Lessons by Joe Ross

If you call looking at charts "Wasting Your Day", then trading isn't for you. Where else can you POSSIBLY earn a full days salary "LOOKING AT CHARTS"?

Forex is by far the best business in the world when done right, in the right state of mind, and with the right discipline. If not, you're simply throwing money down the drain.

Yes! Seasonal transitions create workable Spread strategies. I'll let my friend Jerry Toepke, an expert in seasonal fundamentals, answer. Jerry! You have the floor:

"Change gives birth to risk - but also creates opportunity. Seasonal transitions create workable spread strategies because markets have to struggle to maintain equilibrium between supply and demand as conditions undergo dynamic change through time.

"The transition from one crop year to the next in any market can sometimes be difficult; but the coexistence of prospects for huge new supply, damage to the crop, and heavy consumption can create extreme tension. Final old-crop inventories can be neither too much nor too little. If old-crop inventories are too great, they can burden new-crop prices throughout the following year. If old-crop inventories are too small, they can aggravate any crop problem amidst the season of heavy consumption. Until harvested, the new crop faces the potential for weather, disease, insect, or damage from a variety of natural or man-made disasters. Therefore, the contract representing new-crop production must balance prospects for both new supply and any sort of disaster.

"Prices tend to decline as supply peaks. But the market has often changed thereafter. When prices are low, stocks begin to decline. By about a month before harvest, the market may begin to build in a premium to offset the risk of something going wrong.

"But does the market prefer old-crop security - or new-crop prospects? Though not often dramatically so, it has tended to adhere to the philosophy of 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.'

"Next, let's look at a seasonal spread trade that has nothing to do with crops or harvest. A good example would be crude oil. Demand rests primarily in two areas of seasonal product consumption - gasoline in summer, and heating oil in winter. In both cases, inventory accumulation precedes peak consumption. In spring, for example, steadily improving driving conditions increases daily consumption even as the industry accumulates supplies for the opening of the summer vacationing and driving season. This combination accelerates demand for gasoline - and therefore for crude oil to refine. Accelerating demand tends to drive prices - and bull spreads.

"Its corresponding dynamic tends to begin in August, during which refiners often shut down temporarily to perform maintenance and to retool facilities. When they return, the industry begins the process of accumulating inventories of heating oil. As refineries gear up to produce at capacity, demand for crude oil accelerates into October - often driving bull spreads."

TradingEducators.com

Where else can you POSSIBLY LOSE a full day's salary "LOOKING AT CHARTS"?
FOREX.

where can you possibly make more money trading forex and not have to spend everyday checking over the charts?
stocks.

Then I'd ask you why you're in a forex forum. Obviously, forex isn't for you.

i'm the local forum troll keeping everyone in check and heads out of their asses.

The winning currency trader must be cold, calculating, and logical. It is absolutely necessary to control your emotions, rather than let them interfere with your trading decisions. While it is true that fear and greed are major factors in market behavior, there are other emotions, such as anger and disappointment, that influence our trading decisions.

Because emotions can interfere with discipline and sound decision-making, it is necessary for traders to take a methodical approach to their trading. By trading a method it is possible to gain an awareness of market behavior, and in that way learn to master and control our emotions.

Many traders become fearful when they perceive that a loss is imminent. When a loss is clearly going to happen, it is useful to close out a trade as soon as possible. But many times, traders tend to follow the crowd. They see other traders selling or buying, and so they sell or buy rather than following a proven set of rules. Scam

The winning currency trader learns to take advantage of fear. He or she learns to stick with what they know works in the long run.

One reason to use a proven method is to somewhat mechanize both fear and greed. It is reasonable to be fearful when your money is on the line. That's why winning traders protect themselves by trading with a detailed trading plan and a known scheme of risk management. Methodical trading allows you to minimize risk, and trade more effortlessly and with less fear, because you have the courage of conviction in knowing that statistically you will win overall.

Many traders have no idea of how to create a trading plan. ScamThat is why Trading Educators offers you a chance to earn while you learn. ScamBy trading a proven method, you see how a plan is created and have the underpinning of successful history to back you up. At some point you will feel sufficiently confident to create your own plan. Let's face it, a method is nothing more than a trading plan with statistics to back up and support its validity.

