Everything you need to know about trading – the rest is up to you (blogpost)

[Crypto_Noah]

The Three Major Pillars
Everything you need to know about trading – the rest is up to you

Reading time: 5min



95% of all traders lose money long-term. Conversely that means only every twentieth person trades profitably. Why is that? Do most people simply have bad luck, are not intelligent enough or get advice from the wrong people? Hardly likely.

Essentially, all problems in trading emerge from three fundamental aspects: The risk and money management, the influence of our psychology and the actual trading strategy. Those are called the three pillars of trading, which are the bases for all challenges, decisions and most of all returns. Hereinafter we will take a rough look at each aspect.

Risk and Money Management

When most so-called experts talk about successful trading, everyone has a different opinion. Countercyclical entries, exorbitant limits, writings of a stock market guru, the number of hits for a certain Google search. All of that is not really important – the majority of our attention should go towards the protection of our capital. Of the three pillars, solid money management is the easiest to implement but also the most neglected one. That is true not only for beginners, but also more advanced traders. The problem does not lie in defining the risk parameters, rather the uncompromising implementation is often being neglected.

As a rule of thumb: Do not risk more than three percent of your total capital on any single trade! However, that does not mean that you can only use up to three percent of your total capital. An example: If you use 100% of your capital for a trade and set your stop-loss at three percent, you effectively risk three percent of your capital. If you use ten percent of your capital and set a stop-loss at 30%, you effectively risk the same amount, namely three percent. Using the leverage and your limits, you can precisely calculate your risk profile. More on that in another article.

Psychology

Trading decisions are mostly being influenced by two emotions: The fear of losing money and the greed of not making enough, which makes you risk too much money (FOMO – fear of missing out). In interaction they make you instinctively buy high and sell low, even though rationally it should be the other way around. Why do we make our lives as traders unnecessarily so difficult?

Unfortunately, our brain is not a computer. We succumb cognitive biases that unconsciously try to sabotage us. They trick our mind systematically and are responsible for often not making the best decisions. On an everyday basis we usually don’t recognize them even though they have a huge influence on our being – especially in trading. There are many examples, here are a few major ones:

Bandwagon effect: A decision is being made because other members of the social group (friends, colleagues, market participants) have previously made that decision.

Overconfidence: A tendency to systematically overvalue one’s own competences (dancing, driving, trading).

Confirmation bias: The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.

Loss aversion: Emotionally, loss weighs heavier than the equivalent gain (especially with money).

Even though emotions are an integral part of human motivation, they should not influence our trading decisions. It helps to try to quantify one’s strategy as precisely as possible and then sticking to a predetermined plan. Over time it will become a habit which makes following the plan easier and easier.

Trading Strategy

The third pillar is the most obvious one, making it so dangerous. Most traders almost exclusively focus on their trading strategy, unconsciously neglecting the other two aspects. Nonetheless, having a profitable strategy is imperative – the only question is how.

In short, there is no holy grail. On the one hand there are an infinite number of strategies, on the other hand, everyone has to find something that fits one’s lifestyle (for example a doctor working 80 hours a week should not be a daytrader). A strategy is good if it’s profitable long-term ‐ not more and not less. There are many different approaches, here is a selection:

News trading, basing decisions on the media, news and events.

Price Action trading on the basis of market observations and price movements.

Technical Analysis, the valuation of the asset based on charting patterns and technical indicators.

Daytrading, exploiting small price fluctuations with short holding periods.

Swingtrading, the analysis of medium-term price movements (swings).

No matter which strategy you end up using, the most important characteristic is the reproducibility. Market situations should be judged based on predetermined parameters and not based on feelings. The strategy should equally be applicable to new situations. The fund manager John Marks Templeton expresses this advice in the following way: “The four most expensive words in the English language are 'This time it's different'”. That means: Even if it's tempting to keep telling yourself extraordinary reasons for a certain trading decision – a reproducible strategy does not have any exceptions.

Summary

The three pillars are not uncorrelated or independent aspects, but rather in a dynamic relationship with each other. Even though trading is a complex topic with many different facets, it is recommended to follow this recipe:

Learn to assess the risk and follow your money management without compromises.

Find a trading strategy that fits you and that gives you an edge in the markets.

Make the implementation of your strategy a strict habit.



For a more detailed article on Risk- and Money-Management visit https://cryptonoah.com/blog/articles/no-risk-management-no-fun/

[bolawin]

you dont need strategy, you just wait tweets from elon

[bitgov]

you dont need strategy, you just wait tweets from elon

Elon Musk already make his deal and now probably will forget for some time about crypto..

If you talk about day trading or short term trading then defiantly it will end up in loss in the long run. But if you are long term hodler and have the patience to watch the market bleeding without selling your coins then you are destined to win.

[blockman]

you dont need strategy, you just wait tweets from elon

Elon Musk already make his deal and now probably will forget for some time about crypto..

If you talk about day trading or short term trading then defiantly it will end up in loss in the long run.

That guy is just telling what he thinks but I also feel the humor of what he said. It is true that many day traders are losing instead of making their days but not all of them are losing in the long run. If all of them are then there shall be no one that's staying as a day trader.

But if you are long term hodler and have the patience to watch the market bleeding without selling your coins then you are destined to win.

And if your coins are the good ones and you can also buy if the market bleeds.

[Crypto_Noah]

Trading is like a game.
If you manage to exploit your opponents mistakes (opponents=other market participants) you can win.

[palle11]

Trading is like a game.
If you manage to exploit your opponents mistakes (opponents=other market participants) you can win.

Yes it is a winning while there is a losing from the other end. Is like trade by barter thing but this time it is money being involved. You either lose for another to win or the other way but we all prefer to win to get our portfolio rising. How we can win is to have a working strategy, minimize our risk and and  apply technical and fundamental analysis.

[trigger1975]

Trading is like a game.
If you manage to exploit your opponents mistakes (opponents=other market participants) you can win.

Well that's the nature of trading: one wins, one loses.  And yes, if you find the spots where for a lot of market participants psychology sets in, you'll on a good track to a great trade.

[stomachgrowls]

Risk and Money Management

Psychology

Trading Strategy

Cant deny with these very basic factors which would needed for you to mind of when you do make trades but actually these things could be attained when you are doing trading in the process
or simply talks about gaining it through experience and just to add up too:

•Emotion Handling (Dont get fomoed easily and affecting with fuds or some sort)
-This might be include in psychology factor too but this one should really be mainly be concerned on.

•Persistence and Consistency

•Sufficient time to put on.

Very basic things but actually hard to apply when you are already on the actual field.

[cryptoaddictchie]

you dont need strategy, you just wait tweets from elon

Nice response. To be honest got a point on this, but this could be also be called a strategy aside from trading loopholes. There is actually a chance that when Elon speak and you bought the one he is talking about then you are good cause 80% chance that it will spiked during Elon gonna tweet about it.

Its not about appearance and shape anymore.

[Wexnident]

I'd reckon risk management and psyche would be the top 2, trading strategies are there in the end if you were to study the market intently and read every movement possible. Though even without it tbh, you can still easily trade as long as you follow the buy low sell high saying or you just hold, especially holding imo. It's really influenced by your psyche, since any little lows or ups could influence you to say "I've hold enough, time to gtfo" mentality.

Nice response. To be honest got a point on this, but this could be also be called a strategy aside from trading loopholes. There is actually a chance that when Elon speak and you bought the one he is talking about then you are good cause 80% chance that it will spiked during Elon gonna tweet about it.

Its not about appearance and shape anymore.

Hey it may be called a strategy with no foundation, but past tweets have pretty much shown how much influence Elon's tweets have in the market (may be coincidental or not, but so far it has proved to be true).

[hugeblack]

Trading is a practical rather than theoretical behavior. It means that you understand how to understand numbers and their interactions, not how to read numbers.
The examples you have mentioned are considered a theoretical example of how to start trading, but without practical practice, they have no meaning in the sense that they are acquired by experience.
Psychology and risk management are the basics of trading, but without them one can manage a short-term trading strategy. The medium and long need them.

[slaman29]

you dont need strategy, you just wait tweets from elon

Nice response. To be honest got a point on this, but this could be also be called a strategy aside from trading loopholes. There is actually a chance that when Elon speak and you bought the one he is talking about then you are good cause 80% chance that it will spiked during Elon gonna tweet about it.

Its not about appearance and shape anymore.

Lol yeah. It's pretty crazy that a lot of traders made money just following the WallStreetBet reddit and Elon, kinda of like how people were following McAfee 2/3 years ago. And pro traders were losing money because they were using "strategy".

Then again, even McAfee's tweets stopped being profitable so it's a matter of time before Elon starts putting out losing calls.

[cryptoaddictchie]

Hey it may be called a strategy with no foundation, but past tweets have pretty much shown how much influence Elon's tweets have in the market (may be coincidental or not, but so far it has proved to be true).

I don't know what actually called it. Maybe hype thing instead but Elon tweets are actually working for a short term for those who will ride. I remember I once did it and boom instant profit.

Then again, even McAfee's tweets stopped being profitable so it's a matter of time before Elon starts putting out losing calls.

There will be time for this but the difference is we are talking about a bigger popular guy than a mid average known personel. So it might or might not losing calls for those tweets.

[death69]

you dont need strategy, you just wait tweets from elon

LOL. That guy is a big deal to us. Follow whatever this lunatic says, and you obviously earn a bunch of money. We can not ignore the benefit he brings to us and the cryptocurrency.

But after all, we can still categorize his tweets. It is apparent that they should be put in new trading which are firmly based on news, media or speech of the prominent. You need to enhance yourself so that you will become sensitive with the news. After that, you are able to make money with immense information on the Internet, not just from Elon. Besides, one day, his voice might not reach us anymore

[AakZaki]

Until when will you take advantage of elon's tweet. ELon is very influential and can make coins that he pronounces on the twitter flash pump, but remember there will be a flash dump that will make some people lose when they come in late and insist on buying the above.

Don't forget technical, because technical analysis will also provide limits where we are taught not to be greedy and the year when to enter and when to flow out.
Be a smart trader.

[doctor877]

Actually there are tons of trading information of which part of the ones listed are very important. No matter how much you learn, without practising you won't know your real performance level. The more you practise and put the knowledge into work, the better you become. It's important to identify the trend and make sure use of the current hype.

[doctor877]

you dont need strategy, you just wait tweets from elon

Elon has really helped alot of smart traders to make decent profits no doubt but such forces wont always be available which is why the extensive trading knowledge is also needed.

[DarkDays]

Trading is like a game.
If you manage to exploit your opponents mistakes (opponents=other market participants) you can win.

Well that's the nature of trading: one wins, one loses.  And yes, if you find the spots where for a lot of market participants psychology sets in, you'll on a good track to a great trade.

Absolutely, psychology is key in trading - this is ultimately what separates HODL-ers from traders. Trading is a gamble which you take with calculated risks and strategy in place, while also having knowledge of some external factors such as market cap, investors etc which allows you as a trader to speculate market prices. So in that respect, yes, trading is a game, but much more fun 

[Yamifoud]

you dont need strategy, you just wait tweets from elon

Elon has really helped alot of smart traders to make decent profits no doubt but such forces wont always be available which is why the extensive trading knowledge is also needed.

That only a short-term hype effect and that it has a huge difference when it comes to actual trading.

*Psychological
*Fund management
* Strategy

These things are more important needs for us to acquire. Yes, losses still come as we can't assure that every time the market is good and favored to us. But if we are good in Fund Management system that is simple for us to recover.

[GreatArkansas]

Most of the newbie traders common mistake is the Risk and Money Management.
They just trade and trade at first, they really not into risk management, that's why before anything else before you put a sell/buy order on an exchange, PLAN first, do risk management such as identify the target, stop loss, and entry price, risk: reward ratio.
Most of the newbies are ignoring that's why they ended up quitting in just after short period of time.

[so98nn]

Good write up. Well, when you say that don't risk the 3% capital or put a stop-loss counter at 3%, does that apply to the crypto trading ? I mean the major difference between the normal trading (fiat, share, stock etc) and crypto currencies is that, the volatility. At any given point it may happen that crypto will start to dump itself; suddenly, and thus that 3% would be gone off the chart quickly. In crypto, the reverse is also true where it could be 10-15% up in single day. So we risk the 3% loss in the process and also the trade gets weaker when we see immediate up surge after this. I have seen losses due to this, fomo, panic sells etc.

May be one should keep all the options open while making the trades. & yes, as you stated, trading strategy is must.

[Kelvinid]

What OP has said is TRUE. All the results will matter to our decision-making.

If only we stick to what we have planned and applying our strategies, achieving our goal is very close to it. I said "it was close to it" because we are not sure that 100% we hit our target and not all the time we are lucky to our trade. When I do the trade, I ask also to have luck aside from those things mentioned by OP, I ask to have perfect timing when buying and selling. We can't ignore the volatility and that is why I have to do it.

[slaman29]

Then again, even McAfee's tweets stopped being profitable so it's a matter of time before Elon starts putting out losing calls.

There will be time for this but the difference is we are talking about a bigger popular guy than a mid average known personel. So it might or might not losing calls for those tweets.

So you're saying that the success or profitability of those tweets are directly attributed to "bigness" and popularity? I would say that at least McAfee was a true crypto adopter and early tech guy. Elon is now just a tech mogul with hair transplants and an ego to call people bad names and pump memecoins.

[cryptoaddictchie]

So you're saying that the success or profitability of those tweets are directly attributed to "bigness" and popularity? I would say that at least McAfee was a true crypto adopter and early tech guy. Elon is now just a tech mogul with hair transplants and an ego to call people bad names and pump memecoins.

Action can be seen and observed. Where does Mcafee put him from his obvious shill? They have difference and you can see which one is effective. As of this moment have you seen the latest tweet of Elon Musk, and how many percent does dogecoin increase? And will increase? I'm late to noticed the tweet but surely some have ride on it. Yeah bet on it, the popularity of Elon is much attributed to their difference plus haters not dislike it cause they benefited from it.

[kolbalish]

Yes, of course. If you want to be proficient in content, you must first do an investigation. You have to perform as much as you can to find out. Formerly you know when to start trading, the rest is up to you. People who trade in their technique. Not everyone has the identical technique. But everyone has to know. It is not probable to be successful without learning about the trade. Long-time trading instructs a lot of knowledge and patience. 

[trigger1975]

Most of the newbie traders common mistake is the Risk and Money Management.
They just trade and trade at first, they really not into risk management, that's why before anything else before you put a sell/buy order on an exchange, PLAN first, do risk management such as identify the target, stop loss, and entry price, risk: reward ratio.
Most of the newbies are ignoring that's why they ended up quitting in just after short period of time.

And they start with a wrong expectation: get rich quick.  Too many beginners think, they start trading today and they'll be rich by the end of the week. Trading is a steady process of winning and losing but winning more than losing.  This is not a get quick rich business – if one thinks so, he'll better get a ticket in Vegas.

It's all up to consistency, responsibility, discipline, patience and knowledge.  First goal should be to break even for some months, then maybe 1 or 2R per month and so on.  And returning 2R per month means if risking 20$ per trade, the overall profit in that month is 40$.  Sounds little right …

But think in the long run rather aiming for a 20R trade but closing it out at .7R out of fear and then losing 2R in the next trade as the beginner has moved the stop while hoping for the big winner, steadily profiting 2R per month are 24R in 12 months and 120R in 5 years → risking 20$ make 480$ per year or 2400$ in 5 years.

Sounds still little?  But if one gets better and he's more consistent he might return some 6R or 7R per month in future.  And with growing capital the position size increases as well meaning higher results.

[doomloop]

What OP has said is TRUE. All the results will matter to our decision-making.

Right and the decision making is influenced by our knowledge and our risk appetite hence more than what we do, we must focus and emphasize on learning about all the possible outcomes in trading and how much risk we should take because being too conservative is not going to work in the crypto markets while being careless might wipe our bankroll within a few days.

If only we stick to what we have planned and applying our strategies, achieving our goal is very close to it. I said "it was close to it" because we are not sure that 100% we hit our target and not all the time we are lucky to our trade. When I do the trade, I ask also to have luck aside from those things mentioned by OP, I ask to have perfect timing when buying and selling. We can't ignore the volatility and that is why I have to do it.

Knowing the perfect timing to buy and sell for BTC might be near impossible because honestly, I have failed to ever predict it correctly but that said, I can easily say it is going to rise only in coming time. The easier thing to do is, to buy altcoins that you deem have good potential like now the ETH blockchain is slow and costly, it was obvious that people would move to other chains and people who realized this invested in BNB. You just need to keep a keen eye on the market and react quickly.

[goldade]

I love how you made a comprehensive write up concerning trading and I must commend you because you have taken the time and patience to come up with this.
You highlighted the three most important things necessary for trading. Risk management is something every successful trader didn't joke with. One could practically lose all if you don't manage your risks well enough.
The same comes with trading with emotions. There are times one ought to have closed a losing trade but emotions would cause one to hold resulting in a loss.
The last one which is trading strategy. Well, that speaks for itself. Find a strategy that works best for you and stick to it