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Trading Myths Like many of you, I started trading by picking up pieces here and there through books, internet and the many forums that populate cyberspace. The absolute worst were the forums. I admit there were a few good things but overall, it was fluff and those that wrote it, usually were changing their systems/strategy/method after someone would post their own trading information. Books, in general, were simply a rehash of the basics with a little twist tossed in. Actually, some had no twist but just the basics explained a little differently. If you are going to enter a profession, don’t you owe it to yourself to at least arm yourself with proper knowledge? Look at it this way (this is how I did anyhow): You are entering a profession where you can make a lot of money. You are entering a profession where some traders trade, as a routine, …
Trading Education Key To Better Success Over the last few years, I have written a ton of articles and made many videos for Netpicks. They have ranged from strictly system methodologies to subjects such as supply/demand, the importance of news, order flow, stops, support/resistance along with a host of other topics. Why would I write about those topics when they are not really covered in depth in the training for Netpicks strategies? After all, over the long run, these strategies perform quite well, right, so why clutter up your mind with other issues? Simply put, at the end of the day, I don’t like half measures. Let me explain…. I have played guitar for decades. You can actually master 3 chords and be able to play most any song you choose to play with a basic strumming pattern. The problem is that it does not have much style nor does …
Do You Know Forex Basics? When a trader writes, many times we forget that not everyone has a deep understanding of trading and all that it entails. The amount of eyes I see glaze over when I start talking about pips, bid/ask, NFP or the influence of interest rate on the value of a currency, is beyond count. Over the next few blog postings of mine, I want to take a rudimentary look at the Forex market and get many of the newbies up to speed on the basics. This is not going to be a full -fledged trading course but just enough to give you a “birds eye view” of this lucrative opportunity. Let’s define the Forex market Quite simply, the FX market is where the currencies of the world are traded. Think of it as trading one currency for another the way you do when exchanging currency for …
What is leverage? This of leverage as a loan that you can instantly qualify for. No credit checks or proof of employment. Simply open up a Forex account with a broker and bang….you can now control more money than you actually have. I am sure that any of you that have looked at making money through real estate or other investments have heard the term “OPM” which means, other people’s money. Stated simply, you are using other people’s money to advance your wealth efforts. Let me give an example: New regulations in North America have stated that a 50:1 ratio is the max that can be used for leverage. Some will say that is too high and many of the big traders use much less than that. 50:1 means that if you want to control $100,000 worth of currency, the broker will want to hold $2000 of your money as …
As a trader, there are a few ways you can enter a trade and which one you use can actually make a difference in the outcome of a trade. Certain orders, depending on when used, can cause your position to suffer from slippage. This essentially means that your order will get filled at a price different than what you expected. For the most part though, retail Forex traders don’t suffer too much from this unless they trade around news releases. For the most part, the slippage is small, if any, in normal market conditions. It really all depends on what happens between pressing the order button and the order getting filled. Market Order: This is the basic way of entering a trade. When you click the buy/sell/close button on your platform, you are requesting a transaction at the best available market price. The issue with there are that the bid/ask …
Fundamentally, trading really is a simple game, yet it requires a great deal of thought, effort and persistence to succeed. In poker the saying often goes that it “takes five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master”. Trading is similar in many respects and yet if it’s approached in the right way, competence can be achieved much more quickly than most people realize. There’s nothing complicated. There’s no magic formula, no holy grail and no silver bullet. Just simple, well thought out and carefully ordered common sense. Here are my six keys to trading success: Technique and Market Knowledge This is the one which most new traders spend the vast majority of their time on and yet actually it only equates to a small part of trading success. Still, it’s important to have a good knowledge of the various facets of the market, your chosen strategy and the products …
It’s Probably Not a Duck Just as recognizing market behavioral patterns is important, recognizing and accepting the failure of patterns can be vital to your success. When a market fails to do something, the reversal is often at least as if not more powerful. If you think about it for a minute it makes sense. If a lot of traders have the same position and all of a sudden the market starts to reverse, there are not only those who want to go with it but also a bunch of traders who want to exit. If you hold a position and the market falters then it’s very useful to be able to identify this swiftly. One – you protect your profits. Two – you potentially can jump onboard for a reversal. Here’s an example in the ES on Thursday 29th March 2012. The ES looked in some respects like it …
Interview with Seven Summits Trader Member: Brad Niskanen Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of interacting with new SST Member, Brad Niskanen, regarding the new SST Pro and some interesting tradeplans that he had been working on. Brad came into the fold via the live traderoom and before too long, he was requesting a way to get his hands on the SST Pro. While it was not on the market at the time, we do make it available from time to time to members of the live traderoom when they ask about it. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. What struck me about Brad was how quickly he immersed himself into learning the method and in a very short amount of time, probably less than a few weeks, he was already working on his own unique way of using the SST Pro, researching and working out his own …
Talking Trader Taxes Taxes. They’re a pain. And as a trader, you face even MORE questions… Do you qualify for trader tax status? Should you elect market-to-market accounting? Can you benefit from an entity? Is an investment-management business or incubator fund right for you? The list goes on! You could go to your neighborhood accountant but often times, even they’re not too sure (after all, most people *don’t trade*). In response to this common concern, we’ve contacted our friend, Robert Green over at Green Trader Tax to give you a handle on what things you can do, and what things you can’t (and where to seek further advice). Obviously, you should consult with Robert (or another suitable tax advisory) for your own personal situations but this interview and webinar should give you a good idea on what type of questions you need to ask. Robert A. Green is a CPA …
Biases and Marginal Trades There are two big problems traders have to tackle amongst the many factors which are involved in their success. Taking marginal trades is the blight of the small and yet-to-be-consistent trader and historical and/or positional bias on the interpretation of trading activity finishes a close second. As you might well imagine, combine the two and your trading day could go down like a lead balloon. Whilst suggesting these self-inflicted problems don’t happen when you are profitable is folly, the difference is that you have a much better chance to deal with and avoid them. Conscious awareness of how they affect your ability to profit on a single trade, the day overall and your current psychological state can lead to a trading with more control. So what am I talking about exactly? Historical/Positional Bias I’m afraid that this is a difficult one and it can be what …