At Trading Educators we know that emotions are a natural part of trading. As much as traders painstakingly plan their trades, the market doesn't always meet their expectations. The same is true of a trading method. That is why we always provide full details of every method, so that traders, at their discretion, are able to adapt and make changes to a method should they choose to do so. As with any plan or method, it is more than likely that the market will sometimes fail to meet our expectations rather than behave in accordance with our plans. There is no holy grail of trading.Scam If you accept this fact and take precautions to work around it, you'll be able to minimize the influence of emotions. You'll trade more effortlessly, creatively, and profitably.

A reader asks: How do you handle fear? I seem to have plenty of it.

Let's get one thing straight. Fear, for the majority of traders, is a very real thing. You have it, I have it. Others have it as well. What is it that traders fear? The top three, in order, are:

1.Fear of missing a trade.
2.Fear of losing money.
3.Fear of being wrong and losing face.

In order to become a professional trader, you must learn to deal with fear. The first step is to acknowledge that you have it, which is what you have done. Once you admit to fear, you can begin to deal with it.

When you notice the impulse to trade based on strong fear, it is usually best to literally step out of the trap by stepping out of the situation.

You need to get up, walk away from the computer. Turn off the television if it's tuned to a financial station, take a walk, get something to eat, go outside and cut the grass, water the lawn, or do anything that will move you out of the fear/panic mode.

Don't return to your trading desk until you have managed to achieve some emotional control over your fear/panic reaction. If you can't get a grip on your fear, then don't come back that day.

Most likely you will find that even if you keep thinking about the miserable market conditions while you water the lawn, simply getting away from the keyboard and monitor is enough to make a difference. It removes the demand to take action, and gives you the mental space to gain perspective and let go of your impulsive, fear-based reaction.

Hi Joe

Your post motivated me to share my experience.

I’ve only been at this game for 3 years, and for 2 of those 3 I went in circles trying to find an approach to the market that worked for me, or that I could get to work consistently.

Now that I’ve done that, found the tools most suited to me, I find that the other imperative aspect to consistently profitable trading is what I like to call my “headspace”, ie. trading psych.

I’ve read some professionals claim psychology isn’t important in trading. I’ve never understood this. Perhaps those claiming this have, after many years of trading, become so good at what they do, that they’ve forgotten how important trading psych is. Or perhaps their mind is always crystal clear, never getting in their way, so they haven’t had to deal with it.

Regardless, I personally find my headspace, at this point in my trading career, is very important.

Consequently, sitting in front of my PC are the reminders below. Each reminder deals with behaviours and emotions that have tripped me up in the past and can trip me up in the future if I don’t keep them in check. As such they are specific to my habits (as well as my trading approach), and therefore may have little relevance to other traders.


1] RUSHING doesn’t work
slow down, just 1 quality set-up today is enough

2] DISTRACTION doesn’t work
my full attention goes on trading, nothing else

3] EXCITEMENT & DESPERATION doesn’t work
is this my best set-up and my best price? No = no trade

4] IMPATIENCE doesn’t work
wait until you can say, “there it is, I see it now” – if you cant do that = no trade

5] HESITATION & NEGLECT doesn’t work
if it’s my best set-up and my best price then I take the trade, because that’s an excellent trade regardless of the outcome

6] these emotions/ behaviours do not work; just one trade driven by one of these
and I STOP & WALK AWAY for the remainder of the day.


I think it is normal for emotion to arise when trading. As such my focus has been upon increasing my awareness of which emotions and behaviours get in my way, and instead of getting carried away by them, be aware of them, step beck, and give myself an alternative, ie., 1] to 6].

Having said that, I suspect that after many years of consistently successful trading, troublesome emotions naturally recede into the background.

Peter

Its always amazing that after all the searching/training/"education" , a trader usually finds themselves back at ground zero(their beginning) . I just read this entire thread(very good read too)-and it seems that until a trader finds their "groove"(a "groove" is that comfortable niche where no amount of negative pips could kill) their results will be average at best. Frank Herbert said it best in his Dune books-"fear is the mind-killer" and when that fear can be controlled-so can the trade. BTW-it took me 3 years to find my "groove".

Hey Joe! I’m looking for consistency. Are the classical chart patterns sufficiently consistent for trading? Can you make a few comments about reliable chart patterns and how to use them?

Chart analysis, which some people include in technical analysis, and short-term trading are truly partners. The understanding that you can make huge profits by looking for reliable chart patterns that repeat with unfailing regularity has raised many traders' outlook from hopeless desperation to excited optimism. To many beginning traders, chart patterns seem to be the elusive Holy Grail.

