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It’s Not That You’re Not ProfitableI've made this serious mistake when I started out trading. I skipped from strategy to strategy, methodology to methodology. I've tried almost everything. Signals, account management, mentorships, PAMM, expert advisors, bots and paid indicators. Everything seems to be profitable, until I put my hands onto it. Many times, I found some profitability. After depositing a bit more capital, I encountered large losses. Why? 95% of the traders will not be profitable. Will I be in this statistic? I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I'm better than others! Realization Of The Issue The big issue I was facing at the beginning was searching for the holy grail. I don't have a plan. I switched from A to B within a few months of losing money. I was so fixated on getting rich quick through trading. Everything on the marketing material targeted at my desires. Survival, enjoying life, comfort and the perceived status of being rich and successful. I was invested in the topic of personal development and personal finance at that time. While I was doing my goal settings, I realized that I have been losing close to 5 figures over a course of 2 years. This is bad for me because of 2 key problems. I wasn't growing my net worth. I was losing net worth. At the rate I'm going, I will be working till I'm 65 before I can retire. I gave myself another chance to do things properly. I read a lot of trading books, joined mentorships and watched a lot of YouTube videos. I decided to give myself one last chance and one more year. I started to see changes. Human Are Emotional We are all emotional. You are greedy. You fear drawdowns. Did you look at the posts people are posting on social media? Consistent high RR trades that yield them thousands of dollars a day. You aspire to be like them. You want that kind of strategy. You want to learn from them. But have you think about this. If they can produce such consistent high return results, why would they want to teach you how to trade? They can simply trade for big institutional players who will pay them large amount of money. They don't need to pitch to you to buy their courses and mentorship for a mere $99. This doesn't add up. Trading Plan If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. The more I think about this, the more I got attracted to this quote. This is true in life, and even more relatable to traders. If you have a trading plan that gives you 3 RR per trade, stick to it. I know that it feels good to hit a homerun trade. Your trading plan says 3 RR per trade, but you dragged your TP to 10 RR. When the trade ends up in a loss, you scold the market. You could have taken the full profit at 3 RR if you followed your rules. You deviate from your trading plan. You don't trade based on your backtesting results. You then say that your trading strategy doesn't work. Sounds logical? Without a plan, you're just going in circles like what I did at the beginning. Circling from strategy to strategy, and methodology to methodology. Without a plan, you're going to encounter losses after losses. You won't be getting your 6 figure income. You won't get to enjoy life. You won't get to live comfortably. You won't get to be seen as a successful person. What you will get to do is to work for a 9 - 5 until you're 65. Achieve Consistency You have to follow your trading plan. But before you even have your trading plan, you have to backtest. You have to have a least 100 trades to say that your trade can give you a certain result. The below tells you what's the win rate needed to be at least break even. If your strategy has a RRR of 1:3, aim for at least 30% win rate. Anything above 30% is a very profitable strategy. When you follow your plan step by step, you take all the same trades. You leave no room for emotions and irrational behaviors. You wait for the same confirmation and set up every single time. You don't need to care what other people say. You don't have to care about what people's analysis are. You do you own analysis. Different people view the market differently. You can be trading on the lower timeframe, but they are trading on the higher timeframe. We see different things. Remember that anything can happen in the market. It take just one big institutional player to take you out, or to swing your trade to your target. Profitability Increasing your profitability comes from 2 angles. 1. Increasing your win rate 2. Don't take bad trades It seems counter-intuitive to say that you can achieve more by doing less. With a trading plan and a trading journal, you are able to see the pattern over large number of trades. Analyze them and see why do some trades go wrong. Are there similar conditions that happened to your losing trades? You must be thinking. "But I don't want a strategy that gives me 2 RR. That's not enough. I need higher RR strategy.". Assuming you're risking 1% a trade, with an above breakeven win rate, you will profit 2% for a winning trade. If you're trading a $200,000 account, that is a $4,000 profit. Is that not enough? Not many people earns this much money in a month. This is what I'm aiming to achieve. If I can scale my accounts even more, I need even lesser profits a month to achieve a $4,000 target per month. Holy Grail I gave myself one last chance to trading. You can call it luck, I call it perseverance. It was a really good mentorship. I learnt a lot from someone who has been there done that and is trading for a living. I had my profitable trading strategy, but it requires me to trade on the 1 minute timeframe. It’s profitable but I haven't got my consistency in the live market. It was a low win rate and higher RR strategy. I traded live account straight away. Attempted prop firm, got a 200k funded account and blew it before I got my first payout. I discarded it. My mentor was scalping on the seconds chart. Thinking that sitting down in front of the chart for 1 to 2 hours, I can finish my trading day. I found consistency, but I was lazy and got distracted easily. I soon discarded it after trading live for awhile. (What was I thinking. Where did my motivation went to?) Another member shared a strategy with decent win rate and high RR. I spent a lot of time backtesting, live trading and saw some results. However, my psychology wasn't good enough to handle the drawdown. it’s not a good strategy for prop firm challenges too. So I gave up AGAIN. Went back and gave myself another try. I used my original trading strategy. I tweaked it such that I will be trading on the higher timeframe to accommodate my lifestyle. I backtest a lot of course. Finally traded live, and found consistency. This led to my first payout with decent looking equity curve. I took a long route to come back to where I’ve started. I've finally found my holy grail. Framework This is the framework of how I trade. 1. Markup your chart. Find the area of liquidity, point of interests, liquidity grab, direction of the market and demand and supply zones. Do your multi-timeframe analysis here. Higher probability trade is to buy at discount levels, and sell at premium levels. 2. Set alert at your point of interests (Where to buy and sell) 3. Write down your analysis on the chart. If the price hits your point of interest, I would expect X to happen. When X happens, I will do Y. 4. When the alert goes off, go back to your chart and see if your analysis in step 3 still holds. 5a. If yes, mark out roughly where your stop loss and profit target will be. See if the RR is decent enough. If yes, then wait for the price to give you a confirmation. If no, either wait for a refined entry on the lower timeframe, or to wait for another confirmation. 5b. If not, repeat step 1. 6. Wait for price to give you a confirmation. Calculate the lot size you need to open based on your risk management and place your order. 7. Once you're in the trade, you can either forget about your trade and let it hit TP or SL, or actively manage your position. This will depend on how you backtested your strategy. 8. Once your trade hits the TP or SL, journal it. Record your entry, take profit and stop loss. Take screenshots. Record your emotions and feelings before, during and after the trade. This is how a trading plan should look like. A clear plan of action and train of thought. There should be actions taken before, during and after the trade. Do not follow strictly if your trading strategy is different from me. You need to change it to fit your strategy and lifestyle. Mentorship Having someone who has been there done that before is important. A mentor can provide valuable advice that can define and reach your goals faster. A mentor will provide feedback and support you. A mentor will remove all the unnecessary information that you don't need. A mentor must be able to look at any strategy and tell you what's not working and what you should stop. A mentor should not force you to use his strategy. He must be able share his mistakes. He must be able to show you solid trading results via 3rd party verification. 3rd party verification should be Myfxbook or Fxblue, not screenshots or excel worksheet. He should walk you through development as a person outside of trading. Stay consistent. Stay safe. Success is just around the corner. If you enjoy such content, feel free to click the like button and subscribe for more. Let me know what are your thoughts and learning points in the comments below so others can learn from you too! Please let me know what kind of topic you would like to read next :) Happy weekend!
TVC:SPXEducation
by Keeleytwj
22
Exploring Bitcoin and Altcoin DominanceIntroduction The dynamic landscape of cryptocurrency trading is filled with a multitude of variables that traders need to comprehend to navigate the financial waters successfully. One such vital aspect of understanding is the relationship between Bitcoin Dominance (BTC.D) and Other Cryptocurrencies Dominance (OTHERS.D). This article aims to provide an in-depth insight into this relationship and its long-term trends. Bitcoin Dominance: What is it? Firstly, to understand the relationship between these two, we must grasp what Bitcoin dominance implies. Essentially, Bitcoin dominance illustrates the ratio of Bitcoin's total market capitalization relative to the aggregate market capitalization of the entire cryptocurrency market. Expressed as a percentage on a scale from 0 to 100, it signifies the proportion of Bitcoin's capitalization compared to the total market capitalization. Other Cryptocurrencies Dominance (OTHERS.D) Similarly, Other Cryptocurrencies Dominance (OTHERS.D) represents the total market capitalization of the top 125 altcoins, excluding Bitcoin and some other leading cryptocurrencies. It reflects how the altcoins are faring against the total market cap in the crypto market. Correlation Between BTC.D and OTHERS.D Now, the crucial question is, why should we care about these percentages? The significance of this relationship is revealed through the Correlation Coefficient indicator, which quantifies the degree to which these two indices move in relation to each other. A Correlation Coefficient value of +1 indicates a strong positive correlation, signifying that both instruments tend to rise or fall simultaneously. Conversely, a correlation coefficient of -1 represents an inverse relationship, meaning when one instrument rises, the other falls. A coefficient of 0 suggests no apparent correlation, implying that the two instruments move independently of each other. Historical data reveals that the correlation between BTC.D and OTHERS.D is often around -0.9. This suggests an inverse relationship where an increase in Bitcoin dominance typically corresponds to a decrease in altcoins dominance, and vice versa. This correlation is significant as it guides traders on whether to shift their focus towards Bitcoin or altcoins. Long Term Trends When we delve deeper into the long-term trend analysis of BTC.D and OTHERS.D, a broader picture begins to emerge. This broader view becomes more apparent when we visualize these trends, with Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D) represented in orange and Others.D in red, which allows for a clear discernment of an inverse correlation trend. Over time, Bitcoin dominance, as depicted by the orange trend, has tended to display a downward trajectory. This indicates that Bitcoin's proportion of the total market cap has been steadily diminishing. In stark contrast, Others.D, represented in red, has shown a long-term upward trend. This indicates that the dominance and capitalization of altcoins are gradually rising relative to the total market cap. Conclusion Understanding the symbiosis between Bitcoin Dominance (BTC.D) and Other Cryptocurrencies Dominance (OTHERS.D) is instrumental for navigating the cryptocurrency trading landscape effectively. A clear trend, observable over the long term, shows a steady decrease in Bitcoin dominance juxtaposed with a corresponding increase in altcoin dominance. This evolution might be attributed to several factors. One of these could be the proliferation of new cryptocurrencies entering the market. Another factor could be the progressive advancement of blockchain technology, which is steadily pushing the envelope of modernization. It is essential, therefore, to regularly analyze and monitor the BTC.D and OTHERS.D charts. Spotting a distinct trend in either direction could offer valuable insights for your investment strategy. Attempting to follow these trends can potentially provide advantageous trading opportunities. The beauty of Bitcoin's design lies in its transparency. Nowhere else is the flow of capital as visible as in Bitcoin. This visibility lends a unique perspective, providing traders a strategic edge. By embracing this, you can bolster your understanding of these market dynamics, facilitating more informed and effective trading decisions in the fluctuating world of cryptocurrency. Thank you for reading this article. I hope it has provided you with a useful insight into the relationship between Bitcoin Dominance and Other Cryptocurrencies Dominance, thereby enhancing your understanding of cryptocurrency trading. Your pursuit of knowledge in this ever-evolving field is commendable. Stay informed, stay ahead! Best Regards, Karim Subhieh
CRYPTOCAP:BTC.DEducation
by KarimSubhieh
3
