T-Model Trader Blog Post 5 - Beginner Trader Blogs

This will be the last blog post before the holidays. Continuing on with the beginner trader blogs, T-Model Trader is back with his fifth post. I must say that this is one of the best insights into the struggles as a beginner trader I have read and I definitely recommend giving it a few minutes to read through.

 As I always say - people come to trading with unrealistic expectations. Not merely of the financial gain they will make, but also in a much more personal way... they think they are better equipped for what lies ahead than they really are. There is always a part of our mind that tells us 'sure, it's difficult, but I will be different. This will be pretty easy for me.'

Instructors need to share some of the blame for this - just have a look at 90% of them out there. You will see the talk of wild profits and how much they made off of a trade, they will show you their fancy indicator that 'makes all the difference' and they will gloss over all of the losses, giving you that hope that yes, you have stumbled across the diamond in the rough that will make the journey as simple as setting the sail and then enjoying the rewards for you.

 This blog and those from Craig are the reality. Trading is difficult. There is a large failure rate. Statistically, you are unlikely to make it. You WILL want to quit and you WILL want to throw your computer out of a top floor window.

 I tell you this not to discourage you, but rather to send you into the battlefield better equipped. I truly believe that anyone can achieve anything that they want. But it has to be done in a sensible way, approaching with caution and a realistic expectation. Hard work will pay off - I see it regularly with the students I work with now - but there are no shortcuts to success.

Anyway, enough of my rambling! I hope you all enjoy the blog and also the holidays.

 James Orr

Blog Post 5 - T-Model Trader

A few weeks ago, I was wondering as to what I would have written down regarding trading in January if I had projected forward into this year. I have a strong feeling given what has transpired, that I would have got much of it completely wrong.

The first thing that I have noticed in reflecting upon my thoughts is that there was an outstanding quality of complete and utter naivety. Beyond the general trading picture, I seriously had no idea what I was about to embark upon. None. Zip. Zero.

One of the initial attractions to trading was its portability and apparent simplicity. Given that it requires only a computer, internet connection and some cash (putting aside the all-important “how” at this point) then my minimalist nature was immediately attracted.

So…portable….yes. Simple….umm….well…..kind of not.

Given that 90% of people fail at trading, then it would appear that the question of wanting to be a trader is a seriously complex affair. I find the concept of “trading” and by extension a “trader” to be a most fascinating thing to contemplate. The portability and accessibility of trading defies the notion of the 9 to 5 reality, like some wandering entity living mysteriously on the fringes of society. In appraising trading as that naïve observer, the one thing that it did look to me was immediate. And yes, those losses were immediate, so I guess I got what I thought.

I would say that great chunks of this year have been spent trying to not be a failure, which in turn has shaped the way I have gone about the whole process. Failure in this regards equals entrapment, which in turn means fighting to get out of it. Being successful in my understanding means having identified “something” that is creating that success and then repeating the process to further an ongoing positive outcome.

It could well be just a moot point, however I do think there is a divergence in perspectives.

Striving to not be in the 90% camp has given birth to a lot of my emotional trading, as the overwhelming desire is to get out of that group at any cost. The predominant approach in this respect has been one of lack. In turn, I am sensing that this lack leads to throwing myself into the market in vain attempts to rectify the issue. When this backfires then further emotionalisms breed.

It reminds me of the mythology of Hercules as he attempted to kill the nine headed Hydra (representing the emotional nature) by cutting off one its heads. Every time he did so, three new heads would grow back in its place. Eventually, after attacking the problem in his usual way (highly macho) he realized that brute force wasn’t the key to success and got down on his knees (representing humility) and lifted the whole beast into the light (a new paradigm) from which it could not survive. The story is fundamentally about being able to change patterns of behaviour when things aren’t working.

Naivety can be a two sided affair. I can with hindsight look back and say…. “Well that wasn’t such a good idea” regarding some of the choices and actions that I have engaged in. Yet, I have also thrown myself enthusiastically into projects with nothing but complete faith and innocence as the driving force and bugger all prior knowledge. From both of these perspectives life unfolds and the story is written in one way or another, as struggle becomes victory and desire can attract the unplanned black eye of experience.

In retrospect, a possible truthful January statement would have said something like… “I have NO friggin idea for what I am about to enter into”.  Sadly thou, in reality, I would have written about how “cool” I was going to be as a trader. Near to twelve months on, I do not know whether it is better to laugh uproariously or cry hysterically at these admissions.

