ACCOUNT DRAWDOWN – HOW TO AVOID IT?Today I want to touch on a very important topic - account drawdown.
Every trader will face this problem sooner or later, because losses in the forex market are inevitable. And if a professional knows what to do and has experience dealing with such a problem, then beginners often get lost when faced with a drawdown, which leads to even greater losses.
What is a Margin Call?
Margin Call - is a "call"-notification of the broker with a requirement to deposit additional funds to guarantee open transactions.
If no additional funds have been received to the trading account after the Margin Call, and losses continue to grow, then when the price reaches a certain value, the Stop Out procedure will be launched, and the brokerage company will automatically close part, and possibly all transactions on the trading account.
Causes of drawdown.
There are two possible reasons.
The first reason for the drawdown is a bad trading strategy. Each strategy needs to be checked and only then use it. No risk management will help if the strategy is unprofitable.
The second reason is psychology. Even if you have a proven strategy, you can still lose money because you lose control of the situation. Discipline is the key to profitable trading. To act according to the strategy and even after a series of losses to adhere to the plan and not exceed the value of risk management - that's what a professional does and a beginner misses.
Newcomers try to regain what they have lost by opening deals with a large volume, risking even more money, driving themselves into an even greater minus. First of all, you need to put up with losses, it is impossible to avoid them!
Accept losses, do not lose your head, trade further according to the rules and then you will not only return, but also earn even more money.
An important thought!
Every beginner should remember that the more he loses, the more he will need to make profits in the future in order to reach zero. It is very difficult to make 50% of the profit to the capital in one transaction. It is almost impossible to make 100%, but beginners do not understand this and invest a lot of money, open positions with a large volume and lose even more.
Losing 1% is not so scary, losing 10% you need to do 11% already to get to zero. Having lost 50% in the future, you will need to make 100% to go to zero! Don't bring your account to this.
Remember: it's better to move up slowly than to fall down quickly and crash.
Decide on the drawdown level.
Professionals do not let their account fall below reasonable values. A beginner brings his account to exhaustion in two or three transactions. For a beginner, a drawdown of -50% or -70% occurs easily and quickly, a professional cannot afford this.
Each trader must decide for himself how much percent of the capital he can lose and still remain calm. For each person, these values are different, someone cannot survive a 20% drop in the bill, and someone lives quietly with -50%.
Drawdown levels
up to 15% – normal working drawdown.
16-30% is not a reason to panic, but the time is coming to reduce the risks and intensity of trading. And it is also worth reviewing the state, dynamics of the market and the trading instrument.
31 - 60% is the beginning of the end. If the account is down by more than 30%, trading should be stopped and a break should be taken. After that, come back with a modified strategy for making trading decisions.
Drawdown is an unpleasant thing, but the main thing is not to start it and not to delay the time after exiting it.
If you have already fallen into a drawdown, then you need to follow the following rules:
If you use a proven trading strategy that has repeatedly made a profit, then you just need to fix losses and continue trading using the same strategy, but with a more gentle money management system.
If the trading strategy used is no longer effective, then you should fix the losses and look for a new working trading system.
Due to the fact that there are no exceptionally accurate methods to exit the drawdown, your further actions will be reduced to the same trade. In this situation, the trader should identify weaknesses in his strategy and try to eliminate them. The revision of approaches to risk management and funds will also allow you to balance trading and avoid deep drawdowns in the future.
Be disciplined, follow the money management, trade systematically, and the drawdown on the deposit will not bother you.
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Trading-signals
PRINCIPLES OF DRAWING UP A TRADING PLANHello traders!
Today we will talk about WHAT should be in the trading plan of any self-respecting trader. Many, as it turned out, do not know the basic principles of building a trading plan. This article will help beginners understand WHAT should be added to their trading arsenal.
1. Timeframe.
The first stage of drawing up a trading plan is to determine the timeframe. Every trader should know in what time interval he is going to look for entry opportunities and build a trading strategy accordingly. As a rule, timeframes are divided into three types:
2. Risk management.
Risk control is probably the most important issue in any trading plan. The ability to control risks and follow principles distinguishes a professional from a beginner. In this section, the best rule is rule 1-3%
3. Market structure.
Every trader should have a trading strategy even before opening a position during periods when the market is trending or in a sideways movement and, of course, be able to correctly determine when the market is moving from one phase to another.
4. Markets.
Each market has its own characteristics. Not every trader, for example, can approach the forex market. You need to know where you are trading and use the appropriate tools. It may be worth trying all the markets to understand what is right for you. Study the markets, gain experience.