EDUCATION: Hedging vs Stoploss Some rookie traders frequently trade without a stop loss because they think they can avoid being stopped out by market swings or rollover. However, if the market moves against them, this technique could result in severe losses. In this article, we'll cover why trading without a stop loss is a bad idea and how stop losses can be used efficiently or, as an alternative, how to employ hedging techniques. What is a stop loss? A stop loss is an order that you place on your trading platform to automatically close your position at a certain price level if the market goes against you. For example, if you buy EUR/USD at 1.2000 and set a stop loss at 1.1950, you are limiting your potential loss to 50 pips if the price drops below that level. A stop loss can help you control your emotions and prevent you from holding on to losing trades for too long, hoping that the market will turn around. There are several reasons why trading without a stop loss is a bad idea, such as: 🔹 You expose yourself to unlimited risk. Without a stop loss, you have no exit plan and you are relying on your gut feeling or luck to close your trade at the right time. However, the market can be unpredictable and volatile, and sometimes it can move hundreds or thousands of pips in a matter of minutes or hours. If you don't have a stop loss, you can lose more than your initial investment and even end up with a negative balance in your account. 🔹 You increase your stress level. Trading without a stop loss means that you have to constantly monitor your positions and worry about every pip movement. This can be very stressful and exhausting, especially if you have multiple trades open at the same time. You may also experience fear, greed, anxiety, anger, frustration, and other negative emotions that can cloud your judgment and affect your trading performance. 🔹 You reduce your profitability. Trading without a stop loss can also reduce your profitability in the long run. By not cutting your losses short, you are letting them eat into your profits and reduce your win rate. You may also miss out on better trading opportunities because you are too focused on your losing trades or afraid to open new ones. Additionally, you may incur higher trading costs due to wider spreads, commissions, swaps, and slippage. How to use stop losses effectively? Effectively utilizing stop losses will help you increase your trading profits and stay away from the risks of trading without one. The following advice will help you use stop losses effectively: 🔹 Determine your stop loss level using technical analysis. You can use a variety of technical tools and indicators, including as support and resistance levels, trend lines, Fibonacci retracements, moving averages, volatility indicators, etc., to pinpoint areas where the market is expected to reverse or rebound. Depending on whether you are going long or short, you should set your stop loss just below or just above these levels. 🔹 Use risk management rules to determine your position size. You should always calculate how much money you are willing to risk on each trade and adjust your position size accordingly. A common rule of thumb is to risk no more than 1% or 2% of your account balance per trade. This way, you can limit your losses and preserve your capital for future trades. 🔹Use trailing stops to lock in profits. A trailing stop is a type of stop loss that moves along with the price as it goes in your favor. For example, if you buy EUR/USD at 1.2000 and set a trailing stop of 20 pips, your stop loss will move up by 20 pips every time the price moves up by 20 pips or more. This way, you can protect your profits and let your winners run. NB: In related ideas I have attached my publication on trailing stop loss and support and resistance for those who would like to know more on those topics If a trade is having a hard time using stop losses what they can do as an alternative is hedge there position. Similar to how stock traders will use stock options to hedge their risk in the markets. What is hedging ? Hedging is a trading strategy that involves opening a position opposite to an existing one, in order to reduce the risk of loss from unfavorable price movements. For example, if you are long on EUR/USD, you can hedge by opening a short position on the same currency pair. This way, if the price goes down, you can offset some or all of the losses from your long position with the profits from your short position. Why this and not a stop loss ? The reasons someone would do this is because a stop loss can be triggered by temporary price fluctuations that do not reflect the true market direction. This can result in premature exits and missed opportunities. Moreover, stop loss can expose you to slippage and gaps, which are situations where the market price jumps over your stop loss level and executes your order at a worse price than expected causing you to loss more that you anticipated. hedging your position protects you from those situations. By hedging, you can keep both positions open until you are confident about the market direction and close the losing one when the price starts trending in your direction again. Things to note: Though you have positions opened in both directions and in theory you should not lose any additional funds once you've initiated the hedge it is worth noting that you can still have fees both positive and negative from swap fees at rollover depending on the direction and the asset you are trading. I will be doing a post soon on heading as a stop loss as a standalone topic and also swaps and rollover.
Education
by ChristopherDownie
36
WHAT IS THE WYCKOFF METHOD?The Wyckoff Method is a trading strategy developed by Richard D. Wyckoff. It is based on the principles of supply and demand and is used to analyze price movements in financial markets. The Wyckoff method involves identifying support and resistance levels, analyzing volume and volatility, and studying the relative strength of different markets and uses these patterns to identify trading opportunities. The strategy is used by traders to identify trends and determine entry and exit points. The four cycles defined by Wyckoff's model of market behavior are: Accumulation Impulse leg is an upward trending movement Distribution Downward movement Three Wyckoff Principle 📜 The supply and demand law, the cause-and-effect link, and the connection between effort and results are the three rules that make up the Wyckoff trading strategy. The principle of supply and demand. If there is an increase in demand over supply, it leads to an increase in the value of a financial instrument. Prices rise because the quantity of an asset is limited and investors are willing to pay more when there is a shortage of the asset. If the demand for the asset falls relative to the supply, the asset loses in value. When supply and demand are in balance, the price is roughly in the same place, which causes the volatility in the market to decrease to a minimum. According to Wyckoff, accumulation time correlates with an uptrend, while distribution, in contrast, leads to a downtrend in what is called a supply and demand imbalance. When an asset spends a lot of time in the accumulation or distribution zone, there are often strong impulsive moves to break through the zone. A bullish trend will continue upward if a higher price is accompanied by high volume. However, if prices are rising and volumes are high, the trend will shift downward. According to Wyckoff's method, the market should be viewed from the point of view of the main participants, or market makers. Accumulation 📊 Market makers accumulate assets. Accumulation is when investors buy a lot of a certain asset over time. This makes their holdings bigger, which can lead to higher returns. Some investors believe a certain asset is undervalued and will go up in value. Also, some investors want to diversify their portfolio by adding a new asset. Impulse move 📈 Market makers eventually start to trade more assets, which causes the price to rise. Investors are becoming greater in number and demand goes up. The volume rises and a trend quickly ascends to new highs. It is typically characterized by a sharp, sustained move in price. This type of movement is often seen during a bull or bear market, when investors are trying to capitalize on the sudden change in price. Distribution 📉 Market makers distribute assets they have purchased by offering profitable positions to participants who just recently joined the market. Indicators of the cycle include sideways price movement and rising volumes. The demand is absorbed up until the point of exhaustion. A lot of securities or other financial instruments are sold in a short time. This is usually done by institutional investors, like mutual funds, hedge funds, and pension funds, to raise cash or to reduce their securities holdings. Sell-off 📉 Supply exceeds demand. The market maker reduces the price to a certain level. As soon as the decline is completed, the market enters the next accumulation cycle. On the gold chart, we can see each of Wyckoff's cycles: accumulation, momentum, distribution and depreciation. The phases of accumulation and distribution may differ. Conclusion 💡 The Wyckoff technique gives detailed principles and strategies, to assist traders in making reasoned decisions. His work explains the market's logic and psychology, which determine how decisions about buying and selling are made. Numerous oscillators are integrated with cluster analysis in the method.
Education
by Lingrid
17
The US Treasury cash rebuild; volmageddon or a nothing burger While Congress still needs to pass the debt limit agreement, the debate in the market has shifted to the need for the US Treasury Department (UST) to rapidly rebuild its depleted cash levels. We have no understanding of the timetable, but already the debate is whether the significant level of Treasury bill issuance will result in a major headwind for global financial markets, while others believe this is pure hype. Some are contrasting what lies ahead as a massive liquidity withdrawal from financial markets – Quantitative Tightening (QT) on steroids – where we will essentially see USD liquidity sucked out of the system. The process of raising cash levels To raise and rebuild its now low cash balances, the US Treasury Department (UST) will look to issue around $1.3t of US T-bills over the following 12 months. Around $700b of this T-bill issuance will be fast-tracked, tapping up the market within a matter of months, with the private sector expected to buy what the Treasury is selling. US Treasury bills (‘T-bills’) are high-quality debt instruments which have a maturity of less than 12 months. With the US Treasury replenishing its cash balances it would be able to make ongoing payments and meet its obligations. Plus they will keep its additional capital on the Fed’s balance sheet (under the Treasury General Account or ‘TGA’) for future payments. The effect on markets The concern in the market is around the notion of a “liquidity drain” – whereby the UST remove such staggering levels of liquidity out of the system, in a short period, that we see bank funding costs heading markedly higher and USD rates rising to highly concerning levels. Could this dynamic cause renewed concerns in the US regional banks? Drilling into the theme - the potential stress in markets really comes down to who exactly absorbs the issuance, as this is key in determining the potential impact on system liquidity. A drawdown in RRP balances US money market funds (MMF) have historically been the big buyers of T-bill issuance and could again play a key role in supporting the USTs quest to recapitalize. Money funds currently have near-exclusive access to the Fed’s Reverse Repo facility or ‘RRP’ (TradingView code – RRPONTSYD), and have around $2.2t parked there, where they get 5.05% (annualized) risk-free. If US T-bills are issued to the public at a yield close to the RRP rate (of 5.05%), then there’s a case that we see money funds withdrawing a sizeable level of holdings from the RRP facility and supporting the US T-bill issuance. It is widely considered that risk assets (e.g. equities) would not be impacted when a large percentage of the USTs issuance is funded by RRP balances. In fact, some are saying this could be a net positive given there has been a scarcity of high-quality T-bills in the system of late. A drain in bank reserves would be more problematic for markets Banks are required to hold a level of reserves as a percentage of their deposit base. However, banks/depository institutions often hold reserves in excess of their regulatory requirements - this can be highly advantageous should they have to meet increasing deposit withdrawals. Instead of keeping these excess reserves (cash equivalent) on their balance sheet, they can be offered to the Fed, where since 2008 they will receive interest paid at 5.15% (annualized) through the Fed’s IORB facility (Interest on Reserve Balances - TV code: WRBWFRBL). The RRP and IORB spread guides overnight lending rates With the RRP rate currently at 5.05% and IORB paid at 5.15% this spread represents the corridor by which the fed funds effective rate (EFFR) – the rate at which banks will borrow/lend cash overnight – trades. This is the fundamentals of how the Fed sets monetary policy and to date, it has been very effective. The concern from some is where money funds have less involvement in supporting UST T-bill issuance - resulting in a comparatively low RRP drawdown – with a large percentage of the issuance supported by a drain of bank reserves. Some strategists estimate that of this potential $700b in near-term T-bill issuance around $400b to $500b of this will be funded by the liquidation of bank reserves balances. That could the scenario where we could – in theory - see higher market volatility. It’s really about a scarcity of reserves There are currently $3.28t of excess bank reserves parked on the Fed’s balance sheet - so if we were to see a $500b drawdown in reserves then this balance would fall quite rapidly to around $2.8t. This is important because many feel the Lowest Comfortable Level of Reserve (LCLoR) that must be in the financial system is between $2.5t and $2.2t. Interestingly, some feel an aggressive decline in reserves would be a headwind for risk assets – if we look at the regression between reserves and S&P500 futures, we can see an R^2 of 0.79. In effect, 79% of the variance in US equity futures can be explained by reserves – statistically, it’s very meaningful. So this injects some credence to the idea that reserve drawdown could be a short-term headwind for risk. However, where this becomes interesting, and where we would see true stress in the system is through monitoring the spread between the Fed’s effective rate (TradingView Code: EFFR) and upper bound of the rates channel and Interest paid on Reserve Balances (on TradingView code: IORB). Currently, this spread sits at -7bp, but if we were to see the fed funds effective rate (EFFR) moving to the top of this corridor and even trading at a premium to IORB, it’s at this point where the market is telling us that we’re moving closer to a scarcity of reserves in the system. This is where things would be far more prone to breaking, and the Fed will need to act swiftly. When EFFR trades at a premium to IORB it essentially portrays that the money market channels are breaking and demand for short-term loans is becoming increasingly inelastic – subsequently, those in need of short-term loans will continue to pay ever higher prices. Of course, this may not play out. We may see reserves falling precipitously and risk assets and the USD show no relationship at all to this dynamic. However, it is a risk, and we need to recognise the triggers and be open to the possibility it does cause a higher volatility regime, especially given it comes at a time when EU banks are having to pay back E500b of TLRO loans to the ECB. Price is true, but I will be the moves in the KRE ETF (US regional bank ETF), as well as watching the EFFR- IORB spread as this could be far more important for the USD and signs of increased risks in the financial system.
