin leverage, driving the risk/profit ratio to idiocy, but that's the way it is.
Exchanges don't like those who make money and adore those who might lose money trying to get rich.
Margin trading with leverage is only for experienced traders. It should be taboo for novice traders.
Diversification of storage and trading places .
This is very relevant to position trading. I wrote about it above. Don't trade or store your coins in one place.
"Russian or South Korean hackers attacked a top exchange, all cryptocurrency stolen." This is sarcasm, but this is exactly the kind of FUD for fools you will see when they just steal cryptocurrency from exchanges under the guise of such a tale. The made-up story doesn't matter, what matters is that the people behind the cryptocurrency exchanges will steal cryptocurrency from you, wearing the skin of an injured sheep).
The safety of your money (including cryptocurrencies) depends only on you, not on chance. Anything that seems random is not. If you always rely on chance instead of your mind, you are doomed. The will of chance will shadow you and haunt and empty your pocket time after time. You will always be at the forefront of the victims of your carelessness and self-confidence.
Always keep some of your positions in cold storage .
Keep some of your positions, even if you are very actively trading, on a cold or hardware wallet (preferably several). It should be at least 30% of your total deposit. This percentage should vary during certain phases of the market. In accumulation zones, most of the position should be out of the exchanges.
Diversification of stubblecoins (profits) and their blockchain storage.
Very relevant because in the future, one liquid stabelcoin like UST (Luna) will be zeroed out (disposal of money on a large scale). Probably, many people have understood this for a long time, but do not believe it will be implemented. Not only that, but most altcoins will evaporate at the moment. Yes, the probability, as always, is no greater. But if that probability is there, it is rational to take steps to make sure it doesn't hurt you. Diversification as well as swift action during an event is the best defense against something like this.
Stable coins are always a risk. Keep this diversification in mind, both by their own varieties and by blockchain if you are storing them on a hardware wallet.
Unfortunately, this is a risk you will have to accept and live with, as using stablcoins is a component of trading.
Diversify such assets not only when you are out of the market waiting to trade, but even when you are actively trading. That is, by using different stabelcoins when trading the same cryptocurrency (e.g., BTC) you reduce risk. For example, BTC/USDC, BTC /USDT or BTC/BUSD.
Any stabelcoin is an altcoin whose value (stability) is based only on people's belief in its stability .
Totally uninterested in the opinion of the crowd .
The crowd is always wrong. The majority always loses in the market. Otherwise, it would be impossible to make money in the market. Therefore, by being interested in and listening to the trend of the opinions of most market participants, you can unnoticeably lean towards the opinion and understanding of those who initially have to lose. Are you prepared for losses? No? Then why should you be?
Another option is to use the opinion of most market participants to track market trends. If you are well-versed in psychology, this will be helpful. If not, you yourself may fall prey to opinions unnoticed.
Everything unpredictable is the fate of only absolutely predictable people, it always was, is and will be .
Don't be interested in cryptocurrency news.
The chart takes everything into account, including the release of "tales for fools." All crypto news is created for price direction and nothing more.
Small-scale news for influencing fools (their logical scare/satisfaction actions) to locally influence the price. Large scale news and events to globally influence the trend and the market as a whole.
If you can understand and read between the lines, understanding what the manipulator is trying to achieve, then you can use the news background in your trading strategy. If not, and you are not a good psychologist - completely ignore the flow of information.
The positive and negative emotions of others in the market generate volatility, which is your earning wave. Ride it.
Don't mess with anonymous fools.
Appreciate your time. Don't pay attention if someone criticizes you without being constructive, or wants to impose their perspective without arguments of rightness. Such commenters are usually people with a very low social status in reality, they are trying to assert themselves through the internet in an anonymous world.
Be immune to such losers, they are the ones who want you to doubt yourself and accept their perspective. The more bile, the more anonymous cries from.
Understand that only such people have time to correspond and “spout bile” on the anonymous internet. As a rule, these are immature individuals or conventionally "mature," but with the mindset and interests of a teenager.
Don't waste your time on the vacuous or psychological aberrations of flawed Internet characters. Make good use of your time.
The behavior of people in financial markets is a projection of who they are in real life. That is, their positive and negative psychological qualities.
Don't be a trading junkie. Don't waste time.
Don't waste time. Both for meaningless Internet price guessing, and for round-the-clock trading.
Mindless guesses.
The idiocy of the crowd. Trying to guess highs or lows that are logically understandable. When all scenarios are clear and understandable. Do not turn into idiots from the "where the price of bitcoin will go" sect. Everything is always the same in every cycle.
You must decide for yourself initially (after spending several hours) on what conditions and prices you will buy this or that cryptocurrency and at what prices to sell. Have a more likely and less likely scenario. Be ready for any incarnation. Do not complicate simple logical things with the stupidity of fortune-tellers mixed with your greed.
The basis of trading is your trading strategy , that is, your knowledge that you put into practice in symbiosis with risk management , that is, your manner of taking on take risks in transactions and manage money.
To paraphrase, initially you need to understand how much you will earn when you are right, and how much you will lose (hit stop or averaging if a less likely scenario is realized) when you are wrong. In such cases, it is absolutely not necessary to know the exact price of the low or high of the trend, leave that to the idiots.
Trading 24/7.
I will write short and clear. Money without life is not needed. In everything there must be adequacy.
Knowing the instinctively more likely behavior of people (the psychology of mass behavior) in a given situation, as well as programming people's behavior (what is right / wrong, how to act in a given situation according to the rules) and creating the same situations, allows easy to manage "potentially uncontrollable behavioral chaos".
Psychology. Be yourself - don't go against yourself.
For traders Work with your trading algorithms based on your knowledge and experience, not on emotions.
For those who are faced with the fact that trading constantly "hit the head" . Become an investor.
Carefully study the cryptocurrencies you are interested in and decide whether to invest in them or not. Divide the money needed to invest in each cryptocurrency into several parts. Buy in areas of potential price reversal. After purchase, send your coins to a hardware wallet.
Stay away from your cryptocurrencies until the new bull cycle (peak will be in 2025). Also, before the big bull cycle, there will be an intermediate one by a relatively small percentage, as in 2019-2020. Don't forget to sell some of the coins to buy them back much cheaper.
It is also worth paying attention to those cryptocurrencies that are included (blockchains and protocols) in the development of CBDC and comply with the future ISO 20022 standard (already in March). XLM is one of them.
⚠️Don't let FOMO ruin your trading⚠️FOMO, or "fear of missing out," is a common emotion that can lead to impulsive and potentially reckless trading decisions. ⚠️
✅Here are five key rules to help you respect and manage FOMO in your trading:
🔵 Use risk management techniques.
Proper risk management is critical to successful trading. This includes setting stop-loss orders to limit potential losses and using position sizing strategies to ensure that you don't risk more than you can afford to lose.
🔵 Seek out education and guidance.
If you're new to trading or struggling to manage FOMO, it can be helpful to seek out educational resources or seek guidance from an experienced trader or financial advisor.
By learning more about the markets and trading strategies, you can increase your knowledge and confidence, which can help you make more informed and rational trading decisions.
🔵 Take breaks and step away from the markets.
It can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of trading, but taking breaks and stepping away from the markets can help you clear your head and make more rational decisions.
🔵 Don't let emotions drive your trades.
FOMO can lead to emotional trading, which is often not based on sound analysis or strategy. It's important to stay disciplined and base your trades on objective criteria rather than letting emotions drive your decisions.
