General Comments
I’ve been talking a lot with new and developing traders, doing some one on one work, and also hanging out in some forums that cover a very wide range of experience and sophistication. Seeing people start at the very beginning of our discipline has made me think deeply about
General Comments
It’s that time of the year again: resolutions are made, gym memberships bought, diet plans laid out, major projects are started—the whole time, everyone knowing that all these plans are doomed for failure. Why do we fail so consistently on these New Year’s resolutions that it has
General Comments
In the post-holiday quiet, I tweeted yesterday inviting my followers to think about the one thing they could do in the coming year to improve trading results. I hoped to provoke some thought, and knew that the answer you come up with probably is unique to you—some of the
Pullback
I thought it would be interesting to update this post, which was a fairly in-depth look at trading some pullbacks in copper. If you haven’t read it, go read it first, and if you read it a while ago maybe glance at it again so that what follows will
General Comments
One of the recurring themes I've heard from traders (both professional and private) over the past decade or so is distrust, anger, and mocking of central banks and central bank action. I won't quote anyone, but some examples: * Prices can't move randomly because central
General Comments
Over the past few weeks, I've been hanging out a bit more in internet trading rooms and groups. It's been a good reminder of the kinds of questions and mistakes people make as they are learning about markets. Room moderators strut (including one who told his
General Comments
There are patterns in market prices—of this, there is no doubt. Some small set of these patterns even can help us with our trading and investing. Some are worthless. And some aren’t even there at all—they are literally figments of our imagination-laden cognitive biases! What do we
Psychology
A developing trader said something to me a few weeks ago that has stuck in my mind: he said that he has to be careful what websites he reads because negativity can be dangerous; when you live in a constant state of fear, it colors everything you see. Be careful:
Anti
Recent action in copper futures gives us some market lessons. These can be adapted to other markets and timeframes (so if you just trade stocks or currencies, don’t skip over this because it’s a futures market!) I’ll try to keep this as short as possible, but there
General Comments
I’ve talked with many traders who struggle from insomnia or other sleep disruptions. There could be many reasons for this. Some, such as the emotional pressures of trading, are obvious, but I think there is another common culprit: the light we use. All light is not the same Light
Trading tools
We have limited time and attention. This is one of the realities that developing traders soon face—no matter how hard you work or how well-intentioned you are, there’s a limit to what you can look at, analyze, and understand. It’s important to filter out the noise so
General Comments
In trading and investing, there are good losses and bad losses. This post is about the bad losses, but let’s begin by touching on the good losses. A good loss is simply part of doing business: you followed your rules perfectly, executed the trade entry and exit perfectly and