How to make money...: March 2010

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Day Trading Indicators and Indicator Trading

Did You Begin Day Trading As An Indicator Only Trader?

Did you start day trading after buying a book on technical analysis, and getting a charting program - probably a free one that you found online - in order to save money? While reading your book you learned about trading indicators which could 'predict' price movement, and what do you know, the 'best' indicators were actually included in your free charting program - let the games begin.

Now that you have all the day trading tools that are necessary, the book for education AND the free charting program with those 'best' day trading indicators, you now need a day trading plan so you can decide which ones of those 'magic' day trading indicators you are supposed to use. This really is a great book, besides telling you how to day trade using indicators to 'predict' price - it also said that you need a trading plan to day trade.

So what should this plan be? The book told you about trend following using an indicator called macd, and it also told you how it was possible to pick the top or bottoms using an indicator called stochastic; my guess is that you picked the stochastic indicator to start your day trading - this must be the 'best of the best' since this indicator was going to ensure you of entering your trades with the 'best' price. Amazing, simply amazing how easy this day trading stuff really is. In fact, why even bother taking the trades, each time your indicators give a signal - just call up your broker and tell him to stick $100 in your account.

My book was Technical Analysis of the Futures Markets. My charting program was TradeStation with an eSignal fm receiver; that was the one that if you hung the antennae wires just right, and you put enough foil on the tips, you might even get quotes. I had sold a business before I started trading so I did have some capital - isn't that how everyone gets into trading, you either sell a business or you lose your job? My indicator was the macd as I had decided that I was going to be a 'trend follower' instead of a 'top-bottom picker'. I also decided that I was going to be 'extra' clever, if one indicator was good than two indicators must be better, so I added a 20 period moving average. My first trade was a winner, then after many months of extensive therapy, I was finally able to forget the next twelve months - ahhh the memories 

Learning To Day Trading - The Learning Progression

Beginning to day trade, or learning to day trade, as an indicator trader is very typical. This is also logical when you consider - HOW are you supposed to initially learn how to trade? Trading indicators are available to anyone who has a charting program, and simply using line crosses, or histogram color changes, provide 'easy' signals to understand. If you will also take the time to learn the arithmetic behind your indicators, as well as learning what each indicator is specifically intended to do, not only is this a logical way to begin, it is also a good 'step' in your learning progression - understanding the WHAT you are doing, instead of attempting to create 'canned' indicator only trading systems, without any regard as to WHY you are trading this way.

This does become one of the 'sticking' points in your learning progression, as you come to find out that you are unable to profitably trade indicators as signals only - now what? Now what - you 'can't' develop your own indicators, so you start doing google searches for day trading indicators and start buying your 'collection' - they don't 'work' either. Now what - you buy a mechanical trading system - what does hypothetical results may not be indicative of real trading or future results mean? Now what - you start subscribing to signal services OR you start joining the 'latest and greatest' chat room - am I really the only person using the signals who isn't profitable?

Now what - you never learn how to trade.

I began trading as an indicator trader, and I did try to learn everything that I could about the various indicators, as well as trying to combine indicators that were consistent with how I wanted to trade - I just could never develop a mechanical day trading system from what was available to me. I read a couple more books that didn't really help me, so I then started looking for someone who could teach me. From what I now know about gurus -vs- teachers, I am very lucky that I got involved with a money manager-trader who taught me a tremendous amount, but I still couldn't get profitable, in part because there was also 'pressure' to learn how to trade using real money. As well, any discussions or thoughts about trading psychology and the issues involved, especially to beginning traders, was non-existent.

Now what - learning but losing - I stopped trading.
Learning to trading using real money, and 'scoffing' at trading psychology as simply individual weakness, really was something that I now regard as misinformation. I always mention this as I now feel that this cost me as much as a year of time, and was very close to costing me my trading future, as stopped trading was VERY close to quitting trading. How can't trading psychology be real to a beginner, when you consider that you are risking losing money at a very fast pace as a day trader, and when you further consider that you are also doing this when you really don't know what you are doing - this is NOT by definition being weak. And if trading psychology is real, how are you going to learn to make 'good' trading habits with real money while you are fighting the implications?

Now what - not trading and not ready [quite] to quit - still studying and searching.

Probably the single most important 'thing' that got me to a next step in learning how to trade, was the concept of a trading setup, and that a setup and a signal were not the same. This was extremely meaningful to me, as it also led to an understanding of how to better use trading indicators for the information that they can provide, but not to use them as trading signals - in essence I began learning about trading method where discretion could be consistently applied -vs- trading system that was mechanical and arithmetic rules.

Traders who are indicator only traders, are also what I refer to right side only traders, that is they are always looking at the right side of their charts for an indicator signal. BUT what about the left side of the chart, what about price and patterns, what about market conditions - WHAT about the relevant 'things' that are 'moving' price, instead of indicators only as an arithmetic derivative of price, and thus, one that is dependant on the time frame that you have chosen to trade from? These 'thoughts', along with the concept of trade setup, became instrumental in the development of a trading method, and how I came to turning my trading around.

When I think about the steps in my learning progression - I would list them as follows:

2/95 - 6/96

indicators only

teaching service that included signals

learning to trading with real money and trading psychology issues

stop trading

6/96 - 3/97

understanding of trading psychology issues

learning about trading setups concept

trading method -vs- trading system

trade setup - trade trigger are not the same
method development

understand the importance of the left side of the chart and what is happening 'across' the chart

related trading setups and how/when they triggered

indicators + pattern

indicators + pattern + price

indicators + pattern + price + market conditions

3/97 - 11/97

able to paper trade profitably

able to real money trade profitably

able to trade for a living

Indicator Only Day Trader - Setup Including Indicators Method Day Trader

I have attempted to discuss the way I started day trading, and the way I think many-most traders typically begin. Along with this, I have pointed various issues and problems that I had - those regarding how to learn to trade, and then progressing into a profitable trader. My experiences have been both personal, as well as those of many traders that I have worked with over the last 8-9 years through Tactical Trading - that a very large number of these problems are due to day trading only with indicators, the specific indicators used, along with trying to turn these indicators into a mechanical trading system. This is not to say that this can't be done - I simply couldn't do it. However, I would strongly suggest that anyone who is in the early stages of day trading, or struggling with their day trading, consider these things that have been discussed.