FRED:WRBWFRBLEducation
by Pepperstone
5
INFORMATIONAL : THE UPSURGE OF PROPRIETARY TRADING FIRMS There has been a recent upsurge of CFD prop firms appearing. These prop firms offer traders the opportunity to trade with their capital and earn a percentage of the profits. But are these prop firms better than trading with a broker? And what are the risks and benefits of joining them? In this publication, we will explore these questions and more. 🔹What are CFD Prop Firms? CFD prop firms are different from traditional prop firms in several ways. Traditional prop firms typically employ traders and give them access to proprietary trading tools and tactics as well as training and coaching. Contrarily, CFD prop businesses fund traders once they successfully complete a task or audition rather than hiring them. Typically, the audition entails paying a fee and achieving specific trading goals within a predetermined time span. A profit target, a maximum drawdown limit, a daily loss limit, and other risk management guidelines could be part of the trading objectives. If a trader passes the audition, they will receive a funded account with a certain amount of capital, ranging from $10,000 to $1 million or more depending on the prop firm. The trader can then trade with the prop firm's capital and keep a percentage of the profits, usually between 50% to 80%. The prop firm will also monitor the trader's performance and enforce the same trading objectives as in the audition. If the trader violates any of the rules or loses too much money, they may lose their funded account or have to start over. 🔹Benefits of Joining a CFD Prop Firm Joining a CFD prop firm gives traders access to more capital than they would otherwise not have, which is one of the key advantages. As a result, they may be able to trade more instruments, diversify their portfolio, and boost their earning potential. Another advantage is that the trader's downside risk is diminished because they are just putting their audition fee at danger and nothing more, not their own money. Additionally, certain prop companies provide extra advantages like coaching, education, community support, scaling plans, and bonuses. 🔹Drawbacks and Challenges of Joining a CFD Prop Firm However, joining a CFD prop firm also has some drawbacks and challenges. One of them is that it can be difficult to pass the audition and maintain the funded account, as some of the trading objectives can be very strict and unrealistic. For example, some prop firms require traders to make a 10% profit within 30 days while keeping their drawdown below 5%. This can put a lot of pressure on traders and force them to overtrade or take excessive risks. Some prop companies may not be transparent or reliable and may not actually supply real money to trade with, which is another disadvantage. Instead, they might run a Ponzi scheme or use the audition fees to distribute the earnings. Therefore, before joining any prop firm, traders should exercise due diligence and investigation. The repute of the prop firm, regulation, fees, profit splits, trading products, leverage, platform, customer support, and withdrawal procedures are a few of the variables to take into account. Finally, another challenge is that having more capital does not necessarily mean being a better trader. Trading with more money can also increase the psychological pressure and emotional stress that traders face. Therefore, traders need to have a solid trading plan, strategy, discipline, and risk management skills before joining a prop firm. They also need to be realistic about their expectations and goals, and not rely on prop firms as a shortcut to success. 🔹Conclusion In conclusion, CFD prop firms can be a viable option for traders who want to trade with more capital and earn more profits while limiting their downside risk. However, they also come with some challenges and risks that traders need to be aware of and overcome. Therefore, traders need to weigh the pros and cons of joining a prop firm versus trading with a broker based on their own circumstances and preferences. Trading with a CFD prop firm can be a great opportunity for traders who have a proven track record of profitability and want to leverage their skills to make more money. One of the main issues is that the CFD prop industry is heavily unregulated and lacks transparency and accountability. This means that traders may not have legal protection or recourse in case of disputes or frauds. Moreover, some prop firms may impose strict rules and conditions on their traders, such as high fees, unrealistic targets, or limited withdrawal options. Therefore, before signing up with a CFD prop firm, traders should always conduct their due diligence and research. They should search for reputable and reliable prop companies that have a good track record, transparent terms and conditions, and equitable profit-sharing plans. Additionally, they should contrast various prop businesses and pick the one that best matches their trading preferences, objectives, and style. Additionally, traders should keep in mind that the best option to guarantee complete control and security over their trading activity remains opening their own trading account with a reputable broker.
PEPPERSTONE:BTCUSDEducation
by ChristopherDownie
15
Top 3 Pullback Trading StrategiesAs traders, we all know the market can be unpredictable, but by understanding and utilising pullback trading strategies, we can take advantage of temporary price reversals to enter positions at more favourable prices. In this article, we’ll dive into the world of pullback trading, explain the concept of mean reversion, and look at how to use tools like the moving average indicator and Fibonacci retracements to identify potential pullback levels. What Is a Pullback? In the past, you might have seen stock traders discussing their plans to wait for a pullback to load up on shares and wondered, “but what is a stock pullback?” In fact, pullbacks occur in prices of all tradable assets, including commodities and forex trading pairs, such as EUR/USD and AUD/USD, not just in stock prices. A pullback refers to a temporary reversal in the price of an asset after a period of upward or downward movement. If you’ve ever heard of “correction” or “retracement,” these are just other terms used to describe pullbacks. It's where the price cools off slightly before continuing its overall trend, and it is often the result of profit-taking by traders and technical factors, like key areas of support and resistance. Why Do Pullback Trading Strategies Work? Trading pullbacks in trends plays into the notion that “the trend is your friend.” In other words, trading in the direction of the higher-timeframe trend will typically yield the best results. But why does this strategy work? The easiest way to think about it is in the context of “discount” and “premium” pricing. Discount and Premium Pricing Imagine you have a bullish trend, like the one in the example above. Here, traders run the risk of buying at one of the many highs that make up the trend, paying more for a single unit of an asset than is potentially necessary (paying a premium) and resulting in sub-optimal risk/reward. Given the premium pricing, the number of buyers will taper off until sellers take control and push prices lower. Conversely, pullbacks allow traders to get in once the price cools off, meaning they can enter at a discount. At this point, buying pressure will be at its strongest as many know these low prices often won’t last and that they can offer much better risk/reward ratios, maximising the profit for traders from the overall bull trend. Mean Reversion This concept relates to the idea of mean reversion, which states that prices tend to return to their average over time. By entering a position during a pullback, traders can buy an asset at a lower price, or at a discount, with the expectation that the price will eventually return to its average. Notice that in the chart above, for example, the retracements typically fall below the midpoint of the previous retracement and the 50-period moving average before continuing higher. Additionally, we can see that the further the price moves away from these two averages into areas of previous premium or discount, the more likely it is to reverse. As you’ll see, these ideas form the basis for several commonly used pullback trading strategies. Understanding how the concepts work, however, will help you develop your skills as an effective pullback trader and allow you to trade under a variety of market conditions. Using Pullback Strategies in Forex and Other Markets The following strategies can form the basis of a solid stock pullback strategy, but their uses aren’t limited to just stocks. You can use them while forex trading or in the commodities and crypto* markets. Just note that pullback trading will be most effective in trending markets and less so in ranges. To get the best understanding of how these strategies work, you can try applying them to live charts using the TickTrader platform. Strategy #1: Moving Average Pullback Strategy Using the principle of mean reversion, we can start putting it into practice with moving averages. Moving averages often provide ideal areas of dynamic support and resistance and are a versatile tool in any pullback trader’s arsenal. Requirements: You can use a simple moving average (SMA) or an exponential moving average (EMA), which gives more weight to recent prices. It may be a good idea to try experimenting with both to see which one you prefer. Traders often use a 21, 50, or 200-period moving average, so again, you can try experimenting to find the most suitable one for you. We’ll use a 50-period MA, expressed as MA(50). Entry: First, a trend will need to have been set in motion. Traders usually either set a limit order at the moving average or enter with a market order based on price action that supports their idea. Stop Loss: Stop losses are typically set above the high or below the low that originated the leg before the pullback, as seen in the example above. Given that these trends can last for a long time, you may trail your stop just above or below key swing highs and lows as the trend progresses. Take Profit: Some traders begin to take profits at the high or low that originated the retracement, denoted by “Potential Target” in the example. So, when entering during a bullish pullback in an overall bear trend, traders can use the low that started the retracement as their first target. Subsequent levels of support or resistance are also commonly used as profit targets. Strategy #2: Fibonacci Retracement Pullback Strategy Using Fibonacci retracements is also a common way to find entries in pullbacks. Recall that the price will often cross above or below 50% of the retracement. Sometimes, it’ll reverse to the key Fibonacci levels of 0.618 and 0.786 in a larger bull trend or 0.382 and 0.236 in a bear trend. Don’t forget that 0.5 itself is a Fibonacci level. Requirements: You just need the Fibonacci retracement tool that can be found in most charting software, like TickTrader. In a bullish trend, apply the first point to a swing low and the second to a swing high. Apply it to a swing high and low for a bear trend. Entry: Entries here can be adjusted to your preferred style of trading. Some traders will simply set a limit order at 0.5, while others will place them at 0.786 or 0.236 to maximise risk/reward. Alternatively, you can break up your order into three, setting limits at 0.5, 0.618, and 0.786 to cover all bases for a bullish trade or 0.5, 0.382, and 0.236 for a bearish one. Stop Loss: Like the Moving Average strategy, traders often put a stop loss above the high or low that originated the leg before the pullback. For instance, the second entry above would mean placing the stop at the 0.618 level of the Fibonacci retracement. You can also try putting stops above or below nearby engulfing candles for better risk/reward. Alternatively, you could choose to trail your stop below swing lows or above swing highs for bullish and bearish trades, respectively. Take Profit: Some traders will start taking profits at the nearest major swing points, while others use the 1.618 extension of the pullback to set their profit target. Strategy #3: Breakout Strategy Finally, in markets where the overwhelming trend is too strong to allow for a deeper pullback, you may try to trade the breakout. In a bullish breakout, for example, the price might quickly back up to test the resistance-turned-support before shooting higher. Note that some breakouts are merely false breaks designed to trap traders and force prices into a deeper retracement - just look at the significant highs in the first picture in this article. To counteract these traps, you can look for high volume on the movement that caused the break, as well as the close of the candle. Candlestick patterns, such as shooting stars and hammers, can typically signal false breaks. Entry: After a bullish breakout above a recent swing high on high volume, traders will usually set a limit order at or just above the high or wait for price action to confirm that the high is now acting as support before entering with a market order. Conversely, traders will enter in the same way for a bearish breakout but use swing lows instead, setting orders at or just below the low or looking for price action confirmation to enter. Stop Loss: Traders can choose to set stops below the range that the breakout occurred from or above or below an engulfing candle, like in the Fibonacci strategy. Take Profit: As with the two strategies mentioned, some will just trail their stops above or below key swing highs and lows to ride the long-term trend and maximise their profits. Others choose to use the most recent swing high or low to take partial profits before closing their position at a suitable level of risk/reward. Closing Thoughts Pullback trading can be an effective strategy for traders looking to ride trends. By taking advantage of the concepts of premium/discount pricing and mean reversion and using technical analysis tools like moving averages and Fibonacci retracements, traders can get involved at optimum points in the market before the trend continues. It’s also worth remembering that any pullback can signify a market reversal. Always be cautious and use these pullback strategies in conjunction with other forms of technical analysis before considering making a trade. Once you feel ready, you can try opening an FXOpen account to put your skills to the test. Happy trading! At FXOpen UK and FXOpen AU, Cryptocurrency CFDs are only available for trading by those clients categorised as Professional clients under FCA Rules and Professional clients under ASIC Rules, respectively. They are not available for trading by Retail clients. This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.
