Simulator trading—also known as paper trading—is wildly overrated. I regularly tell people they should get off the sim as quickly as possible. It creates a false sense of safety that actually works against a trader’s development. No one trades the same way on a simulator as they do with real money. The theory behind simulator…
Spoofing is simple in concept but can wreck a trader. Learn about what spoofing in trading is, who the people are doing it, how to avoid it, or how to handle it when you see it is happening. I wanted to address this properly because there’s a lot of confusion about what spoofing actually is,…
Many retail traders don’t realize that market makers often work both sides of the market at the same time. In this post, I’ll explain why that happens, how it affects price behavior, and—most importantly—why you generally want to stay out of the market when it becomes obvious this is occurring. Note: The type of “whipsaw…
Dorian Yates won the Mr. Olympia title six consecutive times. In an interview, he once summed up success like this: “People always ask me to break it down. How much was training? How much was reps? Supersets? Diet? What percentage would you assign to each? My answer is always the same. It’s 100% everything. If…
GTO stands for Game Theory Optimal. Game theory applies to many disciplines, but the term “GTO” became widely popular through poker over the last decade. It’s also something every trader needs to understand, whether they realize it or not. Over the years, it’s become clear to me that most people who attempt trading have no…
One of the biggest problems traders struggle with is discipline. You’ve heard it. You already know it. Everyone repeats it and it’s true. Now is time to do something about it. But knowing discipline matters and actually developing it are two very different things. How do you deal with boredom? How do you eliminate revenge…
Context is what explains why certain trades are not 50/50 coin flips. If you don’t understand context, it’s very unlikely you’ll build a methodology that produces consistent results. Context in trading means a lot. If you’ve been through my course material, none of this will be new—but a refresher is never a bad thing. I’ll…
From 2009 through January 2018, stocks experienced an unprecedented bull run. Prices climbed relentlessly, and an entire generation of investors grew up knowing nothing but rising markets. Many had no idea markets could behave the way they have since early February 2018. That’s why there is no substitute for experience. You can’t fully appreciate this…
Anticipating market orders is a key skill of any futures trader, especially a treasury trader. The concept is extremely simple—yet it’s something most traders don’t think about nearly enough, especially during those moments when they want something to happen and nothing is happening. Some experienced traders may find this idea obvious. Many newer traders don’t…
Often times it can feel like liquidity has left the futures and treasury markets. Other times they feel more volatile than ever. The reality is that markets change. I repeat this constantly in my material. I emphasize it during webinars. I probably say it too much. But like most truths in trading, it doesn’t really…