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Top 8 Rules of a Pro Trader Hey traders, Consistently profitable traders have a lot of things in common. Watching how they act and following their ideas & thoughts we can spot a lot of commonalities among them. In this article, I have collected 8 trading habits that a trader should have to become successful. 1️⃣ - Continuous Learning 📚 The markets are infinitely deep in their nature. Trading & constant monitoring of the market always unveil new, uncharted elements and things. With 8 years of day trading, I can't help wondering how many new things I learn each and every day. With continuous learning you evolve, you become better and it improves your trading performance & results. 2️⃣- Emotional Stability 🙏 The market is a wild beast who always wants to bite us. And most of the time it manages to do that: drawdowns, losing streaks... Those who trade for at least 1 year know how unpredictable and unstable the market is. A perfectly looking trading setup can easily turn into a big losing trade. Of course, that is painful, of course with more and more losers, the anxiety will pursue us, the stress will overwhelm us. Only by remaining stable and calm, you will manage to overcome the negative periods. Learn to control your emotions, learn to take losses! 3️⃣ - Constant Practice 💪 Pro traders never stop, they always watch the charts, they always monitor the prices, and follow the market. Trading requires constant TRADING. Just spending one single week on a vacation without charts, you can not imagine how hard it is to return back. The trading skills must be constantly maintained. 4️⃣ - Trade Journaling 📝 Pro trders always assess their past performance & results. They track each and every trading position that they opened. Both losing trades and winning trades require analysis and observations. Only by studying the past results the trader can improve his trading performance and evolve. Only by identifying mistakes & peculiar commonalities, the trader learns to lose less than he makes. 5️⃣ - Anticipation of Different Outcomes 👁 Everything can happen in financial markets. Pro trader always reasons in probabilities. He knows that 100% chances do not exist. Accepting the probabilities the trader (even while opening the trade) is always ready for completely different outcomes and accepts each and every move of the market. 6️⃣ - Flexibility & Adaptivity 🕺 The markets are always changing. If you were trading before COVID crisis, I guess you feel how the reality among us shifted. With fundamental changes in our daily lives, the markets changed as well. It is hard to say what exactly has altered though, however, we all can feel it. In order to survive in a constantly changing environment, one should adapt . One should look for ways to be one step ahead. To beat an evolving market, the traders should constantly polish their trading strategies, drop the things that don't work anymore, and adopt the new, reliable ones. That is the only way to stay afloat. 7️⃣ - Selection of Right Markets 📈 The trader always knows what to trade and he always has a reason. He admits that some financial instruments are appropriate for his trading style while some are completely not. Pro trader does not wander around aimlessly from one market to another. He has a plan to follow and rules to rely on. 8️⃣ - Realistic Expectations ⭐️ Many newbie traders drop trading just because of wrong expectations. The desire to get rich quick, to catch 20/1 risk to reward trades without substantial losses is playing a dirty trick with them. The true trader is not greedy, in contrast, he is humble and the only thing that he wants is simply to win more than he loses and make that amount sufficient enough to have a good living. Adapting these 8 habits, you will see dramatic improvements in your trading. And even though most of them require a substantial effort and many years of practicing, trust me, it is worth it and it will help you in your daily life as well. Would you add some other habits to this list?🤓 Let me know in a comment section. Let me know, traders, what do you want to learn in the next educational post?
TVC:USOILEducation
by VasilyTrader
9
May the Fourth Be With You - And your Stop losses!Star Wars has been around since 1977 which was written and directed by George Lucas. During that time, there have been phenomenal quotes, lessons and adventures that have been shared. Instead of telling you different lessons Star Wars can teach you about trading. How about I share some quotes and how you can apply them? Here are the ones I find are the most applicable. #1: "I find your lack of faith disturbing." Use this as a reminder to stay confident in your trades, even when the market is unpredictable. Have faith in your strategy. Have faith in your commitment. Have faith in your strong mindset. #2: "Your focus determines your reality." Stay focused on your trading goals and strategy. It’s not about what others see. It’s not about what others feel. It’s about you in your own work station, planning, preparing and executing accordingly. #3: "Do or do not, there is no try." Commit fully to your trades, rather than hesitating or second-guessing. When it’s lined up, ACTION. When you see a trade setups, write them down and prepare for execution. Don’t try… DO! #4: "Fear is the path to the dark side." Stay level-headed and not let fear or panic drive your trading decisions. Fear doesn’t exist. Only danger does. We are fearful most times in our head when there is no apparent danger. Remember this when you feel fear. #5: "In my experience, there's no such thing as luck." Successful trading is based on skill, probabilities and strategy, not luck. #"6: The Force will be with you, always." Here’s a reminder that your skills and strategy will guide you through both good and bad trading times. In this case the force is your proven strategy, your will, your commitment and your strong mind. #7: "You must unlearn what you have learned." Be open-minded and flexible when it comes to adapting your trading strategy. We learn as sheeple to buy low sell high. While I have gone against the idea and instead BUY HIGH, SELL HIGHER. Also, when everyone buys, is normally where the Smart Money offloads theirs. And when retail dumb money sells, that’s where Smart money BUYS. Did you find these useful? Which one resonated the most with you?
