Archives of “market direction” tag

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Ego & Nervous Traders

  
  Education
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There are a whole host of characters who regularly lose money in the market place, and most fall into two catogories:

False Ego Traders

& Nervous Traders The false ego mistakes come from a mixture of false pride and bravado and are the most dangerous mistakes to make. The trader, generally a beginner or intermediate — call him Tader A — gets an opinion in his head about market direction. His analysis may have even been sound, but his opinion keeps him from reading/seeing the signs that a change is occuring in the market he has targeted. He subconsciously see the changes, but false pride is the devil, and blocks the information from making it into his conscious decision making process. The change he needs to see may even be pointed out to him by a fellow trader –Trader B– but Trader A’s false ego blocks this because he knows “I’m smarter than Trader B…In fact I think its a good idea to fade Trader B”.

Trader A is also likely someone who is accustomed to being listened to. He may have been upper management in a company, or even owned the company. “People better listen to me” is how he sees it. He is likely more accustomed to talking rather then listening.

Despite trader A’s previous success’ Mother Market will bring him down quickly. Any early success he has in the market will only make for bigger losses down the road as he gets caught in the spiral of trying to make up for lost money and still make money. He doesn’t just want to get his money back, he wants that and then some. His time is valuable. He is going to make the market pay.

Well we all know how that works out, which is to say we won’t be seeing Trader A around for long. (more…)

Madame Market

  
  Education
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If you have the feeling that the market has a split personality, one day out to shower you with peace and blessings and the other to punish mercilessly, it can only mean that on some level you are still taking it personally.

Think of it this way – there are too many players with too many conflicting ideas about market direction for it to ever form one cohesive personality. The only exception I have witnessed to this rule is when fear clearly dominates the scene, and ironically these are times that are the easiest to trade.

The highest attainment for a traders developing psychology is to achieve what has been called “intellectual purity” – that is the state free from emotional reactiveness to market behavior; the ability to accept both reward and punishment with equanimity and understanding.

That said, we know that big players perform ‘market sweeps’ to take out stops at sitting duck levels, so we can at least attempt to protect against that. The main point though is to struggle against any dimly forming impression of the market being a single entity with a personality.

That is an illusion.

Typical Trading Errors

  
  Education
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1.  Refusing to define a loss.
2.  Not getting rid of a losing trade when it is obviously a loser.
3.  Getting locked into a bullheaded opinion about market direction.
4.  Focusing on monetary value of trade instead of market structure.
5.  Revenge trading to recoup a loss.
6.  Not reversing a position when the market is clearly changing direction.
7.  Not following the rules of your strategy.
8.  Planning for a trade and then not taking it.
9.  Not acting on your intuition.
10.  Giving back recent gains due to overtrading or inconsistency.

4 Pearls of Wisdom for Traders

  
  Education
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· The best trades come when the crowd leans the wrong way. In other words, the majority piles in one way but profits come from trading it the other way.
· Market direction is only as strong as the leadership that guides it. Stocks play follow-the-leader even when the charts tell a different tale.
· Follow the professionals in quiet times and the public in wild times.
· Good timing on bad stocks makes more money over time than bad timing on good stocks.

7 Mantras For Successful Trading

  
  Education
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1. Losing traders fear losses and crave profits. Winning traders eliminate both fear and greed. 
Great traders experienced a lot of losses and drawdowns in their lifes, so they don’t fear them. Losses are already familiar to them.
They know, that the biggest enemy of a trader are emotions. So the best attitude is not to be influenced by fear of loss or desire for profits. The more you fear something, the more you’ll experience it. The more you desire something, the less benefits you’ll have from it. 
If you’re scared of driving at high speeds, Formula 1 career will never be a good option for you. If you’re scared of losses, trading will also never be a activity suited for you. 
2. Losing traders care where the market will move in an hour, today or tomorrow. Winning traders don’t care where the market will go. 
Why manual traders are so attached to their positions or market direction? The deep psychological reason behind it, is that they’ve made the trades with their own hands and heads. So they start worrying about the outcome. The automated systematic traders on the other hand, let computer programs do the job, so they cannot blame themselves or the market for the outcome of particular trades. 
Why it is important in trading? The less you worry about the positions and about market direction, the less emotions can negatively impact your trading. 
3. Losing traders look for 100% return a month. Winning traders look for 100% return a year (without compounding). 
To achieve 100% return in a month, you have to trade with very high leverage. The most probable result trading with too high leverage is -100%. Winning traders use medium to low leverage. They may lose 30% from time to time, but with proper strategies, they are able to double the account every year. And if they combine medium leverage with the power of compounding , returns can be much higher.  (more…)

10 Trading Mistakes

  
  Education
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10 Trading Mistakes1. Refusing to define a loss.

2. Not liquidating a losing trade, even after you have acknowledged the trade’s potential is greatly diminished.

3. Getting locked into a specific opinion or belief about market direction. From a psychological perspective this is equivalent to trying to control the market with your expectation of what it will do: “I’m right, the market is wrong.”

4. Focusing on price and the monetary value of a trade, instead of the potential for the market to move based on its behavior and structure.

