I said I would focus on
addressing finding an easy way of doing what’s hard (being
disciplined enough to stay in a trade for greater profit) and that I
would share the occasional chart. Well here we go.

Why is it most traders
can’t stay in a trade beyond the first wave? Entering trades at
break-out points or important technical levels means you are entering
at very high volume times along with many other traders who also see
the potential at the same level.

After a brief move to
profitably, the price action often goes into a period of re-tracement.
As traders see their trades reverse and begin to loose money; fear
based thinking takes hold and as the price moves back towards their
entry level, a mini panic ensues by a portion of the group of traders
and they sell quickly before their gains return to zero. So the price
you enter your trade at is often re-visited on a retrace due to this
phenomenon.

Therefore; for greater profit in ’swing’ and
‘position’ trading, risk should be maintained at its original level,
until a clear swing high/low is established.

In the example
shown here the trader entered the order at the
trend-line break placing his stop at the low. If
the trader moves his stop to break-even on the first profitable move,
the position would be stopped out on the next swing-low.

By
waiting until the next swing low is defined and then moving the stop
to break-even, the trader is now in a profitable trade rather then
just a break-even one.

Now that you have this
knowledge we need to practice it (in a demo account of course).
Please see my posting on the FX Weekly report for more detail about
how to trade the USD/CAD this week.

I knew that would get your attention… That’s what everybody wants right… The Holly grail of trading right? Staying in positions for days or even weeks and gaining 300 to 700 pips in a trade, right?

Well this is possible but very few traders actually want this. It would seem anyway, because I would argue that if this were the case, I (and you) would know a lot more traders that actually stay in positions for a number of days or even weeks. And I know very few. So there is a disconnect between what traders SAY they want and what they DO.

I don’ know the exact statistics but from my experience in coaching and training other traders I would say that learning trading isn’t what’s difficult, but rather learning to remain in the right position at the right time for greater profits is what the real challenge is. Simply knowing this and actually doing it is what separates the really good traders from the rest of the pack.

What is, in my opinion, the biggest single difference between the average trader and the best of traders is in the way they approach their own challenges around the psychological pitfalls we all encounter. And what is the one trait these extraordinary traders have in common? Is it their technical expertise? Their knowledge of economics? Luck? Experience? Here it comes… the part where you say to yourself: “Yeah this guys is going to say it’s discipline and that this is what will make me a better trader‘. BINGO!

What irony. Most of us got into trading because of its promise of providing freedom. And now, you keep being told you need more focus and discipline. This doesn’t sound like freedom does it.

So this is what my focus on this blog will be: Finding an easy way of doing what’s hard. Cause let’s face it folks. We either act… or we are acted upon. So let’s learn to trade smart, not hard. (And I’ll share the occasional technical chart set-up too).