This discussion, along with chart examples of various trading indicators and trade setups, is continued athttp://www.tacticaltradingmethod.com/indicator-trading.html As well, additional discussions about trading psychology and trading method can be found at The Tactical Trader, http://www.tactrading.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barry_Lutz

Forex Trading Tips

By John Gaines

Why do hundreds of thousands online traders and investors trade the forex market every day, and how do they make money doing it?

This two-part report clearly and simply details essential tips on how to avoid typical pitfalls and start making more money in your forex trading.

Trade pairs, not currencies - Like any relationship, you have to know both sides. Success or failure in forex trading depends upon being right about both currencies and how they impact one another, not just one.
Knowledge is Power - When starting out trading forex online, it is essential that you understand the basics of this market if you want to make the most of your investments.
The main forex influencer is global news and events. For example, say an ECB statement is released on European interest rates which typically will cause a flurry of activity. Most newcomers react violently to news like this and close their positions and subsequently miss out on some of the best trading opportunities by waiting until the market calms down. The potential in the forex market is in the volatility, not in its tranquility.
Unambitious trading - Many new traders will place very tight orders in order to take very small profits. This is not a sustainable approach because although you may be profitable in the short run (if you are lucky), you risk losing in the longer term as you have to recover the difference between the bid and the ask price before you can make any profit and this is much more difficult when you make small trades than when you make larger ones.
Over-cautious trading - Like the trader who tries to take small incremental profits all the time, the trader who places tight stop losses with a retail forex broker is doomed. As we stated above, you have to give your position a fair chance to demonstrate its ability to produce. If you don't place reasonable stop losses that allow your trade to do so, you will always end up undercutting yourself and losing a small piece of your deposit with every trade.
Independence - If you are new to forex, you will either decide to trade your own money or to have a broker trade it for you. So far, so good. But your risk of losing increases exponentially if you either of these two things:
Interfere with what your broker is doing on your behalf (as his strategy might require a long gestation period);
Seek advice from too many sources - multiple input will only result in multiple losses. Take a position, ride with it and then analyse the outcome - by yourself, for yourself.
Tiny margins - Margin trading is one of the biggest advantages in trading forex as it allows you to trade amounts far larger than the total of your deposits. However, it can also be dangerous to novice traders as it can appeal to the greed factor that destroys many forex traders. The best guideline is to increase your leverage in line with your experience and success.
No strategy - The aim of making money is not a trading strategy. A strategy is your map for how you plan to make money. Your strategy details the approach you are going to take, which currencies you are going to trade and how you will manage your risk. Without a strategy, you may become one of the 90% of new traders that lose their money.
Trading Off-Peak Hours - Professional FX traders, option traders, and hedge funds posses a huge advantage over small retail traders during off-peak hours (between 2200 CET and 1000 CET) as they can hedge their positions and move them around when there is far small trade volume is going through (meaning their risk is smaller). The best advice for trading during off peak hours is simple - don't.
The only way is up/down - When the market is on its way up, the market is on its way up. When the market is going down, the market is going down. That's it. There are many systems which analyse past trends, but none that can accurately predict the future. But if you acknowledge to yourself that all that is happening at any time is that the market is simply moving, you'll be amazed at how hard it is to blame anyone else.
Trade on the news - Most of the really big market moves occur around news time. Trading volume is high and the moves are significant; this means there is no better time to trade than when news is released. This is when the big players adjust their positions and prices change resulting in a serious currency flow.
Exiting Trades - If you place a trade and it's not working out for you, get out. Don't compound your mistake by staying in and hoping for a reversal. If you're in a winning trade, don't talk yourself out of the position because you're bored or want to relieve stress; stress is a natural part of trading; get used to it.
Don't trade too short-term - If you are aiming to make less than 20 points profit, don't undertake the trade. The spread you are trading on will make the odds against you far too high.
Don't be smart - The most successful traders I know keep their trading simple. They don't analyse all day or research historical trends and track web logs and their results are excellent.
Tops and Bottoms - There are no real "bargains" in trading foreign exchange. Trade in the direction the price is going in and you're results will be almost guaranteed to improve.
Ignoring the technicals- Understanding whether the market is over-extended long or short is a key indicator of price action. Spikes occur in the market when it is moving all one way.
Emotional Trading - Without that all-important strategy, you're trades essentially are thoughts only and thoughts are emotions and a very poor foundation for trading. When most of us are upset and emotional, we don't tend to make the wisest decisions. Don't let your emotions sway you.
Confidence - Confidence comes from successful trading. If you lose money early in your trading career it's very difficult to regain it; the trick is not to go off half-cocked; learn the business before you trade. Remember, knowledge is power.

The second and final part of this report clearly and simply details more essential tips on how to avoid the pitfalls and start making more money in your forex trading.