TVC:SA40Education
by Timonrosso
13
RISK less with Drawdowns and more with Winning StreaksA drawdown is a period of decline in the value of a portfolio. This is where you take a number of trades, and the losses drop the portfolio at a marginal level (if you know what you’re doing). During these times, the market is typically more volatile (jumpy) and unpredictable. And so you have a higher chance to risk money in unfavourable times. Risk less with drawdowns When your portfolio drops 6%, 8% or even 11% – This is where you’re not sure when the market will become more favourable. This is the time where you decide to risk less money per trade. You would drop the risk from 3%, 2% to 1.5% or even 1%. Then keep trading until the markets pick up and start to favour your portfolio… Once you’re out of the drawdown then… Risk more money with the winning streak During the winning streaks, the market is typically more stable and predictable, and the chances of making a profit are higher. You can then pump up the risk back to 2% or 3% (if you’re a risky biscuit). When do you do this? When your portfolio is either BACK to an all-time-high. Or when you can see the market has broken out of the sideways consolidation and volatile period. Risk management is an important aspect of successful investing, and adjusting the amount of money being invested based on market conditions is one strategy that can help investors achieve their financial goals. By risking less money during drawdowns and more money during winning streaks, you as the trader can lower your potential losses and maximize your potential gains.
TVC:SA40Education
by Timonrosso
Why YOU NEED a Slice of Humble PieAs a trader, you must approach the market with humility and an understanding that you are at its mercy. And so you need to remember that the market, doesn’t know you, doesn’t care about you, and doesn’t work to reward you. Let’s break that down. The Market Doesn’t Know You The financial market (Mr. Market) is a complex and dynamic system that is influenced by a multitude of factors. These factors are beyond our control and are pretty much impossible to predict. As a trader, you need to remember that the market doesn’t know you, isn’t out to get you and that your success or failure is not a personal reflection of your worth. The Market Doesn’t Care About You It can be tempting to think that the market is out to get us and that every loss is a direct result of our own mistakes. However, the market doesn’t care about us as individual. They don’t have some personal vendetta against us. Every trade is simply a result of supply and demand dynamics along with risk, reward and probabilities. We must accept that sometimes the market will work against us, no matter how skilled or experienced we are. The Market Doesn’t Work to Reward You There is such high competition with trading. This environment is very high-pressured. It sometimes feels like we are in some race to make as much money as possible. However, it is important to remember that the market doesn’t work to reward us. As a trader, you must be humble and understand that success in the markets takes time, patience, and you must be willing to learn from your mistakes. Also need to approach each and every trade with a level-headed and open-minded perspective. Focus on this, and you you’ll make which will help us to make better decisions and increase our chances of success.
TVC:SA40Education
by Timonrosso
1
What is Trading Plan? Detailed Example A short ⚠️disclaimer before we start: the rules that will be discussed in this post are applicable only for technicians - traders that are relying on price action/structure/etc. Also, we assume that structure levels do work and for us, key levels are considered to be the safest trading zones/points. In order to increase the accuracy of your predictions analyzing different financial markets, you must learn to identify the direction of the market.📈 The identification of the market trend must be based on strict & reliable & testable rules. It can be based on technical indicators or price action Personally, I prefer to rely on price action. There are three main types of market trends: Bullish Trend Bearish Trend Sideways Market Depending on the current direction of the market, on the chart, I drew a flow chart✔️ that will help you to act safely. ➡️Sideways market signifies consolidation & indecision. Usually being in such a state the market tends to coil in horizontal ranges. To trade such a market safely, the best option for you will be to wait for a breakout of the range & wait for the initiation of the trend. ➡️Once you spotted a bullish market, do not rush to buy. Your task will be to identify the closest strong structure support . You must be patient enough to let the price reach that support first (and by the way, there is no guarantee that it will happen) and then you must wait for a certain confirmation. Only once you get the needed confirmation you can buy the market. ➡️The same strategy will be applicable to a bearish market. Spotting a short rally it is way early to just sell the asset from a random point. You must find the closest strong structure resistance and wait for the moment when the price will approach that. Then your task will be to wait for a confirmation and only when you got the reliable trigger you short the market. 🦉Try to rely on this flow chart and I promise you that you will see a dramatic increase in your trading performance. And even though it may appear to you that this flow chart is TOO SIMPLE, in practice, even such a set of rules requires iron discipline and patience. Thank you so much for reading this article, I hope you enjoy it! Let me know, traders, what do you want to learn in the next educational post?
