Live 5 Minute Timeframe Price Action Trade Ftse 100 29th November

In this live trade on the 5 minute timeframe I take a short position after the ftse 100 moves into a short term downtrend. Looking for a one to one risk reward I explain the importance of being able to follow your trading plan.

Ftse 100 Day Trade Review and Subsequent Opportunities 29th November

In this video I take you through a pre market breakdown of what I am looking for during the trading day on the Ftse 100 index. The market moves into a downtrend, presenting a nice selling opportunity in the afternoon.

New Feedback Received Today

Some more great feedback coming in today. It really is a fantastic feeling seeing people who work hard start to see their efforts pay off. 

Wednesday Quote Hour

Wednesday Quote Hour

How To Deal With Self Doubt

 In this video I take you through one of the main reasons people give up on their goals - self doubt. It can be difficult to stay motivated and determined when suffering from self doubt. One of the reasons is that self doubt can destroy your positive thinking. In this video I show you how to overcome it with an example of when I last suffered from it.

Aud Usd Forex Price Action Preview For Trading Week Ahead 27th Nov

In this weekly review we look at the potential pullback levels on the current Aud Usd move. Using fibonacci and identifying key resistance, I take you through the main trading areas I will be watching.

FTSE 100 Price Action Preview For Trading Week Ahead 27th Nov

In this price action preview we look at the key support and resistance levels nearby for the ftse 100. I take you through the price action I am watching for and how I intend to trade for the week ahead.

Aud Usd Forex Live Price Action Trade 5 Minute Timeframe - Zone Trader 24th Nov

In this live price action day trade I explain how important it is to wait for your setup. Trading can be frustrating and at times you have to play a waiting game. I take a sell position from key resistance and talk you through the live trade.

Aud Usd Pre Market Price Action Review And Subsequent Zone Trader Opportunities 24th Nov

In this Aud Usd price action market review, I look at how I am expecting a stronger bullish retrace after the break of the ascending triangle. I pinpoint key levels of support and resistance in the market and explain what price action I will be looking for during the trading day.

Third Blog Post From The T-Model Trader

We are onto our third blog post from T-Model Trader and I hope you're enjoying them as much as I am. These are from the mouth of real beginner traders and hopefully offer some insight and also inspiration for anyone else who is going through their trading journey.

I hope you've all had a great trading week!

James Orr

Blog Post 3 - T-Model Trader

Since being asked to contribute to these blogs, I have given much thought to the challenges that I have been faced with in trading. The bleeding obvious in this list is dealing with “losses”. I would guess that there would be very few who step into the trading arena who haven’t in some way been hit by the intensity of the runaway emotions that are so firmly attached at the hip to the “loss”. Yet recently I have noticed a difference in my responses regarding this aspect of trading.

Dare I say that over the last week or so, that there have been “good losses” which weren’t the result of “dud trading” decisions based on emotional reactions. In looking back to these losing trades, I can see that the entries were in fact….ok. I followed the trading plan. I had ticked the right boxes. My assessment had in fact been clear. Yet they were losses.

As my stop got taken out on one of the trades, something very interesting happened within me. I clearly heard the words “fair enough” echo in my head. Usually my “stop taking” vocabulary is rather different and certainly more colorful in its expression. But this time, it was simply “fair enough’, said with the acceptance that that is how it goes sometimes. This is trading “reality”.

It wasn’t that the emotion had disappeared, but this time, acceptance was also present in equal measure. This is a subtle thing and I believe it marks a very important time of transition in my trading development. I “accepted” that outcome of the trade. In turn, I have begun to relax a lot more about my trades and broadly speaking, about trading in general.

In one of my morning reviews a while back, I could (yet again) see how I didn’t allow for the proper set up to unfold and jumped in on a trade, to only watch it go pear shape. So as I sat at the café pouring it all out in my trading journal, all I could write was the word “Idiot” over and over. Then, like an opening line of a joke, I thought...… “How many idiots does it take to enter a dud trade”? And the answer is….Only one…. and in repetition it seems.

