|
Frequently Asked Questions First, please read the disclaimer to understand that the information provided on this website does NOT take into account your individual circumstances, and should NOT be considered advice. It's general comment only, for the purposes of information and education. Please seek professional advice with regard to whether or not it is appropriate to your own particular financial circumstances, needs and objectives. Then, click on the links to be taken to the appropriate Q&A. About www.YourTradingCoach.com Technical Stuff Learning to Trade Not So Frequently-Asked Questions that I thought were pretty cool... If your question is not answered here, please feel free to contact me via the Contact Page.
Aboutwww.YourTradingCoach.com
Who are you? -
Lance Beggs, trader, trading educator, ex-military helicopter pilot, husband, father.
-
See my About Me page for more details
-
Or for another way of answering the question, here's a bio that was submitted with an article recently published in The Traders Journal: Lance Beggs is a full time day-trader with a current preference for both forex and emini-futures. His style of trading is discretionary, operating in the direction of short-term sentiment within a framework of support and resistance. As an ex-military helicopter pilot, Lance has maintained links with that industry through active involvement with the Army Reserve in the field of Aviation Safety. He has an interest in applying the lessons and philosophy of aviation safety to the trading environment, through study in human factors, risk management and crew resource management. He is the founder and chief contributor to http://www.YourTradingCoach.com, which aims to provide quality trading education and resources with an emphasis on the ‘less sexy’ but more important aspects of trading – business management, risk management, money management and trading psychology. Return to Top of Page
How do you personally trade? -
Short timeframe (1 - 5 min charts) discretionary trading, operating in the direction of short-term sentiment within a framework of support and resistance.
-
Here's a quick overview: Strategy Video 1, Strategy Video 2, or read it here in article format. Of course, that's just a quick overview. There's a lot more detail to come in future website content. In fact, some of it could be out already, depending on when you read this. Check out the sitemap for further articles or videos. Return to Top of Page
If you're so good at trading, why are you teaching? - Yeah, right. I see this all the time in forums. Trading seems to be the only business in the world (that I know of) in which the public are totally skeptical of anyone who teaches, or shares their methods. Perhaps that is very much deserved, given all the rubbish and the hype that exists in the marketplace. It's unfortunate though. The fact is that there is some real quality information out there amongst the rubbish. Hopefully I can help provide some quality. Not all trading educators are a fake. Yes, I'm sure many are - I know a few educators personally and seriously doubt some of them trade. However there are others who do trade.
- So why do I do this? Firstly, I enjoy teaching. In Aviation Safety, one of my primary roles is education. I enjoy it. I also consulted for another company a couple of years ago teaching options trading. I enjoyed it. So, it's quite natural now that I'm trading for myself that I'd want to also teach other people. Ok!!!!
- And yes, it does make me money. Well, at least that's the plan. I subscribe to the theory of multiple streams of income. I suggest you seriously research this topic as well. Trading should not be your only source of income. Build other income streams - both active and passive.
Return to Top of Page
There is so much rubbish on the internet? How can I trust you? -
Easy answer - don't trust me. In fact, don't trust any trading educator, until they've proven themselves worthy of trust.
-
Learn as much as you can from the site and from my newsletter, but don't put anything into use in a live market until you've thoroughly tested it in a demo setting and proven to yourself that it works for you. Take what you like from my teachings, and discard the rest. The interesting thing with trading is that what works for me won't necessarily work for you; but that's cool. We all trade differently.
-
That being said, I'd like to think that the fact that my site is not filled with hype or outrageous promises, allows me to start off with a little credibility. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that trading is possibly going to be the hardest thing you've ever tried in your life, and you'll probably fail. Only a small minority have the patience, courage and determination required to make it. Return to Top of Page
Can you teach me to trade? -
If you're after one-on-one teaching, unfortunately I don't do that at the moment. (See the FAQ below for 'Can you provide private mentoring'). The only teaching I currently do is through the website and newsletter, which provides general information on a wide range of trading topics.
-
If or when I start up individual coaching, I'll be sure to announce it through the newsletter. If you haven't already subscribed to the newsletter, you can do so through the subscription boxes on the top of the left-hand side menu.
-
To be honest though (and to get a little more Zen), I don't think anyone can be taught to trade, at least not the way I trade. Instead it's something you learn for yourself through experience and immersion in the markets. My role in this is to perhaps provide some guidance along the way, keeping you on the right path and minimizing the distractions and false turns. More of a mentor or coach, than teacher. I can show how I do it. Success or failure though, is up to you.
