In trading there is a factor known to many as the ‘R’ factor or risk factor. Traders determine their average or base risk per trade they’re willing to take and name it ‘R’, and then measure profits as a multiple of this ‘R’. For example, a 3R profitable trade means the trader has made 3 times the amount they risked. The idea is to determine the ‘R’ factor early on in the trading system building stage and keep it consistent, whether it is a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of available capital.

The benefits of using an ‘R’ factor include measurability, especially during back testing, which helps to determine a systems potential, and being able to track your trades from a systematic point of view rather than a monetary point of view. However it is the monetary point of view that I would like to address as I feel there could be another angle or point of view that could aid struggling traders, especially those that find themselves cutting winning trades short (breaking their systems rules).

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Tony began trading in 2005, after deciding he wanted to invest $20,000 into the Australian stock market. His goal was to select a handful of stocks that would hopefully appreciate enough over a 6 month period to outperform the rate he was receiving through his savings account.

Once 6 months was up, he’d re-assess his holdings and set a new goal. It was a simple goal really, but a goal that he found so hard to keeping with early on that his attempts to reach it almost cost him his pride and dignity.

Selecting the stocks was not the hard part; no, what caused Tony problems was his inability to stop watching the day to day fluctuations of his stocks. He felt compelled to check almost hourly the price of each of his 6 stocks, whilst trying to run another business.

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The Dimensions of a Successful Trading Entity

Many considerations go into creating and running a successful trading entity. We’ll look at the most popular which get the most attention, right through to the most important, which usually get the least attention.

Here is the list:

1. Entry signals
2. Risk management
3. Exit signals

4. Reliability
5. Reward to Risk
6. Opportunity
7. Capital management

8. Objectives
9. Familiarity with Markets
10. Resources
11. Mindset
12. Style
13. Management

Most, and by most I mean probably close to 80-90% look at number 1 and that is it! That is a startling reality, but a reality nonetheless. But there is a reason this happens. Most new traders are unaware that such a large number of traders ultimately fail in this business, and more importantly, this fact is well known by the very people who market trading in this way.

But enough of that, let’s look at some serious considerations you should make and the order in which you need to do it.

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The index futures trader…

I received an interesting email recently from a 11+ year experienced index futures trader who wanted to know if a particular program would enable him to take his trading to the next level.

At first I wasn’t sure which program he was referring to and also at what level he was trying to get to, let alone which level he was currently at.

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…But Why?

You may have heard the statement before; the biggest battles traders will face are within. If there was an explanation as to what these sorts of battles are it’s more than likely along the lines of overcoming bad habits, emotional issues, biases, beliefs and so on. But why are these so important to master, and why is it so hard to do so?

I’ll address why it is so important first, as a lot of traders believe that trading should not be so difficult in that if one set of rules works for trader ‘A’, they should work for trader ‘B’.

When a math teacher is attempting to teach a class the 12 times table, some students get it straight away, some take a bit of time, and some can’t grasp it at all. Now let’s just assume that it is important for children to learn the 12 times table, if some are grasping it straight away and some are not, then is it the method being used to teach it the reason some can’t grasp it? Well yes and no.

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..And Where You Fit In

We as humans have the ability to evolve intellectually and have done so at a rapid rate, but when it comes to emotions we have been unable to change in thousands of years. The saying “This time it will be different” is coming from the perspective of an intellectually evolved civilization, one that is somewhat aware of history, but emotionally has not changed at all to prevent it from repeating.

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Which one are you?

Some traders will go through system after system, teacher after teacher, wasting thousands of dollars not only in useless systems but in lost trades before they realize they’ve been approaching the markets from the wrong standpoint because they’ve been trying to trade the wrong type of system.

The two types of traders are the mechanical type trader and the discretionary type trader. Therefore, there are two types of trading systems, a mechanical system and a discretionary system. The difference between the two is quite large not only in the way the market and possible trades are analyzed but in the psychological make-up of the trader themselves.

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I have spent an awful lot of my personal time putting together a 69 minute video for traders that I believe will open the door to understanding how to trade successfully.

This video is a trading system I call the 4 T’s trading system, and in this video you’ll learn the trading system itself, the rules and how to trade it. It will also show you I apply leverage to it, but more importantly how to use leverage with the trading system to achieve a goal or objective.

However it doesn’t end there. By the time you have watched this movie, I believe you will be able to take any trading system, not just the 4 T’s system and use it to achieve your goals. If you already have what you believe is a work-able system but are unable to make it work, this may answer your problems.

If you do have any questions after watching the video I urge you to send them to me, via the question form link which you’ll also find on my blog. I plan on answering any questions regularly so do send them along.

It is quite long, so make yourself a cuppa and enjoy
http://financialmarketfisherman.com

To your success
Dean Whittingham

Your Exit Strategy Should Be A Function Of You and Your Trading Needs

In my last post I spoke about getting back to the basics of trading when you find yourself struggling. I also mentioned that it was not the complete picture and that an exit strategy is more a function of the trader themselves. In this post I explain why.

There are many ways to formulate an exit strategy. Other than an initial stop loss, which is there to get you out of a bad trade, exit strategies are used to achieve a goal. A lot of traders don’t understand this concept and therefore pay little attention to it, spending more of their time worrying about entries.

Those that do consider the exit strategy important may still place more importance on finding the exit strategy that proves to be the most rewarding when back-testing. Although this is important it is only half the picture. An exit strategy also needs to support you the trader and help you achieve your goals.

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1. Is there someone out there in the market trying to drive me broke? 2. Realistically, I think the question I would like to have answered is how the single largest volume trader of any instrument makes their bets on. TA or Fundamentals? I’d cry if it was Fundamentals since I’m a technician.

I here this question a lot; are the large players in the market fishing out the small guy, and maybe yes it does happen but this shouldn’t deter you or intimidate you either. The markets are still markets and that will never change. What one must remember is that if you enter a trade long and place a stop loss at a certain point you have done two things. You have told the market you feel this instrument is undervalued and will appreciate, and you have also told the market the price at which you are willing to sell your holding.

I feel this is where a lot of people get stop losses confused. If I purchase a house and then decide to sell it, I’m not placing a stop loss, but I am telling the market that at this price, I am willing to sell my house. A stop loss is no different. You are telling the market that at this price you are willing to sell and so if a buyer comes along who is willing to buy at the same price then so be it. All the broker is doing is fulfilling both of your wishes.

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