Developing The Heart-Mind Trading Edge

A new week ahead coming into a holiday weekend for some. Plus… Non-Farm Payroll on Friday. Be cautious as always.

Thought for the week:

Trade what you see when you see it…per your system. Trust yourself. If your edge is a good one, no need to be afraid.

Have a great one.

A question:

Why does it seem that traders are more eager to hear about a trading strategy than developing themselves? Maybe subconsciously there is still the belief that there is a Holy Grail Trading System that will “take away” their fears of losing etc. Even if a system that was 100% accurate came along, the “wrong” heart-mindset would mess things up.

Any thoughts traders?

Let the market lead. Just follow.

A trading thought for this week:

One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself. Leonardo da Vinci.

Let this be a week where the determination is made to follow your rules no matter what. If your system is a good one and well-defined, then it should be a great week.

Take charge of it!

The hard part to make trading a little easier.

  1. Don’t Just Buy or Sell a Pair. Must have a vison on the chart where it should be bought or sold.
  2. The time you are trading.
  3. What News could effect the trading the next several hours.
  4. don’t think you need to be in the market 24/7.
    5 Don’t try to outhink the market.
    6.If you have a couple bad days in the market get out and wait a couple days. You will start to overthink and this can kill the average trader.
  5. Thursday late afternoon start to have a plan on how to act on trades that might come up early Fri am you want out of the market Friday before the close for the weekend.
    I run a system called BANK THE PIPS and these are the keys I follow.

Looks like you have a nice set of rules there David. I think the one that stands out for me is “Don’t try to out-think the market.” Can try to creep in when a trader has had a nice string of wins. I’m sure traders here can identify. Successful traders know where their weak spots are and put defenses in place to try to bypass them.

Have a great week next week.

Hello Traders,

Here’s a quote from Richard Dennis (Market Wizards by Jack Schwager):

I always say that you could publish trading rules in the newspaper and no one would follow them. The key is consistency and discipline. Almost anybody can make up a list of rules that are 80% as good as what we taught our people. What they couldn’t do is give them the confidence to stick to those rules even when things are going bad.

Consistency, discipline and confidence. Trading watch words for this week. If you’re already there, keep going.

All the best!

Just a word of encouragement…

Be patient and wait for your setup. Once you see it, and you KNOW you are seeing it, go for it! Have a great week! Don’t let fear in the door.

Hello again traders,

Was in a discussion with another trader (not here at C2), and they were making the point that the Heart-Mind aspect of trading is not very important. Can’t say I agree.

If any of you would like to post a thought…

As you trade this week:

Don’t be a Bull, Don’t be a Bear…Be Aware! Dave Landry.

Remember, “Mr. Market” wears both hats!

Make it a great one! You can do it.

A couple of pointers from Jack Schwager’s book (Pages165/169):from The Silence of the Turtles:

The question was asked;

"How do you pick your trades?"
Answer: I basically use the system…

Michael Carr’s advice:

One nugget of advice that I believe is valuable to anyone trading the markets is: Don’t worry about what the markets are going to do, worry about what you are going to do in response to the markets.

Trade your system. Stay in control. Have a great week!

Some keys to successful trading:

  1. Keep your trading edge sharp. Any tool that is not used regularly tends to get dull.

  2. When the opportunity arises to use it, don’t hesitate. Timing is KEY! If you miss the best time, the next chance may not be for a while, and if impatience sets in, you’ll find yourself clicking at a not-so-good time. End result: you might be setting yourself up to drain your emotional equity that should be spent on a better opportunity…not to mention, a drained emotional account often ends up draining your trading account.

  3. Celebrate with the market! When your set-up/trading opportunity is ready, get on board and ride. When the market says the party is over, say “Thank you” and leave.

Have a greater trading week.

Here are some words of wisdom for this week from Ralph S. Marston, Jr. (The Daily Motivator):

“Whatever your fear, the only way you can overcome it is to meet it head on. Do the thing you fear, and fear will have no control over you.”

Clifford Bennett, in his book Warrior Trader, makes an interesting point is his chapter on Battle Tactics:

In the section subtitled The Eight Steps of Battle he starts the list here:

  1. Your Warrior Style is Your Strength.

    He says…

…find your unique swing–and stick with it. Develop this natural strength, and focus it toward total victory.

Have a victorious trading week!

Thanks Forex for all of your posts. They just reaffirm what I have been learning as a trader over the last 8 years.

I started trading on pure heart and in my opinion got lucky a couple of times and turned a decent profit. As you mentioned above I became overconfident and started making trades just to be in ‘the game’ instead of waiting for the proper setup.

I ended up taking a significant loss on a trade and my confidence was shot. I wasn’t going to suffer that type of loss again, so I went completely technical with my analysis and started looking for signals that indicated dips in stock price. I noticed a pattern and backtested my theory through 5 years of data and found the indicator was quite strong. I then reversed all the indicators and found they were also strong buy signals.

After a year of strict paper trading I put the system to work and had decent results, but they were not as strong as on paper because I couldn’t follow the rules when they were just in my head - I made exceptions and allowances and couldn’t stick to the system. Since then I have a written set of rules in front of me whenever I make a trade and I do not veer from them. My results have been very strong and there is so much less time required to input trade signals since my heart is no longer part of the equation.

Conclusion: Trading edge - MIND.

Hello Ryan,

Following a set of rules is the best way to trade a well-tested trading edge. Of course, that takes the involvement of our mental faculties. The heart side of things definitely needs to be under the direction of the mind, but the “heart-side” also has valid input. It’s just a matter of learning how the two can work together optimally.

I am thrilled to hear of our journey, because that is what it is…a journey in order to become…

All the best!

Some thoughts for this week:

What are your expectations as you put on a trade? How strongly do you believe them?

As the trade progresses:

How are you thinking?

What are you feeling?

Answering these questions honestly can help you begin to troubleshoot some of your heart-mind trading issues.

Have a great week all!

A great week to just trade your system. When you see your entry, click. Don’t worry about trying to control the market by trading what you think the market will do. The market will perform however it intends to. Not to your advantage to be stressed. Just flow…the profits are there.

Have a victorious week!

Hello Traders,

Just wanted to mention that my trading strategy Forex 4 Profit is on The Grid. Started another forum to post updates as it progresses. Strategy details can be found here:

A trading thought this week from Larry Williams (The Right Stock at the Right Time):

The creation of a speculator’s wealth comes from how he manages his money, not some magical, mysterious system or alchemist’s secret. Successful investing makes money; successful investing with proper money management can create immense wealth.

Trade well this week. Enjoy it.

Hello traders,

Haven’t posted in a bit…just stopping by.

July has been a tough month in many ways, but seems as though I am also dealing with some unexpected C2 trading fears. Very glad that my trading system has a built in approach to deal with those emotions whenever they crop up. I have also been able to continue to keep my drawdown low as I process through this.

Feeling like the end of that tunnel is very near. Will continue to press onward and upward. It is all part of the journey…

Take care.