The Palm

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Meet The Palm.

Your digital guide that will unlock


all the mysteries and unknown
aspects of trading in an easy to
understand format. In this guide,
you will find all the knowledge and
the building blocks needed to
become a successful trader and
sustain your success in future
trading through a detailed
and in-depth subject review.
What This Guide
Will Cover:

1. Building Blocks:
What Is Trading & Investing?..................................................pg. 1
Fundamental Analysis..................................................................pg. 1-3
Technical Analysis............................................................................pg. 4-6
Basic Terminology............................................................................pg. 7-10
Sentimental Analysis......................................................................pg. 11-16
Risk Management.............................................................................pg. 17-18
Trading Gear..........................................................................................pg. 19-23
Trading Software...............................................................................pg. 24
Brokers..........................................................................................................pg. 25-27

2. Trading Gameplans:
How To Identify Direction..................................................pg. 28
Entries & Exits...........................................................................pg. 29-36

3. Getting Funded:
The Importance Of Capital..............................................pg. 37
How To Acquire Capital.....................................................pg. 38
Types Of Prop Firms.............................................................pg. 39

4. Becoming A Full-Time Trader:


The Necessary Steps..........................................................pg. 40-41
CHAPTER 1:
BUILDING BLOCKS
Trading & Investing
Trading is the process of buying and selling goods and
services in a marketplace.

Investing is the process of purchasing of assets and


resources with the goal of making a gain on it.

Fundamental Analysis
Fundamental analysis is the study of the real causes of
market movements, and examines the economic, social
and political factors that affect supply and demand,
which is one of the main causes of price movement.
It is a method of measuring the currency value by
examining related economic and financial factors.

Fundamental analysts study anything that can affect


capital markets value, from macroeconomic factors such
as the state of the economy, inflation rates, unemployment
levels, interest rates, rate of consumer consumption, Gross
Domestic Product (GDP), national income, price levels and
industry conditions to microeconomic factors like supply,
demand, and competition.

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There are differences between fundamental analysis
depending on the market you are in from forex to other
markets such as the stock market which most people
are familiar with. Stock Market fundamental analysis is
interested in studying the financial statements and profit
rates of companies to assess the strength of the company
and the value of its shares. Forex fundamental analysis,
on the other hand, is concerned with studying the
macroeconomic factors that directly affect the
performance of the currency, and the study of some
economic, political and social factors that affect the
economy and impacting the movement of the currency
exchange rates.

How Do You Use Fundamental Analysis?


The primary way to use fundamental analysis when
trading the financial markets is to follow the latest and
upcoming news releases that are usually filtered by low,
medium and high impact news.

Importance Of Fundamental Analysis?


Through fundamental analysis a trader can determine
the value of a currency and can answer the question of
whether the asset is priced correctly and what is behind
the movement in the price of an asset. The release of
information on an economic event will enable the
investors to adjust their portfolio according to the new
information.

What Is The Difference Between Fundamental And


Technical Analysis?
Fundamental analysis is not meant as a short term
decision making tool. Technical analysis enables traders to
gain a vision of the market and make the right move at the
right time, while fundamental analysis should be applied
strategically, over longer periods.

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Where Do You Find Tools For Fundamental Analysis?
Fundamental analysis is very subjective. Always do your
own due diligence. There are many tools that can be
used for fundamental analysis. The easiest way to start
is having a reliable mainstream news outlet to feed you
day to day information and an economic calendar.

Mainstream Outlets:
Bloomberg
TD Ameritrade
WallStreet.com
Reuters
Daily FX
FX Street
Economic Calendars:
Forex Factory
TD Ameritrade
Daily FX
FX Street

How do we use fundamental analysis?


We use fundamental analysis to examine possible
changes of market conditions in the short and long term.
Our preferred method is technical analysis.

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Technical Analysis

What Is Technical Analysis?


Technical analysis is the study of historical price action
in order to identify patterns and determine probabilities
of future movements in the market through the use of
technical studies, indicators, and other analysis tools
based on the belief that all current market information
is reflected in the price. Technical traders will always tell
you “It’s all in the charts!” Technical analysis can help
you determine not only when and where to enter a
market, but much more importantly, when and where
to get out.