Take it like a man - If you decide to ride a loss, you are simply displaying stupidity and cowardice. It takes guts to accept your loss and wait for tomorrow to try again. Sticking to a bad position ruins lots of traders - permanently. Try to remember that the market often behaves illogically, so don't get commit to any one trade; it's just a trade. One good trade will not make you a trading success; it's ongoing regular performance over months and years that makes a good trader.
Focus - Fantasising about possible profits and then "spending" them before you have realised them is no good. Focus on your current position(s) and place reasonable stop losses at the time you do the trade. Then sit back and enjoy the ride - you have no real control from now on, the market will do what it wants to do.
Don't trust demos - Demo trading often causes new traders to learn bad habits. These bad habits, which can be very dangerous in the long run, come about because you are playing with virtual money. Once you know how your broker's system works, start trading small amounts and only take the risk you can afford to win or lose.
Stick to the strategy - When you make money on a well thought-out strategic trade, don't go and lose half of it next time on a fancy; stick to your strategy and invest profits on the next trade that matches your long-term goals.
Trade today - Most successful day traders are highly focused on what's happening in the short-term, not what may happen over the next month. If you're trading with 40 to 60-point stops focus on what's happening today as the market will probably move too quickly to consider the long-term future. However, the long-term trends are not unimportant; they will not always help you though if you're trading intraday.
The clues are in the details - The bottom line on your account balance doesn't tell the whole story. Consider individual trade details; analyse your losses and the telling losing streaks. Generally, traders that make money without suffering significant daily losses have the best chance of sustaining positive performance in the long term.
Simulated Results - Be very careful and wary about infamous "black box" systems. These so-called trading signal systems do not often explain exactly how the trade signals they generate are produced. Typically, these systems only show their track record of extraordinary results - historical results. Successfully predicting future trade scenarios is altogether more complex. The high-speed algorithmic capabilities of these systems provide significant retrospective trading systems, not ones which will help you trade effectively in the future.
Get to know one cross at a time - Each currency pair is unique, and has a unique way of moving in the marketplace. The forces which cause the pair to move up and down are individual to each cross, so study them and learn from your experience and apply your learning to one cross at a time.
Risk Reward - If you put a 20 point stop and a 50 point profit your chances of winning are probably about 1-3 against you. In fact, given the spread you're trading on, it's more likely to be 1-4. Play the odds the market gives you.
Trading for Wrong Reasons - Don't trade if you are bored, unsure or reacting on a whim. The reason that you are bored in the first place is probably because there is no trade to make in the first place. If you are unsure, it's probably because you can't see the trade to make, so don't make one.
Zen Trading- Even when you have taken a position in the markets, you should try and think as you would if you hadn't taken one. This level of detachment is essential if you want to retain your clarity of mind and avoid succumbing to emotional impulses and therefore increasing the likelihood of incurring losses. To achieve this, you need to cultivate a calm and relaxed outlook. Trade in brief periods of no more than a few hours at a time and accept that once the trade has been made, it's out of your hands.
Determination - Once you have decided to place a trade, stick to it and let it run its course. This means that if your stop loss is close to being triggered, let it trigger. If you move your stop midway through a trade's life, you are more than likely to suffer worse moves against you. Your determination must be show itself when you acknowledge that you got it wrong, so get out.
Short-term Moving Average Crossovers - This is one of the most dangerous trade scenarios for non professional traders. When the short-term moving average crosses the longer-term moving average it only means that the average price in the short run is equal to the average price in the longer run. This is neither a bullish nor bearish indication, so don't fall into the trap of believing it is one.
Stochastic - Another dangerous scenario. When it first signals an exhausted condition that's when the big spike in the "exhausted" currency cross tends to occur. My advice is to buy on the first sign of an overbought cross and then sell on the first sign of an oversold one. This approach means that you'll be with the trend and have successfully identified a positive move that still has some way to go. So if percentage K and percentage D are both crossing 80, then buy! (This is the same on sell side, where you sell at 20).
One cross is all that counts - EURUSD seems to be trading higher, so you buy GBPUSD because it appears not to have moved yet. This is dangerous. Focus on one cross at a time - if EURUSD looks good to you, then just buy EURUSD.
Wrong Broker - A lot of FOREX brokers are in business only to make money from yours. Read forums, blogs and chats around the net to get an unbiased opinion before you choose your broker.
Too bullish - Trading statistics show that 90% of most traders will fail at some point. Being too bullish about your trading aptitude can be fatal to your long-term success. You can always learn more about trading the markets, even if you are currently successful in your trades. Stay modest, and keep your eyes open for new ideas and bad habits you might be falling in to.
Interpret forex news yourself - Learn to read the source documents of forex news and events - don't rely on the interpretations of news media or others.

John Gaines
online trading, currency trading, financial service

A veteran of online trading, John Gaines offers the financial services industry his perspectives and expertise on a variety of trading systems and financial instruments, including forex, CFDs, futures, options and stocks.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Gaines

The 10 Golden Rules of Trading

By Paul King

1 Introduction

In this article we cover the few important rules that should never be broken in trading. If you can apply these rules consistently, and with discipline, you will be well on the way to being a profitable trader.

The rules we cover are:

o Have specific goals and objectives

o Be consistent and disciplined

o Let profits run

o Cut losses short

o Never add to a losing trade

o Don't take too much risk

o Only trade positive expectancy systems

o Minimize all trading business costs

o Be well educated

o Don't trade scared money

Each of the rules will now be discussed.

2 The Golden Rules of Trading

The following sections outline a set of rules that can significantly improve your chances of success if they are understood, practiced, and implemented consistently in your trading. These rules have been learned the hard way, by study, research, trial-and-error, and the inevitable mistakes that everyone makes when they start a trading business.

We hope that you can learn from the work we have done, and benefit from our experience. The rules will now be discussed.

2.1 Have specific goals and objectives

Few things are more important to your trading success than having set (i.e. written) goals and objective for what you are aiming to achieve. It is amazing to me how often we hit our targets, meet our objectives, and reach our goals only when we articulate them and write them down.

For any business to be successful it must have measurable objectives that are actually achievable. In trading (obviously) the primary objective is to make money, but it is important to have other objectives that are not purely cash-related. We must always remember that reward and risk go hand-in-hand in trading and that we cannot expect to achieve high returns without planning for high risk (i.e. draw-downs).

Your objectives and goals will be very specific to you, but they must have the following characteristics to be useful:

o Be measurable (in completion and timeframe)

o Be achievable

o Be worthwhile

o Be positive

As an example, here are some of our current objectives (this is only a partial list):

o Develop 2 new positive-expectancy trading systems each year

o Make fewer errors implementing our trading systems each year

o Achieve a return to maximum draw-down ratio of 1.5:1

o Take 2 weeks vacation each year

Note that only one of them is about making money, and that has a measurable objective that is relative to draw-down, not absolute (i.e. make 100% per year). If you know what you are trying to achieve, and when you are trying to achieve it, the whole business will be focused on meeting
your objectives and help guide you to only pay attention to things you really want to achieve with your limited time and resources. This will also give you a way to measure the success and progress of your trading. Generally traders with well-defined objectives will be much more successful than those that do not have pre-defined goals.