But the excitement soon fades as they discover that identifying chart patterns is often subjective and difficult, and that history rarely repeats itself with complete accuracy.

Chart patterns give a picture of human behavior in the market. They are not a guarantee of winning trades. Once in a trade, the meaning of the chart pattern that brought you into the trade may entirely disappear and you are left almost entirely with trade management.

Traders search for winning strategies. If a lot of books are written about chart patters, then just as with indicators, traders think they must surely bring about winning trades. And chart patterns do work to the extent that they reveal human behavior, but you must not engage in trading chart patterns in mechanically, unless you have expert management and the discipline to carry it out. It's important to fully understand how chart patterns work and how to trade them. For example, some traders place too much faith in chart patterns: They believe that if A occurs, and B occurs, then C must occur. Consider the classic head-and-shoulders pattern, for example.

The typical head-and-shoulders pattern which occurs in an advancing trend consists of a final rally of prices (the head) separated by two smaller rallies (the right and left shoulders) that occur before and after the final rally. The line joining the lows of the two rallies is called the neckline. Most trading books suggest entering a short trade at the break of the neckline, since it's at this point where the trend should start declining. If this trading pattern recurred with unfailing regularity, trading would be easy. If A occurs (left shoulder), and B occurs (head), then C would occur (right shoulder) right? And we’d all be billionaires. If only it were that simple. Some traders make the mistake of entering prematurely. They enter after B on the assumption that C will indeed occur. That is, they forecast a bearish trend based on an incomplete head-and-shoulders pattern. They impose their expectations on the market before seeing what actually happens. Yet it is vital that you trade what you see, not what you think. The right shoulder, or C, may not happen, however. A better trading strategy is to wait for C to actually occur, and possibly signal a declining trend. But it's still not that easy. The truth of the matter is that the existing trend is assumed to be in force until the weight of evidence proves it is not. An incomplete head-and-shoulders is not evidence, it is only a possibility. It's important to realize that a chart pattern may not always work out the way you expect. You must fully understand all forces that contribute to its formation. For example, it is useful to also consider volume. Volume is critical for the verification of the head-and-shoulders chart pattern. Activity is usually heaviest during the formation of the left shoulder and also tends to be heavy as prices form the head. But the strongest confirmation comes if the formation of the left shoulder is accompanied by lower volume.

It is important to fully understand the dynamics of the market forces that underlie the pattern.

Developing trading strategies based on chart patterns is useful, but it's crucial to think critically and not oversimplify. Technical analysis still requires a mastery of one's discipline, management, and personal psychology.

Chart patterns merely describe past market behavior. They summarize in a descriptive statistical sense only. There is no scientific or statistical reason to believe they forecast the markets with precision. It's important to remember that it's more art than science (not science at all actually), and that, in turn, means you must develop an intuitive feel for the markets and learn to trust that feeling. The development of intuition only comes with experience. You've got to build up your trading skills, experience a variety of market conditions, and learn the "conventional wisdom." But at the same time, cultivate healthy skepticism. Remember to question "conventional wisdom." The astute trader asks, "How is the chart pattern supposed to work," yet also asks, "Is it working under the market conditions I'm seeing right now?" In the end, it's still about developing the proper mental edge, even when studying a seemingly objective method of trading, such as classic chart patterns.

1] RUSHING doesn’t work
slow down, just 1 quality set-up today is enough

2] DISTRACTION doesn’t work
my full attention goes on trading, nothing else

3] EXCITEMENT & DESPERATION doesn’t work
is this my best set-up and my best price? No = no trade

4] IMPATIENCE doesn’t work
wait until you can say, “there it is, I see it now” – if you cant do that = no trade

5] HESITATION & NEGLECT doesn’t work
if it’s my best set-up and my best price then I take the trade, because that’s an excellent trade regardless of the outcome

6] these emotions/ behaviours do not work; just one trade driven by one of these
and I STOP & WALK AWAY for the remainder of the day.


Hey Peter,

Wise words for disciplined trading sir.

C

If you had the opportunity to learn a simple technique that offers you all of the following, wouldn’t you want to grab it? This technique:

•Tells you where to place your stop loss in any market or time frame.
•Tells you where to set your objectives, so that you are paid to trade.
•Tells you which market to be in today, to make the most money.
•Tells you which time frame to be in, today.
•Tells you how many contracts to trade in accordance with your risk tolerance.