Education
by FXOpen
2
How To Strategically Plan Your TradesBy dedicating just a minute per pair you trade, we can ensure that you're well-prepared for the upcoming market opportunities. So, let's dive in!" 1. Start with the goal- to make money, lose no money at all, or lose a small portion of your trading account Set yourself up for all 3 * this is based on the opportunity - currency pair with the right market condition- don’t trade when the market is quiet - What Timeframe has your money- focus on the timeframe you vibe with - How long will it be before you enter the trade and exit the trade- everything is an estimation. Don’t stress forcing the trade. Let the money come to you 2. Prepare for trade planning: overview - Sunday before the market opens- wake up, spend time with God, family, and then your charts - Assess the past weeks performance and plan how you’ll trade for the upcoming week- - Allocate 1 minute per pair to effectively strategize without spending excessive time over analyzing- be a quick decision maker How to review the previous week price movement: 1. Analyze each trade you entered and note what trades were successful and what were not successful 2. Note if you made any mistakes. All losses are not mistakes. 3. Note if any of your pairs made new highs or new lows or consolidated 3. Strategize based on your edge- what you are good and fast at? - Focus on the 1 or 2 strategies do you understand and can articulate well Prioritize these strategies because they increase the likelihood of success and maintaining a clear plan. - Focus on the currency pair that has the right market conditions to trade your methods There are 6 market conditions - conditions are environments like calm or violent weather - focus on which conditions your strategy thrives best in. * if the condition isn’t there, don’t trade that pair 4. Currency pair selection - Don’t overwhelm your week trading ever pair on your watchlist if you trade more than 3. - Focus on the pair that provides the favorable setup when everything aligns - * trend, market condition, and the profitability 5. Setting entry and exit points - your entry and exit go back to how well you can understand and articulate your strategy. - My TMP strategy, the first step , T(trend) is designed to automatically show you where you’ll take profit and place your stop loss. - Consider the steps you take to identify the trend and simultaneously plot your take profit and stop loss - Consider then estimating where you’ll enter your trade - My TMP strategy, M(market structure), is designed to automatically show you where you’ll enter your trade. - Then place a pending order or know the exact candlestick you enter your trades on Mindset shift really quick - risk management is a way to protect your capital and optimize your profits - Write what you’re protecting your capital from? * your families financial peace * Your financial peace * Failing as a business 6. Journal your plan - Trading view allows you to video your trades and publish them privately or publicly - You can use an excel spreadsheet or notion - Or a good old fashion notebook and pen Congratulations! You've now learned a strategic approach to plan your trades every week, leveraging your edge and focusing on your two best strategies in favorable market conditions. Remember, dedicating less than a minute per pair can significantly enhance your trading preparation. By implementing these steps consistently, you'll be well-positioned for success. Best of luck in your forex trading journey! Like and share the post if you found this valuable and would like more written content like this. Shaquan
Education
by ShaquanLopez
27
Introduction to Reversal Bar Patterns: Part 1: Over the next few posts, we plan on reviewing single and multi-bar reversal bar structures. In proper context these are among the most important and informative of all tape features. They often mark important turns in the prevailing trend or the completion of a trading range. More practically, they can be utilized to position trades and stops against. These patterns represent easily recognizable change in a market’s supply/demand dynamic and signal that “something important just occurred!” In this piece, we cover the basics of reversal patterns. In coming installments, we will cover key reversals, selling climaxes, springs and upthrusts, and several other common reversal patterns. There are two kinds of reversal patterns that draw my interest. The first is the reversal bar or pattern that occurs at or near the culmination of a long term trend. This category includes single bar patterns like buying and selling climaxes, and outside key reversal bars. These patterns are more reliable when traded in the context of overbought or oversold markets and mature trends. The second is either a one or two bar reversal that occurs at the culmination of a pattern, particularly a trading range. Springs and upthrusts fall into this category. Springs and upthrusts are typically shorter term patterns that can mark new trends but are generally more informative to shorter term trades. All these patterns lose their efficacy in dull, low volatility / trendless markets except as an upthrust or spring to a very well defined lateral range. There are also many common reversal / hook patterns that occur often in almost every trend. Generally, they occur on non-remarkable volume, do not occur near support or resistance confluences, and fail to display the range extension or volume expansion common to more reliable patterns. I tend to ignore these other than for their potential to set up potential short term trading opportunities. The most reliable reversal bars and structures are characterized by: A significantly wider than normal price range, an open and close near the extreme of the bar/bars and significantly higher than normal volume in the context of the recent past. Reversals often occur as a response to news that is in harmony with the prevailing trend. In other words, a bearish reversal in a bullish trend often occurs in conjunction with bullish news. The inability to continue the trend despite supportive fundamental news is a clear sign that the trend is in danger. Most reversal extremes occur against an emotional backdrop. The fear of missing out (FOMO) entices breakout buyers and late trend followers to enter the market at non-advantageous prices. These late adapting weak handed entrants are less committed and generally have less capital than longer term strong handed early adopting entrants. As a result, their willingness to hold their trade is low, their stops are generally tight and vulnerable. But the more important driver is traders stopping out of painful losing positions. The final convulsive wash out exhausts the available buying/selling power and allows a significant reversal of the existing trend. Important highs are not made until bad positions are flushed. Oftentimes, the reversal from these structures is dramatic as the last needful buyer/seller has been forced out. But to be trusted, the structure needs to be tested. One of the hardest patterns in the world to trade is the V top or bottom where no test occurs. Importantly for traders, reversal bar extremes mark a point beyond which the market should not trade. Initial stops placed just beyond the extreme of the reversal bar and moved higher or lower as the market progresses are generally secure. Reversal bars that occur outside a strong support or resistance are far less reliable than those occurring at or near a strong resistance zone or confluence. The wider the price spread and higher the volume, the more reliable the signal. The best signals generally occur after prolonged trends. In my experience, the earlier in the day the reversal pattern occurs, the better. These patterns are fractal. They appear on charts of all perspectives. The higher the perspective of the structure, the more important it is. In other words, a buying climax on the weekly chart is incrementally more important than the same structure on the daily. Finally, like anything else, judgement needs to be developed around the patterns. There is no substitute for staring at thousands of charts. Very few patterns set up as they would in the textbook or in my examples, but the principles are generally consistent. In our next post we will cover the specifics of Key Reversal patterns. Good Trading: Stewart Taylor, CMT Chartered Market Technician Shared content and posted charts are intended to be used for informational and educational purposes only. The CMT Association does not offer, and this information shall not be understood or construed as, financial advice or investment recommendations. The information provided is not a substitute for advice from an investment professional. The CMT Association does not accept liability for any financial loss or damage our audience may incur.
NASDAQ:WOODEducation
by CMT_Association
19
History: A Brief History Of Candlesticks Introduction: An important tool in financial analysis, the candlestick chart has a long, illustrious history that dates back several centuries. Candlestick charts, which have their roots in Japan, have developed into a popular way to visualize price changes and market patterns. Lets explore the intriguing history of candlestick charts, with special attention paid to their development, importance, and ongoing relevance in contemporary finance. Origins in Japan: Candlestick charts have their origins in Japan, specifically the Edo era in the 18th century. This novel approach to charting price changes is credited to a Japanese rice dealer by the name of Munehisa Homma. The "God of Markets," Homma, used candlestick charts to study and anticipate changes in the price of rice. His ideas and methods were recorded in a book titled "Sakata Rules," which served as the basis for this distinctive graphic display of market data. Munehisa Homma below Candlestick Chart Components: Individual "candles," each of which represents a distinct time period (such as a day, week, or month) in the market, make up the basic building blocks of a candlestick chart. The open, high, low, and close prices are the four main elements that each candle is made up of. The upper and lower wicks or shadows of the candle indicate the peak and low prices that were experienced during the specified time period, while the body of the candle symbolizes the price range between open and close. Popularization and Spread: Candlestick charts were mostly exclusive to Japan up until the 19th century, when a British trader by the name of Charles Dow worked to bring them to the attention of the West. During his tour to Japan, Dow, the co-founder of Dow Jones & Company and architect of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, learned about candlestick charts. He translated Homma's findings and added candlestick analysis to his own technical analysis techniques after seeing their potential. Charles Dow below Further Development and Modern Application: In terms of pattern recognition and interpretation, candlestick charts have improved and expanded over time. Steve Nison, an American trader who popularized candlestick analysis on Western financial markets, deserves most of the credit for this development. Nison carefully researched and built upon Munehisa Homma's studies, adding new candlestick patterns and improving the way they were interpreted. His 1991 publication of "Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques," which is now considered a classic, popularized candlestick charts among Western investors. Steve Nison below Today, traders, investors, and technical analysts utilize candlestick charts extensively across a variety of financial markets, including stocks, commodities, and currency. The visual depiction of price patterns and trends aids in spotting potential trend reversals, continuations, and market emotion, offering insightful information for making decisions. Conclusion: The development of candlestick charts is proof positive of the value of visual aids in financial analysis. Candlestick charts, which have its roots in Japan from the 18th century, have developed into a widely used and essential instrument in the world of trading and investment. These charts have been improved and adjusted for contemporary markets thanks to the work of pioneers like Munehisa Homma, Charles Dow, and Steve Nison, giving traders a thorough perspective of price movements and insightful knowledge about market dynamics. Candlestick charts are expected to keep guiding traders and assisting them in making educated judgments in the complex world of finance as time goes on.
