Entries from May 2009 ↓

A new summary pdf file has been posted that provides a summary of all the Top Dog Trading Courses

You can find it here:

Top Dog Trading Review

Technical analysis of the stock market, or any other market such as Forex, Bonds, Futures, is how most traders and investors make their trading decisions. This is as opposed to fundamental analysis which most people more agree is pretty much done as a way of making trading decisions, unless of course you are Warren Buffet!.

You only have to think back to major stock market scams like Enron to know that it is almost impossible for the average, and even very sophisticated fund manager or hedge fund trader to really know what the real financial state of a company is.

Just by reading the balance sheet and other quarterly reports they release gives you a very limited insight into the real health of the company. Whereas the technical charts of the company tend to give the real picture of what the market thinks of the value of the company. In the case of Enron even simple technical analysis told you to SELL when the stock was in the $80-90 range, this is why technical analysis of stocks is so popular.

So what is the secret to technical analysis?, I’m about to tell you, here are my golden rules:

* Only use 3-5 simple technical analysis indicators

* Make sure that you understand how the indicators that you have selected work, what the parameter settings are and in what market conditions they are effective

* After selecting your indicators and parameter settings don’t mess with them.

The real secret to technical analysis is to get VERY familiar with your choosen indicators, and really this can only be done by watching and studying the market, so that you get to the point that you TRUST them.

The fact is that in any market, for each bar, there are only 5 pieces of information, the open, close, high, low and volume, yet there are now hundreds of indicators. Most of these indicators are displaying much the same information and so are redundant.

For the record my set of indicators are:

* 4 Simple Moving Averages

* Bollinger Bands

* MACD

* Stochastics

But the way I use them is quite special, to learn more about how to become an expert at technical analysis visit:

Top Dog Trading Review

The most successful floor traders are those that have the most experiance, this is no coincidence at all and should be a pointer for those who aspire to become a good trader. Day trading can be likened to being a sportsman, such as a golf pro or tennis champion, you need to be trained and in good physical shape. Skills are needed which must be developed over time and practiced until they become 2nd nature. If you want to learn how to day trade you must be prepared to put in the effort. Here are some of the key skills that you must develop as a trader.

1. Technical analysis can be used for futures as well as the more standard stocks, options and bonds that most people trade. This can give you a large edge over other traders who have not taken the time to study the charts support and resistance areas, trendline and patterns. Learning technical analysis is really a must do if you want to trade futures successfully.

2. This is a very simple point but is very important, always have your trading plan prepared before you enter a trade, never try and create it on the fly, you will be much too emotional. Make sure that you have an entry and exit point in your plan.

3. Keep your losses small!, this is the one thing that every trader must do if they want to stay in the game for a long time. By doing this you will preserve your capital allowing you to trade another day. Your small gains will compensate your small losses allowing your big wins to give you an overall profit

4. Over trading is a big mistake that a lot of amateurs make. Professionals tend to be more patient and wait for the better opportunities to come along, this is called cherry picking and takes both patience and discipline. These are essential skills that you must develop.

5. This is a big day trading tip, it is important that you track all your trades and review them to see where you are making the mistakes. This is hard work, but this is what separates the professionals from the amateurs. Unless you do this you will keep on making the same mistakes. The best way to do this is to keep both a daily and weekly log.

6. Only trade when you are both physically and mentally prepared. This is often overlooked but is very important. Do you think a golf star can win a game when they are tired and mentally not focused?, it’s unlikely. Being prepared means getting a good nights sleep, having your trading station and charts well prepared before the market opens, taking the time each day to review your trading plan and rules. Finally you must have the mental frame of mind and confidence that you are going to be successful today in your trading.

7. If you are new to trading futures take the time to paper trade until you are very confident that you are going to make money. You will know when you are ready because you will start to hate paper trading knowing that you could be making real cash profits on a consistent basis.

Remember that the markets only trend for about 20-35% of the time, the rest is either sideways or very choppy, if you want to do trend trading to win you must be fully prepared when the opportunities arise.

After reading a good number of articles from a lot of very successful traders there is one common thread that runs through all of them on the subject of success, and what it takes to achieve it in trading.

Most agree that the most difficult aspect of trading is the psychology of trading and not the technical analysis part which is what most people tend to focus on.

Here are some ponters that should help you to develop a healthy trading mindset:

• Try to focus on the things that are going right in your trading, don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the mistakes that you have made, rather think about all the positive aspects of your trading. But don’t dismiss the mistakes either without working out what went wrong
• Always review your trades, the good and bad ones, in detail, if possible keep chart records and write on them your thoughts about why you did what you did
• Have clear goals defined, weekly and monthly, daily is usually not a good idea, make sure that your goals tie in with your money management rules
• Make sure that you have a well defined trading plan
• Always remember that trading is a probability game and as long as you have a sound trading strategy, money and risk management in place you should do well
• You must have the belief that you will be a successful trader, this will help you stick to your trading plan

If you still do not have a sound trading strategy stop trading until you do, check out this stock trading course, it’s highly receommended.