Episode Summary: Why Holding Winning Trades is So Difficult (10 Steps to Fix) In this insightful episode, we delve into the complex psychology behind one of the trading industry's most echoed mantras: "Run your winners and cut your losses." While this advice may seem straightforward, the reality of implementing it is anything but simple, especially for those new to trading or struggling to turn a profit. Our discussion kicks off by exploring why holding onto trades is inherently challenging, even for professional traders, who focus on the present rather than predicting the future with zero certainty. We uncover the primal psychology driving our difficulty in letting go of trades, linking it to our instinctual need for security and survival. This subconscious directive, honed over thousands of years, significantly influences our trading decisions, often leading to stress and irrational choices when faced with the perceived risk of a trade. The episode then shifts towards practical strategies to overcome this primal fear. We emphasize the importance of maintaining an active source of income outside trading to alleviate survival pressures. By breaking the association of trading with survival risk, traders can approach the market more rationally. We recommend starting with the smallest position sizes, focusing on modest wins, and gradually extending the duration of profitable trades as confidence and experience grow. Moreover, we discuss the value of backtesting and creating mental reset anchors, such as meditation or engaging in relaxing activities, to help manage emotional responses during trading. Building a long-term investment strategy is also highlighted as a way to mitigate survival fears over time. Acknowledging the inconvenient truth that the market's next move is inherently unpredictable, we encourage traders to embrace this uncertainty as a normal part of trading. Personal development and expanding one’s mindset are underscored as crucial for growing wealth consciousness and achieving trading success. Concluding the episode, we reiterate that while the concept of running winners and cutting losses may sound simple, the emotional and psychological hurdles make it a complex skill to master. However, with determination, patience, and the right strategies, traders can learn to navigate these challenges, transforming their trading journey from a battle for survival into a path towards financial freedom. Get out there and hunt!   Checkout the TRADEPRO FREE Futures Trading Course here Enjoying this podcast? We’d appreciate it if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Join our FREE trading room here Follow me on Instagram here and on Twitter here

Episode Summary: When to Trust Your Intuition in Trading (How to Develop It) In this special episode #111, a number often associated with guidance and enlightenment, we dive into the intriguing intersection of intuition and trading. This episode explores the concept of angel number 111, highlighting its message of seeking guidance to fulfill one's life purpose and the promise of happiness, abundance, and success it brings. It's a fitting backdrop as we delve into the nuanced art of using intuition to make better decisions, surpassing the capabilities of the analytical mind. However, the journey to effectively harnessing intuition in trading is not without its challenges. We emphasize the critical need for experience and training before relying on intuition. Initially, intuition might lead you astray, especially in fields where you lack expertise, such as trading. This is because intuition operates as a rapid decision-making tool based on your accumulated experiences and knowledge. For newcomers, intuition may offer advice opposite of what is beneficial, reflecting the risk-averse decision-making patterns ingrained by societal norms. To navigate this, we lay out a roadmap for integrating intuition into your trading strategy. Starting without intuition is advised for beginners, focusing instead on developing a solid strategy, practicing on simulations or with microtransactions. A checklist or trading plan becomes essential during this phase, acting as a tangible guide to discipline and patience in your trading endeavors. The shift towards trusting your intuition comes with time and experience. It's a moment marked by your ability to execute trades and analyze markets without heavily relying on your checklist, indicating that your intuition has been honed by hours of conscious practice and experience. This transition signifies that intuition is now informed by a rich database of trading experiences, making it a valuable ally rather than a gamble. In the episode, we also share personal insights into the transformation that occurs when intuition, shaped by thousands of trades and extensive market experience, begins to lead decision-making. The culmination of this journey is a trading approach that may seem unstructured to outsiders but is deeply rooted in a vast reservoir of strategies and experiences, from market cycles to geopolitical events. In essence, this episode not only demystifies the role of intuition in trading but also provides a practical guide for developing and trusting your intuitive sense. It underscores the message that with patience, practice, and the right approach, intuition can evolve to be a powerful tool in a trader's arsenal, leading to informed and inspired trading decisions. Checkout the TRADEPRO FREE Futures Trading Course here Enjoying this podcast? We’d appreciate it if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Join our FREE trading room here Follow me on Instagram here and on Twitter here

