What really moves markets?
In the face of recent historic moves in stocks, crude oil, bonds, and many currencies, it is a good idea to step back and think about a fundamental question: what…
Hello, regret, my old friend…
Trading can be emotional. The market often has volatile moves and it seems new highs or the end of the world are just around the corner. In this environment, it’s…
Markets stress… trader stress
Here’s a bit of a stream of consciousness post in response to today’s (5/13) market movements. First, these types of moves are often called ‘risk off’ moves because we see…
How to be more creative
Creativity is, for me, right at the heart of our growth as humans. In this post, I’ll share some ideas for connecting with your own creativity and bringing the power…
The law of small numbers: a mistake you’re probably making
One of the very positive advances over the past decade is the amount of attention focused on cognitive biases. We are, through the work of some gifted authors and speakers,…
The power of habit and momentum
So, it's January 14th and I'm writing my first blog of the year. There's an important lesson here: habit, momentum, and daily rhythm are important. I have come to believe…
Reader question: is anyone worried?
In a Facebook discussion group I run, Dan asked if anyone was worried about the market. In this own words: I know you guys are robots who play the tape,…
Revisiting streaks
In a previous post, I gave a look at my published swing trade record, with a title on the post of Trading is Hard! Let's revisit that concept, almost exactly…
Trading is Hard
Trading is ugly. Many of us, when we first get into the business, have the idea that the market will eventually be an ATM machine—you can sit down at the…
Stop Making Impulse Trades: 5 Ways to Make Your Trading Better Today
Many traders struggle with making impulsive trades. For some reason, we can create the best and most carefully crafted trading plan, review the patterns we intend to trade, and resolve…
Use your failure
I’ve been thinking a lot about failure recently, and I wanted to share a few of those thoughts with you today. It’s a little glib to simply say “failure isn’t…
Are you out of sync with the market? Here’s what you can do about it…
I’ve had many discussions with traders in the last week in which I see a common theme: many people are very frustrated with this market. Many people feel very much…
Thinking about Thinking: Probability and Psychology in the Markets
This is a followup to my recent blog post on strings of losses in trading systems. I ended that blog with a promise to consider how the probabilities affected our…
What happens when you achieve your goals?
It's good to be focused on goals. Goals tell us where we want to be, and help us best use our time, energies, and talents to get there. If we…
Handling strings of losses
I got a good question in my inbox yesterday from a reader, Dave: Last month I made almost 2% (which is great), but this month I've already lost 5% (which…
These things will happen to you
Trading is great—you’ll have no boss, can work whenever you want, and make boatloads of money! (Or so the email I got from a MLM forex scammer this morning tells…