Technical Analysis Is Based On Three Fundamental


Factors:

The Market Discounts Everything:


All factors, from fundamental factors to news and
economic data, are already “priced in.”

Price Moves In Trends:


Includes short, medium, and long-term trends which
can exist independent of one another.

History Is Often Repeated:


Price is more likely to act in a manner consistent with
past performance than to act erratically.

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To Identify Patterns In The Financial Markets, Technical
Analysts Focus On The Following:

Technical Analysis Chart Patterns:


Technical analysts use drawing tools, such as horizontal
lines, trend lines and Fibonacci levels, to identify well
known chart patterns. These patterns, once identified,
give clarity to the strength and weakness of both buyers
and sellers in the respective market.

Technical Analysis Candle Patterns:


Traders use price charts, such as candle charts, which
display the open, close, high and low price levels of a
particular timeframe. They use these charts to attempt
to identify clues on the behavior of buyers and sellers in
a short period of time.

Technical Analysis Indicators:


This is where traders use technical indicators to help in
understanding the market condition. For example, many
indicators provide signals on when the market is
overbought or oversold. Other indicators can provide
traders with clues on either rising or falling momentum.
The best technical analysis indicator that we
recommend is Excelsius. For more information go to
www.pinksand.co/excelsius

How Is Technical Analysis Used In The Markets?


Technical analysis in financial markets is used to spot
key levels and figures that can give clues regarding
where the price of a currency pair is headed, and it does
so only using the information on graphs.

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What Is The Difference Between Fundamental And
Technical Analysis?
Fundamental analysis is generally not used as
a tactical, short-term decision-making method.
Technical analysis enables traders to gain a vision of
the market and make the right move at the right time,
while fundamental analysis should be applied
strategically, over longer periods.

Where Do You Find Tools For Technical Analysis?


Technical analysis is very subjective. Always do your
own due diligence. There are many tools that can be
used for technical analysis. The easiest way to start is
having a reliable, high quality trading platform.
TradingView.com is that platform. TradingView has
everything you need to start.

Want To Take Your Trading To The Next Level?


We offer a variety of trading courses to deliver to the
needs and levels of all traders.
For more information, visit
www.pinksand.co/bluepalminstitute

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Basic Terminology
What Are The Financial Markets?
Financial markets incorporate a framework that gives
buyers and sellers the abilitiy to trade financial
instruments, including equities, currencies,
cryptocurrencies, commodities, futures and options.

What Are Candles?


A candlestick is a collection of data for any given
timeframe that depicts price moving higher or lower.
If you are looking at the 1 hour timeframe, every candle
represents one hour worth of trading data. Every candle
has 4 points including an open, close, low and a high.

High High

Close Open

Open Close
Low Low

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What Is A Spread?
The spread is the price difference between the asset
or security that buyers and sellers are trading. These
are known as the ASK price and the BID price.

Example:

EUR/USD's Bid price is at 1.10149 and the Ask price is at


1.10168. This means that the difference in spread is 1.9
pips.

AAPL's Bid price is at 165.97 and the Ask price is at 166.22.


This means that the difference in spread is 25 cents.

Spread
Bid Price Ask Price

Spread

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Types of Executional
Orders

A Buy Limit order is a A Sell Limit is the


pending market execution opposite of a buy limit.
to buy at or below a
specific price. Ex. These are used if
price breaks below, and
Ex. These are used if price you would like to catch
breaks above current the retest of that
highs, and you would like specific region.
to catch the retest of that
specific region.

A Buy Stop is a pending A Sell Stop is the


market execution to buy at opposite of a Buy Stop.
or above a specific price.
Ex. These are used if you
Ex. These are used if you would like to catch the
would like to catch the break of the current
breaks of the current highs lows .
of structure.

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What Is Leverage?
Leverage is the ability to increase a participants
exposure without having to pay the full amount of the
investment. Leverage can be both a good and bad thing
depending on the use case. Leverage is supplied through
the brokers. Leverage can be beneficial to those who can
protect capital properly and seek additional capital for
additional entries. Leverage can be dangerous due to
the additional risk exposure it applies.

What Are Position Sizes?


Position sizing refers to the size of a position within a
trade or an investment. Traders and investors use
position sizing to conclude how large a position they can
purchase which allows them to control risk and
maximize on returns.