I just kept staring at the word “Idiot”. As though it was flashing in neon before my eyes, I instantly saw the word expand in front of me and came up with the following…..

I.D.I.O.T…….. I Do Impulsive Obsessive Trades. (I love a good acronym).

I then continued to write in my trading journal…….

Group facilitator: We have a new member tonight. Make him welcome……

T-Model Trader: Hello everyone, my name is T-model and I am an impulsive obsessive trader.

The group: Hi T-model.

T-model: I have been trading for around 10 months now and although I have managed to stick to the trading plan at times, I am constantly troubled by the desire to just place random trades.

The group: Ooh. Sounds challenging.

T-model: It really is. Just the other day this happened. The market opened and moved up through a zone, pausing half way to the next zone. Then over about 30 minutes a bunch of candles with lots of upper wicks printed. It was clearly obvious that it was rejecting any move higher.  However, it wasn’t happening in a zone, so it wasn’t a legit signal. I could feel my trade trigger finger just inching slowly towards the sell button. As I hovered over that sell, I actually clicked on it to bring up the trade conformation box. I could feel a cold sweat come over me, knowing that I was about to break the trading plan rules…again. But at the last minute I canceled. It was really close thou.

The group:  Well done T-model.

T-model:  Thanks. It was touch and go thou….real close I was to doing it. The problem is that it did sink like a stone, so I would have had a big winner. I would have got this right at the top only to watch it make a 40 point move in a really short amount of time. Not only this, but also as it passed through the zone below, it didn’t create a signal candle. I would have been a trading rock star. This IS the problem.

(This is word for word from my trading journal)

It is great to say, that over this last week, I have truly felt a great change taking place. On a few occasions, after just having my stop lightly brushed and taken out, price action did indeed move off in the pre-determined manner. I felt ok about this. It felt like a clean process. I was in fact in alignment with the trading plan and the price action unfolding, even if I got stopped out. A dud trade is a very murky affair loaded with a fistful of emotion in comparison. This loss was simply an aspect of how trading works. And I could accept that.

So I added one more…….

Every…..Moment…..Of……Trading…..Involves…..Ongoing…..ALertness……E.M.O.T.I.ON.AL

I have these printed off in large bold type stuck up on a pin up board in front of me at my trading desk. As I know I am sooooooooo likely to shoot from the holster (usually into my own foot) then it is a constant and ONGOING process of staying ALERT and not be the IDIOT.

The alertness is not just about watching for the right candle set up. It also involves knowing how my personality reactions are interfacing with trading. As an artist, spontaneous impulses are great. But not here. Not with a trading chart. This is the sort of “alertness” I am referring too.

Till next time….

Be well…

The T-model Trader.

Live Price Action Trade Ftse 100 - Zone Trader - 5 Minute Timeframe 22nd Nov

In this live price action trade on the Ftse 100 I enter into a sell position from a key resistance area identified in the pre market analysis video of the same date. I make better than a one to one risk reward.

Ftse 100 Price Action Review And Subsequent Zone Trader Opportunities 22nd Nov

In this weeks price action review on the FTSE 100 we look at how the market is likely to show a bullish rally if it gets above key levels for the day. I also outline a key resistance area which is where I take a short from later in the day. 

Thank You For 18,000 YouTube Subscribers - Time for A Giveaway!

Thank you for helping Decisive Trading reach 18,000 YouTube subscribers! To show my appreciation, I want to give away the pro excel sheet that I use to record my results and pinpoint my trading statistics. Watch the video to find out how to get it for free.

Aud Usd Forex Price Action Analysis For Trading Week Ahead 20th November

In this price action analysis video we look at the break of the ascending triangle we were watching for over the last couple of weeks. Now that the market is bearish we are looking to sell rallies. We also have key support levels below. 

