Discipline

What makes forex trading so hard????????? Is it Fibonacci, MACD, Elliott Wave, EMAs, Stochastic, or a host of other indicators???????

No, if it is not that, what is it? As traders we watch every webinar, read every available trading book, go to every seminar and attend expensive classes. We know all of the rules, so why is it that so many of us fail as traders?

I think the number one reason we fail as traders is lack of discipline.

If you are like me; you want price to hurry up and get there, so you can put in your trade.....Sound familiar?????

The market is always slower or faster than you want. Sometimes you wait for hours for the right set-up, get a phone call or go make a sandwich and by the time you get back to your screen your big move is all over. Then you know you will have to wait for a while before the next good set-up comes along.



I remember one day, I'd waited about two hours for price to hit the morning's resistance and I got distracted somehow. When I got back to the computer, I had missed my much anticipated scalping opportunity. You may as well have put me in a straight jacket. I was so angry I could have chewed nails. I was to upset to trade the rest of the day, so I was out.

As a person who was born Type A, I still struggle with waiting, so I had to make some changes in my overall approach to my trading and I want to share somethings that I hope will help you.

#1. Write it down. Always come to your platform with a written plan. You are a business professional in a very competitive market, so it behooves you to have a game plan. Your completion is ready. This is not flag football; it is full frontal tackle. Suit up and be ready to play!

#2. Follow your game plan!!!!!!! It helps to tame some of those nail biting emotions that you are likely to encounter when the market begin to fluctuate.

#3. Stay out of the market, unless you have identified a clear trend. SOMETIMES THERE IS NO TRADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



This one is connected to the same thought as in #2, but it is important enough for a line of it's own: RETRACEMENTS WILL GIVE YOU THE ILLUSION THAT YOU HAVE MISSED OUT, OR THAT YOU ARE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRADE. Having a clear game plan will help you not to panic so when you see price hiccups and retraces. Every price hiccup is not a loss. Remember that price never moves straight up or down. It bounces all day long, that is why you have to identify the major trend. You can read more about that at my blog:
http://tradersbud.blogspot.com/2009/09/trend-lines.html.

#4. Don't try to trade distracted! Come to your platform with a clear head, if you do not, you will leave with your butt thoroughly handed to you.

Here a a few tidbits that I hope will help even further.

Identify the longer term trend, and then use a shorter time frame for a good entry in the direction of the trend. This may take some time, but in order to enjoy success as a trader, it is essential that you learn to wait. You don't have to sit in front of your screen all day, but you do have to wait for a good set up. If you trade longer term charts four hours or more, this is easier, because you can come and go checking the chart at intervals.

Find your support and resistance levels. Many times I just used my high and low from the previous day, or week or month depending on my trading and profit objective. You may want to use pivot points, and you should be able to get those from your broker on your trading platform.

You want to buy around your previous support level, with a proper confirmation, and sell around your previous resistance level with a proper confirmation. If you don't get a confirmation, DO NOT BUY/SELL!!!! You want to trade when the odds are mostly in your favor!!!!!!!!!!

Know your reversal signals!!!! Know your reversal signals!!! Know your reversal signals!!!!

If you use an MA it often time will confirm a change of a trend. This tool confirms best in a trending market

After a loss take a break. Revenge trading often kills new traders. If you take a loss, especially a big one, your confidence has been shaken. Step away, CLEAR YOUR HEAD, review your game plan, refine it if you need to. After you have worked through your emotions, come back fresh and ready to trade. The emotional train-wreck of a big loss, compromises you and you can not see things as clearly or objectively.

Stay out of consolidation/deliberation (when price is in a tight trading range) on a short term time frame. There is a time for the market to rest, you need to rest with it. You are not a fortune teller, you are a trader, allow the market to show you which direction it is going to move in.

Oh this is a biggie. LETTING YOUR WINNING TRADES RUN AND CUTTING YOUR LOSSES SHORT. If you have had trades that started out as winners and ended up as losers , it can chips away at your confidence, often causing you to close your winning trades as soon as they come into profit. On the other hand you will allow your losing trades to run wild, hoping, waiting and praying for a reversal, instead of cutting the legs off of that diseased monster.

Staying in losing trades for extended periods of time cost you not only potential capital, but it also keeps you from entering other profitable trades.

A properly placed SL (stop loss) is your Friend and will help you save your capital. There are traders who trade without SLs. I would advise you to use SLs on your practice accounts often so that you get comfortable with them. There will be times that you will miss it, there is no need to punish yourself by going broke. You missed it, suck it up and move on.

If you were a trader who once lost money to the market, you can change to become an informed profitable trader. You are no longer that scared trader who was always losing and it is time to develop and approach the market with a whole new confidence!

If your confidence has been shaken, use your practice account a lot. Look for trade set-ups on the short and long side of the trade and rebuild your confidence. When you start trading your live account again, then start off small with smaller margins.

Lastly, LEARN TO WAIT FOR PROPER SET-UPS AND NEVER STOP LEARNING!!!!!!! Patience and knowledge will be your best friends in the market!!!!

Happy trading My Friends!!



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This blog is not in anyway an enticement or solicitation to trade in the Forex Market. These tips are for informational purposes only and are not to be substituted for legal advice or council. I have written this blog in hopes that it will help you to avoid some of the terrifying pitfalls I had in the Forex Market before I learned better.


Risk Disclosure: Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to invest in foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you need for living expenses and cannot afford to lose.