Can you imagine, no more guessing at where to place your stop loss! Wouldn’t you want to know which markets and time frames to trade every single day? Wouldn’t it be great to no longer be stuck in one market and one time frame? How could anyone really believe that they should trade the same time frame in the same market each and every day? You want to go where the money is, but it can be in a different place tomorrow than where it was today!

How to be a successful trader is one of the best kept secrets in the world. The insiders don’t want you to know how to do it. Yet trading can be one of the most profitable ways to make money ever conceived.

To let you in on the secrets of successful trading you are provided with a live seminar! You can get an inside look at the reality of trading from a 52-year professional who trades and earns his money in the markets. As one trader said:

"I guess I've seen and read almost everything on trading published over the years. I've never seen anything as complete and as unique. Joe's methods will completely change the way most traders view the markets. His seminar makes trading a whole new ball game."

You need to know what the successful traders know, so at the seminar you will learn the following:

•The way the markets really work and how you can take advantage of that knowledge.
•Why markets exist and how you can take advantage of them to substantially lower your risk.
•How to know where prices will move next and how to avoid being trampled by the insiders when it happens.
•How to get more leverage on your money than you might think.
•How you can trade always knowing where to put your stops in the market.
•How to considerably reduce your margin requirements for each trade you make, and in some cases eliminate them entirely.
•How you to be paid to trade before the insiders run your stop.
•What to do to make a pile of money when a market forms the right setups.
•How to use the Law of Charts™ and the Traders Trick™ the ways the pros do.
•Five different setups that let you locate winning trades.

Learning the rationale of price movement will put you far ahead of most traders. You can find out how to trade in a way most traders never even hear about before they lose all their money and disappear into the night. You can position yourself at much lower risk than traders who trade using only standard techniques.

You’ll see that prices these days swing, not trend, and you’ll find out how to take advantage of the momentum that initiates those swings.

The setups you will learn enable you to trade in markets at the exact time they have the best liquidity. Beautiful setups can be found in all markets: grains, softs, energies, metals, financials, currencies (forex and futures), stocks and stock indices. They are even available in Single Stock Futures and Contracts for Difference. The setups can be day, swing, or position traded. There are traders who use them for option trades as well.

You will have proven to you that the odds of winning on the trade setups taught at the seminar are greater than those for the way most people have been taught to trade. You will discover how you can win with trades even as markets move sideways and other traders are being unmercifully whipsawed.

To learn how to really trade successfully is why you should take a seminar. You will learn everything mentioned above and more.

Click here to learn more about Joe Ross' trading seminar!

Joe:

Can you state exactly what the edge is, in percent, of the method you will be teaching in the seminar? The only way to win in the long run is to have an edge. Also, what is the expectancy of your method?

What are trading seminars and what value do they have.

We can look at the advantages and disadvantages.

Seminars are a form of information exchange. A group of people interested in trading come together for discussion of specific trading techniques and learning of topics related to the business of trading.

There can be one or more speakers in a trading seminar, and these speaker or speakers are usually experts in the trading business.

Lots of traders attend seminars each year, some attending more than once. There are many who learn best in this manner of education.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a trading seminar if you choose to attend or if you're thinking of attending?

Advantages:

•Learn about cutting-edge ideas, innovations, and technologies

•A wealth of knowledge presented at one time in one place; a lot of learning, with most material compressed into two or three days.

•A sense of fellowship, where traders of a like-mind can meet others with the same interests, problems, and concerns that they may have in learning to trade or to improve existing trading techniques. You are able to network with and share information.

•There is a sense of renewed hope and inspiration, as traders discover they are not alone in their trading concerns. Stress is lessened by sharing experiences with others. Being with others who understand an individual's trading problems or concerns, is an effective morale booster!

•For those who don't like to read, or attend classes, a seminar offers a practical way to improve knowledge of a specific subject.

• A seminar offers the opportunity to “get away” from the usual routine. A nice vacation, in a good hotel in a situation of camaraderie can produce fresh ideas and new insights.

•Knowledge and comprehension gained at a trading seminar can “turn on the light.” Odd pieces of previous learned information suddenly come together and a new level of understanding is achieved.

•Trading can be a lonely business. A Trading seminar offers the opportunity to meet other traders and to make friendships that can last a lifetime.

Disadvantages:

•Cost! Attendees must absorb their own costs. Seminars usually have an entry fee. All travel costs, some or all food costs, hotel costs, and miscellaneous costs must be absorbed by the attendees.