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
10
WHY YOU Don't always Receive INTEREST when you are short... Q. I thought that when you go short (sell) that we earn interest (swap fees) per day. But to my surprise I was actually charged interest on my open trade with AUD/NZD. Was I not meant to earn interest?” A. Unfortunately, it depends… With each market you trade, you’ll need to look at the symbol information for each trade you take. This also depends on the deal the broker has with each market. For example, when you SELL AUD/NZD you're essentially buying NZD/AUD (as they are currency pairs). So whether you go long or short, you don't earn interest with short (sell) currencies... But make sure, you always look at Symbol information and see what swaps are positive when you are short. With the AUD/NZD you can see you pay -3.35% per year. That means each day you hold, you’ll have to pay 0.009% per day. Then with some commodities and indices you’ll either earn interest or you’ll have to pay interest when you short (sell). For example, with gold you’ll receive an interest of 1.23% per year. Whereas with cotton you’ll pay 5.4% per year. With the UK 100 FTSE, you’ll pay an annual interest of -0.24%. And with the Dow Jones you’ll receive 0.74% per year. Then with local and international stocks, you’ll receive a certain % of interest (swap fees) per year. So make sure you always check to see what each swap (daily interest fee) entails. This obviously depends on the Market Maker you're using and if you're using Trading View make sure you see the information from your broker what the interest swaps (fees) are when you go long or short.
TVC:SA40Education
by Timonrosso
4 Ways to ACTION a trade - WHEN TO FIRE!You know that successful trading is… . . . . Patience. You need to wait for the setup, reason, system, lining etc… But then there is the 2% time where you actually ACTION a trade. We action a trade for three reasons. To enter To adjust To get out But we need to talk about these reasons more… Let’s do it., ACTION #1: Trade lines up – JUST TAKE THE TRADE! When your trading signal lines up with your entry, stop loss, take profit, and system: This is the most obvious time to take action. It tells you “HELLO AN OPPORTUNITY HS ARISEN” It is crucial to act quickly and decisively when this happens, as opportunities in the market can disappear just as quickly as they appear. ACTION #2: Adjust your levels – JUST CHANGE THE TRADE There are two levels you can adjust with your trades. Stop loss and Take profit. When the market is moving in your favour, and you have solid rules to move your stop loss in the favour. This is done to lock in minimum gains. For example. When my trade is 1:1 in the money, I might move my stop loss to just above breakeven. This way I have nothing to lose if it turns against me. Then when the market is shooting in your favour, you might want to adjust the take profit. This is because you can see the market wants to move further or… There is a new setup with a new take profit level in place – which happens often with my analyses. Action #3: Execute the time stop loss – JUST GET OUT When an extended period has taken place i.e. 35 days or 7 weeks. You might want to just get out of the boring trade. You are either : • Chowing (eating away at) unnecessary daily costs holding a non performing trade. • A trade setup seems null and void as a new contrary setup as formed. • Or it’s just a plain old opportunity cost where you can put your money in better places. it may be necessary to exit the trade in order to avoid incurring too much in daily fees or missing out on other better opportunities. Action #4: Exit due to unforeseen circumstances- SERIOUSLY JUST GET OUT! For example when a black swan event occurs: A black swan event is a term used to describe a market collapse (10X the standard deviationof its normal price move) that is unexpected and has a significant impact on the market. In the event of a black swan event, it is essential to exit your trade in order to protect your capital and avoid taking a bigger loss than you expected.
