Trading Educators Blog

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...

Discipline is the Key:  You will need discipline in several areas to be successful. First you'll need the discipline to make a plan, rather than shoot from hip. Without discipline, many approach the markets like a craps table and they can expect the same results; short-term successes based on luck and long-term losses based on randomness. Second you'll need the discipline to follow the plan. ...

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...

Develop a Trading Plan The main message, I want traders to understand is how important the disciplined execution of a well thought out trading plan is in today's markets. Nobody knows for sure what a given market will do next. Having a plan of attack will allow you to successfully cope with the uncertainty that is an inherent part of trading. I think it makes good common sense to have a well t...

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...

  Today I am looking at a very “strange” butterfly spread: Long 1 April Feeder Cattle and one May Corn and short 2 Live Cattle August. I have to admit that it is difficult to find an entry into this trade by looking for chart patterns but it is easy to see the possible support around the current level. OK, the spread moved a bit lower in July last year but this happened when there was not eno...

You need to find other things to do while padding the time waiting for better trades. Try to study the markets or different ways of trading, or simply do something completely different like going to the beach. It is critical that you learn to enjoy yourself in ways other than being in a trade. The fact is, if you are trading in a professional way, you are out of the market much of time. So you nee...

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...

Optimized entry (green vertical line on the chart below) or exit (red vertical line on the chart below) is part of seasonal patterns. For example: the spread X–Y shows a strong seasonal up move in July with an optimized entry date on July 3 and an optimized exit date on July 28. This means “usually” the spread moves up between July 3 and July 28, but this is just based on statistical data of the p...

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 ...

Most traders start out with a dream. And usually part of that dream is that once you’re a successful trader you’ll have a lot more time for the things in life you enjoy spending time with. Your family, friends, hobbies, spend time in nature and start other business opportunities you’ve been dreaming of realizing. Besides making money, for many the main reason to start trading is ...

“You can get ahead of yourself in this game, and it’s dangerous to get cocky. But I’ve had times where for an hour I could do no wrong. I’m trading and 99 percent of the trades are good, they’re all for 30 or 50 contracts, and I’ll make 10 grand. Then I’ll overextend myself and maybe buy 10 or 15 contracts, fighting the trend just because I know prices have hit a support level. Then prices blow th...

There are two important components of federal market activity which affect long- term economic activity and stock and commodity values; these are interest rates and money supply. A contracting money supply was one of the factors that caused the Great Depression of the 1930's. In the early 1980's most traders focused almost totally on the money supply figures, which would cause cash bonds and T-Bil...

Something you should be aware of if you're trading the TF: Starting today (December 5th) the E-Mini Russel 2000 (TF) has a tick value of USD 5.00 instead of USD 10.00 while the tick size stays the same. For more info see the ICE FAQ. Happy Trading! Marco

Trading requires that you take decisive action. Implementing a successful trading plan quite often requires that you make quick decisions when the right market conditions come into play. The more complicated you make your trading, the harder it becomes to make quick decisions. We all know it can be hard to make trading decisions when your money is on the line. Most of us have a natural desire to a...

Question from a subscriber: "Once I’ve achieved success as a trader, then what? I’ve heard that after a while trading can become boring." I know you would all like to have that problem, but I can vouch for its being true. I always have to find new ways to trade or I do become bored. However, I have never run out of ways to trade that remain exciting, at least for a fairly long time. After the obje...

Dear Friends, Whenever this time of year rolls around, I find myself with an attitude of gratitude. This week we celebrated Thanksgiving Day. Although "Thanksgiving" is not celebrated here in Uruguay, many living here celebrated at various places around the country. There were at least fifty people at the gathering my wife and I went to. Trading and markets have been a major part of my life for al...

As a trader, it's essential that you set specific goals. Trading is chaotic enough without trying to achieve unstructured goals that are difficult to manage and reach. Making profitable investments requires you to prepare carefully. You have to develop hypotheses regarding current market conditions. You have to devise ways of identifying setups and determine how and when to enter and exit the trad...

I’m happy to tell you that today a new AlgoStrats service was launched: Ambush Signals for Futures. To find out more have a look at the following video presentation: Happy Trading! Marco