PEPPERSTONE:BTCUSDEducation
by ChristopherDownie
19
Stop Losses: A Trader's Best DefenseIn a perfect world, every trade would go our way, but alas this is usually not the case. A stop loss is a risk management tool used by traders and investors to minimize their losses when trading. It is a predetermined price level at which a trader's position will automatically exit the market, causing the loss to be realized. Stop losses are crucial to any trading strategy, as they help traders limit their losses and stay disciplined. In this blog, we will look at what stop losses are, why they are important, how to set realistic stop losses, and five different examples of stop losses with a description of how to set the stop loss. What are Stop Losses? A stop loss is an order to sell a security when it reaches a particular price. It is a predetermined price level at which a trader's position will automatically exit the market, causing the loss to be realized. This means that if the price of the security falls to the stop loss level, the trader's position is automatically closed, and any losses incurred are limited to that level. Stop losses are essential because they help traders limit their losses and stay disciplined. Why are Stop Losses Important? Stop losses are important because they help traders limit their losses and stay disciplined. In trading, it is easy to become emotional and let your losses run. Stop losses help traders avoid this situation by automatically exiting the market when the price reaches a predetermined level. This ensures that losses are limited, and traders can move on to the next trade without being emotionally affected by the previous loss. Setting Realistic Stop Losses Setting realistic stop losses is crucial to any trading strategy. A trader needs to consider the volatility of the security, the trading style, and the risk-reward ratio when setting stop losses. The stop loss should be set at a level where the loss is acceptable but not too close to the current price level, as this may result in the stop loss being triggered prematurely. A stop loss should also not be set too far away from the current price level, as this may result in the trader losing more than they are willing to risk. Stop Loss Examples Below we will list five examples of setting effective stop losses. For consistency, we are going to use the same long stop loss example, but these same examples can be set for stop losses for short positions as well. Percentage-Based Stop Loss: A percentage-based stop loss is a stop loss that is set at a specific percentage below the purchase price. For example, if a trader wants to place a long at $0.088602 and sets a 0.5% stop loss, the stop loss would be triggered at $0.88160. For a short stop loss at 0.5%, you would add the value instead and have a 0.89035 stop loss. To set a percentage-based stop loss, the trader needs to determine the percentage they are willing to risk and place the stop loss order at that level. ATR-Based Stop Loss: An ATR-based stop loss is a stop loss that is set based on the average true range of the security. The average true range is a measure of volatility and is calculated by taking the average of the high and low prices for a particular period. To set an ATR-based stop loss, the trader needs to determine the number of ATRs they are willing to risk and place the stop loss order at that level. For a long stop loss, you would subtract the ATR times its multiplier from the current price. For a short-stop loss, you would add the ATR times its multiplier to the current price. The unique upside to this stop-loss style is the ATR accounts for market volatility which can aid your risk management and help set more appropriate stop losses. Using Moving Averages or Super Trend: Moving averages and super trend are technical indicators that can be used to set stop losses. Moving averages are calculated by taking the average price over a specific period, while the super trend is a trend-following indicator that uses the average true range to calculate the stop loss level. To set a stop loss using moving averages or super trend, the trader needs to identify the period and place the stop loss order at the appropriate level. The Moving Average or Supertrend can then act as a moving stop loss as it trails the price. 1. Moving Average: 2. SuperTrend: Donchian Channels: Donchian channels are a technical indicator that can be used to set stop losses. Donchian channels are created by taking the highest high and lowest low over a specific period and plotting them on a chart. To set a stop loss using Donchian channels, the trader needs to identify the period and place the stop loss order at the appropriate level. In the example below we use a more standard 20-period Donchian level to identify areas of lowest low interest that would be a good place for a stop loss. If we were setting a short order we would look to recent highest highs as potential stop-loss areas Conclusion Stop losses are crucial to any trading strategy, as they help traders limit their losses and stay disciplined. When setting stop losses, traders need to consider the volatility of the security, the trading style, and the risk-reward ratio. Stop losses can be set using many different techniques, including percentage-based, ATR-based, using moving averages or super trend, and Donchian channels. By setting realistic stop losses, traders can minimize their losses and stay disciplined, which is essential for long-term success in trading.
MEducation
by LeafAlgo
40
📊 Volume Profile: IndicatorsThere’s a reason why trading volume has been a standard indicator on every piece of charting software over the last 30 years… it provides a crucial edge. Volume provides you with logical insight into the activity of market participants at varying price levels. Volume analysis helps traders to become more reactionary to price movements rather than trying to predict where price will go next, as is the case with most technical indicators. 📍Key takeaways about volume Key takeaways about the normal volume indicator plotted on the X-axis in trading: 🔹Volume Indicator: The normal volume indicator measures the total number of shares or contracts traded during a given time period. It is commonly displayed as a histogram or line chart, with the X-axis representing time. 🔹Liquidity: Volume is a crucial metric as it provides insights into the liquidity of a security. Higher volume generally indicates greater market participation and liquidity, making it easier to buy or sell the asset without significantly impacting its price. 🔹Confirmation: Volume can confirm the validity of price movements. In an uptrend, increasing volume supports the bullish move, suggesting strength and conviction among buyers. Conversely, declining volume during an uptrend may signal weakness or lack of interest. The same principles apply to downtrends. 🔹 Breakouts and Reversals: Volume analysis is often used to identify breakouts and potential trend reversals. A significant increase in volume during a breakout suggests a higher probability of a sustained move, while decreasing volume near a support or resistance level might indicate a potential reversal. 🔹Divergence: Volume can reveal divergence between price and market sentiment. For example, if prices are rising but volume is decreasing, it could suggest that the rally is losing steam and a reversal may be imminent. Similarly, increasing volume during a price decline might indicate selling pressure and further downside potential. 🔹Confirmation of Patterns: Volume can provide confirmation or invalidation of chart patterns such as triangles, head and shoulders, or double tops/bottoms. Higher volume during pattern formations enhances their reliability, while low volume can cast doubt on the pattern's significance. 🔹Watch for Extreme Volume: Abnormal spikes in volume can indicate significant market events, such as earnings releases, news announcements, or institutional buying/selling. Unusual volume can lead to increased volatility and potentially offer trading opportunities. 🔹Relative Volume: Comparing current volume to historical average volume helps gauge the significance of the current trading activity. Higher volume relative to the average may imply increased interest, while lower volume might suggest a lack of conviction or reduced market participation. 👤 @AlgoBuddy 📅 Daily Ideas about market update, psychology & indicators ❤️ If you appreciate our work, please like, comment and follow ❤️
Education
by QuantVue
35
DOW THEORY OR HOW TECHNICAL ANALYSIS EVOLVEDSometimes it's useful to go back to the basics in order to fully comprehend the progress achieved. Today technical analysis is taken for granted, and very few people think about what is really behind the well-known market terms. The Dow Theory, and Charles Dow himself in particular, we can say, were at those very basics. In this case, at the present moment the postulates of the theory have not lost their relevance. How they can be applied in practical work on the market, particularly in Forex, is presented in today's post. Dow Theory and Technical Analysis At the beginning of the formation of financial markets there were no suitable automatic tools, and most of the work on the analysis was done manually for a long time. That's why you can notice a great attention to detail in the description of the theory, when nowadays many details are usually omitted. A brief biography of Charles Dow Dow's first job in the financial environment was as a reporter for the Wall Street news bureau. It was there that he met his partner, Edward Jones. Unlike most other journalists, their work was characterized by straightforwardness - Doe and his partner did not take bribes as a matter of principle. In 1882 Doe and Jones felt the need for a separate publication. So, they founded their own company, Dow Jones & Company, which at first issued daily financial reports. Later the two-page booklet grew into a full-fledged newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, which is now one of the most authoritative publications in the financial environment. The publication's slogan stated that its main purpose was to tell the news, but not opinions. By 1893, there were many mergers taking place, which increased the proportion of speculation in the markets. At this time Dow saw the need for some indicator of market activity. Thus, he created the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which at that time was a simple arithmetic average of the prices of 12 companies (it now included the 30 largest U.S. companies). Dow drew attention to the fact that prices capture much more information than many people assume. That is, by analyzing prices alone, we can predict their future behavior with great probability, which eventually became the basis of his theory. Principles of the Dow Theory The Market Discounts Everything Of course, the market cannot take into account events which, by definition, cannot be predicted. However, the price takes into account the emotions of participants, economic data of some companies and states, including inflation and interest rates, and even possible risks in case of unforeseen developments. This does not mean that the market or its participants know everything, even future events. This only means that all what has happened has already been recorded in the price, and any new information will also be taken into account. On this basis, a huge number of technical indicators have been created, and today you can find an indicator for the analysis of literally anything. But while indicators are often used thoughtlessly, Dow analyzed the entire market, relying on the natural segmentation of market players. An extreme reflection of his work is the industry and transportation indices. The very composition of the index plays an important role. It is not fixed and is periodically reconsidered taking into account changes of the situation on the markets. The essence is that shares of enterprises working in one field are analyzed. As a result, the index is in some way a closed system, where the major part of funds is distributed between the participants and does not go beyond the portfolio. Three Market Trends A straight-line market movement is a science fiction. In fact, price almost always moves in a zigzag pattern, forming characteristic ascending/descending highs/minimums. In other words, forming an uptrend or a downtrend. There is a major initial trend in the market. It is the most important to find out, because the basic trend reflects the real price movement direction, when all the lower trend levels depend on the basic one. The duration of the initial trend is from 1 to 3 years. The most important thing is to determine the direction of the initial trend and trade in accordance with it. The trend remains in force, as long as there was no confirmation of its reversal. The price closing below the previous extremum, for example, can be a prerequisite for trend reversal. So, the initial trend determines the main market direction. In turn, the secondary trend moves in the direction opposite to the main trend. In fact, it is a correction to the main trend. The secondary trend has one interesting characteristic - its volatility is usually higher than the initial movement. The last, the smallest trend is nothing more than a secondary trend pullback. Such movement lasts no longer than one week. The classical representation pays the least attention to it. It is considered that there is too much price noise on this time period, and fixation on the smallest movements can lead to irrational trade decisions. Trend phases The next principle of the theory of Dow the phases of the trend formation: The first phase is usually characterized by price consolidation. This is a period of market indecision, when the previous trend is at exhaustion. In other words, this period is marked by the accumulation of forces before the spurt and is also the most attractive entry point (although risky). As soon as the new direction is confirmed, the participation phase begins. This is the main trend phase, the longest of the three, which is also marked by a large price movement. When the motivating conditions have been exhausted, the saturation phase begins. During this period, savvy players begin to exit positions as soon as there are signs of instability, such as increased corrections. This phase can be described as "irrational optimism", when the price may continue to rise by inertia, despite the lack of clear prerequisites. Identification of trend movements In order to identify both trends and reversals on a chart, it is necessary to understand the techniques used by Dow. The main technique in identifying reversals a sequential analysis of extremes. For example, in the picture, points 2, 4, and 6 mark the maximum of the upward movement, while points 1, 3, and 5 mark the minimum. An uptrend is formed when each successive top and trough is higher than the previous one. A downtrend, on the contrary, is characterized by descending highs/minimums. The Dow Theory states that until we get a clear signal for a reversal, the trend remains in force. Here we can draw a parallel with Newton's law of inertia, where a moving object tends to move in the intended direction until another force interrupts its movement. The formation of a lower minimum (5) within the upward movement is an obvious signal of the coming reversal. In the case when the trend is directed downward, the situation is the opposite. If the price failed to form a lower low and still closed above the current high, it means that the market is influenced by a force opposite to the original movement. Conclusion The Dow Theory, as many hope, does not answer the question "how to enter the market at the stage of trend formation?" It is a long-term reversal strategy aimed at minimal risk. Nevertheless, the theory helps us better understand technical analysis in general, and why it works at all because price and is a derivative of all the factors affecting it.