TVC:SA40Education
by Timonrosso
EXPLAINED: A Bearish Fair Value Gap (FVG) - Smart Money ConceptsA Bearish Fair Value Gap is a 3 candle structure with a DOWN impulse candle (2nd) that indicates and creates an imbalance or an inefficiency in the market. WHAT DO THE IMBALANCES TELL US? These imbalances tell us that the buying and selling is not equal. Now the market needs to rebalance (move at least to 50% of the fair value gap to fill) to make up for the imbalance and rebalance. For this to happen we need to see orders filled in the prices of the candle with the FVG. HOW A BEARISH FAIR VALUE GAP IS CONSTRUCTED: 1st Candle Draw a horizontal line from the bottom of the wick. 3rd Candle Draw a horizontal line from the top of the wick 2nd Candle Draw a BOX between the bottom and the top and pull it over to see the FVG range. BETWEEN CANDLE 1 and CANDLE 3: Do NOT show common prices. They do NOT touch where the lower & the upper wicks do NOT overlap. With a Bearish FVG we can expect the market price to move UP. HOW MUCH? I believe a Bearish FVG needs to close at least 50%. So you can drag a Gann Box or a Fib retracement (take out all the other levels except 50%). Wait for the price to close and fill the prices and boom - Your Bearish Fair Value Gap has been filled. SO WHAT? When you see a Bearish Fair Value Gap, you can expect the price to move up. So you can place your stop loss below the downtrend. You can place your entry where it shows upside is imminent to close the gap. You can place your take profit above the 50% of the formation, as you expect the price to close. But also, we use other confirmation signals with the Bearish Fair Value Gap. Let me know if you have any other SMC (Smart Money Concepts) Questions.
TVC:SA40Education
by Timonrosso
XAUUSD We caught the sells and 18/4/23 Outlook Good evening Gold Gang! what an amazing day on the gold chart The first sells came after the forecasted fake out of the key level .. i entered as soon as i saw a bearish candle form after the rejections at key level .. i rode it down to the next level and then price continued again. Both levels forecast and its amazing to receive messages from traders who took the same trades as me. For tomorrows price action, price has rejected the major key price level of 1983 with a huge wick. Id like to now start to move upwards to correct the bearish drops. This could be the beginning of the all time high run .. but we will need a biiig news catalyst for this to happen. Sells below the previous close but be aware of price at 1979 as there may be a reaction from there. Have a great evening guys, please leave a like and follow along for more xauusd updates tommyXAU
OANDA:XAUUSD
by tommyXAU
5
Why you should NOT view LOSSES as LOSSESI want you to stop thinking of trading losses as losses. It’s having an effect on you emotionally and is stopping your full potential of growth. Financial trading, like any other business or aspect of life, involves costs. That’s just life. In business, there are costs associated with equipment, rent, salaries, taxes, and legal fees. In our personal lives, there are costs associated with household expenses like rent, groceries, insurance, medical fees, taxes, and repairs. Similarly, in trading, there are costs associated with normal losses, daily interest charges, and drawdowns. It’s crucial to remember that losses are an inevitable part of trading and should be viewed as a necessary cost of doing business. Just as a business owner must invest money in equipment, rent, and salaries to run their business, traders must also be prepared to invest money in losses in order to be successful in the long run. If you try to avoid taking a trade, because you are worried about the loses, you will miss out on the greater rewards for when profitable trading opportunities come your way. When you see trading losses as costs… You will be able to take a more objective and strategic approach to the trading decisions that you make going forward. This can help you to minimize losses and maximize profits over time. So there are few things you need to do to mange your costs (losses) emotionally and physically. Action #1: Set realistic stop losses Place your stop loss with every trade and never risk more than 2% of your portfolio per trade. Action #2: Understand the concept of Risk to Reward better. The risk-reward ratio is the ratio of the potential profit of a trade to the potential loss. By understanding the risk-reward ratio, traders can make more informed trading decisions and can better manage their risk. Action #3: Don’t feel your losses If you feel 2% is too much to risk, risk less! Get to the point with your life where a loss isn’t that much as with where the reward isn’t worth celebrating. Overtime, you’ll slowly grow your account and your mind too.