2.2 Be consistent and disciplined

In order to realize the full potential of your trading systems it is critical that you take every trading entry, adjust every stop, and close out every trade as and when your system says you should do. This takes extreme confidence in your trading systems, good robust reliable technology, and the mental discipline to stick to your trading plan whatever happens (assuming it is complete).
An underlying assumption about being consistent and disciplined is that you have a pre-defined plan for every situation you may face in your trading, so that you know how you are defining what being consistent is. Your plan needs to include at least the following items:

o All your trading rules for entering, adding to, and exiting positions

o What you will do if your trading computer, internet connection, broker, power, telephone
etc. fails

o What you will do if you are unable to trade

o What you will do if you lose X% of your account

o What you will do if all the markets are closed and you can't exit your positions

Unless you write the answers down to all these issues, you cannot be consistent and disciplined in your approach to trading and if you lose money you will not know whether it is because you didn't follow your plan, because your plan is incomplete, because your systems do not work, or simply because you are going through a losing period.

2.3 Let profits run

This simple rule is the key to being a successful trader. It is three simple words that are very hard to actually implement. When we get a profitable trade our natural fear of losing the unrealized cash kicks in and we truly want to close it out now and take the money. Most trading consists of long periods of small winners and losers followed by a few huge winners that make the difference between overall profitability and simply breaking even or losing due to trading costs(commissions, spread, and slippage).

It is our ability to let the huge winners become just that - huge - that determines how we will perform overall during the year. The key to letting winners run is to have trailing stops that are outside the daily noise of the market so that they are not tight enough to get stopped out during 'normal' trading. This means being prepared to give up a significant portion of a winning trade's open profit and is the thing that makes this so hard to implement. In fact, we should be adding to a winner and widening stops rather than working out how tight our stops can be to capture maximum profit. The trade has already shown you that it intends to be a winner, and the chances are it is a low-risk idea to add to the position now rather than 'strangle it' with stops that are too tight.

It is very important that your position management rules allow for large winning trades, and that the rules are pre-defined and understood before you place the trade. This will allow you (if you have confidence in your method and discipline) to stick to your rules when you do get the big
winner.

2.4 Cut losses short

This is the sister rule to the previous one, and is usually just as difficult to implement (although it
is very easy to define). In the same way that profitability comes from a few large winning trades, capital preservation comes from avoiding the few large losers that the market will toss your way each year. Setting a maximum loss point before you enter the trade so you know before-hand approximately how much you are risking on this particular position is relatively straightforward. You simply need to have a exit price that says to you 'this trade is a loser and I will exit before it gets any bigger'. Due to gaps at the open, or limit moves in futures we can never be 100%
certain that we can get out with our maximum loss, but simply having the rules, and always sticking to it will save us from the nasty trades that just keep on going and going against our position until we have lost more than many winning trades can make back.

If you have a losing position that is at you maximum loss point, just get out. Do not hope that it will turn around. Given that trades are either winners or losers, and this one is shouting 'Loser' at you, the chances that it will turn around and become a large winner is tiny. Why risk any more money on this losing trade, when you could simply close it out (accept the loss) and move on. This will leave you in a much better place financially and mentally, than holding the position and hoping it will go back your way. Even if it did do this, the mental energy and negative feelings from holding the losing position are not worth it. Always stick to your rules and exit a position if it hits your stop point.

2.5 Never add to a losing trade

One of the few trade management rules that we can state we never break is 'Never add to a losing trade'. Trades are split into winners and losers, and if a trade is a loser, the chances of it turning right around and becoming a winner are too small to risk more money on. If indeed it is a winner disguised as a loser, why not wait until it shows it's true colors (and becomes a winner)before you add to it.
If you do this you will notice that nearly always the trade ends up hitting your stop loss and does not look back. Sometimes the trade turns around before it hits your stop and becomes a winner and you can count yourself very fortunate. Sometimes the trade hits your stop loss and then
turns around and becomes a winner and you can count yourself unlucky. Whatever the result, it is never worth adding to a loser, hoping that it will become a winner. The odds of success are just too low to risk more capital in addition to the initial risk.

2.6 Don't take too much risk

One of the most devastating mistakes any trader can make is risking too much of their capital on a single trade. One thing is certain in trading and that is if you lose all your capital you are out of the game. Why risk so much you could be prevented from continuing? There is a saying in
poker than going all-in (risking all your chips) works every time but once. This is true of trading.

If you risk all your account on every trade it only takes one loser to wipe you out (and no trading method is 100% accurate), so you will be out of the game at some point - it is only a question of time.

In general, we only risk 1-3% of the available capital allocated to a system on any individual trade. This is calculated using the size and, the difference between our entry price and our maximum stop price, and the amount of capital allocated to the system. With the win probability
and ratio of size of winning trades to losing trades we are almost certain never to lose all of our trading capital. In fact, the chance of us hitting our maximum drawdown for the year is tiny.

All trades should be of a size that almost seems insignificant. If you are worried about the size of a trade then it is too big and you should reduce the size immediately. Remember that longevity is the key to making money by trading - slowly over a long time with minimal risk, is always preferable to rapidly with too much risk.

2.7 Only trade positive expectancy systems

If you have a positive expectancy trading system, the only factors that determine how much money you will make per year are the number of trades the system generates, how much capital you allocate to the system, and how accurately you implement the trading signals. If you do not know whether your trading system is positive expectancy then why are you trading it? Expectancy is calculated using the profit or loss on each trade (net of trading implementation
costs) divided by the initial risk (using your stop loss) and then taking the average of this number of a series of trades. Systems that have positive expectancy will make money on average and those with negative expectancy will lose money.

Successful traders only trade systems where the odds of success are in their favor (i.e. the system is positive expectancy) so they know that making money is the result of accurately implementing the system and not just pure luck.