Education
by DeGRAM
18
Choosing Your Channel: Bollinger, Donchian, or Keltner?When it comes to trading financial instruments, traders have a plethora of technical indicators to choose from. Among these, Bollinger Bands, Donchian Channels, and Keltner Channels stand out as popular tools for analyzing price movements and identifying potential trading opportunities. Each of these channels has its advantages and unique methods of application. This blog will compare these three channels and provide examples of how each can be used, helping you decide which one is right for you. I. Bollinger Bands Understanding Bollinger Bands Bollinger Bands, developed by John Bollinger in the 1980s, is a volatility-based indicator that measures the standard deviation of price movements. It consists of three lines: a simple moving average (SMA) and two bands that are typically set at two standard deviations above and below the SMA. The distance between the bands adjusts as volatility increases or decreases. Using Bollinger Bands Bollinger Bands are useful for identifying price movements and potential reversals. When the bands contract, it indicates low volatility, and when they expand, it signals high volatility. A common strategy is to look for a breakout or breakdown when the bands contract. Example: If a stock's price has been trading within a narrow range, and the Bollinger Bands contract, a trader might anticipate a breakout or breakdown. If the price breaks above the upper band, it could signal a bullish trend, while a break below the lower band suggests a bearish trend. This breakout should be confirmed with other indicators such as the MACD or RSI. II. Donchian Channels Understanding Donchian Channels Donchian Channels, developed by Richard Donchian in the 1960s, is a trend-following indicator that measures the highest high and lowest low over a set number of periods, typically 20 periods. It consists of three lines: the upper channel line, the lower channel line, and the middle line, which is the average of the upper and lower lines. Using Donchian Channels Donchian Channels are primarily used to identify potential breakouts and breakdowns. Traders often use the channels to assess the strength of a trend and determine entry and exit points. The Donchian cloud can be a great tool for establishing lines of support and resistance as the price makes higher highs and lower lows and conversely lower highs or lower lows. Example: If a stock's price is consistently hitting highs, a trader might use the Donchian Channels to identify a possible breakout. If the price breaks above the upper channel line, it could signal a continuation of the bullish trend. Conversely, if the price breaks below the lower channel line, it may indicate a potential trend reversal. I typically look for a secondary lower high or higher lower to confirm a reversal and then confirm the breakout with an oscillator as seen in the example below. III. Keltner Channels Understanding Keltner Channels Keltner Channels, developed by Chester Keltner in the 1960s and later modified by Linda Raschke, is a volatility-based indicator that uses the average true range (ATR) to measure price movements. It consists of three lines: an exponential moving average (EMA) and two bands set at a multiple of the ATR above and below the EMA. Using Keltner Channels Keltner Channels are effective for identifying potential trading opportunities during trending markets and can be used in conjunction with other indicators to confirm price movements. The Keltner Channel is a great tool for identifying overbought/ oversold conditions in a trend. This can help traders find better points of entry for a trade. Example: A trader might use Keltner Channels to identify potential pullbacks in a trending market. If the price moves above the upper channel line during an uptrend, it could signal an overbought condition, and the trader might wait for the price to pull back toward the EMA before entering a long position. Similarly, if the price falls below the lower channel line during a downtrend, it might indicate an oversold condition, and the trader could wait for a bounce back toward the EMA before entering a short position. The trader should also verify the bounce with other indicators as shown below. IV. BONUS: Keltner/Bollinger Bands Squeeze Strategy Channels do not have to be exclusively used on their own. The Keltner/Bollinger Bands Squeeze Strategy is a powerful technique that combines the strengths of both Keltner Channels and Bollinger Bands to identify potential trading opportunities. By understanding the nuances of this strategy, traders can significantly enhance their trading arsenal and make more informed decisions in the market. The Squeeze: A Sign of Consolidation and Potential Breakout s The Keltner/Bollinger Bands Squeeze occurs when the Bollinger Bands contract within the Keltner Channels, indicating a period of low volatility or consolidation in the market. This "squeeze" can serve as a precursor to significant price breakouts, either on the upside or downside. By closely monitoring this pattern, traders can identify periods of market consolidation and prepare to capitalize on potential breakouts. How to Implement the Keltner/Bollinger Bands Squeeze Strategy To implement this strategy, traders should follow these steps: Overlay the Keltner Channels and Bollinger Bands on your chart: Start by adding both Keltner Channels and Bollinger Bands to your preferred trading platform's chart. Ensure that the settings of both indicators are adjusted to your desired values. Identify the Squeeze: Look for periods when the Bollinger Bands contract within the Keltner Channels. This signifies a "squeeze" and acts as a sign that the market is experiencing low volatility or consolidation. Monitor for Breakouts: Keep a close eye on the price action during the squeeze. When the Bollinger Bands expand outside of the Keltner Channels, this indicates a potential breakout from the consolidation period. The direction of the breakout (upwards or downwards) will depend on the overall market trend and price action. Enter the Trade: The Keltner/Bollinger Bands Squeeze Strategy can be further enhanced by combining it with other technical indicators, such as the Relative Strength Index, or Moving Average Convergence Divergence. These complementary indicators can provide additional confirmation of potential breakouts and help traders better gauge market conditions. Once a breakout is confirmed, traders can enter a trade in the direction of the breakout. It's essential to use stop-loss orders and manage risk appropriately since false breakouts can also occur. Exit the Trade: Traders should establish a price target and exit strategy based on their analysis and risk tolerance. This can include setting a specific profit target, using trailing stops, or leveraging other technical indicators to determine when to exit the trade. Conclusion Bollinger Bands, Donchian Channels, and Keltner Channels are all valuable technical indicators for analyzing price movements and identifying potential trading opportunities. When deciding which one is right for you, consider your trading style, preferred timeframes, and the specific characteristics of the markets you trade. It's essential to familiarize yourself with each indicator and practice using them in combination with other tools to enhance your trading strategy. We have even shown that these channels can complement each other to form a more comprehensive strategy. Remember, no single indicator is perfect, and incorporating multiple tools can help you gain a more comprehensive understanding of market dynamics. Good luck and happy trading! If you enjoyed our content don’t forget to give this post a boost, and follow our page for more trading education!
Education
by LeafAlgo
27
100 Laws of Trading My experience. I started trading futures over two years ago. During this time, I went through all the circles of trading hell. I searched for myself, selected my trading style, put together a trading system bit by bit. Merged. I accumulated personal experience, bit by bit collected information in books in order to get even a millimeter closer to understanding the market. Often came close to giving up. But I did not give up and was rewarded. All this time I have been collecting trading advice in a notebook, which sounded from the best professionals in the world, met in classical literature and was confirmed over and over again by my personal experience. Over time, there were about a hundred such laws, and I decided to call the notebook in which I wrote them down - the Trader's Bible. For a professional, these are banal and obvious things. For a beginner - a lifeline. Rope to grab onto. Road signs on a busy highway. What I missed so much in the beginning. How much money, time and nerves I would save if I had this notebook two years ago ... Today I want to share this experience and give you some motivation if you almost gave up. You will definitely succeed. “It doesn't really matter if you're right or wrong. What matters is how much money you make when you're right and how much money you lose when you're wrong." J.Soros. Law 1: Never average a losing trade. Even if it looks like it's about to unfold. Even if the deposit allows. Even if nine times averaged and earned. One day, the tenth time will come and take all your money. He will definitely come. Law 2. Cut losses short. It's better to log in again. Law 3. Never enter a trade without a stop loss. If you are a beginner, do not rely on your endurance and reaction. This habit will save you more than once, trust me. Law 4. A professional differs from a beginner in the ability to wait for a favorable alignment. Do not rush. There is an endless stream of chances ahead, some of which will be quite obvious. Law 5. Do not trade on quiet days and low volumes. Leave this time for rest and self-education. You don't have to trade every day. Law 6. Do not rely on media forecasts, bloggers and "traders" in the comments. This is either manipulation, or outdated information, or personal interpretation of events. Observe information hygiene and learn to think for yourself. Believe me, those who really have significant information do not shoot videos on YouTube and do not argue in chats. Law 7. To make money in the market, it is not necessary to know what will happen next. Anything can happen. This is the hardest thing to understand, but it is this kind of thinking that will lead to the result. Law 8. All you need to make money on the stock exchange is one working model. Do not spray on a hundred techniques and systems. It's not about quantity. Find your working pattern and hone it. He will ensure your old age. Law 9. The result of each individual transaction is random. No matter how good your analysis is, it guarantees absolutely nothing. Get into the habit of uncertainty. You can be wrong ten trades in a row even with the right analysis. And it shouldn't ruin you. Law 10. The market can stay irrational longer than you can pay. Get out of your head the desire to deceive the market. Martingales and other “grails” shake generations of traders out of their pants. You won't be an exception, don't even check. Law 11. After a losing trade, do not dare to recoup. Treat trading like a business, not like playing cards with a friend. Controlled loss is part of this business. Upset, angry? Turn off the exchange, go to the gym - bring the body to exhaustion. Tomorrow there will be new opportunities. Law 12. Madness is doing the same thing over and over again in the hope of a different result. Don't repeat the same mistake twice. Write it down. Analyze. Draw conclusions. Law 13. Do not count and do not look forward to profit in advance. Better think about how much you can lose on this trade, it's sobering. Don't count money in trading at all. All analysis is carried out as a percentage of the deposit. This will relieve stress and distract from unnecessary reflection. Law 14. To begin to succeed, one must almost despair. Almost. But take one more step. To be continued.