TVC:SA40Education
by Timonrosso
Patience is a Virtue in Trading! Learn Why: In trading, timing is everything. Winning traders are patient. They know how to control their impulses so as to act decisively at the opportune moment. Rather than acting on a whim, they carefully devise a detailed trading plan, in which precise entry and exit strategies are specified, and strictly follow it. Discipline is the key to successful trading. Although discipline can be learned, some people are more disciplined and self-controlled than others. It is useful to determine where you stand on this trait, and if you’re impulsive, developing psychological strategies to compensate for it will allow you to trade profitably. Research studies have demonstrated that some people have difficulty delaying gratification. In the jargon of behavioural economics, they “discount delayed rewards.” That is, they would rather take a small profit now, instead of waiting for a larger profit later. Depending on your style of trading, discounting a delayed reward can be a problem. For a long-term investor, for example, it is necessary to buy-and-hold long enough for one’s long term strategy to play out. There may be minor fluctuations during the waiting period, but seasoned investors have learned to wait it out. Most novice investors, in contrast, impulsively sell as the masses panic and buy the stock back at a top, which usually results in a losing trade. If you are a long-term investor, it is necessary to be able to control your impulse to make a profit and allow the price to rise over time. Even shorter-term traders, such as a swing trader, must fight the urge to sell early. Although trades are held for much shorter windows, a swing trader must know how to wait patiently for the optimal time to sell. Selling a winner too early is not going to allow one’s account balance to increase exponentially at an ideal rate. The scalper is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Most scalpers feel an overpowering need to take a quick profit as soon as they can get it. To some extent, it may be wise for a person who has trouble patiently waiting for the price of an investment instrument to increase to become a scalper. The conventional wisdom these days, however, is that decimalization has made scalping less viable. It is useful to take other steps to work around one’s inclination to sell prematurely. For example, one can use the automatic settings on one’s trading platform to specify an exit strategy. It has often been said that looking at one’s screen during the trading day is like sitting in front of a slot machine and trying to resist gambling. It’s hard. Just as the one-armed bandit tempts recreational gamblers, charts and indicators on a computer screen tempt seasoned and novice traders alike to make hasty trading decisions. It may be useful to refrain from constantly looking at how a particular stock or commodity is doing while you’re waiting for your trading plan to play out. If you have to walk away, while having the automatic settings on to manage risk, then, by all means, turn off your screens or walk away. It is also useful to objectify the trade. The more you can learn to view the trade objectively, as if you just don’t care what happens, the more you’ll be able to resist the temptation to close out a trade prematurely. A cold, rational approach to trading, along with a detailed trading plan, is the best defence against impulsive trading decisions. Patience is a virtue when attempting to trade profitably. It is useful to remember that humans have a strong, natural tendency to avoid risk and loss at all costs. This tendency often protects us from harm, but there are times when it can compel us to act impulsively. We are naturally inclined to avoid losses at all costs, even if it means selling a potentially winning trade before it reaches fruition. Unless one can let winners increase in price sufficiently, profits won’t balance out losses. The ability to control one’s impulses and wait for larger, delayed rewards is vital for long-term survival. It’s worth developing this ability. Hey traders, let me know what subject do you want to dive in in the next post?
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by TopTradingSignals
9
BIG TIP OF THE DAY - Ride Winners and Cut losers BIG TIP OF THE DAY: If you want to ride up winners, lock in profits and reduce losers here is what to do. 1. Place your Entry Stop loss and Take profit (But have a TP 2 and TP 3 in place). 2. When the price approaches TP 1 (Close half of your position and move your stop loss to Breakeven) 3. When the price hits TP 2 (Close half of your position and move your stop loss half-way) 4. When the price hits TP 3 (Close your entire position). This is how to ride your profits and winners.
