How to beat money ‘mind-bends’

How to beat money ‘mind-bends’

There is much to be said for trading with real money. Even ‘small money.’ It’s a completely different world to demo trading because of the mental aspects of assuming risk. But expose yourself in a SMALL way to begin with. Especially since it’s so easy to...
What makes winning traders flee?

What makes winning traders flee?

There’s talk of a looming ‘Great Depression.’ So who can blame people for turning to trading in order to maintain their financial goals? One thing concerns me though. Two things actually… 1) New traders coming to the markets with their...
The secret to trading waves

The secret to trading waves

I had similar conversations with two different people recently… About trends. Or, more specifically: a) How do you know which ‘segment’ of a big overall trend to measure and work with? And: b) How far back in time should you go when measuring trends and drawing...

The art of charts

The artist scrutinises his almost-complete masterpiece… Holding hand to chin and with narrowed eyes he steps away from the easel. He gives his canvas a good check-over from a few paces back. He steps to the left and dips his head for an alternative view that...
How to escape the Trader’s ‘cycle-trap’

How to escape the Trader’s ‘cycle-trap’

Our lives are ruled by cycles. The annual cycle of the Earth circling around the Sun… The cycle of the Moon… The monthly cycle of your salary landing in your bank – hooray! And then watching it go whizzing out again as the cycle of direct debits and...
Why I’ll never trust trading bots

Why I’ll never trust trading bots

A question arrives from a TN reader: ‘Aren’t you contradicting yourself when you’re dissing off the peg “forex systems” at the very same time you’re promoting the use of them?’ It’s a fair point and one that probably...
The ‘Hound of Hounslow’ is back

The ‘Hound of Hounslow’ is back

Remember Nav Sarao… The otherwise unassuming 36 year old trader operating from his parent’s house in the London suburbs who was scooped up and arrested back in 2015? They blamed him for single-handedly causing the 2010 ‘flash crash’ in the US...
Trading by mail?

Trading by mail?

Did you know Liverpool had one of the first futures exchanges in the world? You probably knew that import and export was a big part of the city’s success in the nineteenth century. And yes, sadly, the slave trade played a big part too. But I had no idea of the history...
7 steps to winning the internal game of trading

7 steps to winning the internal game of trading

I was flicking through an old trading journal of mine the other day. It’s a bit tattered around the edges but those pages contain absolute pearls of wisdom. Now don’t worry, I’m not blowing my own trumpet here. These notes were from when I was still...
How to get faster results from your trades

How to get faster results from your trades

An email arrives from a particularly peeved trader. Two sentences he wrote say it all… (1)’ It’s almost magical the way I can see several promising trades but choose only to trade the two that stop me out, while the others usually go on to...
How to kill a trading account in 5 easy steps

How to kill a trading account in 5 easy steps

Autumn 2006. It was a Friday. Rumours were flying… there were big stop orders sitting 32 ticks below the current T-Bond price and the big players were going to go after them. All I had to do was jump in and get involved too. It made sense on the chart and I...
‘Spreadsheet Millions’ method proven to fail

‘Spreadsheet Millions’ method proven to fail

Have you ever done the infamous ‘Spreadsheet Millionaire’ exercise? It’s where you layout a foolproof master plan that proves just how quickly you’re going to trade your way to a million. All by averaging ‘just’ a 2% daily return. Because how hard can it be?...
How to follow market action in ‘High Definition’

How to follow market action in ‘High Definition’

You might run candlesticks as your day-to-day default chart, but when you’re doing your bigger-picture analysis you might look at line charts and bar charts too. They can all help bring additional bits and pieces to your attention: patterns or price features you...
5 reckless ways to ruin your trades

5 reckless ways to ruin your trades

Ever feel you’re not quite in control of your trading actions? Do greed and fear drive your decisions rather than a proven trading plan? Let me tell you exactly what signs to look for. And then I’ll tell you what to do about it. 5 ways reckless ways to ruin your...
How to beat FOMO

How to beat FOMO

A question arrives from Jin: “I have no problem identifying high probability trades and opening them. My problem is FOMO* on a big runner. So I end up getting stopped out at evens or a small loss after giving 20,30,40 points or so back. Even when I recognise I...
Getting into the swing (Marc Rivalland-style)

Getting into the swing (Marc Rivalland-style)

Welcome to the Traders Nest book club! If you missed last week’s email we’re working through a batch of trading books I’ve been asked to review. We put the titles out to vote and Swing Trading by Marc Rivalland won by a nose. So this is the first one...
How to get back into your groove after lockdown

How to get back into your groove after lockdown

Here’s what to do when coming back to trading after a break… The same principles apply whether it’s an extended weekend, or an enforced ‘trading vacation,’ like you may have had if you’ve been avoiding recent market volatility. The thing...
Which one’s safest – Forex or Shares?

Which one’s safest – Forex or Shares?

It’s everywhere at the moment. Some traders play it safe and wait on the sidelines. Others are convinced choppy markets are where their treasure lies. So let’s play devil’s advocate… let’s say you’re about step out and seek your fortune...
Medieval market manipulation

Medieval market manipulation

A while ago I watched a film about a crazy horse race in Italy… It was recorded in Italian with English subtitles but it had me hooked from start to finish (and since I speak barely a word of Italian beyond ciao this was quite something!). Twice a year, in...
What to do when chaos reigns

What to do when chaos reigns

I’m sure I don’t need to ask, but… Holy smokes! Did you see the market carnage on Monday? Crude Oil down 30% at one point… S&P Futures hitting the ‘circuit breaker’ and trading halted… interesting times indeed. Now when we...
5 ways to trade well from home

5 ways to trade well from home

I’m taking us right back to basics this week. If you’ve been bitten by the trading bug and are getting ready to move things up a gear, let me give you some words of experience that’ll help. These are five of my top tips that will help you to trade...