A Stop Loss also


know as SL, is the
stopping
A Take Profit also known Position size refers
point where the
as TP, is the target where to the size of a
trader or investor
the trader or investor position within a
would look to
would look to size trade or an
minimize, exit or
off or exit their position. investment.
re-assess their
trading position.

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Sentimental Analysis
What Is The Psychological Aspect Of Trading?
The psychology of trading is complex and it takes time
and commitment to fully master. It is a broad term that
includes all the emotions and feelings that a trader will
experience while trading. Some of these emotions are
positive and helpful which should be embraced while
other ones like fear, greed, nervousness and anxiety
should be banished. The mental aspect of trading is
often overlooked but it is a foundational part of any
trader’s skill set. For a more in-depth coverage of this
subject, visit www.pinksand.co/bluepalminstitute

Why Is The Psychological Aspect Of Trading Important?


The psychological aspect of trading is a difficult barrier
to control. It is not something we are born with, it is
something to be developed. It requires discipline,
patience, acceptance, and resilience. Trading and
investing is very stressful. Stress and pressure lead to
mistakes. Mistakes lead to losses. If you can manage
your emotions, you will avoid pitfalls. You will learn to
deal with difficult situations and grow to become a
consistently profitable trader.

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What Are The Basics Of Trading Psychology?
Trading Psychology is the emotional extension of the
trader’s decision making process related to market
dynamics and of the trader’s sentiment defined by
greed and fear. Trader’s sentiment is formed by past
experiences and by the actual impact of the latest news
and conditions. The real challenge is in reducing
the impact of the built-in emotions fueled by failure or
success while assessing the behavior of the markets.
Some traders are more apt to trade based on emotions
and risk the outcome by questioning their wisdom and
by not following their plan, which may force them to
close their positions too early or to hold a losing position
too long. It is after all, a mind game.

What Are The Common Emotional Traps?


It is very important to identify the emotional impulses
that can derail our mind, we need to understand how
and why emotions manifest in our trading. It will help
to analyze past trades regularly and try to understand
what caused the loss. You will often find out that the
same triggers and impulses were the root causes.
Tracking the past patterns should help in catching
yourself sooner and sooner whenever the same
impulses come back.

Fear
Is one of the two most frequently talked about emotions
in trading. Fear manifests itself in a number of ways in
trading and it can be the cause of many trading
mistakes. The fear of losing lets traders delay the
realization of a loss, which then turns into much greater
losses, and the fear of giving back profits which make
traders close winning trades too early.

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Greed
When we look at the hard facts, greed often causes a
number of impulsive trading decisions that should be
avoided. Traders who are influenced by greed often
don’t adhere to sound risk and money management
principles. Greed also reinforces the gambling mindset
which describes trading without set rules and based on
impulsive decisions.

Hope
Fear and greed come hand in hand. Traders who are
in a losing position generally show signs of hope , when
they fail to accept the upcoming loss and give a trade
more room to breathe. There are other instances where
traders try to compensate (hope) for past losses by
entering a trade with a position that is too big and not
according to their plans and rules.

Excitement & Anxiety


Any feelings over excitement while trading means that
as some point, somewhere a mistake has been made.
When the trader is overly anxious during a trade, it is a
sign that the position may be too big, rules have been
broken or that maybe the trader shouldn't be in that
trade.

Boredom
Is more a current state than an emotion. Traders who
are bored usually lack focus. The trader lacks focus
when they go through the same instruments and
time-frames over and over without clearly knowing
what they are looking for or when they miss trade
entries, because they weren't paying attention or they
were browsing the internet and doing something other
than trading. It is time to take a break.

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Frustration
Is oftentimes the source of errors that result from the
previously mentioned emotional conditions. Frustration
begins to show when traders miss trades, because they
do not follow the trading plan, breach their rules and
lose money, take too much risk and lose large amounts
of money, or recognize what they should have done.
This then reinforces all the bad negative behavior
patterns that a trader is challenged with and intensifies
the trader's emotions and problems. The moment you
find yourself with the following thoughts,
is time to take a break and refocus:

“I missed the trade, I did everything as planned.”