TVC:SA40Education
by Timonrosso
Why we MAKE Excuses as tradersIt is an innate habit to make excuses in life. We make excuses because it is the easy way out. And let me tell you. With trading, there is no EASY way. As I like to say trading is the easiest hard way to make money. It starts with NOT making stupid excuses such as: Excuse #1: “I don’t know enough about the markets – so I won’t trade yet” People don’t trade because of one thing. Ignorance. People may make this excuse because they have not put in the time and effort to research and understand the stock or market they are trading in. They make this excuse that they believe the market is a difficult, advanced and complex world to financially grow. If you passed school, or university – you can definitely learn how trading charts work and how the market operates. Besides, it’s just demand, supply and volume and the rest is micro and macro economics (which you don’t even need). I know some 20 year olds who dropped out of school to learn to trade the markets and they are doing fine (for now). Excuse #2: “I’m scared of losing money – so I’m not going to trade”. Sure you’re worried about financial loss and that you can blow your account. Besides 98% of traders fail, because of this. But you do know you can start with a demo (paper) account in the mean time. Once you see consistent paper returns and that you have a solid and adept strategy, you can start depositing little by little. Money is no excuse when you can learn to trade – for free! Excuse #3: “I won’t be able to stick to the strategy” Most people make this excuse because either: They do not have a proven and profitable strategy. They do have a strategy but do not have the confidence to trade it. They do NOT have the faith to actually take the discipline to take a trade when the system lines up according to the strat. They don’t think they’ll be able to focus on trading because, they are distracted by other things in their lives. This is a mind game, so work on yourself before you trade for yourself. Excuse #4: “I can’t stand the fact of losing” Back to ego, pride and integrity. Let me try and help you with this one. When you buy yourself clothes, cars or other material stuff. You do know you’re spending your hard earned money – poof – gone. With business, you have monthly costs fixed and variable. With life you have expenses and unexpected doctor appointments. All of these come with an opportunity cost. I lose this to get that. Trading shouldn’t be any different. You lose a bit of capital off one trade, to bank a higher return the next time. Rinse and repeat and your losses will start to feel like costs of the business. Your winners will feel like the money to pay for some of the costs next month. Cut your ego out because every week and month you spend and waste money – it’s called maturity. Excuse #5: “I’m waiting for better conditions” When the market Is not that favourable, how do you know when it will turn back? You just need one day, one week or one month – and your portfolio could head to all time highs. It’s not our jobs to trade when markets are favourable or not. It’s our job to follow the proven strategy because we know it will yield a consistent return over time. Also… When you do eventually get into trading – then what? Are you going to stop trading again because the market isn’t feeling right for your strategy? I should hope not. You’ll be entering into a discretion and subjective form of trading which eventually ends up to be a losing strategy. I hope this helps and makes you realise that excuses are nothing more than going back into a comfort zone of no change and progress… When later in life you’ll realise. Your comfort zone, was uncomfortable to begin with.
TVC:SA40Education
by Timonrosso
8 Trading Tips to Help You Increase Your Trading Profits Whether you are just getting started or you’ve been on your journey for a while now, you’ve probably discovered that day trading is not easy. You’re putting your hard-earned money on the line and facing new challenges daily. That said, every challenge you conquer takes you one step closer to your ultimate goal. Small behavioral changes can have profound impacts. Your goal is to minimize losses and maximize profits in order to increase your net profitability. Here are some tips: 1. Avoid Overtrading Traders are ambitious, sometimes too much so. Many traders feel the need to always be doing something. It’s important to remember that trading requires patience, and the quality of your trades is far more important than the quantity. 2. Avoid Under-trading Do you ever find a great trade setup that you don’t take action on, only to look back later and realize your idea was spot on? 3. Take Control of Your Losses As traders, we’re always focused on profits. After all, the main goal of trading is to turn money into more money. It’s easy to get carried away and forget about the very real potential for losses. In reality, limiting losses has the same net effect as increasing profits. 4. Simplify Your Approach There is an incredible amount of data available to traders in this digital millennium. This data is intended to improve our decision-making abilities, however it can also be overwhelming. 5. Trade Robotically As you begin to simplify your approach to trading, you can focus on making your strategy more robotic. The goal is to take all emotions out of trading so you can take a systematic approach to your trading. 6. Learn Your Strengths and Weaknesses Becoming a successful trader requires introspection, self-analysis, and evolution. Simply put, you need to analyze your own behavior and look for areas of improvement. 7. Double Down on What’s Working Learn to double down on areas of strength. Focus your efforts to trading activity that yields the highest rewards. 8. Don’t be Afraid to Go Back to Square One If you find yourself in a rut, don’t hesitate to go back to basics. In the trading world, a simple piece of advice can be a game changer. We’ve all heard quotes, lessons, or tips that have elevated our trading to new levels. What’s the best trading tip you’ve ever received? What do you want to learn in the next post?