-
An important factor is whether or not you relate to both my style of teaching and my style of trading. Read some of my articles, watch some of my videos, subscribe to my newsletter. If you like the way I work and if my trading style seems compatible with yours, then perhaps there's a chance we could work together one day. If you can't understand my accent or if I speak too quickly, it's probably not going to work. If you're underlying beliefs about how markets operate are different from mine, then once again you may be better seeking guidance elsewhere. Return to Top of Page
Do you have a course that I can buy? -
Not at the moment. Maybe one day. If or when it happens, I'll be sure to announce the release through the newsletter. If you haven't already subscribed to the newsletter, you can do so through the subscription boxes on the top of the left-hand side menu. Return to Top of Page
Can you provide private mentoring? -
At the moment I'm not interested. My trading is very time intensive (day-trading involving hours of watching screens) plus I have a young family and some other business interests as well. My priorities are my family, my trading, other personal interests and business interests. These do not leave me sufficient time to devote to you. Sure, I could offer some mentoring program for sale, take your money, and give you an inferior product, but that's not the way I want to operate and I'm sure it's not what you want. Until my life allows me to give serious attention to mentoring, and deliver a quality product, I just can't (or won't) do it. I hope you understand. Return to Top of Page
Can you please set up a live trading room? -
This is unlikely to ever happen. Firstly, my trading environment is a calm, relaxing environment. Usually with some nice background meditation-style music (although sometimes when I'm in a different mood I'll trade to Radiohead, cranked up nice and loud). The last thing I imagine I'll ever want is to be trading with the distractions that come from a live trading room - questions from participants, negativity from the one or two people who seem to be always present in these rooms, disputing or second guessing setups or trade entry or management calls. Not to mention the distraction to my trading psychology due to the fact that I'd feel I had to make a profit that session. Trading rooms are not conducive to good trading, at least not for me.
-
Secondly, it'd be really boring. I can sit for two hours waiting for the right setup.
-
But then you never know what the future may bring. While I am not personally a fan of trading rooms, I do recognize that live trading is a great learning environment. So I will be looking for ways in future to take advantage of these benefits. Perhaps a live classroom or online setting, where you trade and I provide coaching???? Don't know! More thought required here. Return to Top of Page
Do you do speaking engagements? -
Sorry - not at the moment. My current priorities are my family, and my own trading and other personal interests. When my lifestyle changes and my kids have grown up, maybe then I'll have time to do the speaking or trading expo circuit.
Return to Top of Page
Why all this information for free? Are you going to be charging for services later? -
Yeah, I'm nice, but I'm not THAT nice. The site was started almost a year ago as a kind of hobby, to learn how to build a website & provide some basic trading education. I have no interest in becoming a big 'trading education' corporation. If I do expand into selling education it'll be a small one-man operation as a side venture to my trading, which will always be my priority.
-
My current intent while I have a young family (and no time to really do much educating) is to simply run a free newsletter, however over the next few years I probably will put together a course on how I trade. Then when my family responsibilities allow more time, I'll offer it for sale along with more individualized coaching.
-
So for now there's free stuff - the good stuff though will have to wait, and it won't be free. Return to Top of Page
Are you just going to be promoting all the latest forex courses, ebooks or robots, like every other internet marketer? -
I hope not. If I ever start crossing the boundary, let me know & I'll quit this business.
-
The site does have a small number of google ads (providing a small contribution for all my time). Ignore them if you don't like that.
-
The resources page and my email newsletter will promote various products and resources. However these are currently (and will always be) products, courses or resources which I either use myself and have found to be of value, or which are used and recommended by others who I trust. There are very few products that meet this standard.
-
You will NOT find me joining the ranks of the internet marketers (most of who don't trade) in flooding your inbox with a never-ending stream of 'last system you'll ever need' trading ebooks, courses or robots. That's not my game.
