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As the markets rip higher and push charts to their limits, traders start to look for the market to collapse under it's own weight. I was seeing a tremendous amount of discussion on when to short the market and even myself have started to act on some high flyers by taking some puts and bearish ETF's. But I have seen this before and it's not a fight I want to be in, The more negative talk of the market needing to come back in or to rest, will just grind this market higher. I said this months ago. Not until people feel like they are missing the boat, or even better, my sister getting back into the markets, will this market sustain a correction more than a few weeks. It's only been 5 years since the last financial meltdown, and that scarred a lot of people who had trusted the economy and the markets. Now, they see the Teflon market brush off debt issues, a divided government, unemployment, and anything else they can come up with. Maybe a new crisis? Nope. Been there with the situation with Syria and Russia. Earnings? Nope. Sorry. I know the Hindenburg Omen. Don't get me going on that one. This market might go down when WLT gets bought out, but pigs will fly then too and that we all know is bullish. I don't make guesses in the market based on opinions. Everyone will tell you something's wrong but unless you put blinders on, you might miss the next big market move. I think I will get bulldozed in my puts but they are a good hedge at this point in the market. All I want to do is profit when the markets move up or down and we have. The last month was near perfect each trade a quality High Probability Set-up. For a special post, I decided to share what I will be looking for, in detail, when it comes to an opportunity to short this market. I probably will not initiate any new shorts until i see a clear reversal in the markets. For me, I focus on adding the reversal candles to the HPS core indicators, as we are extended and technically overbought and up against my target trend line 1745. I want to look for that reversal candle to show up. This could be in the indexes or individual stocks. Below is something you will see in a educational course I am writing for the HPS. This is a rough draft of a small section but felt it is important for the up coming week's The candle is comprised of two components; the body and the wick (sometimes referred to as “shadow”). The body shows the open and closing prices and the wick shows the high and low points throughout the trading period. The image below gives a basic understanding of what a candlestick looks like and how it works. Over time, as the HPS methodology was developed, I was able to add important indicators to the formula to increase the probability of the success for the trade and continue to see the results that would unequivocally prove that this was the most successful method of trading in today's market. I would be fine with just keeping things as simple as they are, but over 19 years of trading I have noticed one more consistent signal that the markets produces that alone would be enough to trade on. When added to the HPS method and the underlying 5 studies (indicators) give us a tremendous entry for any trade long or short. To emphasize how good I know this is, if I was asked “John, do you think there is a "Holy Grail" in trading?" (I of course know there is no such thing) would answer by saying, "The HPS indicators are like baseball players. You are not going to hit a home run every time, but if you go back through history and took all the greats and put them on one team, that would be the HPS. Adding these 5 reversal candles to the formula it really ties everything together." These reversal candles are, in a sense, the 6th indicator to be considered when they appear with any of the core indicators. And the rules apply still that we need 3 or more core indicators converging to be considered a HPS. Personally, I would probably trade 2 cores and a reversal candle stick. 3 or 4 cores indicators and a reversal well that's as close as you will be to the Holy Grail. Lets take a look at those candlesticks. To be considered a reversal, there should be an existing trend to reverse. It does not have to be a major trend, but should be up for the short term or at least over the last few days. A dark cloud cover after a sharp decline or near new lows is unlikely to be a valid bearish reversal pattern. Bearish reversal patterns within a downtrend would simply confirm existing selling pressure and same for Bullish reversal patterns if we were to see a Piercing Pattern in an uptrend it really is just a continuation of the trend. HAMMERS: Hammer candlesticks form when a security moves significantly lower after the open, but rallies to close well above the intraday low. The resulting candlestick looks like a square lollipop with a long stick. If this candlestick forms during a decline, then it is called a Hammer. DTRS TIP: This is my favorite reversal. Knowing that the HPS method we are already looking at quality names and usually in a pull back that has extended far enough to signal oversold levels on the stochastics and most likely pulling back to a lower area of interest defined by a channel or support area. The hammer tends to test those limits and violate them taking out the remaining weak hands , stops etc. Then reverses and close on or near its highs and usually above the areal or support. This is a great set up and the hammer really confirms the entry zone. SHOOTING STAR: A single day pattern that can appear in an uptrend. It opens higher, trades much higher, then closes near its open. It looks just like the Inverted Hammer except that it is bearish. Same applies as the Hammer just opposite. ENGULFING PATTERN: A reversal pattern that can be bearish or bullish, depending upon whether it appears at the end of an uptrend (bearish engulfing pattern) or a downtrend (bullish engulfing pattern). The first day is characterized by a small body, followed by a day whose body completely engulfs the previous day's body. DTRS TIP: Another great candle to look for, Because it is not very common it is one of the candles technicians pick up on. Even though this is a great candlestick I would only trade it in concurrence with 2 or more core indicators lining up. Here is what a 2 day cross section of the pattern looks like to see how the stock gaps down and then moves up. DTRS TIP: When actively searching and scanning for HPS candidates, and I find a potential stock that is lining up properly, I will focus in on it. If I see a gap down (in the case of a long), and watch the action early on, (because it has multiple indicators lining up) I will look to start a position before the end of the day if we start trading above the previous days close . As I expect it to finish off with a strong candle. I can get a great position and very low risk entry. PIERCING PATTERN: A bullish two day reversal pattern. The first day, in a downtrend, is a long black day. The next day opens at a new low, then closes above the midpoint of the body of the first day. DARK CLOUD COVER: A bearish reversal pattern that continues the uptrend with a long white body. The next day opens at a new high then closes below the midpoint of the body of the first day. The opposite of the Piercing Pattern. Here is a great example of the combination of oversold stochastics, and reversal candles. You probably could put in an underlying trend line on this chart too. We will leave off for here now. There are hundreds of Candlestick patterns but these are the key reversals and when they line up with the HPS indicators they are the best risk vs reward set ups out there. In the next segment, I will show you how to use volume and one of the best key volume signals to trade off of. DayTraderRockStar Remember, don't trade over your means and nothing is guaranteed. News trumps all patterns. Meaning outside influences like bad or good news will break chart patterns but there is a great strategies to profit from that, but that's for another post

