Articles

I was recently asked about stops and different types of market orders. They were good questions and they reiterated to me the fact that I work with people that range from seasoned trading professionals to those testing the futures trading waters for the first time. One thing I always like to point out to the less-experienced traders: There are no "dumb" questions and there is no shame in being inexperienced. Every single futures trader that ever walked the face of the earth has been inexperienced at one point. This section on types of market orders, including stops, may be a "refresher" feature for the more experienced traders, and will likely be a more valuable feature for the traders newer to this fascinating field. Market Order...

"Rather than maniacally trading volatile pairs multiple times in a single day, rule-based discretionary traders are now holding onto open positions longer, relying more on planning and patience rather than fast reflexes." Rule-based discretionary traders are among the best traders on this planet. The trading strategy I want to explain here is a rule-based discretionary system. Every trader will face both winning and losing streaks alternatively, so the key to trading successfully is to make more money during a winning streak than you lose during a losing streak. It's very disturbing that so many traders find it difficult to survive in the markets. The issue is; even if you're disciplined, it'll be difficult for you to survive with a...

Through my years of trading, one thing I have found is that one strategy does not fit all. We all have different risk tolerances and monetary goals. One of my goals in each E-mini Futures class I teach is to show the students a strategy and have them take it home and use it as a foundational starting point for defining their own strategy. My style is to follow the trend and enter on pullbacks. You could call this style Intraday Swing trading. This works for me because it fits my personality, patience and discipline. I understand that trading is a business dealing in probabilities and that it takes a series of trades to make a trader, not just one or two trades. However, with that said, not everybody trades like me. Of course, that is a...

In order to be a successful trader - and not fall into the trap of so many - it is important to take good advice and remember that, sometimes, others do know best! Here are the Top 10 tips for successful trading. Follow them closely (or at least to an extent) and you should stand a good chance of becoming an accomplished spread bettor. ALWAYS stay in control Winners are always in control; both mentally and emotionally. Losers aren't. Losers are sometimes guided by emotions - This will lead to you making bad decisions! 'Plan the trade, trade the plan'. Always stick to the original plan. Deviations will invariably lead to an error. Take responsibility for results Winners are can sometimes lose! But most of the time they win and...

We take a basic look at what Swing Trading is and how to use it in trading. Trading Categories In our opinion, there are three broad categories that can be used to classify all trading methods. These categories are based around the amount of time a speculator holds his or her position in the market. These classifications are described below: Short-term - Traders hold positions from a matter of seconds to several hours but rarely longer than 1 day. Examples: Day Traders: Scalping, momentum breakouts. Medium-term - Once a position is held for longer than one day it can be classified as a medium term or swing trade. Traders hold positions from several days to weeks. Examples: Technical and fundamental swing traders. Long-term - Traders...

Take a look at the nice up-trend on the chart below. There are plenty of reasons to have entered around £10 and sat comfortably in your armchair until some warning signs and an exit around £14, or even higher. A 40% rise and an easy 400 or so points - easy in hindsight that is. We can't trade hindsight, of course, but a simple swing trading technique would have served you well in real time. Good trends like this develop by taking a run forward followed by a few paces back (retracement) followed by another run forward and a few paces back and so on. Simple swing trading seeks to take advantage of trend continuations by identifying those significant retracements in order to provide points of entry and a level of exit for ongoing...