Ftse 100 Index Price Action Analysis For Trading Week Ahead 20th November

In this price action analysis we look at the price squeeze which has resulted in a trading triangle. Whilst in between major support and resistance areas we are watching for breaks of this triangle for clues as to what direction the market is heading.

Forex Live Price Action Trade Aud Usd 17th November - Zone Trader

In this live trade on the 5 minute timeframe I go long the Forex pair Aud Usd. Using the Zone Trader methods I identified a key level of support in pre market analysis. I look for a one to one risk reward on this trade. It completes in 15 minutes - not bad for day trading.

Forex Price Action Review Aud Usd And Subsequent Opportunities 17th November

In this review video we look at the potential for a bullish bounce in the Aud Usd Forex pair. I take you through the high probability Zone Trader trading areas and explain why I am looking at them.

3rd Blog Post From Decisive Trader Craig Sanders

Hello Traders.

Following on with the new feature of blog posts from beginners, sharing their journey and experiences, we have Craig Sanders back with his 3rd post. I managed to meet Craig when I was over in Australia a few weeks ago and one thing that stood out was that his determination was plain to see, and more importantly, the structures - both mental and physical - he was creating around himself to make sure he achieved his goals. I have no doubt his trading journey will be an exciting one to follow!

I hope you've all had a great trading week!

Craig Sanders - Post 3
 

Back again guys,   

                                                     

First, a quick shout out to the course itself and to state how amazingly well structured and informative it is and a heads up to Decisive Trading for having designed such an easy to follow awesome ‘Zone Trader’ course.

So jumping right back in where I finished from my previous post regarding identifying common mistakes I had made in November 2015 upon completing the Zone Trader course and charging full steam ahead!

This is a basic highlight to remind you and just explain to any aspiring beginner traders that mistakes do and will happen…. and that its ok! Its normal! Frustrating but its normal. The only real secret behind it all is to “learn” and push on forwards.

The above photo is from my first trading diary back in November 2015, which reads-

“Screwed up bigtime. Traded against 12pm UK news and shouldn’t have! Then re-traded without following trading plan and doubled my trade. Went to bed & left trade to run, causing another losing trade!!  -74 points, Don’t trade the news!! No doubles!! Topped up account to 10k”.

As in the Zone Trader course, there is a document module alone with an explanation into why trading the news isn’t advised and how to avoid it. Also throughout alternative modules, the ‘news’ is spoken about and also builds part of the puzzle for when approaching each trading day and what times to avoid or be mindful of depending on the trader’s preference.

So, I’ve done the course, iv then decided I’ll do the course again and now break it down with my own key notes in a bigger educational diary for quick and easy access when needed (highly beneficial btw).

This I have found highly useful as you don’t need to hurry and log into the member’s website to then gain access to the course notes you want to clarify or double check. Chances are you would have already missed the trade you were about to enter or miss the internal management process you were thinking about doing but wanted to double check yourself. Having a note book beside you with key points written down from completion of the course will and can only but aid you on acting when necessary with the knowledge needed in the present moment whilst entering or in any individual trade. This is a huge tip for all newbies, otherwise I guarantee you will be scrambling to log in and seek info on what to do on 1 particular day, it will happen!……. When it happens, smile, say hi5 Craig, buy a diary and plot your notes! Or take my word and just do it and smile when you save your arse J

My first 2 weeks in November after finishing Zone Trader were outstanding to say the least. Outstanding to the point where I’m slaving away in the 40+ sunny desert out in the beautiful outback Australia :-/ in my day job, half way into my shift and mentally talking to myself and almost convincing myself that I shouldn’t be doing this anymore, I can trade and make a reasonable living fairly easy whilst sat in the air-conditioning at home and answer to no-one but myself.

Another week slipped by in the markets, religiously there I was trading each evening after my 12 hour shifts, racing back to my mobile camp after dinner to get showered and set up for the market opening and continuing to make good progress following my trading plan.