Some years ago I did a motorcycle journey through the United States, including into Alaska and Canada covering some 60,000 km over 18 months. On a daily basis, I would have people approach me saying how wonderful it must be and how they would love to do so themselves. As a motorcycle laden with gear is a truly powerful archetype of the open road freedom paradigm, people seemingly could not stop from expressing their longings for a similar experience. It was quite extraordinary how they would instantly open up to me about how they were unable to do such a thing due to the ailing Auntie needing care, the vet bills of the one eyed two legged cat, the mortgage, the local sports team commitment, the wife, the kids, the new boyfriend/girlfriend and so on….and so on. All this based upon a perception.

As much as that trip was a truly spectacular time, full of great events, there was also a very brutal aspect to it as well. Day in day out, I was exposed to the elements and eventually it wore me down. My desire was to ride the entire length of the America’s, from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, but I stopped at the half way point as I was completely knackered.

I relate this, as it is a good example of my prior perceptions meeting reality, as well as an interesting insight into other people’s views. This theme that kept coming my way via others comments (90% of the time) was about how wonderful it would be to be so “free”. Yet I can clearly remember the many times looking at houses when I rode past with such a longing to be inside with all the creature comforts and “normal” routines as I weathered yet another down pour, an Arctic wind blast or an insect plague wallpapering my entire being. I have never been so cold, so hot, so wind blasted, so dehydrated, so physically sore and so mentally fatigued. People saw what they needed to see, just as I did with my trading outlook in January. Pre-perception is a curious thing and reality a sobering slap.

When I first saw the DT YouTube video, it said….“How to trade the 5 minute timeframe successfully”…(or close to that). Firstly, the 5 minute part appealed to my impatient personality. It was though, the use of the word “successfully” that I was truly drawn to. However, the more I have contemplated this “successfully”, the more I understand that mind actually read that and reprocessed as “how to NOT be a singular plain trading wildebeest amongst millions of other plain trading wildebeests”. Alas this word “success” created such a primitive response that “potentially” I would be that wildebeest that got across the river crossing without becoming a crocodile snack. Basically put….that I might survive this trading experience.

So…back to the journal in January.

I can remember a thousand seriously great twisting mountain roads dripping with stunning scenery on that trip, laying the bike into the curves and feeling the rush. That is the feeling that I would have attempted to capture in my more poetic moments about what my trading was going to be like at the beginning of the year. It would have been the heady mix of power, freedom, self-determination and excitement rolled into one.

There have been a few trades this year that got close and several that may have noticed that sort of scenery in the distance with a good set of binocular’s. However, for the other 99% of the time it has felt like a long motorway with one billboard after another trying to convince me to partake in the benefits of discipline (and not much of view to behold).

Close to a year on and I do feel somewhat more wizened. Maybe even a little more insightful too. I think that the greatest asset that I now have is about the understanding of process. I can thankfully say, that I am stepping into “the process of becoming a successful trader”, as opposed to being trapped in the process of not being a failure. I am at that tipping point where I could ponder the reality that the glass could potentially be called half full (nearly….let’s not get too cocky).

Rarely these days do I chase a trade, knowing that another one will come around again and that ubiquitous Dud trade (my house specialty) is slowly losing its will to live through neglect. Revenge trading is all but gone as I now know when to turn the computer off and walk away. If I am feeling a little flat mentally, then I feel totally okay about just letting a day go by without the charts and not feeling I have missed the boat completely. My losses aren’t a trip down into Hades anymore, just as my successes aren’t reason for a wild celebration. I guess this is called equilibrium.

I saw many wonderful sights on that bike trip. It was though, the Arctic tundra of the Canadian North West wilderness that was truly awe inspiring. The vastness was amazing (I’m an Aussie… I am use to vastness). It was a landscape of other worldly dimensions.

To get up into the Arctic involved a 2000 km return ride on a dirt road (road was bit of an exaggeration at times). I have often thought about this journey up into the Arctic when trading has been a serious struggle. Like that landscape, trading has opened up a completely different experience, far beyond my initial perceptions. Not even my wildest imaginings would have come close to what has transpired this year. I know that I have grown as a person and have had to deal with more than a few of my contentious traits.