🔵 Set clear trading goals and stick to your trading plan.
Having a clear understanding of what you hope to achieve with your trades and a plan to achieve those goals can help you avoid making impulsive decisions driven by FOMO.
👤 @Galerdev
📅 Daily Ideas about market update, psychology & indicators
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Emotion-Free Trading After a Loss✅1. Don't panic:
Losing a trade can be frustrating, but it's important to remain calm and not make any hasty decisions. Remember that investing in stocks and cryptocurrency carries inherent risks, and losing a trade is a normal part of the process.
2. Don't hold onto a losing position:
If a trade is not going in your favor, it's generally a good idea to cut your losses and sell the position. Holding onto a losing position in the hope that it will turn around can lead to even greater losses.
3. Don't chase losses:
Trying to recover losses by making risky trades or investing more money is a common mistake made by investors. This approach is often referred to as "revenge trading," and it can lead to even greater losses.
4. Don't give up:
Losing a trade can be a setback, but it's important to stay the course and continue to invest in a disciplined and strategic way. Don't let a losing trade discourage you from reaching your long-term investment goals.
5. Don't ignore risk management strategies:
It's important to have a plan in place to manage risk, especially when losing a trade. This could include setting stop-loss orders, diversifying your portfolio, or using other risk management techniques. Ignoring risk management strategies can lead to even greater losses.
🚀For updates on the latest developments in psychology, market trends, and important news, follow our page. Stay informed and stay ahead of the game with our regular updates.
Trade with Confidence: 5 Day Trading Psychology Rules to Embrace Set clear goals and limits:
Before you begin trading, it's important to have a clear idea of what you hope to accomplish and how much risk you are willing to take on. This will help you make informed decisions and avoid making impulsive trades based on emotions.
Control your emotions:
Day trading can be stressful, and it's easy to let emotions like fear or greed influence your decisions. It's important to stay level-headed and stick to your pre-determined trading plan, rather than getting caught up in the heat of the moment.
Use stop-loss orders:
A stop-loss order is a type of order that closes a trade automatically once it reaches a certain price. This can help you minimize losses if the market moves against you.
Diversify your portfolio:
Diversification is a risk management strategy that involves spreading your investments across a variety of asset classes. This can help you manage risk and potentially earn higher returns over the long term.
Continuously educate yourself:
The world of day trading is constantly evolving, so it's important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and techniques. This can help you make informed decisions and improve your chances of success.
The Biggest Mistake Novice Traders Make When Learning To TradeI wasted a lot of time from years one to four in my trading career.
Being scammed led me to decide to create my unique trading strategy. I used the course material I bought and google to do so. It worked but after years of pain and suffering. If I had continued searching for a legit trading coach, I would've succeeded much quicker.
But I'm grateful because I learned a valuable lesson, which is to always...
Start By Mastering An Existing Trading Strategy Before Creating A Brand New One.
Ignoring this advice, especially as a novice trader, will stop you from succeeding on time.
For that reason, trying to create something new that you don't have experience with is useless. Because it will waste the mental energy and time you need to master what you already have to move forward. Thus committing to grasp the details of a trading strategy will save you from mental battles that hinder your growth. You'll also free up time to develop the following key ingredients for trading success:
1. Trading and Risk Management (Business) Plan.
2. Risk Management edge.
3. Psychological edge.
4. Journalling Habit.
With that said, let me show you how to flourish as a novice trader, below.
Find a legitimate trading coach with a proven track record.
Having a professional trader coaching you through your journey will make it a bit easier and more fun.
But there aren't many legitimate professionals who will make that possible. The industry has a lot of scammers who only make money from selling courses. That's not a problem though as there are traders who live off trading. Your job is to find them.
How?
Do research before buying a course:
1. Pick 2-3 traders you perceive as legitimate.
2. Check if their course will help you develop the 4 ingredients for trading success.
3. Check the coach's Trustpilot for course/community reviews.
4. Do research by contacting people who have bought it.
5. Ask for the coach's trading (Myfxbook) statistics.
6. Join their free communities to ask questions.
Once you’ve found your perfect match, focus on studying and mastering his/her course material till you become a profitable trader.
And while doing that teach other people your skill for free. This will quicken the process of learning, understanding, and mastering. After that form new trading strategies to maximize your gains and sell to other people for extra cash.
Following the advice above, will save you years of pain and suffering in exchange for fun years of rapid growth and success.
So trust the process and you’ll make it.
EOS and SEC!!! EOS against BTC has been in a downtrend for a very long time. The chart says it all, but lately the chart is creating a higher low and will indeed create a higher high soon.
IMPORTANT - SEC has already fined EOS this makes EOS safe from SEC. Nothing more to say than accumulate from here.
Long position set. Time to sell!The asset has been in the sideways for a long time. Observe the pulse breakdown of the volumetric poc level and the consolidation below. The news feed is negative. The local maximum closed with a shadow, stop for the shadow. I expect a breakdown of the level of 16700 $ and a movement lower. Goal - 16300$
Trading with 0 stress👉So you see a trading opportunity. It looks like a fair setup. You get confirmation to enter, but you hesitate. You're afraid of losing money, or you have some anxiety that keeps you from pulling the trigger. This is a problem that almost all traders face at some point in their trading career. I too have suffered from fear of losing money and this problem has led to other mistakes that have stopped me from executing my best trades. Today I share my process of what I did. To reduce my anxiety while trading and the actual steps I took to improve my trading execution.
❓ Do you think the color of the candle affects you while trading? Of course it does. Feel free to tell me if this sounds familiar in the comment section. You enter a long trade expecting the market to go up. You gain a few %, then the price turns against you and forms a red candle. And you start watching the movement, especially each candle pointing down. And you focus on the red color of the candle.
😱You get more and more anxious. When another red candle forms. This was a big problem for me in my early years. I closed my trades after a few minutes. When I saw more red candles below my entry point. The solution to overcome this is simple:
🧨 Change the color of the candles to one color. This way you will only track the price and its range.
Let me ask you, which of the texts on the screen is the one that is easier to read? The single colour or the multi-colour? There is a phenomenon in psychology called visual perception. Your brain is always looking for patterns in commerce. If you use multi-coloured candles, you reduce your ability to recognise patterns. Let me repeat that. Your brain is looking for patterns, and one of those patterns is similar colors. Colors affect your brain, your emotions, your feelings. Your psychology, potentially your trading ability. To trade best, you need to trade in a neutral, unbiased state of mind. I've bought in the past because of fast moving red or green candles, I've made bad trades, both on entry and exit. If you get anxious during an open trade, use candles of the same color. So try this simple tip to reduce your reaction to price movements. Change the colour to anything but not to red. Blue or green, yellow or white candles. Just stay away from red and give me a feedback in a week or so. I find myself calmer using a single color for the up and down candles. Maybe this little brainstorming session will help relieve some of the anxiety.
👉 Here's another situation. You see a long opportunity. The price is around the key level and you need to decide. You pull the trigger at, say, $50. You say to yourself, "Wait, I'll wait until... until the market drops a few cents. The market drops to $50.02, but you're still waiting. And then the market goes back up to $50.10 and... you say to yourself, I'm not getting in now. That's a worse price than five minutes ago. I'll wait until it goes down again. And of course the price never comes back. It goes up without you. And now you're frustrated because you anticipated the move, but your perfectionism... prevented you from pulling the trigger. Fear of losing money and perfectionism can lead to irrational behavior, overanalyzing, overthinking and slowly draining your mental energy.