2.8 Minimize all trading business costs

Some trading systems have only marginal profitability, and trading implementation costs (commission, spread, and slippage) can be the difference between profitability and making a loss. With the easy availability of modern electronic brokers, and fully-automated trade processing and
execution, it is definitely worthwhile looking for a very low cost way to implement your trading system. High commission, wide spreads, and large amount of slippage can be reduced considerably simply by carefully choosing a broker. This can be the difference between a system
(especially a high frequency one) being useable or not. Paying too much for trade implementation is an avoidable way to lose money.

2.9 Be educated

In order to compete at the highest level in the trading business and be one of the few truly successful participants you must be well-educated about what you are doing. This does not mean having a degree from a well-respected university - the market doesn't care where you were educated.

Being well-educated means that you have thoroughly researched and tested your trading ideas and know why your trading system worked in the past and is continuing to work now. It means understanding all the technology and applications that your system needs to perform accurately.
It means understanding your goal and objectives and how trading will achieve these. It means understanding yourself and how your personality affects your results. It means understanding the markets and instruments you trade.
In order to succeed you really need to become an expert in your own trading business to understand how it all fits together, when it is broken, and how it can be improved. As with all worthwhile endeavors, this takes commitment, hard work, dedication, and more hard work.

2.10 Don't trade scared money

Lastly, no one ever made any money trading when they had to do it to pay the mortgage at the end of the month. Having a requirement to make X dollars per month or you will be financially in trouble is the best way I know to completely mess up all trading discipline, rules, objectives, and
leads quickly to disaster.

Trading is about taking a reasonable risk in order to achieve a good reward. The markets and how and when they give up their profits is not under your control. Do not trade if you need the money to pay bills. Do not trade if your business and personal expenses are not covered by
another income stream or cash reserve. This will only lead to additional unmanageable stress and be very detrimental to your trading performance.

3 Summary

In this article we have covered the rules that we believe should never be broken in trading. If you work on never breaking them, your trading should improve dramatically.

We sincerely hope this information has helped you to improve your trading performance.

Good luck in your trading.

Paul King is owner and head trader of PMKing Trading LLC, a Vermont-based proprietary trading company founded in May 2002. Paul has published a series of eBooks and articles about what he considers to be the important aspects of trading.

Visit http://www.pmkingtrading.com for more details.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_King

The Stock Trading Plan

The Stock Trading Plan - Why You Must Have One To Trade Successfully

By Tony Spann

This is the continuing story of our two imaginary traders, Peter and Paul.

Peter is a professional trader, Paul is not. Peter has a tested, proven, written trading plan that he follows each time he enters a trade, Paul does not.

Peter and Paul have had vastly different Stock trading experiences - Peter has just made another substantial profit - this time from the Bear market, Paul has lost heavily.

A chance meeting with Peter's group of friends one day at lunch launches Paul on a learning curve that will see him become a good trader, but not without some hard lessons along the way.

Today Peter shares his trading plan and the importance of having a trading plan with Paul.

"Today we will work on your Trading Plan," Peter told Paul as they sat down for the start of their next weekly mentoring meeting.

Peter handed Paul a copy of Robert Miner's book, Dynamic Trading, and said, "Here, read this section of this wonderful trading book." Paul read to himself quietly as Peter poured them both a cup of coffee.

"The purpose of Technical Analysis is not to be able to accurately identify every market position, all of the time. While this may be the daydream of many analysts and most amateur traders, it is an impossibility.

"Every method of technical analysis has it's limitations and at times will provide contradictory information. Unless the analyst, trader or investor is willing to accept that his or her analysis will from time to time not provide a confident opinion of market position, he or she is doomed to failure.

"The objective of technical analysis is to identify those market conditions and the specific trading strategies that have a high probability of success.

"If there is a key concept associated with trading and investing, it must be probability. All consistently profitable traders and investors know that every trading and investing decision only has a probability of success, never a certainty.

"Losses are inevitable and are just as much a part of successful trading as profits. If a trader has a successful trading plan, he or she should have no more emotional response to a loss than to a win. Each will be inevitable.

"While it may be difficult to maintain a completely non-emotional relationship to trading and investing, an understanding that trading is a Business of probabilities will go a long way towards developing a stable attitude towards the Business.

"All successful traders have a defined, written trading plan. The trading plan can take many forms. At the very least, it will provide the minimum guidelines that must be satisfied before a trade will be considered. It may be as complex as a long set of very restrictive rules that must be satisfied before a trade can be considered.

"Each has it's strengths and weaknesses. Neither method, whether rules or guidelines, guarantees success, but the lack of either will ensure failure.

"Why have a trading plan and not follow it? Each guideline and rule must be included with reason and purpose. All successful traders and investors consistently follow their trading plan and they know that if they violate their trading plan it will always be costly in the long run.

"A trader who does not consistently abide by his or her trading plan is doomed to failure."

Paul looked at Peter after he finished reading, and understood the implications of what Robert Miner had written. He had never had any sort of trading plan. He had just taken the advice of other people and bought, held and hoped for the best.

Peter said, "You need a trading plan my friend if you are ever going to make money in this Business. Then you have to have the ability to follow it.

"The paragraphs you have just read are as important, and maybe more so, than learning any method of analysis or trading strategies or methods.

"Even a trading plan that included technical analysis and trading strategies that were 100% accurate, in other words, would indeed predict the future trend of a Stock or Index every time with perfect certainty, would not result in you making a profit if you do not know and act in accordance with the qualities discussed above."

"With this in mind, I will now share with you my trading philosophy, trading plan and rules.

"I have found having this set of guidelines gives me a high probability of making successful, profitable trades. As Robert Miner said in his book, some losses are inevitable no matter what rules or strategies are used. They are a cost of doing business.

"A Trading Plan and rules that you have tested and trust will help you remove the two biggest enemies traders face - Fear and Greed. These two factors have probably cost more traders more money than anything the market can throw at us.

"By writing down and consistently following a solid plan that you have back tested and proven to be profitable with you paper trading, you put yourself ahead of 90% of market participants who fail to do any research or testing before they risk their capital in the market, and are eventually wiped out or give up because "the market just isn't for me."

"You must remember however," Peter continued, "These are my guidelines. You might feel comfortable with them or you may not -you have to develop your own style.