The photo of the bike is at the Arctic Red River (a bit murky as it is a photo of a print photo). It was the point of truly entering into the wilderness end of this part of the journey. As I awaited the barge to take me across, I felt the thrill of stepping into a whole new experience.

Additionally though, I also began that leg of the journey on the dirt road into the Arctic with great trepidation about falling off. I hadn’t done that much off road riding before and felt an underlying anxiety about getting injured in such a remote environment.  When I eventually got back on to a sealed road many weeks later, I was a completely different rider. The last 1000 km back was an absolute hoot.

In the early stages of riding on that dirt road, my body would shudder at every slide of the back wheel on the loose surface. By the end, that feeling of sliding at 80-100 km per hour was just known and lots of fun. I had simply learned how to manage those moments (read trade management and you will get my point) and stay calm.

Likewise, I am really looking forward to the new trading year ahead as the accumulated trading bruises have toughened me up somewhat this year. And just like the bike trip, I feel completely knackered by the many highs and lows, the many hours of looking at charts, the bewilderment, the befuddlement, the light bulb moments and that all my screaming at the screen didn’t make an iota of difference (must remember that one for next year). .

Have a great break everyone.

T-Model trader.

Live Trade Ftse 100 - Finishing Work By 8:02am - 20th December

In this live trade I take a short position just before the Ftse 100 open at 8am. The trade completes quickly and I make a cool 1:1 RR by 8:02am. Although it doesn't happen every day, finishing work in 3 minutes is definitely one of the bonuses of being a day trader!

Pre Market Ftse 100 Review and Subsequent Opportunities 20th Dec

In this video in the week before christmas the ftse 100 is up toward its all time highs. Although expecting the market to attempt to rally higher, I don't expect those rallies to hold. This is because I expect traders to take profits before the holidays and also do not expect them to see the value in holding those positions at such a high price. I take a live short trade in the accompanying video and take a nice 1:1 RR.

Aud Usd Forex Market Analysis For Trading Week Ahead - 18th Dec

In the Aud Usd this week we can look to the key levels of support below for potential bullish price action. If we see rallies we can also look to sell the market in expectation of trend continuation traders stepping into the downtrend.

Ftse 100 Market Price Action Analysis For Trading Week Ahead - 18th Dec

In the ftse 100 this week I am looking to sell into any rallies. The reason for this is that the market is up toward all time highs going into the holiday period. We will likely see traders closing long positions and taking profits.

Forex Live Trade Aud Usd - What's Your Plan? - 15th Dec

In this live trade I take a counter trend long position on the forex pair aud usd. Trading on the 5 minute timeframe allows me to actively manage my trades. However the most important aspect is having a well rounded plan for all eventualities. 

Forex Pair Aud Usd Pre Market Review + Subsequent Opportunities 15th Dec

The market has reacted from our key resistance area identified from the past few Sunday market analysis videos on the YouTube channel. In this review I was looking for some sort of a relief rally, followed by more bearish action.

Beginner Trader Blog Post - Craig Sanders Post 5

Hello Traders.

I hope you're all enjoying this series as much as I am. I like the two different styles of both Craig and T-Model Trader, but also how the same key points keep shining through. I hope these are helping some of the beginners out there who are on their journey and who have perhaps suffered through teh same difficulties - hint - we all have!

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

James Orr

Blog Post 5 - Craig Sanders

Revision, I like to call it…..

Hi again all, in today’s post I’m wanting to scratch the surface on how much I personally think the ‘review videos’ that James includes in his subscription service each day add great insight into not only the learning of technicals but more importantly how they are what I believe the ‘golden nuggets’ of the MIND for all aspiring beginner traders that have chosen to take part in Decisive Trading’s ‘Zone Trader’ course.

So, for those of you that are not familiar with the set-up, ill briefly explain… As a Zone Trader, having undertaken the ‘5-minute timeframe course’, people most certainly tend to find great value in their own learnings and understanding of the market/system after the course is complete that they go on to being paid monthly subscribers to Decisive Trading’s morning analyse videos and key information daily login page. This is a service where you have direct daily access to James giving his detailed analyse for the particular day along with a video explaining in greater detail the forecast ahead for the FTSE and/or AUD/USD currency pair, depending which your preference to trade if not both :-)

At the end of each trading day, James then goes on to record a ‘review video’ which he then uploads to the internet for direct access by all subscribing members. He walks you through the market from the opening time all the way through to the closure, explaining in excellent, easy to follow detail of what the market did, how it reacted to key daily levels identified from the morning analysis and he also goes into great detail on management areas created during market hours and how and why you should potentially take everything explained into consideration. This of course with the key aim for us all to blossom into ‘consistently profitable traders’ over time.