Then it happened…..

Out of nowhere, the markets didn’t play ball on this 1 particular evening and I made the error of ignoring my rules and what I had learned in the course regarding trading around the news.

The course specifically advises with logic reasoning why it’s best to not trade the news, yet I thought differently or should I say I didn’t think at all?! Or I knew better?? (this sounds about right).

I remember it being around 4 hours into the FTSE opening and I still hadn’t got a trade-off yet. Feeling frustrated and the clock ticking and bedtime approaching fast, I was eager to make a trade, just the 1 trade when the sign shows itself I thought. Then at 11.55pm (GMT) a beauty of a bullish Pin bar forms before me in a high probability key zone and within seconds I had convinced myself that ‘everything’s in line Craig, yep’ Are your rules met Craig? Yep, all met.  Without hesitation I entered the trade with a ‘long’ position at what I thought at the time a perfect time and then before my eyes watched as the 12pm UK news un folded… Now aware of but not until the large bearish spike dashed before my screen like a lightning bolt jumping out my laptop and striking me as a sign to say WAKE UP, I was instantly stopped out of the trade and due to the slippage factor I was -2% negative of my trading account. Sheer disappointment and anger that the news could do this to me and un-willing to accept that it was me breaking my own rules. 

Within minutes of another candle forming I would show this market who’s boss and what looked to be a bearish continuation of the news spike, I had re-entered into a bearish ‘sell’ position, hoping to win back my previous 2% loss. In order to achieve this and for the fastest time to achieve this was for me to double my trade and what I thought at the time, ride it into the below key zone. This way I will be in profit and can go to bed!

The markets didn’t perform as Id ‘expected’ and seemed to be staggering sideways for a further hour or so. Due to being frustrated, tired and disappointed (although un-aware at the time) I had decided to leave the trade running (plain crazy) and go to bed with a stop loss set of a further 2% and a limit order set of 2%. All in the hopes of waking up fresh as a daisy before work and seeing a 2% profit before the day gets started. However, having pulled myself together and staggered over to my laptop in desperation of loading my charts up and expecting to see a profit, there it was, a further 2% loss! Yay NOT!  Totalling a 6% draw down on my account, I was fuming, fuming to a point where I refused to go and get breakfast like a spoilt kid and decided to head straight to work frustrated and hungry.

The above description in theory is a very straight forward process to avoid and yet when the time comes its surprising how silly the choices us individuals actually make and act on!

It’s clear I was impatient, tired, eager etc … basically its very clear I was in the wrong frame of mind and really shouldn’t have traded at all on that particular evening! As a beginner and when hitting a few winning streaks, it’s so easy to become over-confident in one’s ability to read the markets and make not only costly but emotional mistakes as I did above. This of course set the tone for the remaining few days thereafter and caused further rushed decision making and the chasing of irrelevant signals, which of course resulting in further negative results!

Towards the very back end of November, early December I had thankfully regained my calmness and level headedness and began to climb back out of the hole I had created for myself. This is where the very first matching of my chart screenshots and diary log combined for the same day came together. Resulting in a self-analyse at the end of the month and each day checking over what emotional state I was in prior to and after.

Although some would say that the above is obvious and having done the course then one shouldn’t trade the news! However, this is of course what I also thought at the time when things were going great. What my point is and with any rule, not just the news…. It’s very, very easy to skip particular rules dependent upon one’s emotional state in the heat of the moment! This isn’t always identifiable and clearly wasn’t in my case and needs much attention and focus for mastery.

Regardless of the emotional state I was in during this particular trading day and without diving into the ‘mindset’ realm of what should and shouldn’t have been done….. I hope the basics of the above clearly highlights just how easily one can land in a sink hole and continue to self-sink themselves even deeper.