"These rules also do not constitute trading advice...you must sit down and determine what your rules and guidelines are going to be. Use these...or not. You must however decide which of the parameters you are going to use for your trading, then -

Write them down into a plan of action - and follow the plan.

Peter's Trading Philosophy -

He went on, "My trading objective is to enter trades in the direction of the major trend using daily end of day data. There are three conditions under which I will enter a trade -

When pattern, price and my mechanical filters indicate a trend reversal has taken place.

On the first correction within the new trend, for example, the first higher low in a new uptrend.

On any trend continuation signal once the Stock or Index has signaled the new trend is underway.

"The initial trend reversal position will always be in lots of 2 Futures positions or $20,000 invested in a Stock. A trend continuation trade entry will be 2 or more futures positions and $10,000 invested in a Stock.

Stop loss orders will be placed 5-50 cents or points past the extreme of the most recent swing pivot at the time the trade is placed - the number of points or cents used depends of the Stock or Future being traded.

"These numbers will be different for every trader depending on risk tolerance and account size. Only take on as much as you can handle psychologically, or you set yourself up for failure.

"If your position size is too large, you will tend to jump out at the first sign of trouble, often at the worst possible time. Trade within you comfort zone and success is much easier.

"My initial capital exposure never exceeds 5% of my available account equity. Additional positions will not be taken unless the initial position is in profit and taking the additional position keeps the risk of the entire position below 5% of account equity. In other words, additional positions are only taken using the markets money.

Trading Rules and Trading Plan -

Peter continued as Paul took notes, "My Trading Plan and rules offer two types of trades - Trend Reversal entries and Trend Continuation entries.

"Trend Reversal entries are taken any time a Stock or Index completes a reaction and appears to be going into an Impulse Trend.

They are also taken when a clear 5 Wave sequence has completed, as we can expect at least a substantial correction, and possibly a change in trend at the end of a 5 Wave sequence.

The rules for Trend Reversal trades are -

The price must break a valid trendline.

The Moving Averages must cross, indicating a change in the short term trend.

For Long Trades, the Stock or Index MUST make a higher swing high, followed by a higher swing low on the daily chart. We enter the trade once the price rallies from the higher low.

For Short Trades, the Stock MUST make a lower swing low followed by a lower swing high on the daily chart. We enter the trade once the price falls from the lower high.

"Trend Continuation entries are taken within the Impulse legs of Trends. They are not taken when price is within a consolidation period or a reaction.

The rules for Trend Continuation trades are -

For Long Trades, the Stock price must be above a valid Trendline.

The price bars must be above the longer term (usually 18 days) Moving Average on the daily chart.

The Stock must be making higher swing highs and lows on the daily chart.

The reactions within the uptrend must be less than 4 days.

For Short Trades, the Stock price must be below a valid Trendline.

The price bars must be below the longer term (usually 18 days) Moving Average on the daily chart.

The Stock must be making lower swing lows and highs on the daily chart.

The reactions within the downtrend must be less than 4 days.

"Moving average periods are Stock or Index specific, in other words, try to find a combination that works on the markets you are interested in trading that don't give too many whipsaws. For example, 9 and 18 periods work well on many Stocks. Sometimes you can go as low as 6 and 13, or you may need as much as 15 and 30.

"Play with it and find the optimum Moving Average numbers for the Stocks you trade. Then you can add the Trendline and swing high and low rules and you are ready to look for some trades.

"A Valid Trendline must touch at least 2 and preferably 3 data point extremes - three significant highs or lows within a trend.

So, in summary, this is Peters Trading Plan...

To enter a trade on a Trend Reversal, he needs a Trendline break, a Moving Average crossover, and a swing higher or lower to get set in an uptrend, and a trendline break, a Moving Average crossover and a lower swing low and lower swing high to enter a downtrend.

To enter a Trend Continuation Trade, he needs a strongly trending market with reactions to the main trend of less than 4 days. He enters with the main trend as the reactions come to an end and places his stop loss orders just past the swing pivot extreme in case the trend fails to continue.

"Now we have looked at my rules for entering trades, lets put them to work on a Stock," he said to Paul.

Turning to his computer screen, Peter opened a chart of IGT and scrolled back to 2001 - about half way through the bear market.
Charts available at StockTradingReview.com

"We know that at this point in time, the weekly and monthly trend in this Stock was down, so we are looking for a valid entry with the trend at the end of a larger degree reaction - a trend continuation trade.

"I have removed all but two moving averages for clarity - these are 7 and 13 periods.

"You can see that the Stock made a low on August 8th, then rallied for 14 trading days including the inside day after the day of the high.

"It then fell sharply, breaking a swing low. Two inside days then one day up followed, then another inside day, followed by a day that broke the low of the inside day but closed slightly higher.

"The moving averages were coming very close together, therefore the third filter I use to enter was nearly in place, as we had already had the trendline break and lower top.

"The Stock broke down the next day, and at the close, the moving averages had crossed - I sold $20,000 worth of IGT short at the close and it fell sharply for 5 days before recovering.

"It had a two day rally, then a day down, so I moved my stop loss order to above the swing high this day down formed and was taken out of the trade three days later after price rallied.

"My entry was at $13.18, my exit was at $10.70, giving me a net profit after Brokerage of $4,605 for a 13 day trade.

Paul could see the set-up quite easily now once it was shown to him in an example.

Peter continued, "Lets have a look at another example." Peter opened a chart of MER and scrolled back to one of his trades from May 2002. Charts available at StockTradingReview.com

"This trade was also when the bear market was well underway and MER was in a strong downtrend on the weekly and monthly chart.

Looking at the daily chart, Peter said, "This Stock made a low, then rallied for 10 days. It then made a lower swing low and then rallied 2 days - the lower swing low is Filter one.

"It touched my short term trendline 4 times as it rallied before breaking down - that is Filter two.

"It then fell two days, had a one day rally, then gave a sell signal as it took out the low of that day.

"This trade didn't result in the same quick profit as the one in IGT, but it was very satisfying all the same. My entry was at $40.55 and my exit was at $33.20 as it broke upwards through my stop loss order above a swing high.