Myself personally have found these ‘daily review videos’ super yes super crucial and helpful from a confidence re-enforcement point of view as well as measuring up my own trading thoughts on any particular day VS the break down video & James’s overall opinion.

The reason I felt the need to pick the pen up and write this in my trading diary back in April 2016 (typing to explain my past notes) is due to a few negative trades that had gone against me. This of course is normal and does happen, however, no matter how well you stick to your rules and follow your trading plan, a few losses in consistent flow after 1 another can and still will influence one’s mind into a ‘negative self-doubting’ down spiral state. Myself and I’m sure most experience this also and at most times manage to shake off the losers and move forward to the next trade. Yet, occasionally when the market isn’t responding how one might be anticipating or better to say - responding well to your proven ‘edge’ then this is where and when the ‘after market breakdown video’ is a blessing in disguise… An example being, I took another large loss recently, causing some self-doubt to creep back in again, however the following morning when I woke (being in Australia I receive my review videos the next morning) to my routine with a strong bitumen looking coffee at 6am sharp followed by loading my emails to watch the review video and compare/cross check with my trading actions implemented for the previous (same day) day.

When you analyse what is actually being explained on the breakdown videos and then see it matches exactly the actions/mannerisms/methods you portrayed on that very same day, this then gives you superior confidence and a sense of fulfilment that your learnings and understanding of trading and the market are aligned and heading in the right direction. (The potential difference between winning and quitting)!!!

This is where I pull up my captured screenshots iv banged on about in past posts with all notes attached and then compare the breakdown video against my screenshot and begin the learning process. When the breakdown video matches your choices made, even if the market went against you, it is still a feeling well worth having and this is why I think and feel it is 110% KEY to being part of the support subscription service whilst starting out to learn how to trade successfully. “Hand on heart, I feel had I not been part of receiving the review videos then it is possible to say I could have potentially been dis-heartened somewhat and may have even thrown in the towel to my trading journey during a stint of repeat emotional pain we all unfortunately experience.

To me, without the reassurance of daily breakdown video lessons/market evaluations and having nothing to compare one’s learnings with then the far greater the risk for a beginner’s confidence to be shattered is and then trading could be no more!!

 No doubt in my mind there has been plenty of traders drop off from pursuing trading just from something as simple as reinforcing one’s beliefs and teachings with mentor assistance or in this case, review videos for support. So my tip to anyone who is as thirsty as myself for trading success….. - be patient and do ALL that is necessary to give yourself that advantage / ‘EDGE’ in any way shape or form you can and I promise you will not regret it!

Failing to prepare = preparing to fail

Until next time, enjoy and ‘move to the next trade’ :-)

Craig

Live Trade - Blind Buying A Bullish Trend Ftse 100 - 13th Dec

In this live trade I take a buy position on a pullback from a bullish trend move. I identify the key level of support and analyse the price action to identify the entry before taking a 1:1 risk reward trade.

Ftse 100 Pre Market Analysis Review and Subsequent Opportunities 13th Dec

In this market review we go over the recent pullback in the ftse 100 into key support levels. The market subsequently puts in a bullish rally for the trading day giving clear price action clues of the trending move.

Wednesday Quote Hour

Wednesday Quote Hour

Forex Pair Aud Usd Market Review For Trading Week Ahead 11th Dec

This market has paused on its pullback after the bearish break from the ascending triangle. With choppy price action, I am looking at the aud usd as range bound until it begins to give further evidence of its next intended move.

FTSE 100 Weekly Market Review For Trading Week Ahead 11th Dec

This week we look at the key support and resistance areas in the ftse 100. After bouncing from the triple bottom area last week we have seen a sustained rally in the market. In the coming week we will likely see an attempt at the all time highs.

T-Model Trader Blog Post 4

 Hello Traders.

It's time for the fourth blog post from T-Model Trader in our series of blogs from real beginners. Get an insight into their journey so you can see how they learn, progress and overcome the common difficulties.

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

James Orr

Blog 4 - The T-Model Trader

Do the Demo before you go-go…. (Live)

Like any good eager beaver with a fast track ticket to success in mind, I thought demo trading was only for the uncool and simply just a waste of time. I just wanted the real action. Unfortunately, it took way too long to admit to the dint in my trading account before I eventually woke up to reality unfolding.