“I should not have risked as much on this trade.”
“It looked so good."
''I think it’s going to turn around. I just increased my stop
loss order a bit.”
“It was a prime good setup. It was on point.”
''The trade looked so good. I thought it would move
further and not turn around that quickly."
''The trade has already made some good profits. Maybe I
should shut the trade down before it turns around.”
“It is not the best trade, but I’m willing to give it a go.''
“I exited too early and should have let it run – next time
I will set my take profit further away.”
“I knew it! I knew it was going to go that direction.”

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Tips & Tricks To Control The Mind
Many problems with trading emotions are caused by
an external definition of what "success" means to us.
Each trader must define our success as traders based
on our own definitions, not on the definitions of others.
Before you are a trader, you are a human being with
many responsibilities. Family, work, friends, bosses,
significant others and many other responsibilities and
the pressures that come with them. What is in your
mind before you begin trading? It is important to begin
the trading in a good frame of mind. Stop taking loses
personally as a way to end the strong influence of
negative emotions that hurt your trading results.
Accept the randomness of the markets. It will help in
executing your trading strategy regardless of the
emotions you feel. Analyze the causes of your emotions.
It is trade related or did you begin our day with altered
emotions?

Understanding Your Trading Mistakes


Is it caused by your learning curve caused by weakness
in your experience level or tactical decision making?
Is it a mistake caused by not following the game plan?
Is it a mistake caused by a weakness in the mental
game? Build on your strengths to control trading
emotions.

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Step Back And Consider The Following:

1. Analyze trades that you have taken and missed and


evaluate whether some of your entry criteria kept you
out of profitable trades. Go backtest and make a list of
things to be worked on.

2 . Don't be upset if you have followed your plan and


rules, but noticed that a trade would have moved
further, or entering a trade early would have been a
better decision and made you more money. Instead,
congratulate yourself for following your trading plan –
religiously following your trading plan is a foundational
and a key attribute of a professional trader.

3. Do not let the outcome of a single trade affect


your trading decisions on your future trades. Have a
marathon mindset not a sprinter’s. This is a journey,
not a short trip.

4. Think big! Collect hindsight-data and only alternate


your trading strategy after you have a big enough
sample size that will provide you with statistically
meaningful information. Trust the process.

Many trading pitfalls can be avoided by focusing on


strengths instead of weaknesses. It is very common for
trades to only focus on the mistakes they are making
instead of focusing on things they do well and succeed.
Master your trading. Trade the plan. Professional traders
use plans, while individual traders may trade with
intuition, this will lead to trading impulsively and making
costly mistakes.

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Risk Management
What Is Risk Management?
Risk management is the most important element in
the game. This process is based on analysis,
identification, acceptance or mitigation of uncertainty in
market conditions. While planning for risk management,
traders should:

1. Analyze and conclude an optimal risk:reward ratio.

2. Calculate their position size, and percentage of


account balance for each trade.

3. Always have stop losses to protect against the market


going against their position.

Why Do I Need Risk Management?


Risk management helps cut down losses and protect
capital. "Live to trade another day". It can also help
protect a trader's account from losing a large portion
of their capital. Risk occurs anytime an individual steps
into the market place. If there are guidelines in place
and the trader is disciplined the potential of a loss can
be mitigated. Risk management could be a deciding
factor on whether you’re a consistently profitable
trader or a losing trader.

How Do I Apply Risk Management?


Successful traders and investors commonly quote the
phrase: "Plan the trade and trade the plan." We suggest
never allocating more than 1% of your capital of your
trading account into a single trade. Set stop loss and
take profit points through the use of your analysis to
combat fear and greed. Calculate expected exposure
and return.
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Understanding what your max exposure is can help focus
on the trade at hand. Plan the trade. Trade the plan.
Commit to the criteria you set for yourself and let the
market take care of the rest. There are so many things
that you can control in the market, risk management is
one of them.

How Do I Learn About Risk Management?


There are so many avenues that will lead you to master
risk management. You will discover that risk is subjective.
You will not find one "perfect" risk management strategy.
It is important to develop a foundation through
education and experience. Risk is to not be overlooked
because it is the most important element in the game.
Risk management principles are included in our
education. If you'd like to learn more about risk
management, visit www.pinksand.co/bluepalminstitute

What Is The Best Way To Manage Risk?