"This Stock gave me several more good profits as the downtrend continued. The set-up is always the same.

"A short term Trendline break, a Moving average crossover, a lower low and lower top in a downtrend.

"Let's have a look at an uptrend so you get the idea of what it looks like in a rally." Peter opened a chart of MSFT from Mid 2003, when the weekly and monthly trend had turned upwards.
Charts available at StockTradingReview.com

"You can see here that MSFT made a high in early July and then sold off for nearly over 5 weeks.

"Then the moving averages crossed and the short term downtrend line was broken convincingly by a large rally off multiple lows at around $25.50. This set up a 5 day rally, then the Stock fell one day before recovering at the close to be up on the day.

"The buy signal was generated at the close, as this met all of the conditions. The Stock rallied over 20% during the next 5 weeks - that was very pleasant to watch."

Paul could see the simplicity of Peter's trading methods and was keen to go out and apply them in the Stock market.

Peter cautioned him however, "Remember Paul, not all trades are this easy and turn out as well, but by trading these types of trends on the daily chart, when the weekly trend is also in the same direction, we have a high probability of a profitable outcome in a large percentage of cases.

"Trying to guess tops and bottoms is a dangerous practice. It is a high risk trading strategy that rarely produces consistent profits.

"It can be done using time, price and pattern to help us, as I did at the low in the S&P 500 the other day, but the easy trades are when we take a piece out of the middle of each with-the-trend range, and leave the tops and bottoms for others until our understanding improves.

"Before you trade the market with actual money, I want you to paper trade for 3 months, or until you are profitable 70% of the time.

"Once you are profitable with your paper trading, only then are you to risk your money in the market - is that understood?"

Yes Paul replied.

Peter continued, "Stay well within your comfort zone, preserve your capital and build your account over time. Your success should then be assured.

"The rules are there for you to learn and apply, but your greatest enemies are your own fear and greed.

"These two will rob your account if you don't gain control over them. You must take every trade your system gives you, follow your rules exactly, and cling to your trading plan like a shipwrecked sailor does to a life raft.

"Imagine that your life depends on you following your trading plan perfectly...because it does.

"At least the life you wish for yourself and your loved ones does."

Paul agreed to study hard and to try to overcome his emotions of fear and greed. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he was going to do whatever it took to succeed as a trader.

With that, the lesson was over for that week.

Paul left Peter's office feeling like he had just been handed the keys to the Bank vault and knew his trading would never be the same again.

When he arrived home, he went straight to Incrediblecharts.com and studied his watchlist. He picked out some Stocks that looked promising and started to paper trade them.

He couldn't wait for his next meeting with Peter - he was again filled with hope and gratitude for the time Peter was spending with him, and he vowed that once he was a profitable trader, he would help others succeed in the market.

His new trading life was about to begin...

To Your Trading Success,

Tony Spann and the Team

Stock Trading Review is dedicated to helping you succeed as a trader by sharing with you simple and easy to follow tips and techniques.

Join our FREE "Stock Trading Review" NewsLetter http://www.stocktradingreview.com/stock-trading-newsletter.html to get your hands on some real world "insider" stock trading tips and techniques and access to our exclusive "Members Only" Free Stock Trading System.

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

Discover more insider secrets and the exact proven strategies to trade stocks profitably:http://www.stocktradingreview.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_Spann

Paid Review, Another Opportunity to Make Money Online

By Eko Nurhuda

Have you ever heard about paid review? If you've never heard it, maybe you just come back from moon. It's a great deal today. Many bloggers all around the world are making bigger money than their Google AdSense's check using this program.

Paid review is simply explained as another affiliate program between blogger and ads agent/broker. Ads agent acts as a mediator between bloggers and advertisers. The money circle in this program is quite simple. Advertiser pays ads agent to buy some blog posts reviewing their products or services, than ads agent asks bloggers in their membership to write the review. When the review has been posted, bloggers will get paid.

There are so many sites offering this program. Each site has different rules and requirements to accept a blog. But, as they need as many blogger as they can attract to join, most of these sites even accept PR 0 blogs. Of course, the higher the PR your blog has, the higher money you'll earn and more jobs coming to you. One or two site(s) has strong requirements and can only accepting PR 1+ blogs and/or having their own domain name.

How much money you can earn with this program? A PR 0 blog will be paid $2-10 per review, PR 1 and higher will earn much more money writing the same 300 words review. Yes, it's easy. Just write a review with at least three links to the advertiser's site, post it on the blog, submit the URL of the review to the site where you've joined, then dollars credited to your account in a minute. If you could manage to write a $10 review a day, in the end of the month you'll earn $300. For newbie bloggers that can do nothing to increase their AdSense earning, even earn $100/month writing reviews is a good deal. Bloggers with higher PR of course will gain better as I saw an advertiser offering $200 to PR 6 + blog to write a 300 words review about their service.

Well, when you think Google AdSense is the hardest way to get money online, then you should think about paid review. But, never join to a paid review program just for money. You should consist to your blog readers as well your contents. Don't let your credibility fall down to the earth by writing a review that irrelevance to your niche. Yes, you'll earn money posting the review, but your readers would leave you because they know that making money is number one for you. Just think about it, your reader is everything. Don't annoy them with an out-of-topic paid review posted on your blog. Then, your content is a king. You can still earn money writing review without losing your readers or breaking your blog consistency. The key you need is, be selective.

Happy earning, bloggers...

Eko Nurhuda aka Eko Sudjarwo is a writer and an active blogger. He learns to gain better life by writing online in affiliation with some paid review programs. Everyone's invited to take a look at the reviews he has made on EkoNurhuda.com , or visit Jogjapolitan.com to know more about Jogja, a beautiful town where he lives

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eko_Nurhuda

Best Blog Sites to Make Money From Your Blog

Best Blog Sites to Make Money From Your Blog
By Syd Hs

Do you love blogging and blog just for the fun of it?

Even though you might view blogging just as a hobby, wouldn't it be wonderful if you could earn some money too through your blog?

There are various ways you can earn money through your blog - like promoting affiliate programs, paid reviews, selling advertisements etc.

