Trading Educators Blog

From a longtime friend and student:  "I thought that I’d pass on something that you might want to share with your trading community.  I spent way too long thinking that range bars and/or tick bars were my way to the holy grail and I would like to tell you what I realized and why I think I was wrong." "First some background:  I got started down that path, because wasn’t seeing format...

How should you feel about losses? I once read somewhere that you are supposed to love losses. Does that make sense to you? It doesn't to me. The worst aspect of losing is that it tends to create pessimism. Traders should feel bad when they lose money only if they fought the market trend, or violated their own trading strategies. The best traders have a healthy "so what, big deal!" attitude that ma...

Taking a second look at potential trades at times results in “why didn’t I see this before?”  For instance, what if you are looking at a market as it approaches a support area?  Isn’t it reasonable to ask yourself, “If this market breaks through and I am long, what will I do?”  Ask yourself how such an event would change the picture.  If you have a position, will you still want...

I was asked the following question: “Joe, is it important to be creative in your trading?” I’m not sure I can describe it in terms of importance.  The creative process is somewhat of a mystery, even to scientists who study it, but that is only because scientists do not recognize the spiritual factors of our lives and consequently in our trading. The Bible says: “There is a spirit in man.”&nbs...

I came across a very good article from the "Sovereign Man by Simon Black" - Please send this on to family and friends!   "A few days ago the following information was put out by a finance professor at Columbia University in New York City who has been doing a deep dive on the financial management industry. ""His results were pretty concerning.""One of the things that he said was that fund mana...

For the most part, trader’s stops are based on money, ticks, pips or some percentage of their trading account. All of these are money management stops. In this respect, the level selected for the stop should take into consideration your risk tolerance. However, very few traders use time stops in addition to money management stops. Time stops are trade management stops. Using a time stop is quite s...

It seems as though everyone believes in trading education except those who really need it. For years, knowledgeable brokers have advocated it.  Trading coaches recommend it. And great traders are also believers. Why then do wannabe and aspiring traders not believe in trading education? Why are beginners so reluctant to shell out a few bucks to get the education they need in order to be succes...

Many times in the past I’ve written about the need to adapt, the need to be able to change your behavior relative to the market because the markets are ever-changing.  I’ve stated that mechanical systems may be workable, but for only a short time relative to the life of markets.  You must learn to trade what you see, and to understand what you see on a chart. When I first began trading t...

  Trading discipline exists in two distinct parts: ·         Before your order is filled. ·         After your order is filled. Let’s look at each of these categories, because both are tremendously important. Trading Discipline Before Your Order Is Filled: Here we are talking about all the things you do as a trade...

Traders and investors have difficulty "letting their profits run." When you see your investment increase in value, it's hard to avoid selling early to lock in profits. But not every trade goes your way, so when you come upon a trade that does produce a profit, it's vital for your long-term success to optimize the profits for that particular trade. You must make more profits on your winning trades ...

Trading for a living involves more than getting in and out of the market at the right time, and more than thinking about moving averages and indicators. Trading is a business, not just a job, and every business in the world has to be managed. Every business involves the managerial functions of organizing, planning, delegating, directing, and controlling. If you, the trader, are to perform these fu...

Some time ago I spent 4 days in a Forex trading office, teaching and working with the traders there. It was interesting to see how these traders speak with one another, and to listen to what they say. I couldn’t help making some observations which I will now share with you. If you are a part- or full-time trader, you may have enjoyed the attention this wild and wooly occupation brings at social ga...

“I’ll worry about it later?” When trying to deal with the fact that we must eventually cope with an unpleasant event, such statements help us get through life. We often put off things we don’t want to do, hoping that we will gather enough energy and enthusiasm to deal with them in the future. Take your taxes for instance. Do you wait until the last day to pay them? Why not start working on your ta...

  If your financial losses have injured or hurt your personal relationships, you must apologize and ask those persons for their forgiveness. Most people will forgive you immediately but whether or not they forgive you is unimportant. It is most important that you forgive yourself and resolve not to repeat the same mistakes. It’s also important to realize that if the offended person does...

When you put your money on the line, it's hard to avoid getting a little emotional. Beginning traders may be especially prone to experience a roller-coaster ride of emotions, feeling euphoric after a winning streak, yet disappointed after a string of losses. How well do you handle emotions? Winning traders control their emotions. They don't let their emotions control them. But emotions don't happe...

People don't want to be changed. They don't want to be told that they need to change. Do you ever find yourself struggling in those areas? Thank you for your honesty. If there is a struggle, that means there is a battle for truth. If you're not battling, you've already lost. Truth has been lost and deceit has won. We must come to a place where we are willing to unclothe our soul, ultimately, compl...

Winning traders must identify profitable trading strategies. It's a creative process. Much like scientists find evidence to support a theory, traders must formulate hypotheses and determine whether their proposed strategy can produce a profit. You must sift through a wealth of information, mentally testing and retesting your hypothesis and trying to decide if it will work when the ideal market con...

Recently, someone sent me the following question: “Just how committed does a trader need to be?” I don’t know that I can put a number to that. For instance, on a scale of 1-10 how committed should a trader be. But if I had to evaluate it on that basis, I would say he must be a “10.” What is the value of commitment? How do you measure such a thing? Most people have an “interest” in becoming consist...

I received a couple of emails asking whether or not I believe in support and resistance. In fact, one subscriber said if I didn't believe in support and resistance, then I couldn't possibly believe in trend! Why? Because in all cases the situation ends. Here's what I believe: The trend is your friend until the end. The swing is the thing until it goes "ding." What is support and what is resistance...

Have you ever find $50 in your coat pocket or receive an unexpected gift from a relative? Perhaps you inadvertently overpaid your credit card, and now have an extra $100 that you didn't think you had? When most people receive a windfall, they feel they can spend it freely, as if it isn't "real" money. The same thing happens when recreational gamblers unexpectedly win a jackpot. They didn't expect ...