Mind Over Markets Podcast Show Notes Summary: Episode - "The Hard Realization that Once You’re a Trader, You’re a Trader Forever” CLICK TO SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK HERE Host: George Papazov. Trading experience: 24 years. Founder of TRADEPRO Academy. Highlights the global community of traders at TRADEPRO Academy.   Podcast Is Back: Explanation for the 2-year hiatus. Recognition of the podcast's top 1% ranking in Spotify's yearly wrapped numbers. Emotional reaction to podcast success. Humorous denial of tears due to traders being "emotionless robots." Announcement: "I'M BACK!"   Future Plans: Return to a weekly schedule, every Thursday at 3 AM EST. Focus on trading psychology, order flow technicals, performance, and wholesome content. Initial solo-style episodes for audience feedback.   Engagement and Interaction: Audience encouraged to give the podcast a chance and provide feedback. Introduction of a platform for questions and feedback: speakpipe.com/himom. Host's Journey:   Insight into the host's last two years. Pursuit of childhood dream in music. Pause in music career after a friend's tragic accident in 2003. Mid-life crisis decision to try music after 20 years of trading. Creation of a studio and production of songs with significant streaming success (400,000+ streams).   Comparison of Trading and Music: Acknowledgment of the challenges in the music business. Recognition that trading offers faster and more consistent income compared to music. Lifestyle impact of the music industry, affecting family life and health.   The Pull of Trading: Financial aspects and the devaluation of money after successful trading. Lifestyle comparison with the studio life, its impact on sleep patterns, and overall well-being. Missed connection with the trading community and the challenges of the markets. Return to Trading:   Acknowledgment of trading's difficulty. The unique aspect of trading where once profitable, the skill remains. Reflection on the limitless opportunities trading provides, contrasting with other professions. Personal realization: "Once a trader, always a trader." Closing and Future Podcasts:   Acknowledgment of trading enabling the pursuit of a childhood dream in music. Comfort provided by trading as a safety blanket for exploring other interests. Acknowledgment of discomfort when straying from trading and the commitment to never lose touch again. Upcoming deep dives into trading and psychology topics. Call to action for audience participation: send voice notes on experiences and topic requests.     Expression of gratitude and love to the audience. Promise to continue creating content for and with the audience. Call to action: Leave a review on iTunes. Invitation to join the TRADEPRO Academy community at www.tradeproacademy.com. Closing Signature: "Sending you love, joy, health, and happiness, until next time." "Love you."   Checkout the TRADEPRO FREE Futures Trading Course here Enjoying this podcast? We’d appreciate it if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Join our FREE trading room here Follow me on Instagram here and on Twitter here

Want to learn how to find out what traders are doing?  This is called following the smart money, and order flow is a key analysis tool to help you gain an edge on the market. In today’s episode Leo and I discuss our trading into the end of the year, and openly share some of our personal struggles with our trading.  More importantly, we go into details on finding the problem and helping each other fix the issues. We then move into the topic of using the DOM (or price ladder).  This is a tool that allows you to see EVERY order that trades through the book.  This is a big advantage to find continuation or turning points in the stock market, and to trade with the momentum. We get down into the nitty gritty details of how to use this tool, and discuss the following in this episode: What is the Order Book Visible Liquidity Big Inventory as a Magnet / Target Why is a big sell order above a bullish thing? Why is a big buy order below a bearish thing? Hidden Liquidity This was an incredibly fun episode to record with Leo, an amazing trader and all round great person to talk trading with. We look forward to seeing you at our third installment of Between the Spread series on our podcast.  Just a reminder, new episodes of the series are released on the first Thursday of each month. Thank you so much for listening and have a wonderful day. Resources Follow LEO on Twitter here LEO's DOM here. Checkout the TRADEPRO Futures & Order Flow Course here Enjoying this podcast? We’d appreciate it if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Join our FREE trading room here Follow me on Instagram here and on Twitter here