I can openly admit that 1 year on (coincidence and I better not trade today now) that I have never made the same mistake of ignoring this particular rule and trading on and around a high priority news event. This isn’t to say I haven’t made repeated errors with other rules, but it’s a fact with the ‘NEWS’ rule – don’t trade the news, simple’s guys ;)

Overall, not only did I ignore the news but I also dropped into an emotional trance that made me act and re-enter another trade with a very poor signal, if no signal at all and also I encouraged myself to double my risk management principles all because of ignorance and my un-willingness to accept a loss.

I hope to clarify further problems I’ve faced in the months after the above to the point I’m at today in hoping to give you some further valuable insights into how easily one can sabotage themselves. Thus hopefully creating part of an avoidance tool for your progress moving forward with trading.

For now and until next time J

Live Price Action Trade Ftse 100 15th November 5 Minute Timeframe - Zone Trader

In this live trade I take a short position from a key resistance level. Using the Zone Trader methods on the 5 minute timeframe the trade comes within 0.5 points of stopping me out before reaching the target of 1:1 RR. This trade highlights the importance of sticking to your trading plan.

Ftse 100 Price Action Review And Subsequent Opportunities 15th November

In this weeks price action review for the ftse 100 index we look at the strong level of support below and the resistance above. This market is currently in a trading range with a slightly bearish bias. We are watching for evidence of future market sentiment.

Index Ftse 100 Price Action Review For Trading Week Ahead Sunday 13th November

In this review video we look at the potential bearish sentiment in the ftse 100. We have a triple bottom which if it fails will turn this market negative and we should then see a further 100 points come off of the market. We look at the key price action support and resistance levels and I take you through what I will be watching for the week ahead.

Forex Pair Aud Usd Price Action Review For Trading Week Ahead Sunday 13th November

In this weeks price action analysis of the Aud Usd Forex pair we look at the potential break of the trading pattern ascending triangle. A break of this level now would be very bearish for the Aud Usd. The sloping support has been holding since January of this year and we may now see this market return to a negative bias.

Live Forex Price Action Trade Aud Usd 10th November Zone Trader

In this live Zone Trader trade on the Forex pair Aud Usd I am looking for a bullish bounce from key support in early morning trading with a target being the round number ahead.

Aud Usd Forex Price Action Review and Subsequent Analysis 10th November

In this weekly Forex review for Aud Usd we look at the ascending triangle and a key level of support for the morning session. At the end of the day I then take you through the potential Zone Trader trades (live trade as seperate video) and explain what a bearish break of the ascending triangle would mean.

The Second Blog Post From the T-Model Trader

This is the second blog post from the T-Model Trader, in the series of blog posts from real world beginner traders. These blog posts are aimed at shining a light into the learning process, warts and all. 

I hope you have all had a great trading week.

James Orr

Let’s start with a story……

I began studying the Decisive Trading Ftse 100 course in January of this year and in early February I was a part of the live trading room with James. Although that format only lasted for 8 trading days, it had a deeply profound impact upon me. I had traded a little prior to the live room, however, to be honest I really didn’t understand what I was doing. 

At the time, we were in the midst of an intense heat wave here in Australia, with temperatures soaring over 40 degrees. There exists this specific weather pattern that sets up at that time of the year with the northerlies rolling through the outback, gathering momentum like a fan forced oven and melting all that stand in its way. This combo of heat and live trades has since been indelibly branded within me forever. It was an initiation by fire on all fronts.  

So here I am, the first day of live trading with a pulse rate ascending into dangerous territory. The market opens and immediately shoots up. James says sell. What? Sell….but it’s going up. Oh crap. I do what the man says and sell. My body is sweating to the point of near drowning in the puddle that is forming. I felt as though I was spinning out of control and completely out of my depth.