As soon as I had winning demo trades, I was straight back live again not wanting to miss the real deal. As I lost a bit more skin on my already tender trading behind, I would head back forlornly to demo-land once again. This pattern yo-yoed repeatedly for many a moon, until I eventually made a commitment to not go live until I had proven myself worthy. Delightfully I can say, what I got from this demo experience was far from what I expected.

Now it really does need to be said……

……..that…..it can be a hell of a lot of fun placing a trade on demo with mega tons worth per point. All it has to do is glance in the right direction and you’re a gazillionare. However, if it resembles a pear, then the thought...… “Oh I wouldn’t have really placed that trade in the real trading world”, can fire up the neurons and pop out the mouth at light speed all too easily.   

If, like myself, you often make a beeline for fictional behaviour when you really should know better….well then…..demo can be a theme park full of wicked illusion. So tread carefully.

However, if done correctly, it is your best friend in the hour of need. Learn to love it.

So……..in no particular order…..some thoughts around demo use to contemplate.

1.     Record every trade. No editing. No leaving out the kooky ones. This is the equivalent of your personal diary…..it is a warts and all account. Be brutally honest. No one is going to know anyway. But you have to.

2.     Make that money real. That demo money needs to be respected like the real stuff. Treat demo exactly the same as live trading. E-x-a-c-t-l-y. Don’t trade ridiculous amounts of dollars per point. Be real.

3.     No experimentation. Follow the plan. That is why you are on the demo….practice practice practice…….and more again. Remember that you are learning and this learning needs to see the methodology in repeating action. Mistakes are part of the process, so don’t beat yourself up as a trading failure. Forget the clock and aim for quality.

4.     Review always. Outside of trading times, go over and over what you have been doing. And then review it again. If possible, take the laptop/journal into a different location, away from where you normally sit to trade and do the review. The change of location can be truly helpful to keep it fresh. Keep trying to penetrate into the trade with greater insight.

5.     Keep going over the course material. Listen to all the DT YouTube postings over and over. You will know when it is getting thru to you simply because the voice in your head will have a new found Scottish flavor to it.

6.     Learn to write about what you are doing. Express yourself constantly, even if you feel you are writing the same thing day after day. This is mega important. Make the ongoing effort to get more subtlety into your journal writing. Get skillful at breaking apart the trades and the emotions. The more you get inside of “yourself” regarding your trading approach, the better the chances of creating the change needed.

7.     Realize that it is a process of development and you are in training. Give it all you have. You will fall over (this is the beginners trading reality), but fall over successfully by learning and then stand up again with commitment the next day.

8.     Repeat often….. “I am a trader”. Lock onto this like crocodile jaws and don’t let it go.  You have to ascend past the doubt factor. And do this ascending on demo…this is what it is for (and infinitely cheaper).

9.     Acknowledging openly and honestly the losses are truly important. These losses have so much to teach us beginner traders. Go find the reason for these losses and let go of grumbling (Oh how I have whined). It is good to remember, that we have chosen to do this trading business and the market has no personal grudge against us.

It was around week 4 that I forgot that I was actually demoing. I am truly serious. I had become so engrossed in just “doing” the trading business necessary that the demo reality faded away and became so completely real to me. I was in training and I was giving it all that I could. This was a great turning point. 

Around week 6 I went live again. I lasted 2 days and then went back to demo. It wasn’t that I lost every live trade. The difference this time was that I just knew within that I wasn’t ready yet. I didn’t feel fit enough to go live.  I still needed the sanctuary of Demo-land to refine my skills. I needed time to build more trading muscle. I knew that this was the case and was willing to acknowledge it to myself honestly.

That was a while ago now. However, the outcome of this experience is that I still use the demo. If I have a few losses in a row and feel a little unsteady on my still relatively new trading legs, I go back to Demo-land for a bit.

Muscle-up Traders!

I believe this notion of fitness is truly worth giving lots of consideration too. I think of myself these days regarding trading, in terms of fitness levels. This has allowed me to put my trading development into a context that is readily understandable.  I get this analogy clearly and in perspective, minus the self-criticisms that can spew forth in the emotional quagmire of live trading eruptions. Demo is the training before the actual event.

