Archives of “Scalping” tag

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10 Type of Traders.Which are You ?

  
  Education
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In the markets there are many different types of traders and many motivations that drive them.  Everyone has heard of  different types of traders based on their trading method: Swing Traders, Day Traders, Momentum Traders, etc. But what about different types of traders based on their psychology, their very purpose?  Some trade for fun and excitement, others trade purely for ego. Other love the game and still others are in it only to make money. In the greatest game on earth it is surprising that many traders have different motivations, in reality the only correct motivation is to make money, that should be the real goal of any trader. Here are a list of ten types of traders I have observed on social media. We have all likely been more than one of these types at some time or another while trading. But we need to focus like a laser on the only real reason we should be trading: to make money and once we have made it, to keep it.

  1. Greedy Traders: They trade too big and risk too much because their only goal is the easy money.
  2. New Traders: They have no idea how the markets work so their only goal is knowledge.
  3. Arrogant Traders: Their only goal is to prove they are right and satisfy their fragile egos.
  4. Trend Traders: Their only goal is to ride a trend and make money.
  5. Scared Traders: Their only goal is to not lose their capital.
  6. Perma-Bull Traders: Their only goal is to go long stocks.
  7. Perma-Bear Traders: Their only goal is to short stocks.
  8. Prophet Traders: Their only goal is to rightly predict market movement then let everyone know they did.
  9. Paper Traders: They love the market and study more than anyone but never quite make the plunge into real trading.
  10. Rich Traders: Their only goal is to consistently make money and grow their capital over the long term.

Which are you?

W. D. GANN’S 24 TIMELESS STOCK TRADING RULES

  
Analysis, Education
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1. Amount of capital to use: Divide your capital into 10 equal parts and never risk more than one-tenth of your capital on any one trade.
2. Use stop loss orders. Always protect a trade.
3. Never overtrade. This would be violating your capital rules.
4. Never let a profit run into a loss. After you once have a profit raise your stop loss order so that you will have no loss of capital.
5. Do not buck the trend. Never buy or sell if you are not sure of the trend according to your charts and rules.
6. When in doubt, get out and don’t get in when in doubt.
7. Trade only in active markets. Keep out of slow, dead ones.
8. Equal distribution of risk. Trade in two or three different commodities if possible. Avoid tying up all your capital in any one commodity.
9. Never limit your orders or fix a buying or selling price.
10. Don’t close your trades without a good reason. Follow up with a stop loss order to protect your profits.
11. Accumulate a surplus. After you have made a series of successful trades, put some money into a surplus account to be used only in emergency or in times of panic.
12. Never buy or sell just to get a scalping profit.
13. Never average a loss. This is one of the worst mistakes a trader can make.
14. Never get out of the market just because you have lost patience or get into the market because you are anxious from waiting.
15. Avoid taking small profits and big losses.
16. Never cancel a stop loss order after you have placed it at the time you make a trade.
17. Avoid getting in and out of the market too often.
18. Be just as willing to sell short as you are to buy. Let your object be to keep with the trend and make money.
19. Never buy just because the price of a commodity is low or sell short just because the price is high.
20. Be careful about pyramiding at the wrong time. Wait until the commodity is very active and has crossed resistance levels before buying more, and until it has broken out of the zone of distribution before selling more.
21. Select the commodities that show strong uptrend to pyramid on the buying side and the ones that show definite downtrend to sell short.
22. Never hedge. If you are long one commodity and it starts to go down, do not sell another commodity short to hedge it. Get out at the market: Take your loss and wait for another opportunity.
23. Never change your position in the market without a good reason. When you make a trade, let it be for some good reason, or according to some definite rule; then do not get out without a definite indication of a change in trend.
24. Avoid increasing your trading after a long period of success or a period of profitable trades.

Do Losers Average Losers

  
  Education
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Do losers average losers?
Averaging down is usually compounding your loss had been my experience.

Or, throwing good money after bad money.

Averaging in or out looks a lot like hedging/scalping the gamma of an options position. Counter trend if you’re short, trend following if your long.

How you amend your position with respect to some factor (be it equity, time, what-have-you) is imho the next frontier, and the most productive, to-date, endeavor in portfolio management (and little understood because people had not crafted the tools to study it).
Adding to losing positions is portfolio insurance in reverse. The points bad of portfolio insurance, are points good now in this exercise and vice versa. There is an enormous, fertile, ocean-sized domain to be explored and exploited here, and there is the opportunity to step beyond mere aphorisms in this regard.
Ralph, as I understand what he does is the worlds master of averaging positions—but not for short term trades—only trades where he knows the position will show a profit…unlike we short term traders that often buy at all time highs, etc.

Just because a trade goes against you initially, doesn’t mean the trade isn’t good. If the conditions that got me into the trade in the first place still exist and I didn’t go all in with my full package initially, I’ll add to my position. All it means is I was a little early on my initial execution, and when the trade is working, I’ll add aggressively.

Yes indeed. (more…)

NINE Trading Quotes For Profitable Traders

  
  Education
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1. Pick a trading methodology. This is a particular way of approaching the markets, based on belief, practice, and study. Some popular methods are: trend following, momentum trading, breakout trading, swing trading, scalping, and day trading. Leave randomness behind and embrace a specific method.

2. Choose a specific timeframe and filter out the noise of extraneous price action. If traders use the daily chart with end of day prices, then they don’t have to watch every price tick, all day long. Traders can make (or lose) money trading weekly, daily, or intraday, but they must focus on their own timeframe.

3. Use a trading system. This gives traders specific entry and exit signals based on their own edge, from back testing price data, chart studies, and chart patterns. This systematic approach can remove the random nature of individual trades, and put them inside a framework.

4. Have a trading plan. This gives traders a blueprint to execute a trading system in real time. It helps them mitigate risk by pre-planning their entries and exits, position sizing, maximum risk exposure, stop losses, trailing stops, and profit targets.

5. Reduce the risk of ruin. Through proper position sizing and the use of stops, traders may limit the size of their losses. Don’t hesitate to exit trades when proven wrong. (more…)

6 Trading Behaviours For Traders

  
  Education
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1) Fresh Ideas – I’ve yet to see a very successful trader utilize the common chart patterns and indicator functions on software (oscillators, trendline tools, etc.) as primary sources for trade ideas. Rather, they look at markets in fresh ways, interpreting shifts in supply and demand from the order book or from transacted volume; finding unique relationships among sectors and markets; uncovering historical trading patterns; etc. Looking at markets in creative ways helps provide them with a competitive edge.
2) Solid Execution – If they’re buying, they’re generally waiting for a pullback and taking advantage of weakness; if they’re selling, they patiently wait for a bounce to get a good price. On average, they don’t chase markets up or down, and they pick their price levels for entries and exits. They won’t lift a market offer if they feel there’s a reasonable opportunity to get filled on a bid.
3) Thoughtful Position Sizing – The successful traders aren’t trying to hit home runs, and they don’t double up after a losing period to try to make their money back. They trade smaller when they’re not seeing things well, and they become more aggressive when they see odds in their favor. They take reasonable levels of risk in each position to guard against scenarios in which one large loss can wipe out days worth of profits.
4) Maximizing Profits – The good traders don’t just come up with promising trade ideas; they have the conviction and fortitude to stick with those ideas. Many times, it’s leaving good trades early–not accumulating bad trades–that leads to mediocre trading results. Because successful traders understand their market edge and have demonstrated it through real trading, they have the confidence to let trades ride to their objectives.
(more…)

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