Moments later the trade is over. My account had gone up, not down.  Yes, up, like towards the heavens. Up, like a helium balloon. Up, like an airplane does at take-off. Up. Up. Up. I wasn’t attuned to those sorts of “up” movements when it comes to trading. Nor was I well-practiced to it happening so quickly and without large amounts of pain and suffering and worry and stress and nervousness.  Only moments later it seemed, another trade is entered and exited and again the numbers on the screen are green (not the usual red). Because of the two successful trades, James was done for the day and it was all over. Over…..no….no….NO…..you can’t leave now…...I want more……M-O-R-E.

I can still clearly remember the following few hours after that first live trading evening here. I was in retrospect, in a state of shock. I went for a long walk by the bay where I live, attempting to recalibrate my being back towards some form of known equilibrium. It was around 10 pm at night and still 36 degrees. I just sat in the shallow water at the beach for what seemed like hours. I felt so deeply liberated and simultaneously so overwhelmed. I had just experienced trading success on a level and in a way that I really had no benchmark of experience to comprehend within. Many times I just wanted to turn to someone within earshot and go… “Hey mate……gotta tell you what just happened”. Whoa.

The second trading day came around and then the third, the forth and finally a week had passed. I kept looking at the monetary figure on the trading platform to reassure myself that this week did indeed occur. My account had grown significantly. It was amazing. As we continued on with the live forum, I would hear that voice from Scotland calmly say something like, “Ok, let’s exit the trade now”. How could he sound so calm I wondered? Is it really that simple? Does he spend hours in meditation to prepare for when he trades? Why does he not scream like a banshee when there are winning trades?

Three more live trading days took place the following week and then the decision was made to not continue the live trading and the format was changed.

I have outlined the above story for a few truly important reasons. What I saw and experienced was what a trading “method” could do. I realized for the first time, although I had read of it a thousand times prior, what it meant to have a “trading method”. I sat here for those 8 days in a dizzy mix of heat, excitement, fear and anxiety, cheering and yahooing at the computer screen, beating my chest like some frenzied Wall Street Tarzan. I was convinced that my neighbors would have heard it all and a mobile psychiatric assessment team would arrive at any moment. I could hear the words echoing in my head, as I prepared to say to the psychiatrist….. “You don’t understand, my account went up…..up…..UP……..like a……..”!!!

What did I really learn in those 8 days?

I saw through direct experience what it is to have a trading method and use it. It was literally proven in front of me. I could not deny it, nor could I ignore it. Another thousand books saying to me… “you need a trading plan” would not have come close to this experience. I watched it, heard it, traded it, profited from it and sweated it out through every pore. This was real. That is what I am saying.

Like the inevitable downpour that you can feel building on a balmy tropical afternoon, I am sure you can sense the “however” moment that is about to unleash upon this scenario. As the live room ceased to be, I was thrown back onto my own resources again. Without that voice of experience saying “enter now” I slowly started to go backwards. My trading account inevitably went south, the plane got fogged in and my helium balloon popped. From those lofty heights, I quickly recalled the chilly feeling of losing trades once again.

I have attempted to illustrate by relating the story, that it was a profound and impactful experience. I saw success in ways that had no ambiguity what so ever. It was clear to me what had taken place. Yet, within a few weeks of losing trades again, my “trust” of the Decisive Trading method began to fail. I had entered into, as one trading author calls, “the cycle of doom”. It is when the methodology is blamed. It is the proverbial blaming of the tool and not the one who wields it.

The initial thought-form

Over the last year, I have come to ponder on the meaning of this “initial thought form” many times and now realize how potent and pervasive its influence has been in my trading development.  A thought form, as I am using it here, is simply a belief that has gained traction within the mind of a person. Simply put, it is a factor in the determining of how we do things day in day out. We all have these thought forms. We go to the polls to enforce them. We wear certain sporting jerseys to demonstrate them. The list goes on.

What am I attempting to say here?

That in reflection, my “initial thought form” or “self- concept” of what trading is and how I would “be” as that trader was highly distorted. I stepped into the trading world “tooled up” with a belief that was inappropriate for what I was about to encounter.