5. Entry conditions.
The entry point must be chosen by the trader according to the rules prescribed in the strategy. A trader should know when and under what conditions to enter a position. Strategies can be different: based on a pullback or a breakout of the level, or maybe you want to trade according to the intersection of the indicator lines. And, yes, no one forbids using all strategies at once, the main thing is not to get confused.
6. Stops.
Placing stops is an important part of the strategy. A properly placed stop can protect you from premature closing of the transaction. Failure to place a stop order may result in the loss of all capital. In any case, the strategy of placing stops should be in every trading plan. You can set a stop according to some percentage you have chosen, or you can set a stop for the maximum or minimum, it's up to you, but you need to decide before entering the position.
7. Target.
A correctly set goal and a set take profit helps a trader to take profit and not stay in a position until it turns from profitable to unprofitable. There are different ways to fix profits: fixed - the value you have chosen according to your trading strategy. Trailing stop is a slightly advanced method, the essence of which is that the stop will move along with the price at the distance you choose and will close when the price goes against you too much.
Traders, if you liked this idea or if you have your own opinion about it, write in the comments. I will be glad 👩💻
Principles Of Risk Management One of the main topics, and perhaps the most important, is the topic of risk management and risk reward.
Beginners often do not take this topic seriously, trying to hit the jackpot in every transaction, risking all or almost all of the capital and not realizing what the consequences of such actions may be.
Whatever trading style you use, whether it's day trading or scalping, the way you manage risk will still be decisive in the question of whether you will be profitable at a distance or not.
Margin trading gives a lot of advantages, but most often it ruins newcomers who open deals with a large volume and quickly lose money when the price goes against them.
The ability to manage risks correctly will help you stay in the game for a long time and be profitable at a distance.
Focus on protecting what you have.
In the pursuit of profit, traders forget about risks, forget about capital protection. It is important to remember that after each loss, the percentage of profit that needs to be returned to breakeven increases exponentially, depending on how much you lose.
Fundamentals of Risk Management
The market is changing every second and at any moment there may be news that will make the price go against you.
The desire to risk everything in one transaction leads to the closure of novice accounts, instead, it is better to manage risks and stay in the game for a long time, making a profit.
Anything can happen in the markets and it is simply unwise to risk everything in one transaction.
You must remember:
1. You should not risk more than you can afford to lose.
2. Each trade must be opened with the correct risk reward ratio. (RRR)
The Risk Reward Ratio (RRR) is how much you are willing to lose, compared to the expected profit in each trade.
You should strive for a ratio of less risk / more profit.
One of the best ways to manage risk is the 1% method.
This method of risk control means that in each transaction a trader risks 1% of his capital.
This is correctly used even by managers of large hedge funds and they do it for a reason.
Do not think that only 1% of the capital can be traded. You can use at least all your capital for trading, but your stop loss should be no more than 1% - this is your risk. You can use leverage if you need to, but don't lose more than 1% in one trade if you want to become a professional.
The Best Risk-Reward Ratio For Trading
Before opening a position, you should know how much you can lose and how much you expect to win, and the ratio should not be lower than 1:1.
A ratio below 1:1 means that you lose more than you can win, and this is an extremely dangerous activity that can eventually lead to the loss of the entire account.
If the ratio is 1:1, you will be at breakeven, even if 50% of your trades are unprofitable. If the ratio is higher than 1:1, then you will be in the black, even if more than half of your trades are closed in the negative.
Do not forget that it is impossible to win in every transaction and without proper risk management, such a game will lead to big losses.
Do not forget about the rules of risk management, use a profitable strategy and act according to the rules, do not give in to emotions and then success awaits you.
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UNSUCCESSFUL vs. SUCCESSFUL TRADERUnsuccessful Trader
You are trading without a Specific Trading Strategy
The main reason for opening positions for you is not clear strategy rules, but your own intuition. And even after several failures, you continue to repeat your mistakes due to the lack of discipline and the lack of a trader's trading journal.
You often over-trade and get Margin Calls
Your instincts make you trade too much, open new positions again and again, forgetting about the risk and thus getting frequent margin calls. Because of such disorderly market entries, you become very emotional, lose control and lose money quickly.
You get attached to Open Positions
Following your own emotions, you often hold on to an open position for too long, hoping that the profit will become even greater, while forgetting about the take profit that you set yourself. As a result, a profitable position becomes unprofitable, and you begin to believe and expect that it will become profitable again, overstaying the unprofitable position.
You're Too Emotional
Your mood changes with every price reversal. Forgetting about the analysis, you often open new positions and lose more than your risk management can afford.