🟢 One of the problems I personally struggled with was. That I wanted to be perfect in my trades. I was looking for the perfect opportunity. You know, when you enter and the price never goes against you, not even one %. Being a perfectionist in trading is stressful and always being on the edge doesn't help you make good trading decisions. In most cases, when you are waiting for the perfect entry, you realize you just missed a big move. Trying to time your entry precisely, at the entry point, is a foolish undertaking. Perfection can be your biggest enemy in trading and can cause you a lot of stress.
🟢 Here's how to reduce that anxiety. Use ranges instead of exact prices. As a day trader, you will not be able to track price movements every minute of the day. That's why you should use price ranges instead of exact prices. This gives you some flexibility. And of course you still need to be strict with yourself when executing your plan. Good traders are vigilant, yet patient. When a lineup they've been waiting for pops up, they grab it without hesitation. But until that time comes, they won't budge. The price fluctuations that lure other traders. They choose to reserve energy for what they are prepared for and ignore everything else. They don't chase the market, they let the market come to them. The opposite of this is forcing trades. You know the feeling when you wait for a trade, see some activity, and pull the trigger early. You force the trade. I did that almost every day.
🟢 Here's the solution. Stop using market orders and use limit orders instead. Basically let the market come to you. Once you have selected the assets you want and done your analysis, you need to determine the prices where you will buy and sell. Your goal is simply to buy and sell at the best possible prices, and use your research to identify reasonable prices in advance. Not only will this help you get a better deal, it will also help you avoid emotion-based trading. The simple solution to reducing stress and anxiety is to only act when the conditions are what you expect. Letting the market come to you is a difficult but valuable skill to learn. So forget market orders and use limit orders. This will reduce your emotional involvement and prevent you from making bad decisions.
🟢 If you want to reduce stress and anxiety while trading, you should switch to higher time frames. This will allow you the time needed to make informed decisions. I know you will find it difficult at first, but you will continue to struggle with anxiety and stress until you make the change. If you are feeling nervous and afraid of losing money, I highly recommend trying the higher time frames. Again, this transition to higher time frames is difficult and most traders are reluctant to switch. But you need to change your environment if you want better trading performance. If you trade in an environment like the 1-minute or the 5-minute chart, you risk the risk of market noise. True, higher time frames don't offer trading opportunities with as much speed, but the signals generated are more reliable and have a much higher chance of working. Better to trade a handful of good quality trades. Rather than trying with many poor quality trades. Daytrade trading is exciting, but it also requires you to monitor price movements for many hours. Most daytrade traders initially like the excitement and moving on lower time frames, but it's only a matter of time before they experience mental burnout, and once mental discipline is exhausted, greed, frustration, anger and impatience will bring bad trades and send you into a dangerous state of mind from which it is difficult to recover. So move into higher time frames. You'll only spend a fraction of the time in front of the charts, and you'll be at less risk of burnout. After a while, you'll find that it becomes much easier to work with a cool head while maintaining mental and emotional discipline.
🟢 How often do you enter trading? The setup looked great, then the price went straight away to your stop-loss before it got to your take profit level without you. Without profit, this is probably the most frustrating scenario many traders face on a daily basis. Because you fear losing money, you tend to use small stop losses. You don't want to make a mistake and try to keep your losses small, but keeping your levels too close to the entry candle is a recipe for having your account cut to pieces. A tight stop relies on you having very precise, near-perfect entries, and we've already talked about perfectionism in trading. If you repeatedly see your stops being hit regularly before the price turns in the original direction, it is very likely that you have placed your stops at levels that other traders use, especially if you trade on obvious price movement patterns. My advice is to start trading with a wider stop loss and a lower position size away from the entry. The position size you use should be small enough that neither a loss nor a gain will affect your mindset and ability to continue trading, only then will you really focus on proper execution.
🟢If you are trading the markets with your hard-earned money, but you don't know what your trading strategy is and you don't trust your market analysis skills. You probably shouldn't be trading with a live account. One of the biggest reasons why you are nervous and afraid when you trade is that you will lose your money because you don't trust your own trading skills. You may not have learned a trading strategy. You do not have a trading plan, you do not keep a trading diary. You are simply not prepared to take risks. Real money at risk in the markets. That is why you feel fear when you trade. Basically, trading anxiety comes from not knowing what you are doing. I have talked many times about the value of a trading log. The key is to use your trading log to keep track of when you are at your best and when you are at your worst when it comes to your trading and your emotions. I pay close attention in my trading diary to times when I make mental mistakes, such as not trading a good trade when I know I should. When I am afraid of losing money or avoiding a good trade, I look for triggers and patterns. Was I confused? Did I make that mistake in a particular market situation? Do I have certain feelings and emotions from previous trades? These are the intangible factors that you need to track in your trading log.
🟢 Most traders are fixated on short-term results. They make money by pressing a few buttons and don't pay attention to the process that makes it possible. They make mistakes, learn from them, and correct them over and over again. Everyone thinks about winning, but few think about the benefits of losing . In my experience, most wins are directly attributable to a big losing trade that I learned from making money in the past. As a trader it makes no sense if you don't understand why/why you can't repeat. Similarly, losing money is a valuable experience. If you understand why you lost. Paradoxically, you cannot understand why you win. Without first understanding how you could have lost in the same situation. So change the way you think about losses, because they will show you the direction of repeatable victories in the future.
If you've already lost, at least don't lose the lesson.
Take care my friend and have a good trade!
Trade Management (Updating Stop Losses)The above shows a trade I placed yesterday,
I entered at 17050 , after confirmation of a breakout to the upside.
However, after coming back to check my trade a few hours later, and was in the money, blinded by the "let the trade run, don't touch it." mindset, I, well... let the trade run. I moved my stop loss just around my entry.
That's greed and it's not a profitable 'strategy'.
If you see your trade is in the money, set your stop loss in the money, in this case, I realistically should have moved the stop loss up where the second breakout occurred, you may not get the whole trade exactly your way, but, profit is profit.
The old saying goes, you can't make money if you're losing money.
Chase those %, not the $.
Like this if you found it helpful
Cheers :)
The Power of PRICE ACTIONHello traders and future traders!! I know there is a point in the trading journey where you have so much information that it gets confusing, and you try to apply everything that you have read, but price action strategies shows us how simple are the markets and how easily we can interpret one without using tons of indicators, but just the price movement. Here are the 3 main advantages when it comes to price action trading and the reasons why this type of analysis is so powerful in many trading strategies.
If you see any other advantages, but also disadvantages, leave a comment and let's discuss!
Choose your Ideal Broker with a 10 Step checklistAre you looking for the right broker in 2023 and beyond but unsure what to look for?
With the high competition nowadays, each broker offers different features, instruments and advantages.
That’s why choosing one not an easy task for a beginner or even an experienced trader.
You’ll need to drill down exactly what suits your trading style, personality and risk profile.
I say this because, in the last two decades, I’ve been through a fair share of brokers. So, I know how difficult this decision can be and how it can determine whether you make money or not as a trader.
In this article, I’ll share with you an easy-to-follow checklist which you can use to help you choose the right online broker in 2020 and beyond.
What is a broker or dealer?
A broker is a company or institution that gives a trader access to a live trading account and trading platform which enables them to buy, sell and monitor different instruments and assets.
Here’s my checklist to find your ideal broker…
Checklist item #1:
Make sure the broker or dealer is regulated!
This is a must…
Whenever you sign up with a broker, make sure they are authorised, regulated and recognised by leading regulation authorities.
