
Lecture Description
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VIDEO NOTES
A lesson on how using a standard amount per trade when trading the stock, futures, or forex markets is not the best way to go.
In yesterday's lesson we introduced another important yet often overlooked aspect of trading and money management which is position sizing. In today's lesson we are going to begin to look at some of the strategies that many successful traders use to determine their position sizes.
As we discussed briefly in the last lesson many traders make the mistake of choosing an arbitrary number such as 1 contract or 100 shares of stock to trade when they first enter the market. In addition to the fact that this does not consider the amount of capital a trader has at his disposal, it also does not take into account the fact that the Dollar value as well as the volatility characteristics of one contract or 100 shares of stock is going to very greatly. Like a poker player who bets the same amount on every hand, this also does not allow a trader the flexibility to trade bigger on trades with a higher probability of success and smaller on trades with a lower probability of success.
As you can see from the picture below, a trader trading 100 shares of a $20 stock which fluctuates 5% a day and a second position of 100 shares of a $30 stock which fluctuates 1% a day does not present the risk/reward picture that many traders would expect it would. In this example the smaller position actually has a greater potential risk and reward because of the greater volatility of the first stock in the example.
Chart Example
The next level of sophistication up from the above, is trading a standard trade size such as 1 contract or 100 shares of stock for every fixed amount of money. As Dr. Van K. Tharp points out however in his book Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, there are several distinct disadvantages to using this method which are:
1. Not all Investments are Alike (100 shares of a $10 stock which moves 5% a day is not going to be the same as trading 100 Shares of a $10 stock that moves 1% a day)
2. It does not allow you to increase your exposure rapidly with small amounts of money
3. You will always take a position even when the risk is too high.
As you can hopefully see from the above information, while the fixed position size per dollar amount is better than simply picking a number of thin air, there are many disadvantages to this method. In tomorrow's lesson we will begin to look at some different ways of overcoming these disadvantages starting with a discussion of the martingale and anti martingale position sizing strategies so we hope to see you in that lesson.
As always if you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them in the comments section below so we can all learn to trade together, and good luck with your trading.
Course Index
- Intro to Technical Analysis
- Introduction to Dow Theory
- Second 3 Tenets of Dow Theory
- How to Read Stock Charts
- How to Trade Support and Resistance
- Multi Time Frame Analysis
- Introduction to the Double Top and Double Bottom Charting Pattern
- How to Trade Double Tops Like a Pro
- How to Trade the Head and Shoulders Pattern Part 1
- How to Trade the Head and Shoulders Pattern Part 2
- How to Trade the Wedge Chart Pattern Like a Pro Part 1
- How to Trade the Wedge Chart Pattern Like a Pro Part 2
- How to Trade the Flag/Pennant Patterns Like a Pro Part 1
- How to Trade the Flag/Pennant Patterns Like a Pro Part 2
- How to Trade Triangle Chart Patterns Like a Pro Part 1
- How to Trade Triangle Chart Patterns Like a Pro Part 2
- Learn to Trade with Technical Indicators
- How to Trade Moving Averages Like a Pro (Part 1)
- How toTrade Moving Averages Like a Pro (Part 2)
- How to Trade the MACD Indicator Like a Pro (Part 1)
- MACD Indicator: Trade it Like a Pro (Part 2)
- How to Trade the Relative Strength Index (RSI) Like a Pro
- How to Trade Stochastics Like the Pro's Do
- The Difference Between the Fast, Slow and Full Stochastic
- How to Trade Bollinger Bands - Stocks, Futures, Forex
- How to Trade the Average Directional Index (ADX)
- How to Trade the Parabolic SAR
- How to Trade Candlestick Chart Formations Part 1
- How to Trade Spinning Tops and Doji Candlestick Patterns
- How to Trade the Bullish/Bearish Engulfing Candlesticks
- How to Trade the Hammer Hanging Man Candlesticks
- How to Trade the Morning/Evening Star Candlestick Pattern
- How to Trade the Inverted Hammer/Shooting Star Patterns
- Why Most Traders Lose Money and The Solution
- Why Traders Hold On to Losing Positions
- Two Trading Mistakes Which Will Destroy Your Account
- Herd Mentality is the Psychology That Leads to Big Trading Losses
- Profit Expectations: What Millionaire Traders Know
- How to Join the Minority of Traders Who Are Successful
- How To Determine Where to Put Your Initial Stop Loss Order
- How to Use the Average True Range (ATR) To Set Stops
- How to Up Your Chances for Profit When Setting Stops
- How to Reduce the Chances of Being Stopped Out on a Trade
- How Successful Traders Use Indicators to Place Stops
- Stop Your Mind From Causing You to Take Profits Too Soon
- How To Use Trailing Stops
- Why Position Sizing is So Important in Trading
- Why Fixed Position Sizing Is Not the Best Way to Trade
- Trading The Martingale and Anti Martingale Strategies
- How to Set Trade Position Size for Maximum Profits
- Maximize Trading Profits with Correct Position Sizing 2
- Fundamental Analysis and The US Economy
- A Simple Explanation of the US Economy for Traders
- Simple Explanation of The US Economy For Traders Part 2
- The Business Cycle and Fiscal Policy - What Traders Know
- How Interest Rates Move Markets
- What Traders Know About Interest Rates Part 2
- What Traders Need to Know About The Structure of The Fed
- How the Fed Changes Interest Rates
- How to Determine When the Fed is Going to Change Rates
- Why Markets Move Ahead of Interest Rate Announcements
- How to Trade the GDP Number (Part 1)
- The Components of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- Intro to Trading Non Farm Payrolls (NFP's)
- Trading the News - Economic Numbers - Retail Sales
- Trading the News - Economic Numbers - ISM Manufacturing
- The Producer Price Index (PPI)
- The Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- Trade the News - Existing Home Sales Index
- How To Interpret the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI)
- How to Interpret the Index of Leading Economic Indicators
- The Advantages and Disadvantages of Day Trading
- The Advantages and Disadvantages of Swing Trading
- The Advantages and Disadvantages of Position Trading
- How to Keep a Trading Journal
- The Most Important Attributes of a Good Trading Journal
- The 20 Components of a Successful Trading Plan
Course Description
This is a series of 77 short video lessons meant to give traders an introduction to the basics of trading as well as the components necessary to develop a profitable trading plan.