There are many schools of thought and strategies
about managing risk. It is not one size fits all.
Here are the top tips to start with:

1. Only trade money you can afford to risk


2. Always use a Take Profit & Stop Loss
3. Know your risk tolerance
4. Set your risk:reward ratio based on your analysis
5. Have a fixed risk exposure for each trade
6. Keep your risk consistent
7. Understand and control your leverage
8. Adjust your Stop Loss as the trade develops
9. Cut your losers and let your winners run

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Trading Gear
The Hardware
Trading is about working quickly, which means your
equipment must be very fast. There are conflicting
suggestions and opinions about what kind of computer
to get.

Apple or Windows?
What is important is that your computer can boot up
the latest version of Windows (Windows 8/10/11). Apple’s
OS is incompatible with most critical trading tools. Your
computer is going to need some impressive stats. A fast
processor is a must, as is enough memory and RAM to
avoid lag. Experts recommend a minimum 1 gig of RAM,
and a 40GB hard drive to start. We say a minimum of
8GB for RAM (the more, the better) and 500GB of hard
drive. Multiple monitors are valuable tools, and worth
investing money in. Between three and four monitors is
common, but some traders and investors have reported
seeing traders using 12 monitors at a time.

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Other Considerations
Your internet connection needs to be fast, stable and
strong in order to trade successfully. Don’t skimp on
your internet provider, and go for a high-speed
connection. If you’re unlucky enough to be in an area
with poor WiFi, consider a signal booster to increase
your reception. If possible a wired connection is
preferred. When checking your internet, you want to
make sure that pages can load immediately and you
don’t experience any lag in data.

Here Are Questions To Ask For The Perfect Set Up.

#1 Do you have a home office or private work area?


Trading requires you to focus. There are no if, ands, or
buts about it. You can’t use your dining room at night for
family dinners and then think you are going to convert
the dinner table into your trading headquarters the
following morning. You need the privacy. If you are in an
area of your home that is accessible to everyone without
a door, this will not work.

#2 Do you have access to a high speed internet?


You need high speed internet and preferably a direct
LAN connection from your provider to your home. The
markets move extremely fast. We’ve seen traders’
screens lock up as they are putting on trades because
their connections are too slow. Do not let this happen to
you.

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#3 Do you have a big desk? You are going to need a
pretty big desk. Think about it, if you have 3 screens for
trading with an average screen of 20+ inches, your desk
will need to be 5+ feet in length at a minimum. Having a
decent size desk will allow you to comfortably place the
screens next to each without making you feel cramped.

#4 Do you have a comfortable chair? Depending on


your trading style, you could be sitting for a few hours or
up to 8+ hours per day. Since you will be sitting for long
hours, your chair needs to provide the right amount of
back support for longevity.

#5 Do you have a powerful desktop computer? When


we say powerful, we are not suggesting you needing to
go spend thousands of dollars, but your trading
computer should have the ability to multitask between a
dozen or so screens that are streaming data. Assuming
you are using more than one monitor, you will also need
multiple video cards so you can power all of those
beautiful 20+ inch monitors.

#6 Will you only use your trading computer for trading?


You nor your family members should not be using
your computer for entertainment purposes. Do not
allow anyone to use your trading computer. Get an
inexpensive laptop for others to do whatever they
like to do.

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#7 Do you have a backup computer and an alternate
means of accessing the web? At any given time either
your computer or internet connection could fail you.
A backup plan is necessary when in financial markets.

To combat this make sure you have the following:


Have an extra laptop handy. Doesn’t have to be
anything fancy, but just enough that you can finish up
the trading day. Make sure the backup machine is fully
charged. You may be stuck without power for a few
hours. Have another internet service provider, in the
event your provider has issues. Another option is to set
up your phone as a hotspot; not an ideal solution, but
it will work. Make sure all your equipment is connected
to a heavy duty surge protector that cuts off power.

#8 Does your room have windows? Being able to look


out the window for a few rays can be a positive and
uplifting experience. Don't have a window? Make sure to
take breaks and get some fresh air. Being at the charts
all day can be taxing.