You will most likely find this stated on the company’s website, in the ‘About Us’ or in their ‘Disclaimer’, along with their license number they hold with that regulator.
Countries with dedicated financial regulatory agencies include:
South Africa
(FSB) – Financial Services Board.
USA
(SEC) – Securities And Exchange Commission
(FINRA) – Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
Eurozone
(MiFID) – Markets In Financial Instruments Directive
UK
(FCA) – Financial Conduct Authority
Australia
(ASIC) – Australian Securities and Investments Commission
India
(SEBI) – Securities and Exchange Board of India
Japan
(JSDA) – Japan Securities Dealers Association
Switzerland
(FINMA) – Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority
When you sign up with a regulated broker, you’ll at least have the security and assurance that they have met certain standards approved by the regulatory body, such as:
Having the right capital to protect the clients’ funds
Ensure the firm won’t go bust
Confirm they have met certain requirements from the financial service provider
Checklist item #2:
Check their reviews and testimonials
Before you make any decisions, you’ll need to see what others have said and are saying about the broker or the dealer company.
You can do this by searching on Google, ‘Hello Peter’, trading forums or go onto their social media pages to read what other unbiased REAL clients have written about them when it comes to reviews, testimonials and ratings.
Checklist item #3:
Broker minimum requirements
There are two minimums to take into account: Minimum balance and minimum deposit per trade.
Most brokers require you to start with a certain minimum balance to set up your trading account.
Nowadays, with the high competition, you should easily be able to find brokers or dealers who require no more than R1,000 up to R5,000 to open a trading account.
If they require any more to open your trading account, just know that there are other brokers out their where you can start with less.
As with the minimum deposit to take a trade, you can easily find reputable brokers where the minimum is under R200 per trade.
Checklist item #4:
Availability:
What they can offer you
You should have a good idea on what you’d like to trade.
This is why before you sign up with the broker, you’ll need to see the availability and range of trading instruments the company has to offer.
What assets do you want to trade?
Shares, CFDs, Options, Futures, Spread Betting etc…
What markets do you want to trade?
Stocks, currencies, commodities, indices, bonds, ETFs or crypto-currencies…
Where do you want to trade?
Via phone, mobile or computer.
What times would you like to trade?
Morning, noon or night?
What gearing and leverage would you like to trade?
Whether you’re a Forex trader or a stock trader you’ll need to find out what gearing the broker has to offer.
Such as 5:1 – 20:1 (for stocks) and 50:1 up to 200:1 (for Forex).
E.g. With gearing (or leverage) of 50:1 this means if you deposit R1,000 into a trade you can hold a position exposed and valued up to R50,000.
REMEMBER: the higher the leverage offered, the higher the reward but also the potential risk.
Do they offer a demo account or a trial period?
You should never rush into trading with real money, before getting to know your broker and your trading platform.
That’s why you should ask your broker if they have a demo trading platform or account that you can use to test out what they have to offer with your strategies
Checklist item #5:
Do they offer trading education and training?
A good and genuine broker should want you to be successful as a trader.
And to do this, they should offer you a whole range of free education, training sources and tools such as:
Training guides
Glossary
Trading videos, podcasts, forums
Written articles
Step-by-step trading tutorials
Support staff
Opinion-based resources
Live trading events and webinars
Trading calculators, tools and calendars
Checklist item #6:
The trading platform itself
Majority of your analyses, preparation and the execution of trades are going to take place on the trading platform itself.
This is why you’ll need to try it out, test it and learn how to use it, to see if it will suit your trading.
Here is a list of items to watch out for with your trading platform:
Item #1: Chart types:
E.g. Line chart and candle sticks
Item #2: Time frame options of:
E.g. 1 hour, 4 hour, daily, weekly & monthly
Item #3: Trading indicators and oscillators:
E.g. RSI, Stochastics, MACD, OBV, ADX, Bollinger Bands etc…
Item #4: Real time charts:
E.g. Not having to refresh your screen every 15 minutes or download anything unnecessarily.
Item #5: Live streaming data:
E.g. News feed, live speeches & announcements, and SENS (Stock Exchange News Service).
Item #6: Customized watch lists:
Make sure there is a functionality to create, modify and monitor a watchlist with the markets you’ll be trading.
Item #7: Trading order variety:
E.g. Market, buy, sell, limit, stops, trailing stop loss and guaranteed stop losses
Item #8: Trading journal:
E.g. Portfolio profit & loss summary of open, closed and historical trades.
Item #9: Trading order box:
Where you’ll place your entry, stop loss, take profit, margin requirements, order quantity, gain potential, risk potential and risk to reward.
Item #10: Reliability:
When you’re testing the trading platform, this is where you can ensure it’s reliable in a way that:
It runs smoothly
It saves your layout, charts and profile
It doesn’t crash
The speed is good
The features all work as they should
The web-based (java) or desktop application works great
The mobile app is easy-to-use and handle
NOTE: TradingView connects a amazing and reliable brokers.
Checklist item #7:
Customer support
It’s important to find out where you can contact your broker, in case you need help due to some technical or trading reason.
Which mediums can you contact them through?
• Phone
• Email
• Online live chat
• WhatsApp
• Skype
• Forums
Also when you give the representative a call, make sure they sound knowledgeable and confident in what they tell you.
Think about how they respond to your questions, how quickly do they solve your queries, are they friendly and approachable?
The contact support will also confirm their quality, efficiency, reliability and credibility for what the company already portrays and offers.
Checklist item #8:
Costs and fees
You will never be able to avoid costs and fees completely, but you can minimize them by choosing the right broker.
You’ll need to do a bit of research to compare the costs of buying, selling and holding trades.
Make sure you look at the following:
Spreads (Fixed or variable)
Note: The spreads should be low for high volume traded markets
Commissions (When you enter and when you exit)
Margin interest
Service charges
Minimum charge per trade e.g. R100
Checklist item #9:
Ease of deposits and withdrawals
This is an important one…
Each broker or dealer has their own measures and policies when it comes to their clients depositing into their trading accounts or withdrawing back into their bank accounts.
Ask your broker how you can make a deposit whether it be via:
EFT
Credit Card
PayPal
Wire transfer
Then confirm with your broker to send you their policies and costs on how you can withdraw your money and how long it will take whether it be:
Via email to ask for a withdraw which will take under 3 trading days.
Via the trading platform where you can withdraw through an authentication process.
Via the broker who can only proceed with a withdrawal on the phone which will take three working days.
Note: A withdrawal and deposit with a reputable and regulated broker should NEVER take more than three working days or warning bells should ring.
Checklist item #10:
Safety, security and legitimacy
There are a few ways to check if the broker is safe and secure including:
Their website starts with HTTPS: and not HTTP:
They are insured and deal with top banks around the world.
They have secured encryption processes.
They have proven to show growth for their clients over the last five years.
They have won broker awards or are listed in the top brokers in the country you’re looking at.
Final Words
You now have an idea on how to find the most ideal broker for you. Take your time to do the research and go through each line item one by one.
Never rush into choosing a broker as this can be a significant decision for your financial future.
If you enjoyed this piece then follow more daily tips and lessons on TradingView. I've been in the markets since 2003 and happy to share what I've learnt along the way.
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
PS: Connect with my few socials below.
The BEST Trading IndicatorWith the ever increasing number of indicators, it makes sense that beginner traders’ wish to cut the steep learning curve by trying to find which indicator is the best and the most profitable to choose from.
