Technical Analysis is not an exact science, but rather an art form. Before going into some details, I would like to give novice traders and the ones just beginning with Technical analysis some advice. I leave it to you to judge the points I made below, but trust me I have accumulated those by mostly experiencing it over the course of some twenty odd years. One thing is sure, no matter what you read about trading, you will best learn it through your own experiences, mostly by losing and making mistakes over the course of many years. Therefore, if you are interested in reading further, I would suggest that you just keep at least one or two of those advices in mind for your future trades.
My humble advices:
1- When you trade commodities, forex or stocks always do your homework both in fundamental and technical analysis. At the end of the day it is your money that you will make or lose. Better to do your homework than not, before taking an adventure. Do not forget, it will work for you, if you are well equipped and have the right ammunition than not.
2-Always see the larger picture. Do not get lost looking at the leaves but try to see the forest. In technical analysis this would mean that you have to study multiple time frames. Here in this forum, I see many people just taking one popular tool such as Gartley pattern, Butterfly, shark etc., applying it on a time frame and hoping that it will work for them. These pattern may work only, if they are drawn at proper market points. You can simply not expect drawing these patterns at random and expect the magic to happen. Otherwise it is basically just tossing a coin, with 50/50 probability of win/loss at the best.
3-One of the most important things in trading, I have discovered is to be flexible. What does that mean? Do not fight the markets, always respect them. As the famous martial arts expert and movie star Bruce Lee once said “Be the water my friend. Take the shape of the bottle or glass”. Markets may change direction abruptly, even sometimes without warning. You have to be aware and alert with your market positions. Do not insist that you are 100% right or sure of your position and the market will eventually come back to what you had for it in your mind. Do not fight it with your ego. Accept that the market has moved against you and you better be fast to take action, otherwise it may hurt you. Do not forget, that the markets are always right and you may be right only once in a while. If you detect a sudden change, a “thrust” against your position, be fast to cover. One of the best ways to protect yourself is to place stops. Intelligent stops are your friend.
Continued in Part II
My humble advices:
1- When you trade commodities, forex or stocks always do your homework both in fundamental and technical analysis. At the end of the day it is your money that you will make or lose. Better to do your homework than not, before taking an adventure. Do not forget, it will work for you, if you are well equipped and have the right ammunition than not.
2-Always see the larger picture. Do not get lost looking at the leaves but try to see the forest. In technical analysis this would mean that you have to study multiple time frames. Here in this forum, I see many people just taking one popular tool such as Gartley pattern, Butterfly, shark etc., applying it on a time frame and hoping that it will work for them. These pattern may work only, if they are drawn at proper market points. You can simply not expect drawing these patterns at random and expect the magic to happen. Otherwise it is basically just tossing a coin, with 50/50 probability of win/loss at the best.
3-One of the most important things in trading, I have discovered is to be flexible. What does that mean? Do not fight the markets, always respect them. As the famous martial arts expert and movie star Bruce Lee once said “Be the water my friend. Take the shape of the bottle or glass”. Markets may change direction abruptly, even sometimes without warning. You have to be aware and alert with your market positions. Do not insist that you are 100% right or sure of your position and the market will eventually come back to what you had for it in your mind. Do not fight it with your ego. Accept that the market has moved against you and you better be fast to take action, otherwise it may hurt you. Do not forget, that the markets are always right and you may be right only once in a while. If you detect a sudden change, a “thrust” against your position, be fast to cover. One of the best ways to protect yourself is to place stops. Intelligent stops are your friend.
Continued in Part II