#9 Can you follow a schedule when day trading at


home? At work you always have a schedule, whether you
want to admit it or not. No matter how flexible your boss
is, you are expected to work a set minimum number of
hours during the day or week. Your trading at home
operation should be no different. Have a set time every
morning that you will be in your chair ready to start
researching your trades for the day.

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Also, think about when you plan on taking lunch.
Depending on how ambitious you are, you may be
saying to yourself, “I’ll just power through it." Wrong.
You need to eat; it provides you much needed energy
and also gives you a break from the trading day.
We're not suggesting you to take a 2 hour lunch every
day, but a 30 minute or 1 hour break will do you and
your trading some good.

#10 Do you have your Family’s & Friend's support?


While they may not understand the details of your
trading and investing, you will undoubtedly need their
support. There is simply no way you will be able to pull
this off without them. In terms of trading at home, they
are a part of your business, simply because they are
also at home. Will they respect your office boundaries
and not constantly walk in and out of your space?
Are they prepared to keep the rest of the house quiet,
so you can focus on your trading activity? Could you
handle when there is tension in the air? Will you still be
able to approach each and every trading day with
confidence?

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Trading Software
You’re going to need a lot of data and platforms to get
started in trading. Both new and experienced traders
can benefit from using one of the many trading software
options available in the market to support their trading
decisions. Automated and manual trading software's
are available with varying levels of sophistication to
meet different needs. All brokers will provide you with
trading software's to help you with setups based on your
trading strategy and when to enter/exit trades.

Charting software will also help you observe patterns


over short and long-term periods that allows you to
track changes. There are many online options that can
accomplish this, often for free. TradingView is the
platform we recommend. TradingView has everything
you need to start. Finally, stocks, currencies,
commodities, and other investments are often affected
by news, particularly on a day-to-day basis. Breaking
news providers can help you react to news that impacts
your trades quickly. Please refer to Fundamental Analysis
for more information.

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Brokers
What Is A Broker?
The person or firm that will assist you in buying or selling
a financial product.

Why Do I Need A Broker?


You cannot participate in the financial markets as a
trader and investor without a broker.

What To Look Out For In A Brokerage?


There are two categories of brokers. Regulated and
Unregulated. Regulated brokers are those who are
registered with a financial regulatory body of the
country/countries they operate in and they must
comply with the rules set by that specific authority.
Working with a regulated broker comes with security
but can have its limitations depending on the size of
the used capital. Unregulated brokers do not have to
comply with any rules and can behave in any way they
choose to behave. Working with an unregulated broker
can lead exposure to higher levels of risk.

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Advantages of working with a Regulated Broker are:
Transparency in trading processes
Trader fund security
The remedy in case of a dispute
Protection from fraudulent activity

Disadvantages of working with a Regulated Broker:


Limited leverage
Limited financial products to trade based on amount
of available capital

Advantages of working with an Unregulated Broker:


Freedom and flexibility in trading
Access to higher leverage
Not restricted to financial products
Ability to begin trading with small accounts

Disadvantages of working with an Unregulated Broker:


No security
High levels of fraud
No capital protection
No transparency

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What Brokers Do You Recommend?
For United States Clients:
TD Ameritrade
Forex.com
Oanda

For International Clients:


Blueberry Markets
Pepperstone
IC Markets

Being financially regulated is very important and equally


important is the environment, the tools and support the
broker provides. When you begin your search for a
broker make sure they have a trading platform which is
easy to navigate and has all the needed tools, including
advanced charts and optimal speed. Check for the
availability of a variety of accounts with features you
need, suitable minimum deposit requirements, the
right spread and leverage. In addition check their list
of products to make sure they have what you are
looking for, check their availability for support, if they
have an account manager, the operating schedule of
their customer support and if they have headquarters
you can verify. Knowledge is power, do your research
before choosing a broker.

27
CHAPTER 2:
TRADING GAMEPLANS
How To Identify Direction
A trend is a consistency of points of value and these
points represent whether the trend is moving up or down.
To establish a trend, four points must develop. These four
points develop in two main sequences. For a bullish trend
to develop we must receive a low, a high, a higher low,
and a higher high. For a bearish trend to develop we
must receive a high, a low, a lower high, and a lower low.
Once these four points have developed then a valid trend
has formed.