TVC:GOLDEducation
by UnitedSignals
10
MC DONALD'S TRADING LESSONSStory time… One of the greatest success stories of all time, is with the company which is based on the glorious golden arches we still see today. Mc Donalds… It all started in 1940 where, two brothers, Maurice and Richard “Dick” Mc Donald’s made a small fortune selling hamburgers in San Bernardino, California… They took a product and an idea and turned it into a fast, convenient and consistently profitable business. Once they mastered their strategy and system then they introduced Ray Croc (a shrewd American businessman) into an agreement to build more Mc Donalds… However, he barely made enough profits to sustain, find more franchisees and even pay off his expenses… That’s when Harry Sonneborn came about where he made Ray Croc realise, he was in the land business rather than the restaurant business… Ray Kroc explained… “Pretty simple, really. Franchisee finds a piece of land he likes, gets a lease, usually 20 years, takes out a construction loan, throws up a building, and off he goes.” Sonneborne then said: “You don’t seem to realize what business you’re in. You’re not in the burger business. You’re in the real estate business.” This conversation lead to the global expansion of McDonald’s, turning it into the most successful fast food corporation in the world. In this article, I’m not going to talk about Ray Kroc, but instead how the brother’s starting concept applies to trading. Here are three lessons I learnt from Mc Donald’s Success #1: Less is more… The brothers were geniuses from the start… When something didn’t work, they threw it out… When something showed to work, they harnessed it, optimised it and improved it… They did this with data. The brothers took sales data to compare which products were making more money. They found that 80% of their sales in the last 3 years came from simple burgers. Each burger was made with precise ingredients. Any deviation and this caused sales to drop. The rest of the 20% were drinks and barbeque. So the brothers made their life easy and got rid of the barbeque pit completely. They also cut their menu down from 25 items to just 11 items. It mainly had Burgers Fries Milkshakes and Soft drinks They said let’s do less of what’s not helping sales and focus on what is making the most revenue. Once they got rid of the barbeque pit the brothers later on systematised the burger making process. So how does this relate to trading… Less is more is one of my most powerful quotes when it comes to trading… You need to cut out a LOT of data to maximise your returns… Find one or two systems that suit you. Minimise the number of markets, time frames and charts to look at. Cut out unnecessary indicators that conflict with the systems signals and frequency. Choose a certain time that works best for your system. Stick to 1 or two financial instruments to trade. Only have 1 or 2 or max 3 trading accounts with reason. It will take time and effort on your side to cut out what needs to be cut, but you won’t regret it in the long run… As Mc Donald’s did… Take a product improve it drastically then sell it to the masses. #2: Find a system to repeat over and over With Mc Donald’s did you know… They took a tennis court and drew out the compartments of making a burger. They then orchestrated it with their employees until the flow and speed was at the most optimised level. Once they found a winning system, reduced the time to make a burger and optimise the process – they were able to even drop the price to appeal more demand… At the time, they could drop the burger to 15 cents… With trading, you know this… You’ll need to find, adopt, follow and repeat your turn-key system. It doesn’t matter whether it takes you 2 months, 2 years or even 7 years to get right. Once you have it, you’ll be able to generate consistent results year in and year out. Just like the cycle of burgers, you’ll have your very own consistent cycle of success through trading… Also, with your one system you’ll be able to optimise it and improve it when conditions change… This brings us to the third lesson… #3: “We love to see you smile” This was one of Mc Donald’s campaign they used from 2000-2003, which has stuck… Not only does Mc Donald’s keep to their winning formula, systems, products and manner – but they also adapt to change… They continue to offer new items on the menu’s as time’s change… From Happy Meals, Toys, Lollipops, Café’s, Ice creams, food cultural adaptions to even Vegan food… They think of everything to adapt to change… BUT! They don’t stop offering their winning products that bring in revenue. With trading you need to also evolve as a trader and adapt to change. Sure, your system will remain consistent. Sure, your risk management won’t change… But there are certain elements that require change such as… New markets: You might want to incorporate your system with new markets i.e. AI, Electric Vehicles, Metaverse, Cannabis, Energy alternatives, Crypto, NFTs. AI (with ChatGPT, DALLEE, BING) and so on… New instruments: Also, we might need to evolve from the current financial instruments we’re trading… Once day, CFDs and Spread Betting might be a thing of the past. I personally have evolved from shares, warrants, futures to ETFs. You never know what will be next… New automations: We might soon have robots and AI to use out system to find trades and execute them. You get the point… If you want to be successful with trading you have to understand the power of systems to repeat… This way the system will do the job for you… Next time you’re at Mc Donald’s, you’ll see what I mean.
