I received the following email from a trader struggling with trading for a living. Ho John, If possible I would like you ask you for a few questions. I’m sitting on futures USD/GBP. Trying to trade for living. The main problem now is that I have again big drawdown during that week. The same I had during first week of March contract. All the week I had very bad results, which caused me to think that my strategy is not working. Well I took 1 month to re-shape strategy and make it better. Then I’ve returned to trading...

The question of whether someone really should not be a trader is one that’s not often brought up in discussions between market participants. It’s almost as if the baseline assumption is that the sole criteria is that you want to trade. While I’m a believer in the view that just about anyone can learn, there are limits to that. Ignoring the obviously physical and mental disabilities, here are the ones I think are most important. Lack of Impulse Control If you cannot keep yourself from acting on impulse –...

I am doing a free webinar this evening on the subject of calendar trading patterns in the forex market. It’s based on my research in that area. Feel free to take part. You can get the specifics at: www.TraderIntensive.com I really should have posted this earlier. Sorry if it’s just too late notice. I’m not sure whether it will be recorded or not as I’m not running the show. Hopefully it will for those who cannot attend. Struggling with support & resistance and knowing what the key market levels are?...

I get and have frequently seen on trading discussion sites the question “How much do I need to trade for a living?”, or some variation thereof. Brett Steenbarger recently posted on the subject. His post addresses a couple of key points that I have also commented on in this blog previously (see Trading for a Living vs Trading for Wealth Building, among others). One of the major points Brett and I both make is how you need to do the math and figure out what kind of returns you will have to make to reach your objectives....

I have been reading books on Elliott wave principle and trying to figure out how to apply what i learn onto the graphs. I am completely unsure about where to start the wave 1. I am pretty sure that i am missing something super basic here. So if you can help, that would be appreciated. This question came in from a member of my mailing list the other day. Alas, I cannot help much in this case. While I have a basic working knowledge of Elliott Wave it is not something I use. Some people I know favor it and seem to do quite well...

I’m back in to the swing of things once more after my trip to Los Angeles (Pasadena, actually) for the Traders Expo.  It was an interesting experience. As usual, the cross-country travel wasn’t much fun, and June Gloom kept the weather from being as nice as one might expect, but the expo itself proved and interesting experience. I got to meet several folks I had previously only spoken and/or corresponded with previously, and met a few new folks as well. Presentations I actually took part in three seperate presentations....

It’s hard to believe June is here already. Tomorrow I will be heading out to Los Angeles for the Traders Expo. If you’re going to be there, definitely look for me. I’ll be doing presentations on Friday and Saturday. But enough looking forward! Time to look back, at the top posts from May, as determined by page views, comments, and stuff like that. What are your favorite trading websites? New NFA Rule Impacts More Than Just Forex Hedging Trading Discipline and Playing to Your Strengths No Evidence of Stop...