A trading strategy is critical to your success, but do you know the process to create one? Every day we hear someone telling us that WE NEED a trading strategy.  So much emphasis is put on this topic, that new traders rush the process and are doomed from the beginning. In today’s episode, we really dive deep into the process you should follow to refine your idea into a professional trading strategy.  It isn’t just about having an idea and then going to SIM to start “testing”.   In this episode, I give you the complete steps to ensure that you create a strategy that works, because it is battle-tested and aligned TO YOU as the operator. Here is an overview of the strategy creation process: Start with an idea. Create a one-pager.  Back-test with software. A/RS - Analyze then Reiterate or Scrap  Live test in SIM. A/RS - Analyze then Reiterate or Scrap Live test with real money, small scale. Review and create a scaling plan. Trade, Review & Adjust If you follow this process, along with the notes in the podcast episode, you will find the flaws in the strategy long before you commit real money to it. This means that you will have all the confidence in the system and yourself by the time it passes the stringent quality control in the process above.   You WILL FINALLY find your edge and yourself as a trader - and that should be extremely exciting to you. Lastly, as promised, here is the “idea one-pager” I started with this holiday season to back test the 30-second opening range.  I have since made MANY changes in qualifiers and avoided the infamous chop that comes with this age old strategy. The point is, you get an idea for a starting ground FOR YOUR next trading idea. Thank you for listening, and have an amazing rest of your day. Resources Enjoying this podcast? We’d appreciate it if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Join our FREE trading room here Follow me on Instagram here and on Twitter here

Today we talk about the art of building and sustaining performance like a top athlete.  I discuss 10 TIPS to get you to step into the mindset of a top performer.   Think of the greatest things in life you have ever accomplished so far?  What are you most proud of?  Was it easy to get?  Was it any easier after you accomplished that thing? Now here’s the real question, if you’re gonna achieve more amazing things, do you REALLY believe it’s gonna get easier? NO! The truth is peak performance requires constant effort and energy to sustain.  You are never really at the top, even when OTHERS think you are.  You need constant work, internal motivation, and an obsessive desire for success. Here are 10 tips to help you channel that high-performance energy into your trading: It never gets easier, you only get stronger.  You don’t deserve to coast. You can’t just get back to peak performance, you have to work hard to STAY THERE!  Your body is your vehicle, it’s your temple, it’s a miracle - treat it well.   Your mind is a miracle.  Have an offseason, use it wisely.  Know when it’s game time, and go hard.   Look back and see how far you’ve come.  The past will never be, the future may never come as you expect it. Live in the moment. Learn to receive.  Whether you like it or not, as a trader, you are in the business of extreme performance.  You need to constantly work on yourself to maintain a high level of success, because your competition is doing that and more.   The EDGE in your trading that YOU are looking for IS YOU! Happy trading everyone. Resources Enjoying this podcast? We’d appreciate it if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Join our FREE trading room here Follow me on Instagram here and on Twitter here