NYSE:MCDEducation
by Timonrosso
ROADMAP from COMFORT to GROWTHMost people take the easy road of being in a Comfort Zone. For this reason, they keep getting the same results and remain in their ‘uncomfortable’ position in life. Think about it… Those that don’t understand new things, never adapt to something that could change their life for the better. Those that keep earning the same old salary, never grow their retirement kitty to the level they wish. Those that never throw things away, end up cluttering their life with the old. Trading is no different. It requires you to step out of your comfort zone in the beginning, to create something that can change your life. Besides, great things never came from being in a comfort zone. Let’s talk about the stages required to become a Growth Trader. ZONE 1: COMFORT This is where most people stay. They don’t take the necessary steps to open a trading account, fund it and grow their portfolios. Instead, they stay in a feel safe and in control of their non-growing finances. I still have people who’ve followed me for 15 years, and haven’t taken ONE single trade. You need to jump out and take action. ZONE 2: FEAR When you have finally decided to take a leap of trading faith, a whole bunch of new fear with encompass your mind. Will I lose money? Will trading work for me? Will I be able to follow a strategy each day? Will I be on time to trade the markets? What if the market environment is not conducive when I start? Harness this fear, because it means one thing… CHANGE IS COMING… ZONE 3: LEARNING Every loss, gain, rule is a lesson and adaption to entering a NEW zone. Every challenge you face, is one less challenge you’ll need to deal with in the future. Every difficulty you experience is a skill that you’ll acquire for trading. The more you learn about the technical and fundamentals of the financial markets, the higher the level of experience and wisdom you’ll gain as a trader. The learning phase is imperative to achieving success in any field… ZONE 4: GROWTH The accumulated lessons, experience, wisdom, actions and tribulations of repetitive actions – are the foundations to entering into a new comfort zone of GROWTH. The difference is… You would have taken the necessary steps to succeed and accomplish your trading goals. It will eventually reach the point, where the above zones will help you enter into a conditional and automatic process into your life where trading is nothing more than a continuous habit. Once the fear, thrill and uncertainty are removed – only then you’ll realise that the initial comfort zone of inactivity was the uncomfortable phase that took you nowhere… Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Read that last sentence again.
JSE:J200Education
by Timonrosso
5 Choices you Make as a Trader - THIS Or THATFrom the second you turn on your computer, to the time you press buttons commit your funds into your trades and close your computer. You are making your own choices. Do you choose this? Do you follow that? Do you go against this? Do you type that? So technically, your financial future success lies all in your fingers. In this TradingView piece, you need to ask and answer what choices are you prepared to make – to turn your life around as a trader. CHOICE #1: Sleep until noon – Wake up early If you’re a position trader (trade once per week or so) like me, then you’ll know profitable opportunities knock VERY slowly. You can wake up late, open your trading platform and see a missed trading opportunity just like that. Or you can set your alarm, wake up to check the markets to confirm if there is a trade lined up or not. DON’T MISS YOUR TRADING OPPORTUNITIES! CHOICE #2: Only trade your starting portfolio size – Deposit money each month Let me be frank. R5,000 isn’t going to turn you into a millionaire. R20,000 isn’t going to turn you into a millionaire. I’m sorry but it has to be said. You need to find a way to keep depositing a bit of money into your trading account each month. Whether it’s 5% or 10% of savings, the more you deposit each month – the faster your portfolio will grow as you have more to make money from money. CHOICE #3: Go against your strategy – Follow your strategy I know it’s tempting to want to go against your strategy. You want to move your take profit, stop loss, you want to buy more. You want to take some money off the table. The problem is – make this choice and you’ll set a dangerous precedent. It will be the start of going against your strategy the next time and eventually, you’ll only be trading with discretionary (self) which I need to remind you is… A COMPLETE LOSING STRATEGY! The stock market doesn’t work on emotions. It doesn’t think and it doesn’t feel. So why should you? Keep to your proven and profitable trading strategy, and the profits will yield as your system has shown you time and time again. CHOICE #4: Learn and then drop the E – Try to earn and drop the $ Trading is a forever learning business. You need to learn how the markets work. You need to learn how the trading environments operate and when they are favourable or unfavourable to your strategy. You need to learn WHICH are the best instruments to trade. Which are the most reliable and secured brokers. Which trading platforms are up to date with technology. What NEW markets there are to utilise and profit from. The list continues. Please follow your own learning time line as a trader and then you’ll find it will all be worth it. CHOICE #5: LATER – NOW! I still get people who send me messages like… “Timon I’ve been following you for 15 years and haven’t started trading yet, what do you suggest?” Simple! Get out of your comfort zone, stop being lazy and take the necessary steps to start your trading journey. 15 years! You could have had all the experience you needed by now. You could have gained important lessons to build your portfolio. It’s all on you. The best time to start is NOW! There is no past (as it already happened). There is no present (as it automatically becomes the past). There is no future (as it’s still to come). So all you have is an infinitesimal photo shot of time called NOW! Got it? Make your choices and materialize your trading into the reality you’ve desired.
JSE:J200Education
by Timonrosso