Blog
Trading journal
Scalping and day trading ask different things of your attention
The argument is usually about which style makes more money. In one trader's day the real difference is how much attention each one takes, and when.
Trading journal
Revenge trading starts with boredom, not loss
The usual story blames the loss. In one trader's experience the chain starts hours earlier, on a quiet morning with the plan intact and no trade taken yet.
Trading journal
My routine has seven steps. Only two of them are hard.
A morning routine of seven steps. In one trader's experience five are calm desk work, and the hard two are waiting for price and then leaving the trade alone.
Trading journal
Ten brokers later, my checklist is in a different order
After opening accounts at about ten brokers, one trader's checklist has changed order: support and withdrawals now come before spread and minimum deposit.
Trading journal
The worst thing that can happen to a beginner is an early win
An early win can teach a beginner the wrong lesson with total conviction. One trader's account of a fast start, six years repaying it, and the habits it built.
Chart levels
The problem with a level that moves
A horizontal level is a number. A trendline is a number that changes every bar, which is why the alert you set on it last night measures the wrong place by morning.
Alerts
Alerts and pending orders are not the same tool
A pending order is a decision already finished. An alert is only a request to look. Which one a level deserves depends on whether it should happen while you sleep.
Price mechanics
Ask, Bid, and why your alert seems early
Your chart draws the bid; the ask ran a spread above it the whole time. That gap is why an alert can fire while the candle on screen is still short of the line.
Trading journal
I tried to automate my trading. The code was never the problem.
Writing a trading bot is easy now. An honest account of what broke instead: a backtest that was too short, and a strategy that did not fit my life.