In this episode Leo and myself talk about the most foundational concept of order flow trading in futures - the time and sales.  This is also called “reading the tape”.  This is a brand new segment we will be co-hosting and airing together the first Thursday of every month, where we will discuss a new order flow topic each month. For the first ever episode of our Between the Spread order flow series, we went in depth on these topics and much more: Market Receipts or (fills) - why it is important to follow these transactions and what information they reveal about large position traders Order Types - breaking down the types of orders retail and professional traders use and how they impact the time and sales and order flow At Ask - a market buyer matches with a limit seller At Bid - a market sellers matches with a limit buyer Above Ask - a big market buyer purchases all available limits and flips to next level to trade with more inventory Below Bid - a big market seller eats all the best bids and flips down to next level to trade with more inventory Above/Below = Sweeps/Aggression/MarketOrders - learning the foundational importance of what sweep orders are and how they indicate an important market sentiment - this will shock you and is opposite of what you think it means.  This is why traders often use it so wrong. Aggression (responsive) - the concept of how to see aggression in the time and sales and what it means for the current trend and sentiment Absorption (passive) -  how to find market absorption and when it can mean the trend will continue, or when it is expected to reverse Speed (how fast orders are coming through) - Gives idea or sense of potential velocity of the upcoming move. How to spot? Aggression / Absorption / Speed - applicable examples of how Leo and George use this information to form an edge in their trading strategies. How to respond once you’ve spotted? This could really be a full on lesson in any order flow day trading course, but we are here to provide information to you so you can get started with reading the time and sales. It was a blast to record with Leo, and be sure to check him out on Twitter (link below).  We are extremely excited to keep this series going and the future episodes we have planned are gonna blow your mind. We need your help though, please leave us a rating and review on iTunes if you love the show so we can bring you more great content. Thank you for listening, we’ll see you next time. Resources Follow LEO on Twitter here Checkout the TRADEPRO Futures & Order Flow Course here Enjoying this podcast? We’d appreciate it if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Join our FREE trading room here Follow me on Instagram here and on Twitter here

In today’s episode I’ll be talking about an exciting topic - what happens when you start making money in the markets?  What ways can you generate income streams outside of trading with your profits?  We’ll dive into principles of income generation, active and passive source ideas, and I reveal all my income streams on this show.   Let’s start out by the only two ways you can use to earn income, and it’s important to understand which one will work with your lifestyle at the moment. There are also only two real ways to actively earn income Trade your time for money  This is where most people make their “income” These are salary jobs that pay you fixed annual income In exchange you offer your time, your health You exchange what ELSE you would rather be doing The perception here is that “risk is low” Financially, there is a low risk BUT you are also giving up all and any opportunity to make MORE NOT ALWAYS - look at Bezos, as CEO he traded his time, for LOTS OF MONEY But his net worth DID NOT grow from his salary, but his equity stake - which is an investment in Amazon stock  Trade your money for the opportunity to make more money  This is how generational wealth is created We will all need to become investors at some point Especially if we become great day traders (make lots of money with small money) In the graphic below, courtesy of MotivationalSpeaks.com, you can see a comparison of how the wealthy spend their time and money, compared to those people without the money mindset habits.  I don’t like the word “poor”, but I think the graphic really helps you compare the mindset of each type of individual. SOURCE: MotivationalSpeaks.com In the episode, we also discussed some active and passive sources of income.  These are just ideas, and by no means an exhaustive or complete list. This should just get your gears turning and get you thinking.  The most important thing to consider is what type of income source will work for you RIGHT NOW.  It takes time and grinding with active sources until you can accumulate some savings to put the money to work.  However, we are always working actively - at any stage of our career and life. ACTIVE SOURCES Affiliate marketing Flip retail products Start a drop shipping business Create an app / business Create a blog or YouTube channel Rent out your home short-term Rent out useful household items Provide work on freelancing website Monetize your hobbies - photography, video editing, etc PASSIVE SOURCES Rental income Peer-to-peer lending Dividend stocks REITs Purchase private company ownership stake Advertise on your car And lastly, here is my personal list of income streams at the moment. I talked about each in detail, and how I plan to expand the streams in the upcoming year. My Personal Income Streams Rental properties Shareholder in private businesses - capital gain and royalty streams Shareholder of TRADEPRO Academy - active income stream Crypto node ownership Stock market portfolio - outsourced Affiliate partnerships for products I SUPPORT! Never those I don’t. That is all for this episode, I hope you enjoy the listen and learn a ton. No matter what stage of life you are in, there is always the opportunity to earn more income, and plan your next big ideas and investments. Thank you for supporting our podcast; I wish you health, happiness and great trading! Resources Enjoying this podcast? We’d appreciate it if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Join our FREE trading room here Follow me on Instagram here and on Twitter here