Return to Top of Page
Technical Stuff:
How can I subscribe to the newsletter? This newsletter uses a double-opt-in subscription process, to ensure that no-one else is entering your details to subscribe you to newsletters you don't necessarily want. It makes it a little more complicated, but it's worth the effort to minimise spam. The process is as follows: Simply enter your name and email address into the boxes above the Main Menu at the top left of this page. Within a couple of minutes you should receive a confirmation email in your inbox. This email contains a confirmation link (just to be sure you want it). Click on this link. Your web browser should then show a confirmation page, confirming that everything has worked. You'll then receive your welcome email, with the download links to the bonus introductory video. That's it. Not too difficult hopefully. Please don't email me though asking to be subscribed. I can't do it. You need to go through this double-opt-in confirmation process. It's just the way the system works. Return to Top of Page
How do I change my email address? At the very bottom of each of the newsletters you'll find the following message: To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit: (link) Click on this link and you'll be taken to a page where you can change your email address. Click on the link 'edit contact information' to change your email address. Return to Top of Page
How do I unsubscribe? At the very bottom of each of the newsletters you'll find the following message: To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit: (link) Click on this link and you'll be taken to a page where you can unsubscribe from the newsletter. Simply check the little round button under the heading 'Unsubscribed' and then click save. You should see a confirmation page. (Depending on your browser you may not have to click save - sometimes you get the confirmation automatically). Please don't email me - I can't unsubscribe you. I need you to follow the above procedure (apologies if that's an inconvenience - it's just the way the system works). :-) Return to Top of Page
Learning to Trade:
What's the easiest way to learn to trade? There is no easy way. Like any performance based activity, trading requires considerable work in order to achieve professional levels of competency. What is the best way then? Unfortunately, there's also no best way to learn. The best way for you will depend on your individual personality. Different people learn better through different teaching methods. Some will prefer classroom settings, others will prefer a live trading room. Others will be better just working at their own pace through self-directed learning. This is something I can't help with - you'll need to find your own way. The Traders Checklist - Steps to Trading Success,posted here, may be of assistance in guiding you through the various stages of trader development, regardless of whether you learn with a teacher or mentor, or are self-taught. A link is included on that page to a pdf download of the checklist, so you can save it on your computer and print it out. TheResources Page lists may also assist, listing the courses and books that I've found useful, as well as those recommended by others I trust. And be sure to check out all my articles and videos. The quickest way to access them is via theSite Map. Return to Top of Page
How long does it take to learn to trade? You can learn technical analysis and money management within a few months if you devote sufficient time to the task. However, while that might help you to analyze the market, it doesn't teach you to trade. Learning to trade is a different matter entirely. Learning to trade involves so much more which can't be taught by any course or book. In particular, the big challenge most traders have is learning to operate in an environment of uncertainty, where your hard earned money is on the line and loss of funds are a very real possibility. You will lose money - losses are a normal occurrence in trading. It takes considerable time to truly learn to accept this risk of loss. A lesson which can only be learnt through experience in the markets. It's impossible to say how long this might take you. It varies from person to person. Typically though, most day-traders take several years. And that's just the one's who make it. Given that 95% of people who attempt to trade never actually achieve consistent profitability, then there's a good chance you'll never make it. If you want to be part of the 5%, you need to be realistic about the challenges ahead, and prepared to devote several years of your life. This is no different to mastering any other performance field. How long would it take you to become a professional athlete? How long would it take you to become a chess master? How long would it take you to become a professional poker player? Here's another perspective, via a great blog post from by Babak atwww.tradersnarrative.com. Return to Top of Page
How much money can I make as a trader? There's actually a higher probability that you'll lose money, rather than make any. This article can probably explain it best, in which I answer a readers question regarding 'What rate of return can I expect?' Just click on the link and it'll open a new page. I also like this quote which I was passed by one of my readers, "If you told a student to spend 3-5 years minimum to qualify in a profession (full time incurring debt along the way) and then flipped a coin at the end of it to see if he will be paid a salary on passing - that's trading!" Return to Top of Page
How can I get started? The Traders Checklist - Steps to Trading Success,posted here, may be of assistance in guiding you through the various stages of trader development, regardless of whether you learn with a teacher or mentor, or are self-taught. A link is included on that page to a pdf download of the checklist, so you can save it on your computer and print it out. TheResources Page lists may also assist, listing the courses and books that I've found useful, as well as those recommended by others I trust. Return to Top of Page
What market should I trade? This article here, Which Market Should I be Trading, should hopefully help you with some of the factors you need to consider in making this decision. Clicking on the link will open the article in a new window. Return to Top of Page
What timeframe should I trade? This article here, Which Market Should I be Trading, addresses timeframe as well as market selection. It should hopefully help you with some of the factors you need to consider in deciding on a timeframe. Clicking on the link will open the article in a new window. Return to Top of Page