But it is more than just a dwindling trading account. This was about me. This was about not being able to match the outcomes of the “actual” trading with the pre-conceived notions that I had already constructed within me. I was approaching trading with a pre-determined thought form of success based upon utter non-realities.

The way that this began to rear up was through the “time” factor. In the DT training, there is a section called “millions in months”. This is what I am fundamentally referring to here, although in my case, the emphasis is on one of the two parts. It was the time factor that triggered this problem.

An aspect of my personality is this split between being highly patient and extremely impatient, with little of a grey zone in between. My impatience can show up as impulsiveness. This is, without doubt, at the heart of the challenges that I have faced in trading to date. This is what I mean when I speak of “dud trades”. They simply are the end result of this unconstrained impulsive like impatience. Losses in trading are a part of the whole she-bang. Dud trades however, are a completely different beast.

As this is the case, then at the beginning of my trading career, and with little conscious thought, I attached a time value as to how it would all unfold.  By sustaining losses, this fundamentally undermined my “schedule” for trading success. With every delay in the delivery of this “schedule” and the ensuing “success”, my ability to function clearly as a beginner trader became compromised. This entrenched “pattern of thought” was driving me too unconsciously take non-existent trades so as to attempt to keep this “trading schedule of success” on track.

In starting with an unrealistic “initial thought form”, I created from the outset a major hurdle. All that I could feel was a growing sense of panic. Every trading day simply became a reiteration of failure based upon my entrenched belief that trading success would unfold at this predetermined “schedule”. Because the “time” outcome was not happening, then “the only conclusions” that could be entertained is that, either the trading methodology is useless, or that I was “useless as a trader”.

In therapy, there is an approach in treatment that asks the question, “how do you know that this is real” in order to gather evidence to support or expose a given belief. It is a great question to present to a person when there exists a strong notion of “fixation” around an issue. Sadly, I completely missed that I was immersed in a fixated thought pattern that was causing me damage every time I set up to trade.

I related to you my early DT experiences to drive home the point that I saw how successful this methodology can be. I had to face the simple reality that it wasn’t the trading method that was the problem. It was me. This was a KO in the very first second of the first round and I didn’t even see it coming….Ouch.

Till next time….

Be well….      

The T-model Trader.

Live Zone Trader Trade Ftse 100 5 Minute Timeframe 8th November

In this live trade I take a short position from the key resistance level identified in the accompanying review video from the same date.

Price Action Review And Subsequent Trading Opportunities Ftse 100 8th November

In this weekly Zone Trader review video I look at the key level in the market. I determine this resistance level to be a type of pivot, above which I expected the market to rally strongly.

Nice Early Morning Trade

Key zone identified for subscribers this morning on the FTSE 100. We had a slow market due to the US election but the reaction came and all done by 8:45am. Happy trading!

Price Action Analysis For The Forex Pair Aud Usd Trading Week Commencing 6th November

In this weekly analysis video we look at the ascending triangle price squeeze from the Forex pair Aud Usd. We are looking for the market to break out of this triangle to give us a market direction once again.

Price Action Analysis For the Ftse 100 Trading Week Commencing 6th November

In this weeks analysis we look at the key support level below in the ftse 100. If this level breaks, we can expect a further 100 points to come off of this market. 

Beginner Blog Post 2 - Craig Sanders

Hello Traders.

Continuing on with the Decisive Trading Beginner blogs, we have our second post from Craig Sanders. I hope you all enjoy it and I hope you've all had a great trading week!

James Orr

Hi guys, now that I have briefly introduced myself in the previous post, my intentions are to

rewind all the way back to November 2015 last year and go over my findings from my trading diary that I had started out with after completing the ‘zone trader’ course and still continue to use today. I’m hoping by doing this I can give out a clearer picture of the hills climbed and the avalanches surfed to get to where I am at today. (FYI, I certainly can’t surf)

Each blog post I will try and focus on a new issue or breakthrough that I experienced first-hand as I set about my trading journey on a new ‘demo’ account with a 10,000-pound balance and a new registration with the IG platform.