It can be a truly bewildering process of learning a “method” and then putting it altogether in live trading. All those examples captured within the course material, suspended in time, just look so different (because they are) in the context of decision making on the chart in the beginning.

For me, it was these times of transition between these two worlds of education and live trading that was the breeding ground of many a trading implosion.

In the early live trading days I was continually imprinting repetitive patterns of doubt and stress, simply because I wasn’t ready and should not have been there. This is where the “Demo-ology” world comes into play. If you are really struggling then I would suggest taking a large step away from live charts and take the time to re-calibrate on demo. Be patient and strive for “good” trades and keep in mind that it is a “process” that you have embarked upon. Process = time.

These “good” trades need to be “imprinted” within your psyche as something comfortable you can do.

It is then the “repetition” of the experience of “good trades” that will get you over the line and Demo-land is your means to do so. Repetitive imprinting of “good trades” gives you the mental fitness in order to deal with the doubt which is always lurking and causing havoc in the early days of trading.

It is important to realize that doubt cannot be banished at request. It can though, be offset and diminished by a demonstration of repetitive successes, proving that you have the capacity to do so. This in turn allows the “mind” to develop the fortitude to withstand the uprising when the emotions begin to go ballistic again (which they will). By having imprinted that you can have successful trades, the internal strength develops sufficiently to stand firm enough to weather the losses when they come your way (which they will). Over time, the balance gets tipped in the right direction through the consciously developed resilience (trading fitness).

So hang out in Demo-land and don’t rush the move to live trading. Get successful on demo first. Get really fit on demo and don’t rush this period of learning. Commit to it 100%. You won’t regret the time spent doing so.

The Transition

There will come a point in the demo learning curve when that inner voice starts to make plans for a move onto the live charts. In the last 2 weeks of my demo time I had racked up a string of successful trades. My demos felt good and the internal chatter was saying “live time”.

However, it actually took 3 attempts to get back onto live trading. On demo trading I had got to a point of feeling relaxed about the trades. I was trading the “method” and my emotions had quietly taken a back seat. This is a good sign to watch for, however, it only works if you have truly taken demo seriously.

As soon as I went live, all that anxiety flooded back again and I just froze up. The self-doubt just kicked back in again. So I went straight back to demo after a few losses. The challenge it seemed was to allow the understanding and poise that I had gained to get past the negative internal criticisms that seem to accompany live trading. Eventually that did happen, but it did take some time. So don’t rush this process. If you’re not ready, then just acknowledge this and go back to Demo-land.

The second attempt which failed was based on impatience and the final transition to live charts just seemed to happen without me doing much at all. There is the saying of “getting out of your own way”, in order to allow things to happen. This was true for me in this final transition time. It is about letting go to the process, rather than forcing the agenda. This point is worth lots of consideration.

Don’t forget…..that the demo doesn’t cease to be. Keep using it as much as you need to. I am constantly using demo to practice working on identifying key zones and so on in different markets. In sport, your body is learning to respond instinctually to the requirements necessary thru constant repetition of the specific actions. Trading, in my view, is no different.

Trading is becoming more integrated into my life now. I still have a very long way to go yet, but I am really starting to enjoy this process of development, as a greater subtlety is developing. To get to this point, I have had to let go of many preconceived notions and learn much patience.   

I also now know and accept that skinned trading knees are still odds on to happen again, just as I realize that I will more than likely re-visit the Demo-ville Rehabilitation Center once again for a brief respite and a good lie down.

I am, bit by bit, getting better at accepting that (add background soundtrack of deep sighing).

Till next time….

Be well….

The T-model Trader.

Live Trade - Cut Your Losses Early - Ftse 100 - 6th Dec

In this weeks live trade I take you over a losing position. Losses are one of the most important things to master when trading. Losses are unavoidable, and too many trading 'educators' gloss over them, making it seem like you are doing something wrong when you suffer one.

Ftse 100 Pre Market Review and Subsequent Opportunities 6th Dec

In this weeks pre market review I take you through the key support and resistance level of 6750. At the end of the day I then point out the likely next targets for the ftse 100 - 6810 and then 6900.

Wednesday Quote Hour

Wednesday Quote Hour

Forex Pair Aud Usd Market Review For Trading Week Ahead 4th December

In this weeks market review I take you through the key support and resistance levels I am watching, lining them up with key fibonacci levels as we continue to look at the market pullback.