After seeing the popular thread that's updated regularly with open source trading platforms, I've decided to create a thread that I'm going to regularly update with free trading webinars that look to be interesting. I attend a lot of free webinars to try and catch any new trends/indicators that people are using. It's been one of the easier ways to find and/or try new techniques. Feel free to use the comments as reviews. I'll be monitoring this to try and keep it from becoming spam filled. Ongoing List of FREE Education Webinars on Trading Why Value? A Value Investing Legend Reveals His Strategy - I've been following this guy for a while and enjoy his articles on InvestorPlace, Benzinga, and TheStreet. Looks interesting Time to Buy Detroit? - I've been fascinated by this whole event. It will be interesting to hear several experts discuss how to take advantage of a bankruptcy like this

There are so many novice traders who get introduced into the "Forex world" and they hear about all the money you can make in this profession, but after 6 months, a year, or maybe even 2 years if you a persistent, they give up trying to master the markets because they say its impossible or too hard, does this sound familiar? Sadly i hear about this far too often...I am a piano instructor, and lesson after lesson i hear "Teacher, i'm so excited, i practiced for 8 hours this week!" only to be disappointed because the piece sounded exactly as it did last week. The students weren't lying, they did indeed play the piano for hours, just like they told me, notice how i changed the word from "practiced" the piano, to "played" the piano? Just changing a single word, can have a huge impact on its meaning. To PLAY the piano is something i do for enjoyment, just pleasure for myself or for others, not planning on improving much of my performance during this period, but to PRACTICE the piano, to practice is to take your time, go slowly, look at the bigger picture, fine tune the timing, the finger positioning, the accents, dynamics, muscle control, muscle movement, taking a step forward in your skill/performance level by improving something that will better you as a pianist. This can be directly related to trading, people think that if they make tons of trades, they are gaining "experience" yes and no, you do need to make trades, and get the feeling of what making trades is like, watching the market unfold against you or for you, BUT taking trades alone, wont give you the experience needed to one day have the financial freedom we all ache for. There is a saying that practice makes perfect, but i think PERFECT practice makes perfect. Anyone can learn to have financial freedom from the markets, but it takes time, dedication, and will. Take the time to get the knowledge needed, PRACTICE and apply this knowledge on the market, and then start building up your experience. There are no short cuts in this field, but take one small bite at a time, and eventually those bites will get smaller and smaller and smaller. Go make some pips!