•There’s a chance that the speaker(s) may not be sharing correct knowledge, or not at all knowledgeable themselves. Tips, tricks, and strategies need to be weighed as to "value" and "accuracy" before using them.

•The time spent away from your home, business, or family. Time is always a concern when scheduling activities and some traders simply can't spare the time away from their lives to attend a seminar.

•There’s always the chance that what is covered may not actively help your trading or your trading concerns, and that the seminar will be a waste of time, where nothing you learn is of any use to you.

•There’s a chance you will expect too much from a seminar and therefore be disappointed. A seminar can present material too complicated for some and too simple for others.

Overall, seminars, if chosen carefully, are an excellent way to learn, and can be a wonderful experience. There should be a handout or materials that you take with you to help cement what you have learned at the seminar. For some seminars offer specific cures for trading or other problems. Keep in mind, a trading seminar is an elective event, and success or failure in trading may or may not hinge on attending one!

A key item to look for is follow-up. Whether it is via Internet, email, forums, chat rooms, or the ability to repeat the seminar at a reduced cost, you don’t want your seminar experience to “die at the door,” as you leave.

http://www.tradingeducators.com/

joe ross is an idiot, he thinks he's mastered the art of position sizing but after reviewing some of his methods it's clear that he breaks the oldest rule in the trading game....'cut your losses short and let your winners ride'....if he hasn't even mastered this rule, in my opinion he's useless....

Phorex Phreak

LOL!

Joe Ross has an unusual forum - I have never actually been able to negotiate my way around it. But that could be because I am an Aussie - we still tell time by glancing at the position of the sun down here.

For example, I get an occasional email - about every 4-to-6 months, reminding me I haven't been on Joe's forum for umm ... 4-to-6 months!!

There's a reason for that Joe - each time I try to get into something that seems to have merit, you lock it up in a private "member's only" thread. So, in frustration, and kicking myself that I fell for it once again, I log-off the "educational" forum, where I was unable to actually receive any education.

Oh, I forgot - you have to pay to join those "member's -only" threads, don't you.

So that's all good, mate. I understand - it's not personal - it's all about the money - you know - "traders helping traders".

And that's the Joe Ross machine - a cash generator.

You will not find anything useful on a JR forum that you could have found much more easily elsewhere ... and for free.

Heck - you don't even need to trade these days to make money from trading. But therein lies the truth.

Joe Ross MAY be an idiot, as you say, but he's not stupid. I would say, without having any evidence, that Joe is turning more greenbacks through "teaching" on his "paid" site and seminars, than he would be from his personal trading efforts.

Look - if Joe was making any serious money trading, he would certainly be pursuing that avenue, one would expect. Unless of course he is doing it to "help" traders become successful. I suppose that's why he teaches for free ... oh! I forgot - he doesn't teach for free.

Guess it is true - Joe Ross is NOT stupid. Notice that he never answers any questions or responds to comments - he doesn't have to, and he knows that doing so is not in his best interests.

Silence is the very best defence.

One of the best things Joe ever did, was to get information about trading, and find a way to market it. In that respect he has helped me immensely. My refusal to pay for the stuff found elsewhere for free made me dig deep for the answers myself.

Thank you Joe Ross (Internet Marketer and Entrepreneur)

Another one, when higher TF's are ignored while doing 5]: 5] sounds like tunnel vision, in that one neglects what's happening around the traded area (a kind of distraction within the trading). Trades done may be too small for the method. Then, when the chart's shapes begin to change or you hit a big run, a big loss follows.

Great list!

Yes 100% agree. I refuse to look at intra day action. I did it for awhile and it drove me nuts. A complete waste of time and an awful way to live your life. I want automated systems with low risk. Slow growth. Relaxing..business like. No intra day gambling for me. If it wasn't this way there's no way I would do it.

In case you were wondering, my post above was NOT in meant to support Joe Ross or his style of "Education". Quite the opposite - my post was intended to be tongue-in-cheek ... a tad on the sarcastic side, because Joe Ross is only interested in helping Joe Ross.

He does this through pretending to run an educational web site, which is actually an expensive way to gain an "education", when pretty much the same kinds of things can be found for free elsewhere.

Joe just skins the cat differently, and charges you for the fur!

Ingot54,

could not have said it better myself my man...I 100% agree with you...

Phorex Phreak