Reader ‘KN’ asks: “What’s the difference between trading ‘Forex’ and ‘Forex futures’ and when would you use one but not the other?” It’s a good question. What we’re looking at here is ‘Spot Forex’ traded via a spread betting company or a broker V’s the currency futures contracts (typically traded by professional traders on the Chicago […]...
There’s no doubt about it, good trade management is a skill that can only develop through conscious practice. There’s no real short cut other than to expose yourself to the feelings and emotions you’ll go through as you put real money on the line. Unless you have psychopathic tendencies (the good kind!) of course, in […]...
We’re pretty lucky as home-based traders. Almost all the tools we need are free. But, there are small investments you can make in certain ‘performance-enhancing tools’ that can really pay-off. The trick is to know where the point of diminishing returns lies before you decide to spend your money. That means asking yourself: – Am […]...
There’s a ‘not-so-secret’ trick to achieving smooth growth to your trading account that I’d like to tell you about. Let’s start at the very beginning… Imagine a typical ‘advanced beginner’ trader. He’s been out and about in the markets. He’s got a few tales to tell and earned some battle scars. And he’s going alright […]...
I’d like to talk a bit about ‘scalping’ today. Especially since the meaning of the word has shifted somewhat in recent years. “Scalping” can sound a bit intimidating, like you need to be some kind of psychopathic mercenary to do it. And it’s not for everyone, no single way of trading is. But let me […]...
I was watching a good Bruce Parry documentary at the weekend. He goes and lives with the Penan people. They are one of the last pre-agricultural hunter gatherer societies that live nomadically. Now their society may not be ‘advanced’ – at least according to Western measures – but each member knows exactly what he or […]...
A heart-warming message arrives from Rob S: ‘Major Personal Milestone!’ he declares. He goes on to say how he’d achieved a 7% profit on account for the week. And this all coming on the back of a very fast learning curve – Rob started trading from scratch only around 8 weeks ago, as a member of […]...
An email arrives from a worried reader… He’s been watching an online trading video where it was announced – shock! – that the financial markets were being manipulated. That sometimes, when the price went up, it shouldn’t really be going up. And when the prices went down they shouldn’t really be going down. The video […]...
You might know I’m not a massive fan of technical indicators… I’m talking about things like Stochastic Indicators, MACD, RSI and all those other exotic sounding tools. If you’ve been following my stuff for a while you’ve probably noticed I lean more towards pure ‘Price Action’ – following the 3 core data points of any […]...
I can tell when I’ve hit a proverbial hole-in-one (when it comes to educating on trading psychology). The emails come flying in and opinions are FIERCELY divided. Take last week’s missive on ‘winning through losing’… If you didn’t read it I shared the concept of deliberately losing money on a sequence of trades. This is a way […]...
I’ve often thought how much time, money, and emotional despair would have been spared in my early years of trading… …if only someone had sat me down and given me a step-by-step plan to toughen me up a bit and expose my fragile ego to the realities of trading! But I had a bit of […]...
With Easter almost upon us it’s time for a gentle reminder: What to do when coming back to trading after a break. It’s only natural to feel a little bit off-kilter after you’ve been pulled from your normal routine, even for a short spell. The processes you use in your work that usually come second-nature […]...
Today, I’d like to tell you about two pivotal lessons in my own trading education… Lesson 1: Reading Richard Dennis’ famous quote: “I always say you could publish trading rules in a newspaper and no one would follow them. The key is consistency and discipline.” Lesson 2: Watching Pit Traders get all obsessive about having […]...
When you put a lot of work into your chart analysis you run the risk of ‘marrying’ your opinion. It’s easy to become blinkered to any other possibility but the one you envisage. You may analyse the markets yourself, or you might invest in the picture put forward by a market commentator. And at a […]...
I’d keep doing this just for the hell of it… Even if there was nothing to ‘gain’ in the end. It’s a mental workout so satisfying when all the clues fall into place, and I get that first glimpse of clarity, that I’d probably pay to do it. (The fact you can actually make obscene […]...