Successful Trader
You have an Effective Trading Plan
You have written on a piece of paper a strategy of actions for any market situation and always follow the rules prescribed in the strategy. You often analyze your trades in a trade journal and always remember your mistakes and hits.
You Understand What Risk Is
You have clear rules of risk management. Even before opening a position, you know how much you can lose in this trade and do not lose more than allowed by the rules of risk management. You don't move your stop loss and you don't act emotionally.
You Control Your Emotions
You clearly follow your strategy, leaving no room for emotions. Even before opening a deal, you have analyzed everything and know exactly what to do – you have a plan of action.
You always fix a part of the profit
You do not forget to protect your capital, so you close part of the position in plus or zero, and let the rest of the position grow further. Now you will not only not lose your money, but you can also earn.
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TRADING PRINCIPLES THAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW. PART 1.Hello traders!
For a long time, the Forex market has created a large number of trading methods.
Finding your strategy that suits you specifically is one of the main steps in achieving success in the Forex market.
And it is worth remembering that successful traders do not use anything magical in their trading. Everything has been invented for a long time for both a novice trader and a successful trader.
The main task of beginners is to choose a fairly easy strategy and strictly follow its principles and rules.
So what does a beginner need to know in order to trade profitably?
Price levels.
It is difficult for a beginner to determine price levels and trade them correctly.
There are no specific rules in this topic, since the price does not draw clear points, but forms zones.
Many traders use support and resistance levels in their trading and for beginners, the main task at the beginning of the journey will be the concept of selling from resistance and buying from support.
There are three types of trading systems based on price levels.
1. If the price moves within the framework of a sideways movement, the trader can sell from resistance and buy from support.
2. If there is a prevailing trend in the market, for example, bearish, a trader can sell from resistance and expect support to break through.
3. The same rules work in the bull market, only in a different direction. If the price breaks through the resistance, then this zone becomes a support from which you can buy.
Consider the principles of trading from price levels.
#1 Understanding the market context.
The key to profitable trading from the levels is the ability to correctly understand the market context.
Bearish pressure leads the market movement through an impulse movement that breaks through support and creates new lows – in this context, selling strategies will not work well.
That is why it is so important to follow the concept of the market context:
When the market falls, creating new highs and lows, we are talking about an impulsive bearish context.
The correction is created by an impulse that is weaker than the main trend.
A sideways movement occurs when both demand and supply are approximately equal and the price cannot move in a certain direction.
As soon as the bulls or bears take over, the price will make an impulse in the direction of the strong side.
#2 Top-Down Analysis
The market is ruled by big money, which pays great importance to large timelines.
And it is vital for an ordinary trader to know where smart money is pushing the market.
To do this, it is worth noting strong levels on the monthly-weekly-daily timeframes in order to know exactly where the price is most likely to rebound.
On the other hand, if the price is above the key levels, then the market is bullish.
#3 Candlestick Patterns
Almost every trader uses candlestick patterns in his analysis, which are a very strong analysis tool.
Reversal candlestick patterns create an excellent opportunity to enter a trend reversal.
The higher the timeframe on which the pattern was formed, the stronger its signal will be.
Knowing candlestick formations is a very important part of a trader's professional growth.
#4 Risk Management
Any trader should be aware of the risks and be able to control them.
Although this topic goes beyond the definition of the market context, it is still very important.
There are many ways to control risks.
An important rule is to set a stop loss and risk in each position, as recommended, no more than 2% percent.
Hedge fund managers risk an even smaller percentage in each transaction, sometimes 1% or even lower.
It is better to grow slowly than to fall quickly.
If you lose 2% of the capital, in the next transaction, in order to get your money back, you will already need to make 4%, which in general is not difficult to do.
But if you lose 50%, you will need to make 100% profit already, which is almost unrealistic.
Conclusions
Summarizing the above, you can make the following sequence of actions:
Identify the key support and resistance levels.
Wait for the candle to form in the desired direction.
Stop loss above or below the candlestick pattern.
Take profit is placed at the following support or resistance levels.
Always make sure to use proper money management for each trade, and never take on a risk that exceeds the return.
Traders, if you liked this idea or if you have your own opinion about it, write in the comments. I will be glad 👩💻
Psychology of the market circle Hello traders!
Euphoria and Anxiety, Fear and Greed
Psychology of the market cycle
Any trader finds himself under the influence of changing market cycles. At favorable moments, investors feel joy and are overwhelmed with self-confidence. On dark days, the investor falls into despair and feels anxiety attacks.
The only way not to succumb to such an emotional influence is to follow the clear rules of a properly compiled system. Unfortunately, most traders have no plan and no strategy. In order not to become a victim of emotions, a trader must have an idea of the emotional stages of the market cycle.