Ftse 100 Market Analysis For Trading Week Ahead 4th December

The start of the trading week will be dominated by news coming out of Austria and Italy. I take you through the key support and resistance levels of the market and the likely price action moves we will see depending on reactions at each.

Live Price Action Trade From Key Support Forex Pair Aud Usd 1st Dec

In this live trade video I take a long position from a key support level identified in the review video from the same date. After seeing an engulfing candle on the daily timeframe I was watching at the price extremes for trading opportunities.

Aud Usd Morning Price Action Review and Subsequent Opportunities 1st Dec

In this weekly review I look at the engulfing cangle on the daily timeframe from the previous day. Although the Aud Usd forex pair is in a downtrend, I highlight the importance of the extremes of this candle and identify them as potential trading areas for the day. I then run through exactly what happened - live trade posted as a seperate video.

The Latest Blog Post In Our Beginner Trader Series by Craig Sanders

Hello Traders.

A fairly unusual venue for the writing of this fourth blog post. I am sure you will all join me in wishing Craig a speedy recovery.

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

James Orr

Blog Post 4 - Craig Sanders

           

Hi and welcome back, this time from my not so comfortable hospital bed, rest assured I’m ok just high on pain relief maybe. Never in a million years had I ever imagined id be writing a blog post from within hospital, but these minor obstacles happen I guess and the key like in anything is to push on forward and overcome the challenge at hand. I do not have my diaries at hand nor my computer with me but I refuse to take the easy road and spoil the sync of these blog posts for those of you that do read them and find any value no matter how low I feel I have decided to plug away anyway, swallow the concrete and punch on with this post/email draft the best I can from my phone. I have so many things Id like to discuss and could do this alone without the need for my diary for every post, this is one of those moments and still a worthy subject to raise.

Blast from the past

Topping your demo account back up just because you can.

SOME wont but the Majority just may! So, on this particular topic I certainly fell under the ‘majority just may’. (This could potentially be worded the opposite way around with trading)

Rewinding back to the time where I started off on my first ever demo account with my brokerage platform IG. For any of you un aware, with IG and as with many other brokers, up on new account registrations you get 10,000 pounds/dollars to use as free demo funds. I call this monopoly money, essentially it is exactly just that. It’s a nice, appealing, healthy chunk of an account balance in toy money at your disposal.

Logging into my brokerage account (Welcome Craig), at the top of my screen catching my attention first and foremost is the whopping account amount of a (10,000) figure. This is the same for every individual with an IG demo account, if chosen to be used that is!

So, after a number of winning trades at the start of my trading journey I also had various spells of losing trades as you can imagine.  This in turn making my balance some days appear in the positive (10,350) and on other days as negative (9,980). There was a period of 2/3 weeks where my funds had slipped to around the 9,700 mark and it seemed to just sit there idling for what seemed like months, but realistically was only around 2 weeks. This eventually caught my attention as I remember it beating me up mentally, day by day chipping away at my mind, ‘I’m losing still’.  It’s true, I could handle the fact I was given 10k but now I’m sitting under 10k, ‘not acceptable Craig mate’, fix it I remember telling myself with that denying guilty conscience hovering over me. Obviously, impatience at its best.

A few more trading days had passed by in the market and I was still sat below 10,000 pounds. “How” I remember mumbling to myself still in disbelief and fighting the guilt of wanting to top my account up but knowing it’s not the right way to learn.  The frustration and the outbalance of my logic (at the time) over my trading plan were becoming more dominant in my mind, yet the logic I later realised was emotional triggers setting me up to seek safety and comfort for that particular moment and wasn’t true logic in relation to trading at all! However, there I was still trying my hardest to ignore what my thoughts were speaking to me and yet I couldn’t shake them and decided to break therefore showing myself the pathway to have a play around within the account settings page and out of curiosity see if I could possibly manually adjust my balance and return it to the default of 10,000 pounds again. (nobody will ever know anyway)!!

Finally finding my ‘at the time’ comfort, I had figured out how to manually add or subtract any value I wanted to my demo funds, so I did just that. I had finally broken, the devil within got his temporary fix, I raised my account back to 10,000 and remember feeling instant satisfaction. I could have raised it to 15,000 or 20,000 but I never. I only wanted what I started with and surprisingly that small difference gave me a euphoric buzz, at least for that remaining day anyway. “Wow,” I say when I still think back, a euphoric buzz over being able to affectively cheat myself by not accepting losing and then doing the easiest thing in the world by rising my balance just so I could feel in control again. When I think back to this time, I find it laughable and amusing that I still buckled under the lack of being in control and the lack of acceptance with uncertainty.