Firstly, for this post, I would just like to briefly explain a simple but highly useful tracking tool I’ve been using from day 1 of my trading and I highly encourage all new beginner traders to do the same or implement something similar that suits your style of recordings.

My method for tracking my trading is a combination of my diary and a daily screenshot. My diary is a small pocket diary that goes everywhere my laptop goes. On each and every trade I write the date, + or - the amount of points, the value +or-, then underneath this (as in the Zone Trader course) I mark my trade with either a #1, #2 or #3 depending on how I felt I had performed within the market. I then write a short description at the side of the number stating if or not I had followed my rules and what emotions I felt at that exact time. Example below -

18/11/15

+15 points     Bull Pin bar (am) – key zone     + 15.00

#3 – awesome, followed all zone trader rules, managed very tightly into next zone, great emotions, calm & relaxed in trade.

………………………………

19/11/15

-11.5 points     Bearish Engulfing (pm) – in no zone    - 11.50

#1 – didn’t follow any rules, thought the market would continue to sell off, anxious, panicked and rushed into the trade, market reversed, stopped out!!! Follow your damn rules CRAIG, you know better!!

………………………………

After each trading day I then mark up my chart with my entries and exit points, jot down the value of points achieved or lost and then I write a more ‘detailed description’ to that in my diary of how I acted prior to entry, whilst in the trade and how I felt upon exit. I also mark any extra ‘key notes’ on my learnings that day. Ie – temp resistance points, closing partial positions, emotions, news etc. 

Please note – The above chart isn’t a match to the example of diary notes above it, I have used them just as an example to illustrate my point and the basics of it.

The important point I am trying to convey with the above diary and screenshot is that when these are done daily over and over they become highly useful at the end of each month.

They build a picture for tracking your losing trades and allow you to go back over your diary, identify ‘common’ mistakes made and then pick the date of the screenshot and you can study that error in greater detail. I cannot stress enough how good I have found this to be for myself and have overcome certain reoccurring errors. Without this, it is very easy to move on and forget where you are going wrong, in turn only costing you money, pain and the potential to give in!

At the end of each trading month I go over my trading diary and tally up all losing trades. Those that come apparent to be ‘common’ reasons for being losers, I match to the correct screenshots for study.

I have found this to be a very effective and as the months progressed on into the new year of 2016, i still today continue to use the same method for rectifications and it WORKS well guys!

When those odd days come of losing trades and even streaks, which they do and will for all of you, I have honestly found that when feeling ‘low’ after a bad streak of losers or a bad streak of emotions building over a few days that by pushing through, resisting the pain, dusting yourself down and then using the above ‘diary + screenshot’ technique to analyse your trades works really well for overcoming any pain from the market. This for me anyway has pulled me back out of the sh*t and enabled me to accept the common theme of making mistakes to then fix them and progress forward and come out on top.

I have had this experience a fair few times when learning to implement the zone trader and can tell you since being a beginner trader within the last 11 months I am still here today hanging on for dear life when there has been the odd occasion of feeling defeat………   Watch this space ;)

Novemeber  2015 – 2 common identified problems

1.     Trading through a UK high importance news event …. just this once!!!

2.     Using dodgy entry signals and telling myself its fine really!!!

The Typical beginner occurrence of “ignoring your rules” and then “chasing your loss’s”. (can very easily happen over and over again)

The above screenshot caption is from 1 of my trading days mid-November 2015. Iv plucked this out to show/explain in my next post to any aspiring beginner trader/s or readers in general just how easily one can make such huge mistakes or even potentially long term damaging mistakes on their own trading paths after completing such a well-structured and understood course to then go on to think after a few winning trades they are invincible to any potential losing trades within the markets.

Regards

Craig