Trading Educators Blog

Some people live in a world of delusion and fantasy. They see what they want to see and ignore what they don't want to see. Traders are especially prone to this ailment. When your money is on the line, you are consumed with avoiding loss. Trading is a competitive business where few make it in the long term. This fact always lurks in the back of your mind, putting added pressure on you. In the back...

You must be disciplined in following the plan of your trade religiously. Once you have closed your position, you should record everything about the trade. Write down where you wanted to enter the trade, what you expected out of the trade, and what you actually did get out of the trade. Make sure to include notes that will help you learn from the trade, reasoning what actually took place once you e...

Many traders underestimate the influence of stress. Stress is not only a psychological reaction, but a biological response as well. When you are stressed, your body reacts instinctively. You are agitated, on edge, and ready to lash out. Your attention is restricted. Your mind is closed and inflexible. The stress response has a specific biological, adaptive function: Your energy is channeled into m...

If we had a crystal ball, trading would just be a matter of buying at a bottom, holding the stock as the price continued to rise, and selling near a top, right before the public sells in a state of panic. But we don't have a crystal ball, and there is no foolproof way to forecast the markets. Sure, if you have enough capital, are willing to wait long enough for a stock price to increase, and will ...

I keep one of sorts, it is part of my monthly homework. The journal is very basic and includes what trades I made during the day and my reasons for getting into the trade. My journal has changed a bit over time since my reasons for entering a trade now are pretty consistent. I think there are three reasons for keeping a journal. One reason is to have a manual backup in case there's a system or sof...

People come from humble beginnings to achieve wealth, status, or fame. But to get ahead, successful people often had to break conventional rules. This readiness to break the rules is often associated with an affinity toward risk. Although they may achieve success, they may also have a shaky self-image. Sure they achieved a lot, but a voice deep inside their psyche still questions their self-worth ...

There is a great attraction in all aspects of the modern age to immediacy. Likewise, most of the trouble in trading occurs through this love affair with the "now," with impatience, and with trying to hurry up the trading game. Traders want to make money in the markets now, today, and not tomorrow or next week. We love the Now. We are devoted to it and give it much weight. This problem may be espec...

Why do you trade? Most people would think it's obvious. It's for the money, right? What many winning traders know, however, is that money is a poor motivator in the end. It's much more satisfying to pursue trading for the pure joy of mastering the markets, regardless of how much money you make. Winning traders are motivated more by the process of trading than by the profits they are making. It's c...

The human mind is capable of extreme optimism. We have a strong need to win. This need can be so strong that everything looks rosy. For example, you may look backward at old charts and think, "It's easy to see winning patterns." Behavioral economists call this optimism, 'hindsight bias.' When we know how a stock price moved in the past, we think it all seemed inevitable when we look backward. For ...

Most successful traders failed at some point in their careers and wiped out their account. Many traders lose because they do not understand the nature of the decision-making process, which should be based on rational price action analysis versus emotional, irrational reactions to price action. A reason should be required for each market action taken. When fear exits a trade, it is more difficult t...

You can find seasonality in all markets but I personally think there is a big difference in "reliability" or "strength" of seasonality in the markets. I personally think seasonality is strongest in the commodity markets. In all markets where you have a physical product and a production cycle during the year. Because the production cycle is always the same you get typical seasonal behaviors in thes...

​Is learning the trading business like learning any other business? The importance of how you learn the business of trading cannot be minimized because of the factors that determine your success or failure. Learning the business of trading is basically no different from learning any other business. Winning means learning major guidelines and concepts that you repeat so often in your own behavior t...

The importance of how you learn the business of trading cannot be minimized because of the factors that determine your success or failure. Learning the business of trading is basically no different from learning any other business. Winning means learning major guidelines and concepts that you repeat so often in your own behavior that they become good habits. These good habits then become automatic...

Being in a good mood won't necessarily make you a winner, but being in a bad mood will almost assuredly make you a loser. Starting since time began, the number of people who have won large sums of money through trading while feeling depressed, irritable, or angry could probably be counted on the fingers of one hand! In short, try to trade when you are in a good mood. Restrict yourself to times whe...

"Buy low, sell high" is one of the most popular memes in the investment and trading world. And obviously, it does make sense, who wouldn't like to buy low and sell high all the time? I found this to be quite a helpful advice to invest in stocks for example. Wait for a crash, buy it and sell again when prices are back to old highs. Of course, the problem often is to figure out what's actually a low...

Think of patience as a primary part of your trading strategy. Don't assign it a secondary or lesser role, elevate it on the list of what you consider important. And don't be put off by it when it doesn't seem to be working — it's working. Don't start feeling self-righteous about not trading, as if now it owes you (because you have been so disciplined and patient). This is a trap. Don't start to fe...

I was watching an old movie "Coach Carter," starring Samuel L. Jackson. I couldn't help thinking about the many similarities between what a coach must do to prepare his players and what a trader must do to prepare to trade. Since trading is largely a self-directed business venture, embarking on a trading career requires that you are able to set clearly defined objectives and develop a specific pla...

The single most important component of the personality related to personal achievement is self-esteem. Self-esteem is simply how much an individual likes himself and correlates to high achievement on a one-to-one basis. The more an individual likes himself the higher levels of performance he can achieve in any area of his life. Traders should always have at least one physical or mental activity ev...

Drawdowns are an unavoidable fact in trading that's tough to deal with. But you probably already noticed that and might have encountered some of the serious issues this can lead to during your trading career. Maybe you tend to stop trading a system or switch systems always at the wrong time. Or worse. But as I've written about these issues before, here's a mindset that has helped me a lot to deal ...

Many beginning traders undergo emotional extremes, feeling sheer ecstasy after a win, but crushing disappointment after a loss. However, as a mature trader, you grow to realize the folly of allowing the natural ups and downs of trading to impact your emotions. Although as a winning professional trader you may stay calm and relaxed even after a series of losses, remaining rational and composed can ...