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Trading Educators Blog

#1 Trading Blog Site
Jun
19

Staying Relaxed

Experience and trading from a plan can help you to make trades in a carefree, relaxed, and focused manner. It is important that you avoid putting unnecessary pressure on yourself. Success or failure is not riding on a single trade. You make it as a trader in the day-to-day trading, learning to be satisfied with what the market hands you. Avoid thinking you have to be right. You cannot impose your ...

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  1827 Hits
Jun
19

Wisdom

​It would be wonderful if there were a foolproof and valid instruction manual for how to trade the markets profitably, a cookbook of sorts where you merely follow the steps and you are successful. For decades, traders have tried to find recipes for financial success. For some, the Holy Grail comes from the latest trading guru. For others, it may be a new software program. As appealing as a trading...

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  2154 Hits
Jun
13

Distraction

Distraction is not something you can afford. If you cannot be fully focused on the price action and on following your trading plan, you are going to frequently find yourself in the situation you describe. The best rule a trader can follow is to focus on the action, not the outcome. Yes, I know that you, like many others are attracted to trading for the rewarding profits that can be made. You feel ...

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  2031 Hits
Jun
13

You Need Control

The need for control is the biggest psychological impediment to profitable trading. Traders strive to control the markets, but in the end, they find that they must accept their fate and settle for controlling their emotions. When your money is on the line, it's difficult to remain calm, rational, and in complete control. You want to win, and there is a strong need to want the market action to fall...

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  2043 Hits
Jun
06

Persistence is Needed in Trading

​Trading is a profession where dare not give up in the face of adversity. You must go into the trading day expecting to have losses. It's not the most optimistic outlook, right? Trading in today's markets isn't like trading in the steadily upward trending markets in the days before the advent of a PC that could let you see charts. In the days when markets trended as opposed to swinging, just about...

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  2033 Hits
Jun
06

Trouble Winning

There has been great interest in the markets lately, so there's no reason that you shouldn't take home huge profits, right? Although many traders profit, there are some who still can't seem to make a profit, even during relatively good times like these. Let's consider some of the psychological impediments that may limit success. The most obvious reason for an inability to win is a lack of experien...

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  1963 Hits
May
30

Worry-Free and Profitable

Even though there is great interest in the markets these days, and more opportunities than usual, it's vital to approach trading with the proper mindset. You can't try to do too much, too fast. Successful traders approach trading with a carefree, focused attitude and putting added stress on yourself interferes with attaining this peak performance mental edge. When you are in the proper mindset, yo...

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  1996 Hits
May
30

Pivot Points

​I have never been a pivot point trader per se. Pivot Points are those price levels that are most likely to act as levels of so-called support and resistance on any given trading day. As we already know, anything that most people use is liable to work. This is the only reason that theories like Fibonacci trading or Elliott waves appear to be more than just theory. For the same reason, the most inf...

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  2210 Hits
May
22

Believe in Trading

​Is there anything we can believe when it comes to trading? Is it all lies and fakery? Trading is a challenge. Tens of thousands are drawn to trading, but few last more than a few months. Trading is presented in such a way that it appears to be easy, so it's difficult to face the truth that trading is difficult—at least until you can get the hang of it. Many beginning traders need to win. They are...

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  1842 Hits
May
10

Impulsive Trading

​Why do so many traders abandon their trading plan? Is it their personality, an inherent pitfall of the trading profession, or temporary insanity? A host of factors may contribute to a lack of discipline. Depending on your personality, background, training, and experience with the markets, you may have trouble reigning in your tendency to act on impulse. For some people, impulsivity is in their na...

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  2011 Hits
May
10

Is Trading all Lies and Fakery?

​Trading is a challenge. Tens of thousands are drawn to trading, but few last more than a few months. Trading is presented in such a way that it appears to be easy, so it's difficult to face the truth that trading is difficult—at least until you can get the hang of it. Many beginning traders need to win. They are hoping that the huge profits they make trading will solve many problems in their live...

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  1826 Hits
May
03

Hoping to Break Even

​Jim has been holding a position for six months. A media analyst predicted the stock would hit $100 by the end of the year. He bought it at $75. It went down to $50, and it's on the way back up. During the recent interest in the markets, Jim is hoping that it will hit $75 so he can sell it and break even. The break-even point is critical. When you are on the losing side of a trade, all you can do ...

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  2099 Hits
Apr
19

Rest Periods

During ongoing activities, such as day trading, you have to learn how to pace yourself. This means alternating between times of intense activity with times of greatly decreased activity, times that require very little of your attention. These "rest periods" should take place when you do not have to quickly react to sudden market moves. This is hard advice to follow for some traders. They just won'...

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  2250 Hits
Apr
11

Strategic Trading

​Successful trading is part reliable method and part mental edge. Without a sound set of methods and financial resources, it is impossible to trade profitably. Your method should also have a good track record, and it is essential to have enough capital to allow your method to work in terms of realistic position sizes and the number of losing trades you can afford to take before you hit upon a winn...

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  1576 Hits
Apr
11

Trading In One Market Than In Many

​Develop a relationship with that market, as though it was one of your best friends. Know the market's personality and feel its spirit to become one with it. Watch it carefully in various time frames. Watch it every day. One of the best experiences for a beginning trader, who may want to become a professional trader, is to sit in front of a monitor for a month and observe the market. Make price ch...

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  1816 Hits
Apr
04

Turning Points

To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever figured out a truly accurate way to figure out future turning points. As far as I know, it has never been done. I don't believe that it will ever be done. I have encountered traders who have told me that so-and-so does it, but I have never seen the proof. Nevertheless, I'm willing to listen. I used to live in the "show-me" State of Missouri, so show me!...

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  1738 Hits
Mar
27

Realism and Flexibility

​Eternal optimists often make the best traders. The winning trader engages in a constant search for innovative ways to take profits out of the markets. It takes a positive attitude to persist in the face of almost endless setbacks. If you are an optimist, you will pick yourself up gracefully after a loss. When you can't seem to find a high probability setup, you'll keep searching until you find on...

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  1542 Hits
Mar
25

Realism and Flexibility

​Eternal optimists often make the best traders. The winning trader engages in a constant search for innovative ways to take profits out of the markets. It takes a positive attitude to persist in the face of almost endless setbacks. If you are an optimist, you will pick yourself up gracefully after a loss. When you can't seem to find a high probability setup, you'll keep searching until you find on...

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  1510 Hits
Mar
29

Your Own Worst Enemy

​Do you ever wonder if you secretly want to fail? It's hard to believe, but some people do want to fail. They may not want to do better than their parents, and secretly, they set themselves up for failure. Others fear success. They associate success with added responsibility, and they want to avoid responsibility at all costs. But if you're like most people, you want to succeed. For whatever reaso...

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  1630 Hits
Mar
27

Manage the Trade

​Once you get into a trade, you must eventually get out. Some argue that this is more important than where you get into a trade. My experience has been that any fool can get into the market, but it takes a successful trader to consistently get out with a win. As I follow the markets, I find there are four reasons to get out of a trade. Prices move significantly against my position. Prices stop mov...

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  2236 Hits

Derivative transactions, including futures, are complex and carry a high degree of risk. They are intended for sophisticated investors and are not suitable for everyone. There are numerous other factors related to the markets in general or to the implementation of any specific trading program which cannot be fully accounted for in the preparation of hypothetical performance results, and all of which can adversely affect actual trading results. For more information, see the Risk Disclosure Statement for Futures and Options.