It’s overwhelming to start trading with so many jargon terms like, the MACD, RSI, Stochastics, ADX, Bollinger Bands and so on…
Luckily, you won’t ever have to worry about any of these indicators.
Here’s why…
The quest to find the perfect trading indicator
There is a big misconception when it comes to learning how to trade.
Most new people start by going onto Google to search for the ‘best trading strategy’ or the ‘best trading indicator’ to speed up their success.
Everybody wants to find that perfect trading indicator that will help them profit 80% to 100% of the time.
Yet, at most, there are only 5% of traders’ out there who are able to make a consistent income with trading.
I have two main reasons on this matter, which I’ve gathered since 2003.
Reason 1:
All indicators are history
With local and international markets such as the stock market, Forex and even with crypto-currencies, there are billions of rands traded every day.
With the ongoing economic, socio and political events taking place, every transaction from either a company, private individual or even a bot is entirely unique and UNEXPECTED.
So which indicator is the best to choose from?
Well before you go and do research on each indicator there is to trade with, let me spare you the time and tell you this…
Every technical indicator and oscillator out there, is based on one thing.
HISTORICAL DATA.
When you add an indicator onto a chart, it can only show one of three things which are either the:
Current momentum.
Current trend direction or the.
Demand and supply based on buying and selling volume.
Not one indicator has any form of predictive qualities. Even with the dawn of Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing, there will most likely never be that one indicator that will be able to predict the future with accuracy and certainty every time.
However, let’s say there is that one Quantum Computer that is able to take every news event, internal and external factor into account. The information assembled and collected, will still be based on past data.
By now you may be feeling like your life has been a lie with all the marketing fluff out there with the 100% win-rate and get rich quick scams, but I assure you there is one legit way to succeed from trading.
Reason 2:
Each element is essential
It doesn’t take just one trading strategy to bank a consistent income.
It doesn’t take just a few rules to follow and,
It doesn’t take a whole lot of money to fund your account to make it as a trader.
No, in actual fact it takes four equally important elements namely:
MARKETS:
You need to find the best markets that are out there to trade and when to trade them.
METHOD:
You need to create or adopt a proven trading strategy that will fit your personality. (Price action with a few patterns is all that's needed to spot probability trades).
MONEY:
You need to have just a couple of money management rules, to follow every time you take a trade.
MIND:
You need to find a way to develop trading self-confidence as well as a strong mindset throughout your career.
This is where so many different trading companies, publications and even education institutions seem to miss the mark.
They either specialise ONLY in psychology, trading analysis or just on money management. Unfortunately, this is one hobby or lifestyle where being an expert in ONE field will not guarantee your success.
2% Rule with CFDs versus Spread TradingThe rule is very easy to understand.
Whether you trade using CFDs or Spread Betting, the rule is the same.
Never risk more than 2% of your portfolio on any one trade.
It’s one rule that you can use whether you have a R1,000 account or a R10,000,000 account.
You see, trading is a forever business.
This means, as a trader you should risk as little of your portfolio as possible in order to stay in the game longer.
We’ll now go straight into how you to enter your CFDs and Spread Betting trades using the 2% rule.
How to enter your CFD trade using the 2% Rule
Here are the specifics for the trade
CFD of the underlying Company: TIM Ltd CFDs
Portfolio value: R100,000
2% Max risk per CFD trade: R2,000
Entry price: R400.00
Stop loss price: R380.00
To calculate the no. of CFDs you’ll buy per trade, you’ll need the:
~ Max risk per trade
~ Entry Price and
~ Stop loss price
Next, you’ll need to follow two steps:
Step #1:
Calculate the risk in trade
The ‘risk in trade’ is the price difference between where you enter and where your stop loss is:
Risk in trade = (Entry price – Stop loss price)
= (R400 – R380)
= R20
Step #2:
Calculate the no. of CFDs to buy
No. of CFDs to buy = (2% Risk ÷ Risk in trade)
= (R2,000 ÷ R20)
= 100 CFDs
In your platform you’ll type in 100 TIM CFDs to buy, place your entry price at R400 and your stop loss price at R380 to risk only 2% of your portfolio.
Note: 1 CFD = 1 Share exposure
100 CFDs = 100 Shares exposure
How to enter your Spread Trade using the 2% Rule
With spread trading you trade on a ‘value per 1 point’ basis.
You’ll choose either: R0.01, R0.10, R1 or any other amount per 1 cent movement in the underlying market.
If you choose R0.10 value per 1 cent movement, for every 10 cents the market moves against or for you, you’ll lose or gain 100 cents (10 cents value per point X 10 cents movement).
Here are the specifics for the spread trade.
Contract of the underlying Company: TIM Ltd
Portfolio value: R100,000
2% Max risk per Spread trade: 200,000c (R2,000)
Entry price: 40,000c (R400.00)
Stop loss price: 38,000c (R380.00)
To calculate the ‘Value Per Point’ to enter your long (buy) trade, you’ll need the:
~ Max risk per trade
~ Entry Price
~ Stop loss price
Next, you’ll need to follow two steps:
Step #1:
Calculate the risk in trade
Risk in trade = (Entry price – Stop loss price)
= (40,000c – R38,000c)
= 2,000c (R20.00)
Step #2:
Value per 1 cent movement
Value per 1 cent movement
= (2% Risk ÷ Risk in trade)
= (200,000c ÷ 2,000c)
= 100c (R1.00)
This means, with a ‘Value per point of 100c’ every 1 cent the TIM Ltd share price moves, you’ll make or lose 100 cents.
Every 2,000c the market moves, you’ll make or lose 200,000c or R2,000 of your portfolio (100c Value per 1 cent movement X 2,000c movement).
Note:
1 Cent per 1 cent movement = 1 Share exposure
100 Cents per 1 cent movement = 100 Shares exposure
EXPLAINED: How Gearing Works with CFDs and Spread TradingNot sure what happened but the image didn't show. Here it is again...
This is the most important concept you’ll need to understand to accelerate your account.
During your trading experience, with gearing, you’ll learn how to multiply your profits. But you can also multiply your losses, if you don’t know what you’re doing.
So listen up.
What Gearing is in a nutshell…
Gearing also known as leverage or margin trading, is the function that allows you to pay a small amount of money, in order to gain control and be exposed to a larger sum of money.
There is a very simple calculation you’ll use calculate the gearing for both CFDs and Spread Trading.
Exposure
Initial margin
In order to understand this formula, let’s use three gearing examples with shares versus CFDs and Spread Trading.
We’ll break it up into three steps for CFDs and Spread Trading:
1. Calculate the entry market exposure
2. Calculate the initial margin (Deposit)
3. Calculate the gearing
We’ll also exclude costs to help simplify the gearing concept better.
EXAMPLE 1:
Buying AAS Ltd shares
Portfolio value: R100,000
Company: AAS Ltd
Share price: R109.00
No. shares to buy: 100
If you buy one share at R109 per share, you’ll be exposed to R109 worth of one share.
If you buy 100 shares at R109 per share, you’ll be exposed to R10,900 worth of shares (100 shares X R109 per share).
We know that to be exposed to the full R10,900 worth of shares, we needed to pay an initial margin (deposit) of R10,900.
If we plug in values into the gearing formula, we get.
Gearing = (Exposure ÷ Initial Margin)
= (R10,900 ÷ R10,900)
= 1:1
This means, there is NO gearing or a gearing of 1 times, with the share example as, what we paid is exactly as what we are exposed to.