Good Morning All: Over the years, I have written many articles. Hundreds, maybe even thousands if you include partial repeats and every short lesson. Sometimes the lesson is a partial re-write, or a new take, or a new way to explain or organize the information. So, while there are many summaries out there on various topics, and while the topics on this lesson may be found somewhere else, I thought I would take today to start answering a very direct question. What causes failure in trading? This will be a no-nonsense, nuts and bolts look at the question, not a philosophical dissertation. I will discuss the top three over three letters. What Causes Failure? Part One of Three After many years of seeing many issues in trading through the eyes of many traders, I have come to one inescapable conclusion. Something I now consider a fact. Everyone who enters trading is exactly the same, and stay the same for a long time. It is not until later in development, that some break out into 'unique' ground. So relax, everyone has gone through what you are, or have gone through. You may not like the answers. However, you need to hear them. While education in technical analysis is absolutely needed, most who really try, receive that education. In addition, they receive enough to make them potentially successful. For those who do not get an education, it may be the biggest cause of failure. However, anyone can understand the education material once presented, and many who receive the education still fail, so lack of education, while critically important, is NOT making my top three list. Number one quite simply is the ability to do what need to be done, and do it now. The word for that is 'discipline'. This is the number one reason for failure amongst traders. Initially it may be the lack of discipline to take a stop. Later it may be the lack of discipline to reach a target. Note that the trader knows what the stop is, and what the target is. This is why the 'education' doesn't make the list. The problem is, even those that know what to do and when to do it, do NOT do it. Lack of discipline. It shows up in many other places. The lack of discipline to review material learned. The lack of discipline to review trades and make changes. The lack of discipline to create and use a trading plan. The lack of discipline to honestly analyze your trades and determine you need an education. All of the key things in trading are easily learned by someone who wants to learn them. However, they are not easily done. Lack of discipline is a number one reason traders fail. Do you suffer from a lack of discipline in your trading? Is it holding you back from your goals? Closing Comments: This is the first of three things we will look at. After seeing them all, you may disagree about the order. Do not. They will not be in any particular order. They are all important and it is like the 'chicken and the egg' argument. All three of them are critical, and the lack of any of them will cause failure, just like removing one leg of a three-legged stool. Pristine Capital Holdings, Inc. 1-800-340-6477 Counselor@Pristine.com

I have never traded before but am very interested in learning. I have read a couple books, mostly about stocks and options. However, I am leaning more towards Forex due to the ability to trade with less capital which is great for beginners. Also, I enjoy to read the charts and use indicators more than fundamental analysis but understand that it is an important part of trading as well. I would like to use technical analysis over fundamentals, but of course, would include fundamentals as part of my trading practices if recommended necessary. I am looking for some recommendations to some GREAT educational resources besides the forums; such as books, courses, and mentors. I would absolutely love to find a local mentor to take me under their wing and turn me out to be a great trader. If not, it would be just as great to meet some people like me in Las Vegas who are interested in trading the markets! Please give me your very best recommendations. I am looking for resources on general education, how to trade, strategies, and software use. Even some recommendations on the best software and brokerages to start out with that have the lowest costs would be helpful. I am especially looking for a mentor or like minded people locally that would enjoy sharing their knowledge! Even if you are not from Las Vegas we could use the Team Viewer software to share Desktop screens to get the over-the-shoulder approach I am looking for. Thank you for any help! I am looking forward to the responses to my post! By the way, I am currently an apprentice for the Plumbers&Pipefitters Union in Las Vegas so I am used to being a student and will do what it takes to learn. It is a five year apprenticeship and I am getting ready to journey out so I would love to spend my time as an apprentice in the Forex Market. I will be very dedicated. Thanks!

This is a small overview of what Global Market Trader are doing for traders just like yourself. We will update this section of this great forum often and keep you informed with videos, helpful hints and tips and help out where possible. At the moment we can't go past trading renko bars and the profits have been out of this world. Please keep an eye out on this thread as we show you why we are a leader in trading education and training for turning everyday traders into trading professionals. Regards Luke Ferguson Global Market Trader http://www.globalmarkettrader.com