Higher
Higher
High
High High
High
High Continuation

Impulse High

Higher
Low Higher
Low
Low Low
Low

High
High
High Lower
Lower
High
High

Impulse
Low
Lower
Low Lower
Low
Low Continuation Low

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Entries & Exits
Impulse Entry
An impulse entry is an entry when price is breaking
through any key higher timeframe levels. These levels
are typically found on the Weekly and Daily timeframe.
Once price is near these levels, we then go down to the
lower time frames and start finding our points of entry.
When price is nearing these key levels, we will do the ff:

1. Move to the 15 minute timeframe and wait


for a successful break and close of the key level.

15 Minute
Timeframe
Candle needs to
break the Daily
Lower High

2. If the 15 minute timeframe does not successfully break and


close above the key level we then move to the next higher
timeframe and repeat the process. We will continue to move
up in timeframes until we reach the 4 hour timeframe.

15 Minute
Timeframe Candlestick breaks
above the Daily
Lower High

29
3. Once price succesfully breaks and closes above
the key level, we will then take an entry.

15 Minute
Timeframe
Entry is taken after the
close of the candlestick

4. The target should be a minimum 1:1 risk to reward (R:R)


or the next key level and the stoploss should be below/above
the most recent higher low or lower high of the
timeframe of which you have entered.

15 Minute
1:1 R:R was reached and
Timeframe hit the Weekly Lower
High (Key Level)

30
Rejection Entry
A rejection entry is a counter trend entry. We will never
look for this type of trade before an impulse entry has
happened. After an impulse entry has taken place we
will do the following:

1. Move to the 4 hour timeframe and look for candle wicks at


a key level which will indicate deceleration and
exhaustion of price. Then mark your 4 hour key levels.

Price is struggling
to get past the
4 Hour Daily Lower High

Timeframe

2.The goal is to break down the most recent movement.

4 Hour
Timeframe

This was the most 4 Hour Higher Low


recent movement up, inline with the Daily
Higher Low, adds
which is now starting to
extra confluence
break down

31
3. Once price succesfully breaks and closes below/above
the key level, we will then take an entry.

4 Hour
Timeframe

Entry is taken after the


close of the candlestick

4. The target should be a minimum 1:1 risk to reward (R:R)


or the next key level and the stoploss should be below/above
the most recent higher low or lower high of the timeframe
of which you have entered.

4 Hour
Timeframe

1:1 R:R was reached in


addition to the Weekly
Higher Low (Key Level)

32
3rd Point Entries
A 3rd point entry is an entry that happens after the
impulse. A 3rd point entry can never take place without
an impulse. After an impulse entry has taken place we
will do the following:

1. Move to the 4 hour, 2 hour, or 1 hour timeframe and


look for price to pullback to the previous Daily High/Low
or Daily Higher Low/Lower High.

4 Hour
Timeframe

Price rejected the Daily


Lower High and pulled
into the Past Daily High

2. This trade can be entered in one of two ways.


Set a limit order on the key level, or look for candle
wicks at a key level which will indicate deceleration
and exhaustion of price and manually enter.

4 Hour
Timeframe
Price is exhausting and
decelerating, respecting
the Past Daily High

Buy limit is placed


on a Past Daily High

33
3. The target should be a minimum 1:1 risk to reward (R:R)
or the next key level and your stoploss should be
below/above the most recent higher low or lower high
of the timeframe of which you have entered.

4 Hour
Timeframe

A buy limit can be set but some


draw down may be expected.
If the buy limit is not placed,
then wait for the candle to close

1:1 R:R is hit and the


4 Hour Daily Lower High as
well (Key level)
Timeframe

34
Continuation Entries
A continuation entry is an entry that happens after
the impulse. A continuation entry can never take place
without an impulse. After an impulse entry has taken
place we will do the following:

1. Move to the 4 hour, 2 hour, or 1 hour timeframe and


look for price to develop a 4 point counter trend.

2 Hour
Timeframe

The counter trend can


be seen formed on the
2 Hour Timeframe

2. Then mark the key levels of the 4 point counter trend.

2 Hour
In this area of price, a 2
hour Lower High can be

Timeframe
seen. The 2 hour Lower
High formed which is
a key level

35
3. Look for a successful break below/above the key level
of the 4 point counter trend then take the entry.