Easy enough? Let’s move onto CFDs.
EXAMPLE 2:
Buying AAS Ltd CFDs
Portfolio value: R100,000
CFD of the underlying Company: AAS Ltd CFD
Share price: R109.00
Margin % per CFD: 10%
(NOTE: Find out on your trading platform or ask your broker for the margin % per CFD)
No. CFDs to buy: 100
Step #1:
Calculate the entry exposure of the CFD
Entry exposure
= (Share price X No. CFDs)
= (R109.00 X 100 CFDs)
= R10,900
NOTE:
1 CFD per trade, you’ll be exposed to the value of one share.
100 CFDs per trade, you’ll be exposed to the value of 100 shares.
Step #2:
Calculate the initial margin of the CFD trade
Initial margin
= (Exposure X Margin % per CFD)
= (R10,900 X 0.10)
= R1,090
This means to buy 100 CFDs, you’ll need to pay an initial margin (deposit) of R1,090.
Step #3:
Calculate the gearing of the CFD trade
Gearing = (Exposure ÷ Initial margin)
= (R10,900 ÷ R1,090)
= 10 times
With a gearing of 10 times, this means two things…
#1: For every one CFD you buy for R10.90 per CFD, you’ll be exposed to 10 times more or the value of one AAS Ltd share.
#2: For every one cent the share price rises or falls, you’ll gain or lose 10 cents.
EXAMPLE 2:
Buying AAS Ltd CFDs
Portfolio value: R100,000
Underlying Company: AAS Ltd
Share price: 10,900c
Value per point: 100c (R1.00)
Margin % per Spread Trading contract: 7.50%
(NOTE: Find out on your trading platform or ask your broker for the margin % per share contract)
Step #1:
Calculate the entry exposure of the spread trade
Entry exposure
= (Share price X Value per point)
= (10,900c X 100c)
= 1,090,000 (R10,900)
Note:
1c value per point per spread trade– you’ll be exposed to one AAS share
100c value per point per spread trade – you’ll be exposed to 100 AAS shares
Step #2:
Calculate the initial margin of the spread trade
Initial margin
= (Exposure X Initial margin)
= (1,090,000c X 0.075)
= 81,750c (R817.50)
This means, you’ll need to pay an initial margin (deposit) of R817.50 to be exposed to R10,900 worth of AAS Ltd shares.
Step #3:
Calculate the gearing of the spread trade
Gearing = (Exposure ÷ Initial margin)
= (1,090,000 ÷ 81,750c)
= 13.33 times
This means, by depositing R817.50 you’ll be exposed to 13.33 times more or R10,900 (R817.50 X 13.33 times) worth of AAS Ltd shares.
You now know how gearing works with CFDs and Spread Trading, in the next lesson we’ll cover how to never risk more than 2% of your portfolio for each CFD and Spread Trade you take.
Did you enjoy this article?
Trade well, live free.
Timon Rossolimos
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How Gearing Works with CFDs and Spread TradingThis is the most important concept you’ll need to understand to accelerate your account.
During your trading experience, with gearing, you’ll learn how to multiply your profits. But you can also multiply your losses, if you don’t know what you’re doing.
So listen up.
What Gearing is in a nutshell…
Gearing also known as leverage or margin trading, is the function that allows you to pay a small amount of money, in order to gain control and be exposed to a larger sum of money.
There is a very simple calculation you’ll use calculate the gearing for both CFDs and Spread Trading.
Exposure
Initial margin
In order to understand this formula, let’s use three gearing examples with shares versus CFDs and Spread Trading.
We’ll break it up into three steps for CFDs and Spread Trading:
1. Calculate the entry market exposure
2. Calculate the initial margin (Deposit)
3. Calculate the gearing
We’ll also exclude costs to help simplify the gearing concept better.
EXAMPLE 1:
Buying AAS Ltd shares
Portfolio value: R100,000
Company: AAS Ltd
Share price: R109.00
No. shares to buy: 100
If you buy one share at R109 per share, you’ll be exposed to R109 worth of one share.
If you buy 100 shares at R109 per share, you’ll be exposed to R10,900 worth of shares (100 shares X R109 per share).
We know that to be exposed to the full R10,900 worth of shares, we needed to pay an initial margin (deposit) of R10,900.
If we plug in values into the gearing formula, we get.
Gearing = (Exposure ÷ Initial Margin)
= (R10,900 ÷ R10,900)
= 1:1
This means, there is NO gearing or a gearing of 1 times, with the share example as, what we paid is exactly as what we are exposed to.
Easy enough? Let’s move onto CFDs.
EXAMPLE 2:
Buying AAS Ltd CFDs
Portfolio value: R100,000
CFD of the underlying Company: AAS Ltd CFD
Share price: R109.00
Margin % per CFD: 10%
(NOTE: Find out on your trading platform or ask your broker for the margin % per CFD)
No. CFDs to buy: 100
Step #1:
Calculate the entry exposure of the CFD
Entry exposure
= (Share price X No. CFDs)
= (R109.00 X 100 CFDs)
= R10,900
NOTE:
1 CFD per trade, you’ll be exposed to the value of one share.
100 CFDs per trade, you’ll be exposed to the value of 100 shares.
Step #2:
Calculate the initial margin of the CFD trade
Initial margin
= (Exposure X Margin % per CFD)
= (R10,900 X 0.10)
= R1,090
This means to buy 100 CFDs, you’ll need to pay an initial margin (deposit) of R1,090.
Step #3:
Calculate the gearing of the CFD trade
Gearing = (Exposure ÷ Initial margin)
= (R10,900 ÷ R1,090)
= 10 times
With a gearing of 10 times, this means two things…
#1: For every one CFD you buy for R10.90 per CFD, you’ll be exposed to 10 times more or the value of one AAS Ltd share.
#2: For every one cent the share price rises or falls, you’ll gain or lose 10 cents.
EXAMPLE 2:
Buying AAS Ltd CFDs
Portfolio value: R100,000
Underlying Company: AAS Ltd
Share price: 10,900c
Value per point: 100c (R1.00)
Margin % per Spread Trading contract: 7.50%
(NOTE: Find out on your trading platform or ask your broker for the margin % per share contract)
Step #1:
Calculate the entry exposure of the spread trade
Entry exposure
= (Share price X Value per point)
= (10,900c X 100c)
= 1,090,000 (R10,900)
Note:
1c value per point per spread trade– you’ll be exposed to one AAS share
100c value per point per spread trade – you’ll be exposed to 100 AAS shares
Step #2:
Calculate the initial margin of the spread trade
Initial margin
= (Exposure X Initial margin)
= (1,090,000c X 0.075)
= 81,750c (R817.50)
This means, you’ll need to pay an initial margin (deposit) of R817.50 to be exposed to R10,900 worth of AAS Ltd shares.
Step #3:
Calculate the gearing of the spread trade
Gearing = (Exposure ÷ Initial margin)
= (1,090,000 ÷ 81,750c)
= 13.33 times
This means, by depositing R817.50 you’ll be exposed to 13.33 times more or R10,900 (R817.50 X 13.33 times) worth of AAS Ltd shares.
You now know how gearing works with CFDs and Spread Trading, in the next lesson we’ll cover how to never risk more than 2% of your portfolio for each CFD and Spread Trade you take.
EXPLAINED: CFDs versus Spread Trading 101What are CFDs and Spread Trading?
Spread Trading (betting) and CFDs are financial instruments that allow us to do one thing.
To place a bet on whether a market will go up or down in price – without owning the underlying asset.