Education
by G_Foster
104
The other side of the tradeTrading has this stigma attached to it, everyone thinks they can come and make their millions. The reality is, 90% of new traders lose 90% of their funds in 90 days. I've talked for years about the negative side of trading (trust me, I've done this over 20 years) Trading is often perceived as a wonderful, fabulous lifestyle. Cars, yachts, jets and women! Probably fueled by films like the Wolf of Wall Street. But not many people like admitting to the other side of the traders lifestyle. Of course, it's nowhere near as glamorous - it sure as hell won't get social media likes or follows. But it's there and it's real! There are a couple of main points that I want to touch on, especially for you newer traders coming to find your fortunes. 1) Trading can be boring! Yes, boring as shait. If you are used to having a 9-5, you do not realise the effects (good and bad) on having human interaction throughout the day. You might have a partner you live with, the family. But what about when they go to work or school? You are left with your own thoughts. Yes, this can be dangerous!!! The issues can include lack of motivation, uncertainty in what to do, overthinking. On your bad days, you have nobody to comfort you and on your good days, you have nobody to share the excitement with! Joining communities can be a good fix here, providing you find a good one. This doesn't have to effect your trading, your strategy or anything else - but interaction could save you from the loneliness. The solitary nature of trading can sometimes lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Without the support and camaraderie of others in a similar field, it can be challenging to share experiences, discuss strategies, or seek advice. Additionally, the pressure and stress of making high-stakes financial decisions can further contribute to a sense of isolation. 2) STRESS - Stress is a huge factor for a trader. Stress could also stem from the loneliness, stress when dealing with finance is an area where a lot of people suffer, traders and non traders alike. The issue is for traders, stress is often self inflicted. Most new traders come to the market with a view of it's easy, fast paced, exciting and therefore have the perception of making it big. If it was this easy, people wouldn't spend 7 years becoming doctors or lawyers. Instead they would follow the money! Come on, who wouldn't - Yachts n all. It's this popular belief that usually drives traders into the stressful state which becomes the norm until they give up! To counter the loneliness and try to make it big, traders (probably you) I know I did! look at indicators, try to take on as much info as possible! Which takes you down this path. Indicators. there must be a holy grail, a silver bullet? 100% winning strategy? People waste so much time on retail indicators thinking they will be the one to find the edge. You would be better off having a trip to Vegas and playing the first slot machine you spot! The next issue is - too much data or the attempt to obtain too much of it! I remember when my setup matched this below (if not more screens) This is like trying to read 9 books at the same time whilst writing essays in 6 different languages. All of these factors will 100% add to your stress. You might have anxiety when executing a trade, or feel the burden of stress whilst in a trade. Scared to see the numbers go red and too eager when they go green?! Yup been there, done that. So has every trader out there. Stop feeling like this. Creation of a strategy... All you need to help combat these types of stresses, is find an edge. The edge could be very simple - from reading books, stepping away from the charts, viewing higher time frames, moving away from social media influencers. All the way through to mastering one instrument. When you see indicators like the image above, what happens if two are in one direction and the rest in another? You start to argue with yourself, you miss good trades and you end up taking bad ones. This leads to stress and then you realise, yup your lonely! What a cycle to be trapped in! Now how about you flip the thinking here? Less charts to stare at, less indicators to confuse, more time to read, exercise or simply go play golf. Your edge does not need to be technical, fancy or shown on 48 screens. I talked about this in the Tradingview live show the other evening. Here's the link: www.tradingview.com Sometimes less is more and this can combat the stress and golf is always a winner for loneliness. Disclaimer This idea does not constitute as financial advice. It is for educational purposes only, our principle trader has over 20 years’ experience in stocks, ETF’s, and Forex. Hence each trade setup might have different hold times, entry or exit conditions, and will vary from the post/idea shared here. You can use the information from this post to make your own trading plan for the instrument discussed. Trading carries a risk; a high percentage of retail traders lose money. Please keep this in mind when entering any trade. Stay safe.
COINBASE:BTCUSDEducation
by Mayfair_Ventures
26
HOW TO IDENTIFY ORDER BLOCKSHello traders! Today we are going to look at the pattern Order Blocks, what this pattern means and how to trade it. ✳️ What is Order Block? The largest (from open to close) closest bearish candle to support before a strong impulsive bullish move (last sell candle before the buy candle). The last falling candle before the impulse growth. The high of this candle must be broken by the next candle to confirm it is an order block. The largest (from open to close) closest bullish candle to resistance before a strong impulsive bearish move (the last buy candle before the sell candle). The last rising candle before the impulsive decline. The low of this candlestick must be broken by the next candlestick to confirm that it is an order block. Order blocks are those areas/zones where financial institutions have manipulated the price and where some of their orders are in drawdown. This "footprint" they are leaving is clearly visible in the order block. Price will usually return to these areas and we will react to this in some way. Order block is a sign of big players in the market. ✳️ The idea behind the pattern and why it works The movements triggered by big players leave open positions which must be closed. And in order to do that, the price has to test those levels. Smart money works according to certain algorithms, and we are trying to make money on this. Behind these candlesticks are financial institutions: they deliberately move the market, themselves falling into a drawdown, so they need to return the price to the order block with an imbalance, to reduce losses (to return their open positions to breakeven levels). Why not close manipulative positions earlier? There is no one to cover them. When we close large positions, the price automatically moves in the direction of the order block, and it is convenient for the large capital to close the previous manipulated positions, which causes a bounce which we want to jump into. In other words, we find a liquidity gathering point and wait for the return to it. Order Block is a level to enter or exit. ✳️ Order Block Trading Strategy Mitigation is a test of a supply/demand area. In our case a block of orders. Closing of old manipulative positions. 1) We are looking for a block of orders. 2) Were the stops pulled out (collecting liquidity, breaking through the obvious highs and lows)? If no, then it is not an order block, let it go. You are not sure? Do not enter. 3) If yes, we consider entering. A bullish block of orders: We enter - on price returning to this candle (at least to the high). Stop - for low. Take - the nearest level. A bearish block of orders: Entry - on the return of the price to this candle (at least to the low). Stop - behind the high. Take - the nearest level. Each Order block can be tested only once.
Education
by DeGRAM
39
Trading with the ADX: Identifying Entry and Exit PointsIn the previous post, we discussed the basics of the Average Directional Index (ADX), a popular technical indicator used by traders to determine the strength of a market trend. In this continuation, we will dive deeper into the ADX and explore various strategies for identifying entry and exit points in a trade. By understanding these tactics, you can enhance your trading skills and make more informed decisions. 1. Using ADX and DI lines crossover One effective way to trade using the ADX indicator is to observe the crossover of the Directional Indicator (DI) lines. The DI lines consist of the Positive Directional Indicator (+DI) and the Negative Directional Indicator (-DI). When the +DI line crosses above the -DI line, it signals a potential buying opportunity. Conversely, when the -DI line crosses above the +DI line, it indicates a possible selling opportunity. It's essential to remember that the ADX only measures the strength of the trend, not its direction. Therefore, traders should combine the ADX and DI lines to make better trading decisions. 2. ADX level and trend strength The ADX level can help traders determine the strength of a trend. Generally, an ADX value below 20 indicates a weak or non-existent trend, while a value above 20 suggests a strong trend. When the ADX rises above 20, it may be an opportune time to enter a trade in the direction of the prevailing trend. Conversely, when the ADX falls below 20, traders should consider exiting their positions as the trend weakens. 3. ADX slope and momentum Another useful aspect of the ADX indicator is its slope. A rising ADX slope indicates that the trend is gaining momentum, offering a potentially favorable entry point. On the other hand, a declining ADX slope suggests that the trend is losing momentum, signaling a possible exit point. To trade using the ADX slope, traders can apply a moving average to the ADX line. When the ADX line crosses above the moving average, it signifies increasing momentum and a potential entry point. Conversely, when the ADX line crosses below the moving average, it indicates decreasing momentum and a possible exit point. 4. Combining ADX with other technical indicators The ADX works best when paired with other technical indicators, such as moving averages, Bollinger Bands, or Relative Strength Index (RSI). By combining these tools, traders can gain a more comprehensive understanding of market conditions and make more informed decisions. For example, traders can use moving averages to determine the trend's direction and the ADX to gauge its strength. If the price is above the moving average and the ADX is above 20, traders might consider entering a long position. Conversely, if the price is below the moving average and the ADX is above 20, traders may consider a short position. Conclusion The ADX is an invaluable tool for traders, helping them identify the strength of market trends and potential entry and exit points. By understanding the various strategies discussed in this post, traders can enhance their trading decisions and potentially increase their success rate. Remember that no single indicator guarantees success, and it's essential to combine the ADX with other technical analysis tools and sound risk management practices. With proper application and a disciplined approach, the ADX can become an indispensable part of your trading toolbox.
MEducation
by LeafAlgo
39
Tradingview Volume toolsI've been using Tradingview for just over 8 years now. When I initially started using it I was transitioning from using Footprint tools. I would use techniques that in essence allowed you to see inside a candle. Coupled with techniques such as "DOM" Depth of Market and Cumulative Delta. After a while you get to see some of this stuff without the need of indicators. Tradingview have steadily added various tools to the platform and with a little help from being able to code your own tools it's made it an interesting space to play. So here's a quick overview on the abilities, encase you have yet to explore. This is not a lesson on volume as such, just educating you as to what the possibilities can be. Most would have seen or at least know about the volume on the X axis. This simply gives an idea of the happening of that particular candle, of course things can alter or yield different results based on settings and time frames. we've taken the time to incorporate this simple volume in one of our own indicators. Which is coupled with a Stochastic and a few other bits. It can also be used standalone for spotting divergence for example. You can see how the volume up and price up yet in the third price move up, volume has lowered. There are also various styles of showing this volume data - one such tool is Weiss waves. These are great in conjunction with techniques such as Elliott Waves and Wyckoff. I've shown this over the last two years here on TradingView and both of these techniques have been very useful on Bitcoin during this time. I mentioned CVD the cumulative Volume Delta, here you can see this under the Weiss Wave indicator. Like I said, have a play around with these on your own charts. You will spot some interesting things once you get to know them. Try various instruments as well as timeframes. More recently I posted a video on using Chat GPT to build a pinescript indicator. Here's the link to that post. Well, I've taken that a few steps further. What started as an idea in terms of using Footprint, X axis volume and then what's called periodic volume profile. I personally like to turn the bars/candles off when I got this on. Here's another view - this is the session volume profile and periodic volume combined without the candles being visible. This new indicator extracts various pieces of data and paints key levels based on my old trading style. As you can see today, this is showing like a magnet where the key levels in Bitcoin are likely to be. There's a bit more to it than that but in essence, its what I am showing here. To finish with you have two other tools here on Tradingview - one which is fixed range volume, just as it says on the tin. You can see volume inside a range you determine. I have used a low and a high here to find the PoC - Point of Control. Then finally, you have visible range; this I tend to use less personally, but I know many people like it. This allows you to view the volume profile based on what you have visible on the chart. As you can imagine, as you zoom in n out, it can change. Like I said, this is not a lesson on each tool - it's an intro to, for you to spend the time to play around with these tools. Feel free to ask questions below. Enjoy the rest of the week! Disclaimer This idea does not constitute as financial advice. It is for educational purposes only, our principle trader has over 20 years’ experience in stocks, ETF’s, and Forex. Hence each trade setup might have different hold times, entry or exit conditions, and will vary from the post/idea shared here. You can use the information from this post to make your own trading plan for the instrument discussed. Trading carries a risk; a high percentage of retail traders lose money. Please keep this in mind when entering any trade. Stay safe.