Trading moving forward with this new recent ’reset’ mode that I was able to manipulate, luckily continued to rise. Rise not for the best, but just how that particular time played out for me and it continued to rise for some time. The point being all along that what I had done was really pointless and nothing more of a ‘sugar fix’ so to speak. It was nothing more than giving a dummy to a crying baby soaked in honey just to silence it! A shore fix but for how long??? And was it a true solution to what I was chasing overall??? Certainly not, it was just easy!

Had I have left my 9,700-account balance alone, my trading over the same period of time could have gradually built back up over a longer period of time and would have still been in positive equity given my emotional state not altered. However, as a beginner and on this new journey into trading I was clearly caught in an emotional state that had been triggered at that time due to the losses that placed me below my 10,000-head start.  This of course made me act in the way I went on to do so. This was me hiding behind my mental pain but unwilling to accept I was doing just that, eventually thinking it will be forgotten.

UNCERTAINTY - clearly I wasn’t a fan, maybe I could trick myself? Its only play money.

EXPECTATIONS – clearly I had stronger expectations of winning over losing, normal, isn’t it?

CONTROL – clearly trying to control my individual trade outcomes.

The above behaviour I lived out basically highlights some concepts of how I could not accept market uncertainty at that particular time. I clearly had very strong expectations of winning trades over losing trades and I was trying to be in control of each individual trade outcome and failing to accept losses at all costs. These are all huge problems each beginner trader may have to come across and battle in their own heroic way as they build their own puzzle on mindset as they drive deeper into their trading journeys all at their very own paces.

I felt the need to briefly touch on the ‘oh so simple to avoid’ topic just because it’s something if you read for a first time, then you would usually read and laugh. Yet I’ve experienced it, I did so even knowing it was stupid to be doing so and at the same time of doing it :-)  - so I’m either plain stupid or just showing how your mind as a funny way of turning on you when in emotional pain and blinding any logic, usually resulting back to the fear of losing and all the causes above I’ve mentioned.

This became apparent for me to want to write about due to having an experience of turning to a live account earlier on in this year and having a flashback moment of the ‘nightmare memory bank’. Yes, that’s right, my first ever live trading account I had an almost similar repeat performance!  and without diving into it too much here, the minute I realised emotions were live again were because the dreaded laughable memory of topping my account up back in my demo apprenticeship days haunted me. I instantly sniggered and realised that in order to top my live account back up id need real money, fact! There was no + button to tap and see the digits rise this time.  This soon became apparent that this wasn’t possible nor was it the right thing to do anyway. I took my lesson from my early days (because I’m a trader veteran) ha, I controlled my emotions and continued trading over the weeks ahead. In turn starting to grow monthly equity curves of 7% then 14% and so on…. Point being, I could have thrown more monies into the account in order for a ‘quick fix’ or ‘feel better’ moment again, yet realised from past mistakes that this isn’t the correct thing to do moving forward so sucked it up like a good little princess, learnt and finally come good and still increase my account sticking to my PLAN.

It’s crazy because most may never experience this but like the genuine guru’s all say, getting the bruises and learning is far better than being told what to and what not to do. Human mind does not retain most of what is shown to them. Only when self-research is done then you retain knowledge. Once you have certain knowledge then you can build upon it. not the other way around.

So instead of me continuing to bang on about this topic and drive you all around the bend, although I don’t care as I have to stay awake for further blood test well into midnight, so suffer with me ha-ha… 1 of my main learnings from it all was how I started to first learn what being an objective observer of my own thoughts and actions was really all about. So even if we forget the above ‘demo’ topic, if 1 person out of 100 reading this (I’m confident in numbers) takes away something that makes their brain tick and one day when attempting to make an emotional error without awareness!!! and this stops them and makes them think, then my work here is done. This is a door that when reached, I believe continues to keep opening as it still is for me today :-)

Happy trading guys and until next time….

Ps - I’m beginning to sound like an affiliate to IG, rest assured I’m certainly not :-)

Also… There is no such thing as a STUPID QUESTION. If you are stuck and feel the need, reach out as I have many times and James will service you the best he can, that I’m confident in.