It's the first thing ask when I review a trader's trades. Why did you enter the trade? It's a simple question that only takes one sentence. Something like, "the market is in an uptrend and the stock made a breakout-pullback setup that offers 3:1 risk-reward." This is not the type of answer most people give... Continue Reading →

Trading is mental warfare. It's not necessary a mental game with an adversary. Rather, it's war with one's self. If you have any doubt about this, speak with any trader about their trades for 15 minutes. You'll immediately sense the agony they feel over some of their trades. In this way, trading has a lot... Continue Reading →

Whether you like it or not, politics puts you on a team.  You are likely to put the team first and therefore think with the team.  You become a part of your team's groupthink, which is a space no trader willingly enters. Even if your logical brain tells you what is true, your emotional brain... Continue Reading →

Here are seven trading sins that are hurting you: FOMO. You enter trades you shouldn't, because you fear being apart from the group. This usually doesn't end well because you enter at the worst time. Loss aversion. It's fear of taking losses, otherwise knows as loss aversion. This manifests itself in two ways. Either you... Continue Reading →

Before you ever hit the button to execute a trade, answer this checklist of questions to make sure you really want to take the trade: What is the setup? Are the parameters of the setup are met? Are you getting at least 2:1 on your reward-to-risk? Is your stop price in a logical spot? Did... Continue Reading →

We don't know as much as we think we do. Winning traders understand that there are too many variable that can impact a trade to make a 100% accurate prediction. As Confucius famously said, "real knowledge is to know the extend of one's ignorance." Even today, with all the software, years of charts and  years of... Continue Reading →

Yesterday I was asked if I was watching the Big 4 CEOs congressional anti-trust testimony. My answer was an emphatic "no" and that I'd rather stick a fork in my eye. Maybe not literally, but that's how little I care about this kind of stuff. It's mind numbingly boring to watch those brilliant men speak.... Continue Reading →

Everyone loves a captivating story. Stories activate our synapses, allow us to more easily process and store information, and stir our imaginations. It gives us a hook for us to sink ourselves into. Facts alone don't do that kind of power. We remember facts like we do any type of trivia question: interesting at first,... Continue Reading →

If you only know one thing, you will use that one thing instead of searching for the better alternatives. In psychobabble terms, this is known as the "law of the instrument," to which Maslow famously said, "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." He's right. Thor uses his hammer for... Continue Reading →

Here is my curated list of 5 articles, books, movies, shows and videos to help you through the Coronavirus Quarantine. Read these articles The Cost of Seeking Certainty in the Midst of a Pandemic Roger Federer as a Religious Experience 7 Essential Tips for Trading a Bear Market How to Create a Killer Trading Journal... Continue Reading →