If we are correct, we stand a chance to make magnified profits and vice versa if wrong.
Both CFDs and Spread Trading, allow us to buy or sell a huge variety of markets including:
• Stocks
• Currencies
• Commodities
• Crypto-currencies and
• Indices.
When you have chosen a market to trade, there are two types of CFD or Spread Trading positions you can take.
You can buy (go long) a market at a lower price as you expect the price to go up where you’ll sell your position at a higher price for a profit.
You can sell (go short) a market at a higher price as you expect the price to go down where you’ll buy your position at a lower price for a profit.
EXPLAINED: CFDs for Dummies
DEFINITION:
A CFD is an unlisted over-the-counter financial derivative contract between two parties to exchange the price difference between the opening and closing price of the underlying asset.
Let’s break that down into an easy-to-understand definition.
EASIER DEFINITION:
A CFD (Contract For Difference) is an:
• Unlisted (You don’t trade through an exchange)
• Over The Counter (Via a private dealer or market maker)
• Financial derivative contract (Value from the underlying market)
• Between two parties (The buyer and seller) to
• Exchange the
• Price difference (Of the opening and closing price) of the
• Underlying asset (Instrument the CFD price is based on)
EASIEST DEFINITION
Essentially, you’ll enter into a CONTRACT at one price, close it at another price FOR a profit or a loss depending on the price DIFFERENCE (between your entry and exit).
Moving onto Spread Trading.
EXPLAINED: Spread Trading for Dummies
DEFINITION:
Spread Trading is a derivative method to place a trade with a chosen bet size per point on the movement of a market’s price.
EASIER DEFINITION:
Spread Trading is a:
Derivative method (Exposed to an underlying asset) to
Place a trade (Buy or sell) with a chosen
Bet size per point on where you expect a
Market price will
Move (Up or down)
In value
EASIEST DEFINITION:
Spread Betting allows you to place a BET size on where you expect a market to move in price.
Each point the market moves against or for you, you’ll win or lose money based on their chosen TRADING bet size (a.k.a Risk per point or cent movement).
The higher the bet size (value per point), the higher your risk and reward.
The costs you WILL pay with Spread Trading and CFDs
Both Spread Trading and CFDs are geared-based derivative financial instruments.
As their values derive from an underlying asset, when you trade using Spread Trading or CFDs, you never actually own any of the assets.
You’re just making a simple bet on whether you expect a market price to rise or fall in the future.
If you decide to go with the broker or market maker who offers CFDs or Spread Trading, there are certain costs you’ll need to pay.
Costs with Spread Trading
With Spread Trading, you’ll only have one cost to pay – which are all included in – the spread.
The spread is the price difference between the bid (buying price) and the offer (selling price).
EXAMPLE: Let’s say you enter a trade and the bid and offer prices is 5,550c – 5,610c.
The spread, in this case, is 60c (5,610c – 5,550c).
This means your trade has to move 60c to cross the spread in order for you to be in the money-making territory. Also, if the trade goes against you, the spread will also add to your losses.
Why the spread you ask?
The spread is where the brokers (market makers’) make their money.
Costs with CFDs
Brokerage
With CFDs, it can be different.
Depending on who you choose to trade CFDs with, you may need to cover both the spread as well as the brokerage fees – when you trade.
These brokerage fees can range from 0.2% – 0.60% for when you enter (leg in) and exit (leg out) a trade.
NOTE: If the minimum brokerage per trade is R100, you’ll have to pay R100 to enter your trade.
Daily Interest Finance Charge
The other (negligible) cost, you’ll need to cover is the daily financing charges.
If you buy (go long) a trade, you’ll have to pay this negligible charge (0.02% per day) to hold a trade overnight.
However, if you sell (go short) a CFD trade, you’ll then receive this negligible amount (0.009%) to hold a short trade overnight.
The costs you WON’T pay as a Spread Trader
With spread trading (betting), you don’t own anything physical.
When you take a spread bet, you’re simply making a financial bet on where you expect the price to move and nothing else.
This means, there will be no costs to pay as you would with shares including:
NO Daily Interest Finance charges
NO Stamp Duty costs
NO Capital Gains Tax
NO Securities Transfer Tax
NO Strate
NO VAT
NO Brokerage (all wrapped in the spread).
The costs you WON’T pay as a CFD trader
With CFDs, you’ll notice that there are similar costs with Spread Trading that you won’t have to pay including:
NO Stamp Duty costs
NO Securities Transfer Tax
NO Settlement and clearing fees
NO VAT
NO Strate
24-Hour Dealings
The great thing about Spread Betting or CFD trading is that, you can trade markets trade 24/5.
I’m talking about currencies, commodities and indices.
And with Crypto-currencies you can trade them 24 hours a day seven days a week.
I have left out a very important difference between CFDs and Spread Trading… Gearing and how it works in real life…
Trading 101 - What is a Derivative & why are they revolutionary?Derivatives trading!
What I believe has been the absolute market revolution since shares.
Derivatives might sound complicated and something you would hear from a professor or a know-it-all businessman – but they’re really not.
I am no academic or even remotely one of the smartest guy’s in the world. And if I can grasp the idea and understanding of derivatives, I pretty much guarantee you will too.
Also, if you want to take trading seriously and really make a living with it, you’ll need to understand derivatives trading sometime in your career.
Let’s start at the very beginning.
What is a derivative?
– Collins English Dictionary –
‘A derivative is an investment that depends on the
value of something else’
When it comes to trading, a derivative is a financial contract between two parties whose value is ‘derived’ from another (underlying) asset.
Let’s break that down more simply:
A derivative is a
financial contract (CFDs, Spread Trading, Futures, Forwards, Options &Warrants)
Between two parties (the buyer and seller)
Whose value (the market’s price)
Is derived (depends on or comes from)
Another underlying asset (Share, index, commodity, currency, bond, interest-rate, crypto-currency etc…)
You’ll find that the derivative’s market price mirrors that of the underlying asset’s price.
Why trade using derivatives?
The absolute beauty about trading derivatives is that they are a cheaper and a more profitable way to speculate on the future price movements of a market without buying the asset itself.
You don’t get all the benefits with derivatives
What’s probably important to note with derivatives, is this.
When you buy a derivative’s contract, you’re not actually buying the physical asset. You’re simply making a bet on where you expect the price to go.
EXAMPLE:
When you buy actual shares of a company, means you’ll be able to attend AGMs (Annual General Meetings), Vote and claim dividends from a company.
When you trade derivatives on the underlying share, means you’ll be exposed to the value of the shares and the price movements – and that’s it!
As a trader, when you buy or sell a derivative, you’re not actually investing in the underlying asset but rather just making a bet (speculation) on where you believe the market’s price will head.
This gives you the advantage and opportunity to:
Buy low (go long) a derivative of the underlying asset and sell it at a higher price for a profit or
Sell high (go short) a derivative of the underlying asset and buy it back at a lower price for a profit
Remember when I said it was cheaper and more profitable? You can thank margin
With derivatives, you’ll normally pay a fraction of the price of the total sum and still be exposed to the full value of the asset (share, index, currency etc…)
The fraction of the price paid is called ‘margin’.
EXAMPLE:
To buy and own 10 Anglo shares at R390 per share will cost you R3,900 (R390 per share X 10 shares).
To buy and be exposed to 10 Anglo shares using derivatives, and the margin of the contract is 10% per share, means you’ll only pay R390 (R390 per share X 10% margin per derivative X 10 shares).