COINBASE:BTCUSDEducation
by Mayfair_Ventures
18
How Much Gold Does Your Portfolio Need?Economists make forecasts to make weathermen look good. Trying to forecast trends in complex systems is never easy. As with weather, financial markets are influenced by a myriad of factors which can make prediction akin to gambling. Time in the market beats timing the market so a far safer bet is building a diversified and informed portfolio. As mentioned in our previous paper , gold is a crucial addition to any well-diversified portfolio. Gold offers investors the benefits of resilience during crises, diversification, and low volatility while also being a good hedge against inflation. With crisis ever-present, from pandemics and geo-political conflict to financial instability and recession, uncertainty is on everyone’s lips, including central banks which bought a record 1,135 tonnes of gold last year. Central Banks have shown no signs of slowdown going into 2023, buying 74t in Jan and 52t in Feb, the strongest start to central bank buying since 2010. It is clear why, with rising global inflation due to 2 years of unprecedented QE. A decade of cheap money has its costs which are coming back to bite both consumers and central banks. This is now being played with collapsing banks and crumbling businesses. Though governments may term these exceptions, they’re the inevitable consequence of hiking rates too fast. And even though inflation has now started to cool, it is proving stubborn and the risk of recession looms. In crisis, institutions and individuals rush to gold. It’s no wonder then that gold prices spiked in March nearing an All-Time-High above USD 2,000/oz. Gold continues to trade above the key 2000 level even in April. Even now crises show no sign of slowing. Recession talks have become commonplace and phantoms of 2008 haunt with bank collapses. The world is increasingly moving towards reshoring and friendshoring, and de-dollarization is talked about more and more. It is almost inevitable that gold will break its all-time-high soon. But, buying gold is the easy part, in fact, our previous paper covered 6 Ways to Invest in Gold. Managing gold as part of a larger portfolio is more nuanced. Allocating the right amount, finding the right entry, and knowing when to cash out are all critical. This paper aims to address two questions – 1. What are the key drivers of gold prices in this decade 2. How should investors use gold in balancing portfolios to navigate turbulent times? What Propels Gold After Its All Time High? SVB and Credit Suisse pushed it to its brink. In fact, spot prices in India, Australia, and the UK sailed even above their All-Time-High. But what propels gold now? Financial Instability Was Credit Suisse the End? “The current crisis is not yet over, and even when it is behind us, there will be repercussions from it for years to come.” - Jamie Dimon Unfortunately, Credit Suisse was likely just a symptom of the larger problem. 2-years of near-free money has inevitably led others to make risky bets which catch up to them during periods of QT. Additionally, Credit Suisse and SVB’s collapse were both set off by an unprecedentedly aggressive rate hiking cycle. Fed is stuck between a rock and a hard place as they try to control runaway inflation with aggressive rate hikes. Higher rates for longer increase the risks of financial instability. Stubborn Inflation and Recession Risks Stubborn inflation? Wasn’t inflation on its way down after almost a year? Yes and No. Although yearly inflation has definitely cooled in most countries from their peak last year, inflation continues to tick up month-by-month above the targets that central banks have set for themselves. It is not expected to reach below their targets even before 2025 in many countries. This is because although energy and commodity prices have cooled with demand waning, core inflation continues to remain stubbornly high. Additionally, food and energy prices are still volatile. On the back of this, recession risks remain high. Recently released FOMC meeting minutes showed that officials expect a recession in the second half of the year. A recession in many countries now seems inevitable. Gold shines during recession and high-inflation environments. High Interest Rates Wasn’t the Fed done hiking? Currently, CME’s FedWatch tool shows a ~72% chance of another 25bps hike next month despite the surprisingly low US CPI print. Does another 25bps matter? What’s more important is that 25bps is the peak rate and most central banks are calling this summit a pause and not a pivot. As such, rates will likely remain high for the remainder of 2023. Gold tends to perform well during high interest rate and risk-off environments. Escalating Tensions, Friendshoring, and De-Dollarization Last but definitely not least are central banks and their gold-buying binge. Though some of this can be explained by the ultra-high inflation. It is undeniably also driven by rising political tensions. The conflict in Ukraine continues to rage and the US extend its trade war against China with the CHIPS act. This is driving many of the largest economies to reshore and friendshore key supply chains. This also means relying less on the USD which can be weaponized by the US. De-dollarization has been underway for the last 23 years as the share of USD holdings in foreign exchange reserves has declined from 71.5% to 58.3% over the past 23 years. Current conditions make it more likely that the trend will accelerate. Gold inevitably benefits from all of this as it is one of the only assets that no other central bank can print or freeze. All of these factors will likely drive gold in the coming decade. But instead of setting a price target, investors can be prudent and methodical by properly allocating it as part of a larger portfolio. Using Gold in a Portfolio From 2000 until now, the following portfolios would deliver: Since 2000, gold has been the best performing asset out of the 3 main components of a basic portfolio – Large Cap stocks (SPY), Treasury Bonds (10Y), and Gold. Gold price has risen 609% compared to SPY at +193%. Investing in 10-year maturity treasury bonds would have netted investors 110% during these 23 years. As such, larger portfolio allocation towards gold would have yielded investors far more during this period. However, this comes at the downside of higher volatility. Gold has had an average 12-month rolling volatility of 15.8% over the last 23 years, slightly higher than SPY’s 14%. Still, not all volatility is bad, especially if the returns outweigh the risk. Volatility to the upside can be beneficial to investors. In order to measure the returns from the portfolio after accounting for higher volatility-associated risk, investors can measure the risk-adjusted returns using the Sharpe Ratio and Sortino Ratio. Sharpe Ratio measures the amount of excess return generated by taking on additional volatility-related risk. The higher the Sharpe Ratio, the better the portfolio is performing relative to its risk. The figure below contains the Sharpe Ratio for each of the portfolios across the last 23 years. Since each year had a different risk-free rate due to changing monetary policy, the Sharpe ratios vary for every year and there are periods during which gold-heavy portfolios have highest Sharpe ratios and others where it has the lowest. This highlights gold's sensitivity to changes in monetary policy. Sortino Ratio also measures risk-adjusted returns like the Sharpe Ratio however it only considers the risk of downside volatility. In other words, it measures return for every unit of downside risk. The figure below contains the Sortino Ratio for each of the portfolios. A key difference between the Sharpe and Sortino Ratios can be seen in the readings for 2009. Sharpe Ratio for a gold-heavy portfolio is the lowest in 2009 due to high volatility in gold prices. However, since this was volatility to the upside, the Sortino Ratio for a gold-heavy portfolio in 2009 is the highest. In 2023, a Gold heavy portfolio has performed the best and has the highest Sharpe and Sortino Ratio due to gold's relative overperformance amid the banking crisis. DISCLAIMER This case study is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services. Trading or investment ideas cited here are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management or trading under the market scenarios being discussed. Please read the FULL DISCLAIMER the link to which is provided in our profile description.
COMEX:GC1!Education
by mintdotfinance
4
Unpopular trading advice: fall in LOVE with one pair ONLYIn a world where you can love anyone and anything your heart desires, fall in love with ONE currency pair ONLY. The notion of "the more pairs I trade, the more money I will make" is false. If you wanna be a consistently profitable trader, it is more beneficial to focus on a small selection of securities and master them, and there is a concrete reason for that. Concentrating on one or two currency pairs instead of trading every single major, minor, and exotic pair will be more efficient, less confusing, and more profitable. When you study every single movement of any given pair, you get more experienced at trading it and you make more rational decisions and analyses. Looking at the chart illustration, we might observe the trading log of all transactions we executed in April and May so far. With 8 trade entries and all of them being EUR/GBP, a total return of +9.6% has been generated constituting an approximate win rate percentage of 70%. Obviously, not every trade resulted in being profitable as we encountered 2 losses and a breakeven closure. Nevertheless, as we always indicate, trading is a game of big numbers and probabilities. Instead of trading 10 securities, we have only been focusing on one single currency pair recently. One crucial thing that needs to be noted is the following: not always will the one specific currency pair of your choice provide you with clear swing opportunities as the example of EUR/GBP portrayed on the graph. Periods of long and dull consolidations, indecisions, and some other moments will take place and make a derivative unlikeable and less efficient to trade for a period of time. Therefore, always have one or two other trades on the radar to eventually monitor and analyse along with the currency pair of your preference. Love will save the world. Investroy.
Education
by Investroy
72
From A to D:How to Use the ABCD Pattern to Forecast Market MovesAre you familiar with the ABCD trading pattern? In this article, I will provide a comprehensive explanation of the ABCD trading pattern, including its characteristics, how to identify it, and how to use it in trading. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the information provided in this article. The ABCD ( AB=CD ) pattern , It's a harmonic pattern that is easily recognizable on a price chart and is composed of four points. This pattern follows a specific sequence of market movements that traders can use to predict potential price swings in the future. The ABCD pattern can be applied in various market conditions, including both bullish and bearish markets, and can be used to speculate on the movement of different forex pairs by simultaneously selling one currency and buying another. However, it's important to keep in mind that the ABCD pattern should not be the sole basis for making trading decisions. It should be used as a tool to inform your decisions. The first step in opening a position using the ABCD pattern is to identify the pattern on a price chart. Multiday charts can provide insight into the behavior of forex markets over an extended period. You can use daily, hourly, or minute-by-minute charts to spot the pattern, but it's crucial to choose a time horizon that aligns with your goals. For instance, traders looking to hold positions for days or weeks may prefer daily charts instead of minute charts. Once you have selected the appropriate chart type, you can search for the ABCD pattern to identify bullish or bearish signals. Let's now take a closer look at how the AB=CD pattern forms and how to spot it: When identifying the ABCD pattern, traders focus on the legs or moves between points. The moves in the direction of the overall trend are denoted as AB and CD, while BC represents the retracement. Once you think you have identified an ABCD pattern on a price chart, the next step is to use Fibonacci ratios to validate it. This process can also help you pinpoint where the pattern may complete and where to consider opening your position. The "classic" ABCD pattern follows a specific sequence of market movements, with the following rules: In a "classic" ABCD pattern, the BC line should ideally be 61.8% or 78.6% of AB. To determine this, traders often use the Fibonacci retracement tool on the initial move from point A to point B. The BC line should end at either the 61.8% or 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level of AB. This helps confirm the validity of the ABCD pattern and gives an idea of where to potentially open a position. Once the BC leg of the pattern is complete, traders would typically look for the CD leg to reach the 127.2% or 161.8% extension of the BC leg. At this point, traders might consider entering a sell position if the pattern is bearish or a buy position if the pattern is bullish. The ABCD pattern extension occurs when the CD leg extends beyond the typical 127.2% and reaches 161.8%. This indicates that the price trend may continue in the same direction for a longer period, providing a potentially profitable trading opportunity for traders who have correctly identified the pattern. It's important to note that this extension is not always reliable and should be used in conjunction with other technical analysis tools to confirm the validity of the trade. Note: In strongly trending markets, the retracement (BC) may not reach the usual 61.8% or 78.6% of AB, but only 38.2% or 50%. It's important to adapt to market conditions and adjust your analysis accordingly. Moreover: During the move from A to B, the market should not exceed either A or B. During the move from B to C, the market should not exceed either B or C. During the move from C to D, the market should not exceed either C or D. For a bullish ABCD, point C must be lower than A, and D must be lower than B. For a bearish ABCD, point C must be higher than A, and D must be higher than B. To identify an ABCD pattern on your TradingView trading chart, follow these six steps: 1 ) Log in to your TradingView trading account and open a market chart. 2 ) Locate the AB line. Remember that this move should be completely contained within points A and B. 3 ) Locate the BC retracement. This should reach either the 61.8% or 78.6% level of the move from A to B. 4 ) Draw the CD line. Using the AB and BC lines, you should be able to predict where point D will fall. CD will generally be equivalent to AB and either 127.8% or 161.8% of BC in both price and time. 5 ) Keep an eye out for price gaps and wide-ranging bars in the CD leg. These can indicate that an extension is forming, implying that CD may be longer than AB. 6 ) Trade the possible retracement at point D. If you've identified a bearish ABCD pattern, consider opening a sell position. On the other hand, if you've found a bullish one, consider buying. And here are a couple of examples: I hope you found this guide on identifying the ABCD pattern useful. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, and don't forget to like and follow me if you found this guide helpful.
FX_IDC:XAUUSDEducation
by FOREXN1
44