Here let us discuss how to make money from blog by selling advertisement space on your blog.

Placing advertisements on your blog or website in return for money can be a simple and free way to earn money online.

There are hundreds and thousands of blogs in the blogosphere, so how do you get advertisers to advertise on your blog?

This work can be eased by using advertising networks. By using advertising networks, you can have a nice time blogging and earning money.

Here is a list of advertising networks :

1. Adbrite: Offers a variety of advertising options to bloggers like text ads, banner ads, video ads, full page ads and also inline ads. You, the blogger, has the ability to accept or reject ads. How you are paid varies from advertiser to advertiser.

2. Expoactive: This ad network offers you with a lot of freedom right from choosing specific ads you want to display on your site, to the visual appearance of the ads. You are paid per click.

3. crispads: This ad network allows publishers to namer their own price. It allows smaller blogs to participate in larger sponsorships unlike many other networks.

4. Chitika: They also offer several advertising options to choose from. Some of their ad formats are - shoplincs, eminimalls, owna, linx etc.

The above listed ad networks can be a good source of revenue for bloggers. They are some of the best blog sites to make money. Earn free fast money online now by monetizing your blog with these advertising networks.

Additional Resources:

How to get your web site indexed fast by search engines - how do I get my website indexed?

Visit my blog for tips and resources related to traffic, affiliate marketing, creating info products, building lists, link building or more - internet marketing and promotion resources

Writing and selling small reports online can be profitable. You can learn how to do create simple useful reports for selling - create an info product

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Syd_Hs

Make Money With Free Online Surveys

By Joanne Kerly

I decided to write this article as a word of warning after I had spent many hours searching the internet for money making ideas. Some sites on the internet badger you into spending money on these sites that promise you, they will tell you all the ways to make money by taking FREE surveys and the like. The truth is you don't have to pay to find these sites.

Most of the sites you can join, you can join for FREE and not had to depart with any money at all. It can feel very upsetting with you become members of survey sites you felt pressured to join and therefore departing with your money. You then wish you had spent more money searching the web or found some one to help for free. The question is where do you start with finding this advice or information for FREE.

So please don't waste money take a good look around before you agree to part with your cash.

There are thousands of Survey sites out there all willing to pay for your reviews and opinions. If you want to get involved and take part in the consumer world this is a great way to do it and get paid at the same time. You don't earn a great deal but you do get a nice bit of extra money. You can also do focus groups which is where some of the more money is.

Have fun and remember don't be taken in by the pay for services when you can get the same for free.

http://top-survey-sites.blogspot.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joanne_Kerly

Investments and the Ways to Make Money

By Ioannis Evangelos Haramis

Most people don't spend much time wondering what money is. Their only major concern is how much they have, and how to get more!

What is money?

It is a medium of exchange.

What does it do?

It ensures the success of exchange by being the one item on offer that is ALWAYS acceptable.

Why is it necessary?

Because human beings must exchange to live together in peace, and to prosper!

That's all!

On the other hand, without money, the production and exchange of anything but the most rudimentary goods and services is impossible. It is not difficult, or time consuming, or inefficient, it is IMPOSSIBLE!

Animals don't exchange (or trade) amongst one another. They are self-sufficient, or they take from each other, or they exercise the prerogative of superior strength and/or cunning.

There are some human beings who get along in a very similar fashion, but the overwhelming majority recognise the benefits of voluntary exchange.

Strictly speaking, the use of the word "voluntary" in this context is redundant. The phrase "your money or your life" is not the precursor to an exchange, whether the person uttering it brandishes a gun or a government identity card!

The first rule of any voluntary exchange is simplicity itself. If two people are willing to exchange, each must view the results of the exchange as being beneficial. If either of them is not of that view, the exchange will not take place.

The ways to make money in this world are simple:

Marry someone who is already rich.

Have a rich person die and will you their money.

Strike oil.

Discover gold

Win the lottery.

Rob a bank.

Work for it ...

Or have it work for you through investments!

In investing, you don't have to be an expert to take advantage of real opportunities!

But, in order to invest with confidence, profitable success and consistency and be able to take advantage of opportunities, first you should assure, that all your essential financial needs and responsibilities are met.

Then, start with:

1. Setting aside sufficient liquid funds for cases of emergency.

2. Making sure you are completely and adequately insured.

3. Building a reasonable retirement plan.

4. Getting out of debt -- and staying out!

5. Determining your time frame, and

6. Start investing with the aim of becoming financially independent!

As each of us enters different stages of life, our changing family status and objectives, incomes, expenses and living standards shape our investment strategy.

By having a clear idea of what you want your investment to accomplish, you'll be able to put your money to work more productively.

Investing is generally defined as the conversion of risk-free assets into risky ones with prospects of greater return.

Every investment has a certain amount of risk associated with it. You can minimize risk, if you are able to understand the different characteristics of the various investments and build your portfolio accordingly.

Given the existence of risk, why invest at all?

Because historically, the existence of greater risk is commensurate with greater rewards for investors.

You are almost certain to pick a bad investment sometime. The secret then is to cut your loss as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, most people find this very difficult to do. No one likes to think that he has made a mistake and there is a big temptation to hold on and hope for better days.

But there is almost always a time when an investment starts to turn sour that you can get out with only a small loss.

If you hold on you could be on the losing side for many years and then lose even more money in the end.

Having the courage to admit that you were wrong is an essential technique of successful investment as well as in other aspects of life.

A Swiss banker put it rather well:

"If you are losing a tug-of-war with a lion, give him the rope before he gets your arm ...

You can always buy a new rope."

Ioannis - Evangelos C. Haramis

I was born in Athens, Greece and I studied Business Administration, Marketing and Economics in Greece, in the U.S.A. and in Belgium.

I am active in the equity and money markets as an investor, stockbroker and consultant to individual investors and various funds.

I am the publisher and editor of the "Learn to Invest" www.GreekShares.com web site and the author of "The Stock Market Guide to Profitable Investments" book.

Since 2002 I am also the New Business Development Director at a Greek Bank.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ioannis_Evangelos_Haramis

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