Psychological stages of trading
An uptrend is a trader's emotions.
Optimism
When the market is growing, the trader sees an opportunity to earn and invests money. The economy is growing, the price is rising, profits are growing. At such a moment, the trader feels confident, begins to open new positions after each pullback, which eventually turns into a kind of instinct. At this stage, the trader begins to forget about the risks.
Enthusiasm and Abundance
The market is starting to accelerate. Traders experience pleasant feelings of joy and enthusiasm. The trader begins to lose his head, confidence overwhelms him.
Euphoria
After that, the last stage of the upward trend comes - Euphoria. Money comes very easily, the trader is overwhelmed with confidence in his actions and decides to open positions using leverage. At some point, the trader begins to think that he is a professional analyst, and it is not he who is following the market, but the market is following him. This stage in the market helps large investors to discount their shares to self-confident traders who buy everything in a row, believing in the continuation of the upward trend. In fact, this phase is the most risky, after which the trend is reversed.
Emotional stages of a Downtrend in the market
Anxiety
The price is starting to slow down, there are fewer and fewer sellers, bears are gaining momentum. For a trader blinded by luck, this phase looks like another correction. But the market can no longer create new highs and falls, forming new lows. Such a fall creates anxiety in the trader's soul, easy profits begin to melt.
Denial and Fear
Fear fills the market, traders are afraid to be wrong, because recently they ruled the market. At this stage, the trader denies that he is wrong and tries in every way to justify holding unprofitable positions. Like any beginner, a trader believes that sooner or later the price will not only return, but also go beyond the maximum. Denial brings the trader to a state of helplessness and inaction, from misunderstanding of the situation on the market. The trader gets lost, not knowing what to do and waits without knowing what, without closing unprofitable positions.
Despair and Panic
The price continues to fall, and the trader falls into despair, because the confidence in holding a losing position is already beginning to disappear. This phase is the most painful, because the severity of losses presses too hard to stay calm.
Surrender
The unprofitability of the position is increasing, traders can no longer tolerate this pain. In this phase, traders have to capitulate just to stop these torments. Traders are starting to close positions and it is here that large companies are included, for which this moment gives a new opportunity for large profits. Asset buying begins, because a reversal is possible soon.
Despondency and Confusion
As it often happens, as soon as a trader has closed a position, the market begins to grow. It looks like the law of meanness. This phase drives the trader into despondency, because the position was closed a moment before the rise. It is here that newcomers begin to think about whether it is worth investing further.
Hope
The market is starting to revive. The price shows new highs and the investor has hope. It seems that here it is, a new opportunity. The trader begins to enter the market, forgetting about the past, without drawing conclusions. A trader enters the market when the price has already accelerated, at points where the risk is again close to a critical value, the cycle begins again.
Traders should keep this cycle in mind. Such emotional roller coasters can ruin anyone. A well-designed strategy can help avoid these painful blows.
Remember the risks, remember the cycles, work on the mistakes, and victory will not take long to wait.
Traders, if you liked this idea or if you have your own opinion about it, write in the comments. I will be glad 👩💻
History of Forex | From Ancient to the Modern Day TradingWe have come a long way from the previously practiced barter system to the modern-day system of trading currency. Following is a brief summary of the evolution of currency and how it gave rise to Forex Trading.
Here are the main stages that are illustrated on the chart:
1️⃣The Ancient system of Trading - Trading with Gold
As early as 6th century BC , the first gold coins were produced, and they acted as a currency because they had critical characteristics like portability, durability, divisibility, uniformity, limited supply and acceptability.
2️⃣Bank Notes Originated - Deposited Gold in banks in exchange for banknotes
3️⃣Role of Geography - Various banks of different regions printed different currencies
Gold Standard - Currency pegged to gold
In the 1800s countries adopted the gold standard. The gold standard guaranteed that the government would redeem any amount of paper money for its value in gold . This worked fine until World War I where European countries had to suspend the gold standard to print more money to pay for the war.
4️⃣Bretton Woods System - Currency pegged to USD
The first major transformation of the foreign exchange market, the Bretton Woods System, occurred toward the end of World War II.
The Bretton Woods Accord was established to create a stable environment by which global economies could restore themselves. It attempted this by creating an adjustable pegged foreign exchange market. An adjustable pegged exchange rate is an exchange rate policy whereby a currency is fixed to another currency. In this case, foreign countries would 'fix' their exchange rate to the US Dollar .
5️⃣Birth of Floating Currency - Currency that is not pegged to any assets or other currencies is known as a 'floating currency'.
And what will be next?
Very hard to say but blockchain technologies will make the system change again.