I’m sure you can see that with derivatives, you’ll be exposed to more and pay less which will gear up your potential profits or losses versus when trading shares.
This is why we call derivatives, geared financial instruments.
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Trade well, Live free
Timon
MATI Trader
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BACK TO THE FUTURE VS TRADINGI watched the Oscars recently and saw Michael J. Fox receive his humanitarian award. This brought me back to my childhood with the legendary Back to the Futures movie...
Also this year we saw The Back to the Future stars Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) reunited and shared the stage at the New York Comicon 2022.
This is where they reminisced over their iconic roles in the beloved film trilogy.
There were a bunch of mixed emotions but mostly the feeling of nostalgia and childhood memories…
And so, I watched the trilogy and I found it was super interesting to watch a movie when at the time, they were trying to predict the future by making a number of predictions about 2015…
They certainly got a few spot ons such as:
• Smart watches
• Hover boards
• Virtual reality headsets (which we use Quest, PlayStation and even HTC)
• Talking from TV to TV (Instead we use tablets and smart phones, but close enough)
• Donald Trump like figure as president
They also made a few wrong predictions like:
• People wearing their pockets inside out
• Dogs having drones walk them (but we do have drones though)
• Mechanical car fuel attendants
• Pizza hydrators
But overall, there is a very big lesson we can learn from this…
If scientists, businessmen, producers, directors and actors can’t accurately predict the future, nobody can.
And trading the financial markets are similar to “Back to the Future” movies.
It’s unpredictable and normally plays out differently to what we think…
Thing about the future is… When you know what is going to happen and you act according, the future changes…
Let’s say you know what’s going to happen at a certain point in the future. If you act according to what will happen in the future, then your action will change the future.
So, if the future is so unpredictable, how can anyone ever make money from trading?
Simple.
You don’t need to know the future when you trade
When you take a trade, you should never try to predict where the market will go.
Instead, we should base the future predictions and decisions on one word.
Probability.
If the market is moving up, there is a higher chance it will continue to move up. (It’s going up for a reason).
If the market consolidates in a sideways formation and then the price breaks down, there is a higher chance the price will continue to move down.
We say, go with the trend rather than against it… Our job is not to predict every turn and bank a profit from every point move.
Our job is to anticipate a change in the market, wait for confirmation and then act accordingly to follow the MORE likely scenario… You might not get it right 30% to 40% of the time, but you can get it right 50% - 70% of the time during certain market environments…
That’s all I do when I do trades and analyses… I base probabilities on where a market is more likely to go at a certain time…
If I’m wrong, I adjust – rather than deny…
This was a short reminder of why you don’t need to predict the markets to make it as a trader.
Did you enjoy this short piece? Let me know in the comments. It's a passion to help share the knowledge I've gained over the last 20 years as a trader.
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
Is Trading Like Playing Poker? Is trading a form of gambling?
With hesitance, I would say yes.
However, I would rather call trading a form of strategic gambling as both require elements of risk, reward, strategy and decision making.
In the next two weeks or so, I’m planning to publish a new online FREE book called “Poker Vs Trading”.
Who knows, by the end of it all you may take up professional poker playing as well as trading…
Let’s start with the similarities.
SIMILARITY #1:
We can choose when to play (Strategy)
Traders and poker players don’t play every hand that is dealt to them.
With poker, when a hand is dealt, we can choose to either play the hand, based on how strong it is, or we can choose to fold and wait for the next hand…
With trading, we wait for a trading setup based on the criteria of our strategy i.e. MATI Trader System.
You’ll then have the exact criteria and money management rules to follow in order to take a trade or wait for the next trade.
SIMILARITY #2:
Amateur poker players and traders tend to go the ‘tilt’ (Emotional roller-coaster)
Emotions are a main driver which leads to traders losing their cash in their account or poker players losing their chips very quickly.
With poker, you get players who let their emotions take over where they start betting high with an irrational frame of mind.
These emotions lead them to losing their chips very quickly.
This is when they enter the state of what is called ‘going the tilt’.
With trading, amateur traders also tend to act on impulse and play on gut, instinct, fear and greed after they’ve undergone a losing streak or a winning streak.
This often leads them to:
~ Taking a series of losses.
~ Losing huge portions of their portfolio.
~ Holding onto losing trades longer than they should.
~ Entering a mindset of revenge trading.
SIMILARITY #3:
We know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em (Cut losses quick)
We have the choice to reduce our losses when it comes to betting a hand or taking a trade.
With poker, if the players start upping the stakes and you believe you have a weaker hand in the round, you can choose to ‘fold’ and lose only the cost of playing the ‘ante’.
With trading, if you’ve taken a trade and it turns against you, you have a stop loss which will get you out at the amount of money you were willing to risk of your portfolio…
SIMILARITY #4:
We know the rake (Costs involved)
There are always costs associated with each trade we take or each hand we play, which eats into our winnings.
With poker, it’s the portion of the pot that is taken by the house i.e. the blinds and the antes. With trading, it’s the fees charged by your broker or market maker, in order to take your trade. These fees can be either the tax, spread and/or the brokerage.
SIMILARITY #5:
Aggressive trading and betting before the flop (High volatility)
There will always be a time of strong market moves and high betting.
With poker, you get times where players like to bet aggressively and blindly before the flop is revealed. It’s these times that lead to the amateur poker players losing their chips very quickly.
With trading, you get economic data i.e. Non-Farm-Payrolls, black swan events and Interest Rate decisions when big investors and traders like to drive the market up or down before the news even comes out.
NOTE: I ignore both forms of hype as it is can lead to a catastrophic situation.
SIMILARITY #6:
We bet and trade based on the unknown
Every bet and trade we take and play is based on incomplete information of the future.
With poker, we are dealt hands then bet on decisions based on not knowing what cards our opponents have and/or what is shown on the river.
We then have the options to call, bet, raise or fold during the process.With trading, we take trades based on probability predictions without knowing where the price will end up at.
This is due to new information which comes into the market including (demand, supply, news, economic indicators, micro and macro aspects).
SIMILARITY #7:
We lose A LOT! (Losses are inevitable)
Taking small losses are part of the game with both poker and trading.
With poker, it is important to wait patiently until you have a hand with a high probability of success.
Some of the best poker players in the world, fold 90% of the starting hands, they receive. Some professional poker players can go through weeks and months without a win.
With trading, we can lose over 40% to 50% of the time.
In general, I expect around two losing quarters a year. I know that when there are better market conditions, it will make up for the small losses.
SIMILARITY #8:
You must learn to earn (Education is vital)
You need to understand and gain as much knowledge as you can about poker and trading before you commit any money.
With poker, you need to understand:
• The rules of the game.
• The risk per move.
• The amount of money you should play per hand.
Once you know these points, you’ll be able to develop some kind of game plan with each hand you play.
With trading, you need to understand:
• The MARKET (What, why, where are how?)NB*
• The METHOD (What system to follow before taking a trade).
• The MONEY (Risk management rules to follow with each trade)
• The MIND (The frame of mind you must develop to succeed)
SIMILARITY #9:
Perseverance is the key ingredient to success
You need to take the time and have the determination to become a successful trader and poker player.
With poker, you’ll need to keep at it and apply strict money management rules with each hand played. With trading, you’ll need to know your trading personality, know which trading method best works you and understand your risk profile…
I’ll leave you with a quote from Vince Lombardi (American football player, coach, and executive):
“Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect”
Do you think trading is like poker?
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Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader