TPDS 1


  • No plan = emotion driven results.
  • Detailed organized plan = objective end results.
  • Manage your time wisely, do not spend countless hours on analysis without a clear objective or premise to it.
  • Spend quality time with "Macro Economic" analysis and higher time frame S/R.
  • Nothing significant occurs without first leaving tell-tale signs on a long term basis.
  • If there is a significant price move, the higher time frame charts (monthly, weekly, daily, 4 hour, 1 hour [nothing lower])
  • will have a clue as to what the catalyst of the move was prior to it unfolding.
  • Follow the interest rates.
  • Do not focus on the amount of money you hope to make.
  • Do not worry about losses.
  • Do not worry about missed trades.
  • Professional traders are not rushed when getting into the market. They react slowly when trying to make money and quickly when trying to preserve money.
  • The least important process in trading is the entry signal.
  • Impeccable risk control is the first component to any successful trading plan.
  • Flawless equity management is essential to every successful trading plan.
  • Fundamentals at any measure can always assist a trader in trade plan development.
  • Intermarket analysis is key to a well-balanced trading plan.
  • Technical analysis and a comprehensive approach to sound tools & concepts is the framework to exercising a trade plan.
  • Understand which tools you are going to use and stick to those.
  • Executing a top down analysis with all the above components will deliver optimal results while controlling RISK.
  • Over-confidence is counter-productive.
  • Never assume your well designed trading plan won't hit a losing streak.
  • Always reflect on your wins as a victory and your losses as a learning opportunity.
  • It will take preparation in advance to weather periods of inevitable drawdown. Journal your results both good and bad. It
  • will help remind you that these are temporary events and you will trade out of them.
  • Do not over-drive your trading plan or attempt to trade outside it's intended plan of action. Do not turn a position trade
  • into a trade of multiple different time frames. If your analysis suggests it's a position trade, then trade it like that.
  • Every great trader has one thing in common and it is the respect and understanding that the risk will always outweigh the
  • reward unless it is properly managed. It's not about the profits, it's about controlling risk.
  • 2% risk is more than enough with the power of compound interest. You just need time and consistency.
  • Proficient consistent traders focus on the reality that their trading will not be perfect.
  • You can make all the money you will ever need risking 2% and many times even less than that per trade.
  • Wealth is built with time, not excessive risk exposure.
  • The goal is to steadily build your account with as little drawdown as humanly possible.
  • Your trading is not hinged on the premise that you must hit home run profits every trade or even weekly.
  • Your trading career should be built on a low, yet sufficient baseline target based on % return or pips per month/week.
  • Trading with risk controlled and profiting a net gain of 25 pips per week should be a new trader's goal.
  • After consistently harvesting 25 pips per week, graduate to targeting 50 pips.
  • After 50 pips per week is achieved, aim for 75 pips and eventually move beyond as your experience and tolerance for risk
  • increases.
  • The best days of the week are Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday regardless of what pair you trade.

CASE STUDY: 25 PIPS PER WEEK

CASE STUDY: 50 PIPS PER WEEK  

CASE STUDY: 75 PIPS PER WEEK

  • This is astonishing, you can build a career on this.
  • Small consistency still surprises, little things over a period of time leads to big results.
  • Build in your trading plan flexibility.
  • You might have a weekly goal that may require shorter term day trades or scalps to achieve.
  • Do not force yourself into hunting and believing you need to make your goals daily and/or weekly.
  • Your weekly goals might fall short a week or 2 and still be met in the course of the same month. It may just average out.
  • Your monthly goal might average out over the quarter or the entire year, don't be so rigid and allow the market to pay you when and how it will.
  • Your goals might fall short of your forecast and hopes, however do not be disappointed if this occurs. You will still be heading in the right direction.
  • Below is an example of success without home runs: 
  • Methodically take 1st profits.
  • Before entering any trade it is crucial for you to know at what level you will take 1st profit and reduce risk.
  • Limiting risk after taking half of your original position off will remove the emotional & psychological pressures you may  feel while the position is open. A lot of times trades are closed just because you want to see that profit registered in your  account, taking half the position off can help with this emotion. Move your stop loss to break even or at least to half of  what you originally risked.
  • Taking 1st profit at a predetermined level will assist in building confidence and removes the "sting" of the trade losing  should it reverse on you and stop you out at break-even.
  • The 1st example below is taking profits at 30 pips with 20 pip stops and getting stopped out at break even after taking 1st  profits. 
  • The 2nd example below is displaying what would happen if the 2nd portion captures the ADR.

STOPPED AT BREAK-EVEN AFTER 1ST PROFIT


SECOND PORTION CAPTURES ADR




INTEREST RATES

  • Get to know the interest rate markets.
  • The entire global markets are inter-connected and spin on the gyrations of interest rates.
  • Each country we trade currencies with has their own interest rates and thus these rates influence the demand or disenchantment with its currency.
  • The market will always seek yield and the higher the yield the bigger the demand on average.
  • There are several types of interest rates that traders can track and utilize to determine a trade idea.
  • Understanding how they trade and the yields will make long term trends easier to determine.
  • Track the countries interest rates/overnight lending rates.  
  • The currency markets trend long term based on interest rates.
  • Understanding which country has higher interest rates and which have lower rates can be a differential play or carry trade.
  • Not only could your trade profit, but interest is paid on top of that.
  • If the country sees lowering rates, this will weaken the base currency.. on the contrary, if the rates are increasing.. this will prop up the country's currency.  

MILLION DOLLAR FUTURES INSIGHTS

Below is the chart that ICT provided in the presentation, I found other examples online as well below that chart:


Below is the British Pound (GBP) seasonal tendencies graph: 

  • The commodity market is one such market that has very cyclical seasonal tendencies that have an uncanny ability to forecast major price swings.
  • The British Pound typically makes major lows in February - March, June, Sep - Oct, & December.
  • The British Pound typically makes major highs in April - May & July - August.
  • US Treasuries and their seasonal tendencies below:  

Below are other seasonality charts found on seasonalcharts.com 


  • As foreign currencies go down, the bond market goes up.
  • As bonds go up the yield goes down because the yields do the opposite of bond prices.
  • You can see that bond prices seasonally go up in April-May which means that interest rates would be going down. If interest rates are going down, that would drive foreign currencies lower. There wouldn't be any demand for them and there would be a flight to quality. The U.S. Dollar would rally. This is a risk off scenario.
  • As bonds are sliding from January-February lower INTO April-May that means interest rates are increasing. There will be demand for foreign currencies. This would be a risk on scenario and the U.S. Dollar would be falling.  

COT & COMMERCIAL TRENDS

  • When looking at higher time frame (weekly) charts, one must spend some time analyzing the net positions of the large commercial traders.  
  • Are they moving higher or lower overall?
  • If price is moving higher on the weekly charts you want to wait for the commercial traders to be net long or extremely lightening up on their net short positions.  
  • The trend on the weekly chart and the swings from net long to net short are very easy to spot and determine for long to intermediate term trend/direction. 
  • Looking for trades in this trend or directional bias will further increase your odds of capturing trades with large institutional sponsorship behind the moves.  

TRADING THE NEWS

  • News reports are basically volatility injections. Do not fear the news, but respect it. There are certain ones that you may want to avoid like Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP).
  • One of the most difficult ways to trade the markets is to try and trade the news releases themselves.
  • The internet is littered with so-called robots or programs designed to quickly give you trading profits on the knee jerk reactions to the news. This is pure and simple GAMBLING.
  • We can never know for sure what the numbers will be in the reports and to guess is just ridiculous.
  • However, we can wait for the release and watch the reaction and many times a signal will form shortly after the release..
    often it is the opposite direction to the intended news hawks.
  • Use news releases for injections in volatility and to fuel trade ideas based on price action.

KEY MARKET MOVING INDICATORS

  • Have these releases on your calendar and know when they are going to be coming out. Look for signals prior to the report or shortly afterwards. These will move the market considerably.
UK - BRITISH POUND:
    • BoE Rate Decision
    • Retail Sales
    • Consumer Prices
    • Claimant Count
    • GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
    • Industrial Production
US - The U.S. Dollar:
    • The Federal Reserve's Rates
    • Retail Sales
    • Consumer and Producer Prices
    • Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) - Avoid this, do not touch it
    • Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
    • Trade Balance
    • Consumer Confidence Reports
    • Service and Manufacturing ISM
Germany - The Euro:
    • ECB Rate Decision
    • German IFO (Business Confidence)
    • German Unemployment
    • German Consumer Prices
    • German GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
    • Manufacturing and Service Sector PMI
    • Plan for these news impacts.
    • For more information on this topic (news) and that of interest rates, watch Chris Lori's "Inside The Banks" webinar.  

FUTURES MARKET

30 YEAR TREASURIES & T NOTES
  • The bond market is a big market and it provides so much insight & leading information.
  • Futures should be monitored daily, this market can tell you everything you need to know in any market asset class if you understand it.
10 YEAR TREASURY NOTES
  • Watch the yield on this as an early warning tool.
  • As the 10 year notes rally up in price, this means the bond yield is declining.
  • As the 10 year notes decline in price, this means the bond yield is increasing.
  • The inverse relationship can be tricky, but after studying it for a few weeks it will become clear.
  • Trading the GBP/USD and EUR/USD, you should track the German 10 year bonds as well.
5 YEAR TREASURY NOTES
  • Watch the yield on this as an early warning tool.
  • As 5 year notes rally up in price, this means the bond yield is declining.
  • As 5 year notes decline in price, this means the bond yield is increasing.
  • You should track the German 5 year bonds as well.  
2 YEAR TREASURY NOTES
  • Watch the yield as an early warning tool.
  • As 2 year notes rally up in price, this means the bond yield is declining.
  • As 2 year notes decline in price, this means the bond yield is increasing.
  • Track the German 2 year bonds as well.
US DOLLAR INDEX
  • Monitor the cash basis USDX in the futures market.
  • Use SMT concepts to spot diverging highs and lows between the USDX and relative price points in the Fiber & Cable.
  • You can look for Bond and USDX SMT divergence as well.
MAJOR STOCK MARKET INDICES
  • Major stock market indices can be used to gauge long term price swings.
  • If we are failing at highs on the daily charts as we see in the image below, this suggests a possible "risk off" scenario..
  • expect weaker stock prices and possibly weaker foreign currencies.
  • The USDX will confirm this with a rally at support at this same juncture. Simply reverse the concept for "risk on" scenarios.
  • The markets as a whole are interconnected and it pays to monitor them and hunt for clues.  

CRB COMMODITY INDEX
  • The CRB Index [Cash] is used to monitor commodity prices and typically you will see an inverse relationship between the CRB Index and USDX.
  • Confirm a swing higher in USDX, while shorting Fiber/Cable, with a CRB decline.
  • The CRB Index tends to be a bit early and can warn of possible long term shifts in trend.
  • It's a dynamite tool to use for major market analysis and pinning down long to intermediate term directional bias.  
  • Oil & Gold can be barometers for "risk on" and "risk off" scenarios.

T-NOTE YIELDS
  • This is not the t-note prices, it is the yields, which is an inversion of the t-notes futures charts.
  • This chart will basically mirror what foreign currencies should be doing.
  • As the yields are increasing, that is bullish for foreign currencies.
  • As the yields are declining, that is bearish for foreign currencies.
  • This means as these go up, the Cable/Fiber will also go up.
  • When they go down, the Cable/Fiber will also go down.
  • This is on a daily basis so it will basically give you a buy program or a sell program.
  • On the chart below, February is the beginning of a buy program and mid-March-April is the termination of the buy program/beginning of a sell program.
  • There is typically a 3-4 month cycle with the yields.  


  • The divergence below is a reason to start looking for other reasons to support a decline in yields/decline in foreign currencies and a rally in the U.S. Dollar Index. This led to a precipitous slide in the Cable and Fiber.  

  • Below is a chart of the UK 5 year note, German 5 year note, & US 5 year notes.
  • In the same time frame the US 5 year note was higher respectively while the UK and German 5 year notes were lower in comparison.  

  • Below you can see the clear divergence between the German 5 year note and US 5 year note for the same time frame. Afterwards they slid downwards together. This is a yield SMT divergence.


  • Below you can see the opposite signal, which would lead to buy signals in Cable & Fiber. After this divergence below, both yields increased together.
  • This is measuring market sentiment because you are chasing the yield and the market is always going to be seeking yield. If the yields are increasing that is bullish for major currencies and bearish for the U.S. Dollar and vice versa.


  • Below is yet another sell signal on this same chart.  


  • Below is yet another example of the beginning of a sell program on yet the same chart.


  • You can also look at 10 year comparisons, below is an example of the 10 year German, UK, & US yields  



  • From the chart above the German 10 year note was making higher highs while the UK & US 10 year notes were failing to make that higher high.

  • When the yields are going up, the foreign currency markets will be trailing in sympathy because they seek yield.
  • There will be a flight to safety (U.S. Dollar) as the yields are falling downwards.  
RISK ON RISK OFF 
Rates/Yields  Rising Rates/Yields Declining 
Bonds Have No Demand  Bonds In demand
USDX Declining USDX Rising
Stocks Rising  Stocks Declining
CRB Rising CRB Declining
Currency Majors Rising Currency Majors Declining


  • This is a good way to keep yourself in sync with the overall macro-economic view.
  • When you see divergences with the yields, that's when you want to start looking at your charts for top/bottom formations and reversal scenarios.
  • Seasonal tendencies, cyclical analysis, & yield analysis are useful for directional bias.
  • The cornerstone to your success in trading will be your patience in determining higher time frame key support & resistance levels.. and waiting for the setups to form at those same levels.
  • Once you have directional bias based on major market analysis.. you identify key price levels from the H1 chart up to the monthly. Nothing less than a 60 minute chart and ideally daily basis is optimal.
  • Determine monthly, weekly, previous days, session highs & lows.. as well as pivot levels and Asian Range highs & lows.