What strategy should I trade? Should I buy a course or develop my own strategy? Should I use a mechanical system or a discretionary system? Which indicators should I use? Ok, this one I can't answer. It's something you'll develop an understanding for over time. Everyone is different, and every trader discovers their niche market, style, timeframe, strategy and preferred tools over the many years of learning. The articles and videos on my site may help. Check out theSite Map for links to them. If you're interested in discovering a very quick overview of my trading strategy, check outhttp://www.yourtradingcoach.com/Articles-Strategy/My-Favorite-Strategy.html If you're interested in a basic 'system', check out this article: http://www.yourtradingcoach.com/Articles-Strategy/Great-Beginners-Trading-Strategy.html Also check out theResources Page for recommended education providers. Consider reviewing their material and seeing if their style appeals to you. Return to Top of Page
Which broker should I use? Which platform should I use? As I'm not a licensed financial advisor, I cannot recommend a broker. A simple internet search will provide you with more recommendations than you ever need. Some of the key considerations in my opinion are: -
Appropriate licencing and regulation (eg. here in Australia brokers are registered and licenced with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)) -
Security of funds (kept separate from business funds and appropriately insured) -
Customer service available immediately by phone (there's nothing worse than the internet going down, and you needing to speak to your broker to exit a trade, and then having to work through the computer answering machine system only to be placed on hold. Insist on speaking to a person - immediately) As to the platform, once again it's largely personal preference. There's no 'perfect' platform, otherwise we'd all use it. You need to find the one that works best for you, with the features you need, at a price that you consider great value. An internet search is once again a reasonable starting point. The good news is that most platforms these days come with a free demo for at least 14 or 30 days. This gives you ample opportunity to try it out in a simulation environment, without risking your money. Return to Top of Page
Not So Frequently-Asked Questions That I Thought Were Pretty Cool:
Why do I keep doing dumb trades? Here's a great email I received from one of the Your Trading Coach newsletter readers. I love it! The response is below the question as well. | I am writing to you because I got my butt handed to me today, but thank GOD for stop losses. I waited all month for this economic report day. I practiced my strategy over and over and had it down. Got up feeling super confident, but the market did the unexpected, and started up. Some how I couldn't get my head around it, so I checked past chart on this great Friday for anything that looked like this morning. I saw price hit the upper trend line of my trend channel and all of the evidence that price was bearish was staring me in the face. When I got it after my first stop loss, I could see a strong bearish pattern and shorted. Price went against me 11 pips saw the neg -$60.00 and panicked to hell close the trade out at a loss and cost me $355.00 of potential profit plus of course the real -$.60.00. Then after my panic, I bought again, that lesson cost me $460.00 total. Ouch! I have one question at this point, when do we stop being so dumb as traders? At what point will I trade what is in front of me instead of fantasy trading. All that signs were there and logic flew out of the window. I did recover some of my losses though, but I just want to know when the dumbness ends. I realized that I was trading my memory of past 1st Friday's and not what was actually staring me in the face. Do you have any advice for this kind of super dumb trading. I know this is long, but I have made another decision, I keep trying to make my trading way to complicated. I think I have an overload of info and theories. From this point I plan to shut all of that off for a while and learn to master candlestick formations along with trend lines. I figure since none of these things are perfect any way, I may as well keep it simple, the way that I'd decided before and stick to what seems to work for me, candlestick reading with trend line channels. I know way to much, but I haven't mastered anything. Of course you know I will be studying the charts over the weekend, and I'll be right back at it Monday. Poor traders, what can we do???? the market has us. | Response: Sorry, I shouldn't laugh but I just love your question - when do we stop being so dumb? Certainly with experience we learn to prevent some of the basic dumb things, but I think that human capacity to invent new ways to do dumb things is almost limitless. At least I keep finding new ways to repeat old mistakes. Have a look at an emini Dow chart (YMH9) if you can get one. I went long on Friday at 10:34 ET at the 8550 double bottom only to be stopped out on the 10:35 spike down, and then missed all reentry opportunity due to my frustrations. So I had to watch it move on to my target without me. The risk was really small, so it's not a big deal. I didn't lose much cash at all. And in fact this happens often - it's just part of trading. What was wrong though was the way I allowed myself to get really frustrated - very amateur emotions. Not only did that cause me to miss the reentry, but it stuffed me up for a good 10 mins or so, before I realised I needed to get away from the screen for a bit of a 'clearing' exercise. Thursday, my journal records a period of hesitation at entry that led to missing a few trades. On reflection, it came after a really good trade - well managed with a good profit. For some reason though I then fell into a period of 'outcome focus', in which I didn't want to lose the earlier profits. Stupid. I know much better than that. Order entry errors are my favorite, especially entering long when I meant to go short (or vice versa) - it's been a while since I've done that - it's probably due to reoccur soon. Basically, I don't think the dumb stuff ever stops. If it does, it's only temporary while our subconscious is busy plotting more evil and clever ways to be dumb. Simplification is a great idea and should help. As you say, none of this stuff is perfect anyway. No matter how many indicators you look at, you'll still come up with an answer that is not guaranteed. So you still have to manage the risk carefully and take your stops when the market says you got it wrong. So, why not make the job easier. (Reminds me of the saying, 'if you have one clock you always know exactly what the time is. If you have two clocks, you'll never really know what the exact time is.). KISS is a great principle for trading. Return to Top of Page
|
FAQ 