5. Revenge-trading as if you were trying get back at the market for what it took away from you.

6. Not reversing your position even when you clearly sense a change in market direction.

7. Not following the rules of the trading system.

8. Planning for a move or feeling one building, but then finding yourself immobilized to hit the bid or offer, and therefore denying yourself the opportunity to profit.

9. Not acting on your instincts or intuition.

10. Establishing a consistent pattern of trading success over a period of time, and then giving your winnings back to the market in one or two trades and starting the cycle over again.

16 Rules for Thirsty Traders

  
  Education
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I always liked these rules for their simplicity and I think they can benefit some of you, if only in the form of a gentle reminder of what you should be doing…or not doing.

1. Market direction is the most important thing in determining a stock’s
probable direction.

2. Price and Volume action are more important than a jillion indicators and
complex theories, no matter how cool they may be.

3. Don’t miss the forest (broad market) for the trees (individual stocks).

4. Don’t anticipate. Wait for confirmation.

5. Don’t trade contrary to the market’s direction.

6. Don’t try to “outsmart” the market.

7. Things can go much, MUCH further than you think they can, in either
direction.

8. Divergences work best with double tops and double bottoms.

9. Quite often, divergence analysis doesn’t work at all. When that happens, it
means the prevailing trend is very strong.

10. You need to effectively filter or limit the amount of data or charts to look
at; otherwise, you will spread yourself way too thin. You must have the time and
alertness to keep your eye on the ball…..hard to do, when you are juggling
thousands.

11. Don’t focus on every tick of each trade. If you are, you are holding on to
the handlebars too tight.

12. Have a plan. Set stops and targets. Don’t be afraid to take 1/2 profits and
raise (or lower) your stops. If your trade follows your script, great. If it
doesn’t within a reasonable time, consider getting out.

13. That said, it’s OK to give your trade a little time, unless you are clearly
wrong. You are often ahead of the market a little bit.

14. You will lose money sometimes. Every trader does. It’s a business, not a
personal indictment against you. Get over it and move on to the next trade.

15. Political opinion and markets do not mix.

16. Learn from your mistakes, or you will be condemned to repeat them.

SIMPLIFY

  
  Education
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simplifyWhen we follow a standardized process for trade execution, we help negate the impact that emotions can have on that process.  And when we create a set of rules within which is a subset of rules that allow for less mechanical, more intuitive management of our trades, we can potentially realize additional profits from those intangible insights into market direction without over-exposing our account to risk.  Here is how it works:

  S – Scan your charts .  Create a “Watch List” to help manage your inventory of trading opportunities.

I – Identify a high probability set up.    

 M – Map out the trade’s entry point, stop-loss exit point, and profit exit point. 

P – Pull the trigger.  By systematizing the process as we are talking about here, the anxiety associated with executing a trade is greatly reduced.  Instead of focusing on whatever issues keep you from pulling the trigger, your focus is on following a procedure, a set of instructions.  Mapping out and understanding exactly what our risk is also reduces the anxiety of entering a trade.    

 L – Let the market do its thing.  It’s not very often that you won’t have to take some heat on a trade.  It’s a great feeling when a trade goes in your favor immediately and stays that way.  But that’s the exception and not the rule.  As a good friend of mine would say, “Let it breathe!”  (more…)

10 Trading Thoughts

  
  Education
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1. You only have three choices when you are in a bad position, and it is not hard to figure out what to do:
(1) Get out
(2) Double up, or
(3) Spread it off.

I have always found getting out to be the best of all three choices.

  1. No opinion on the market or you are doubtful about market direction? Then stay out. Remember, when in doubt, stay out.
  2. Don’t ever let anyone know how big your wallet is, and don’t ever let anyone know how small it is either.
  3. If you snooze, you lose. Know your markets, when they trade, and what reports will affect the market price.
  4. The markets will always let you in on the losers; the market’s job is to keep you out of winners. Dump the dogs and ride the winning tide.
  5. Stops are not for sissies.
  6. Plan your trade, then trade your plan. He who fails to plan, plans to fail.
  7. Buy the rumor and sell the fact. Watch for volatility in these situations; it usually marks tops or bottoms in the markets.
  8. Buy low, sell high. Or buy it when nobody wants it, and sell it when everybody has to have it!
  9. It’s okay to lose your shirt, just don’t lose your pants; that is where your wallet is.

One last thought to leave with you. It applies not only to every-day life but to trading the markets as well:
Success is measured not so much by the wealth or position you have gained, but rather by the obstacles you have overcome to succeed!

TRADING ERRORS

  
  Education
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1.  Refusing to define a loss.

2.  Not getting rid of a losing trade when it is obviously a loser.

3.  Getting locked into a bullheaded opinion about market direction.

4.  Focusing on monetary value of trade instead of market structure.

5.  Revenge trading to recoup a loss.

6.  Not reversing a position when the market is clearly changing direction.

7.  Not following the rules of your strategy.

8.  Planning for a trade and then not taking it.

9.  Not acting on your intuition.

10.  Giving back recent gains due to overtrading or inconsistency.

We can learn a lot from the market, and from ourselves, if we would only listen.

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