2 Hour
A successful break above
Timeframe the 2 hour Lower High

4. The target should be a minimum 1:1 risk to reward (R:R)


or the next key level and your stoploss should be
below/above the most recent higher low or lower high
of the timeframe of which you have entered.

1:1 R:R in this trade


2 Hour is aligned with the
Timeframe Daily Lower High
(Key Level)

36
CHAPTER 3:
GETTING FUNDED
The Importance Of Capital
There is a huge conversation regarding capital
for trading & investing. "Is it better to just try to turn a
$100 account to $100,000 or is it better to get funded or
should I simply compound over time?" There are many
questions and conversations, but the main thing that
keeps being a relevant topic in this conversation is
capital.

Now without capital, in the bigger picture, you wont be


able to grow. Yes, you can grow a $100 account to
something, but this is like being the Michael Jordan or
Kobe Bryant of trading. You can tell yourself all you want
that you are one of the best in the game, but if the
results are not the same, then you have to face the facts.

There are some traders that can trade with low amount
of capital and get an abnormal amount of return,
but the downside of this is that the risk that is being
used can completely wipe away the whole account.
Capital allows you to mitigate the problems that arise
from trading with small capital.

37
How To Acquire Capital?
Now there are multiple ways to acquire capital.
The first way is through a prop firm and get a funded
account. Every prop firm is different and have certain
rules in place not only to protect them but as well to
protect you as the trader.

The second way is to be self-funded and work for your


capital. This means either having a job or a business
and depositing some sort of percentage of that income
into a trading account and grow the account slowly. This
can take time but will be the most fruitful in the end
because your patience in compounding the account will
develop traits that most wont be able to acquire in such
a short amount of time.

Another option is capital management from friends,


family or even investors. Now this can take time as well
because what most people want is a guarantee and in
this field, there can never be 100% guarantee. So what
is needed for something like this is a track record and
a pitch deck, something you can actually provide to
someone that is looking to invest capital with you.

38
Types Of Prop Firms
There are many different types of prop firms out right
now, but the main things to look for is credibility, reviews
and see if they have great customer support in case any
issues are to arise.

Since there are so many different types of prop firms,


we will explain to you a basic approach to how prop
firms operate.

They will typically have 4 different types of funded


accounts, an example would be the following:

$25,000
$50,000
$100,000
$200,000

Each one of these funded accounts comes at a cost but


is refunded to you in your first payout upon completion
of the challenge.

Upon passing the initial stage of the challenge, the prop


firm will have capital targets in which once these targets
are achieved the prop firm will increase their funding to
you. As long as the rules of the prop firm are followed
you will have the ability to trade with larger capital.

39
CHAPTER 4:
BECOMING A
FULL-TIME TRADER
The Necessary Steps
This is probably the most talked about topic in trading
from how to become a full time trader and when is the
proper time. The answers will differ depending on the
individual but these factiors are the most important to
take in to consideration before transitioning into a full
time trader:

1. How long have you been consistently profitable?


If you are not consistently profitable for at least 1 year,
you should not consider becoming a full time trader.

2. How much money do you need to make to cover your


living expenses and to allow for growth in your account?

3. What account size do you need in order to make the


money you require to live? This can be found by
understanding your trading performance statistics.

40
4. What is life like as a full time trader? Life as a full time
trader is much different than working a full time job and
trading on the side. When trading full time, you have a
lot more time on your hands and that can either result
in a positive or negative variable in your trading. Before
becoming a full time trader, slowly adjust to your work
schedule to get a better grip of what full time trading is
like.

5. How much money do you have saved for a rainy day?


Trading has its ups but it also has its downs. Not every
day or every week or every month, you are going to
make money. Because of this you need to account for
those time periods and make sure you have money on
the side so that you don't have to pull out money from
your trading account for your living expenses.

6. Understand the business of trading. Trading has high


gains and also has high taxes. Understand what the laws
associated with trading in your country are and make
sure you factor this in when accounting for how much
money you need in a trading account. It may be
beneficial for you to open up your own business which
will allow for you to save from trading related expenses.

7. This is an ongoing process and you will continue to


find what works best for you as time goes on. If you
factor in the above tips before making the decision of
becoming a full time trader, you will be well on your way
to success.

41
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