Day trading with hotkeys is an amazing way to increase your speed advantage and to get a better handle on your execution.  I personally don't day trade without them anymore. However, hotkeys are often used the wrong way and at the wrong time of a trader’s development journey.   In this episode, I cover these topics and more on hotkeys for day trading: Who should NOT be using hotkeys yet Questions to ask yourself to determine if you can benefit from a faster workflow Hotkeys I use for daytrading, explained one by one The software and hotkey hardware I use for super quick trading Step by step process on how to setup hotkeys for any trading platform One of the most important things to know from the very beginning, is that hotkey trading WILL CHANGE YOUR TRADING, and it could be for better or worse.  It is very important you are only using them when you are ready, and when you have a solid trading plan with a definable edge.   I would strongly NOT recommend hotkeys for any traders who are dealing with: Traders working on their impulsive and emotional trades Someone who doesn’t have a trading plan yet Swing and longer time frame traders - don’t need the speed edge New traders - it’s important to do the actions and steps yourself at first If you aren’t profitable WITHOUT hotkeys, they won’t be the holy grail - they are just assistive technology If you’ve decided you are ready to take this leap and setup your hotkeys, I’ve included some great questions to ask yourself to identify areas where you can implement hotkeys. Questions to Help You Uncover Trading Hotkey Opportunities Do you ever find that you are missing trades because you cannot get in fast enough? If so - you need trade entry hot keys - either markets or limits Is it hard for you to move your stop loss as you scramble around the price ladder or chart to find where it is and drag it up / down?  If so - stop trailing hotkeys - trail to BE is one I use. Do you find it hard to move multiple contract stops to one price level, or take profits? If so - move stop and move target hotkeys are great. Do you sometimes get into trades because you couldn’t cancel your order fast enough? If so - cancel limits Do you ever wish you could get out of trades quicker?  If so - market exit. Do you ever wish you can switch between chart drawing tools on your platform? Do you find yourself doing any repetitive, time consuming tasks overall? And as promised on the episode, here is a look at my hotkey mapping on my StreamDeck device.   Remember, this is for Sierra Charts, and your trading platform may not provide some of this functionality.  It is important to check with your platform first, and identify what can be created into a shortcut, and ultimately mapped to a hotkey. I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did recording it. Happy hotkey day trading, and I’d love to hear from you - how has this process helped you make your trading more efficient?  Are you planning to use hotkeys, which ones did you decide to go with? Happy trading - and remember, manage that risk and trade like a TRADEPRO. Resources Purchase the 15 key Elgato Stream Deck mentioned in the podcast HERE Purchase the 30 key Elgato Stream Deck XL mentioned in the podcast HERE Checkout this gaming mouse with 20 programmable hot keys built in HERE Enjoying this podcast? We’d appreciate it if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Join our FREE trading room here Follow me on Instagram here and on Twitter here

Do you blow out accounts in one day after days, weeks or even months of success?  This is a very common problem for the new trader. I know, because I have been there, and certainly done that.  The good news is, that it is fixable, if you are daring to get to the actual ROOT cause of the issue. The reality of this situation is, that it really only comes down to only 2 possible reasons this is happening: There is a lack of discipline in you as the operator - often this is a mindset issue (more later) -  There is no strategy (or you’re not following it) and you got lucky - it isn’t that YOU MADE THE MONEY, it’s that it was borrowed and with a long  enough timeline it was destined to go back to the market Now the second one is very easy to fix, but ONLY after you have addressed the root cause for your lack of discipline in trading.   Lack of discipline is often blamed as the cause of losing money in the market.  However, lack of discipline is actually THE SYMPTOM.  The actual cause is deeper than that. Often times, the “lack of discipline” is a physical manifestation of one of these deeper rooted issues: Conflicting wealth values / money mindset Lack mindset - self worth Fear of of losing, risk avoidance Fear of failing Fear of succeeding Doing it for wrong reasons The hard part about either of these, is having to admit this to yourself and accepting the responsibility to change it. In this episode I share some key questions you can ask yourself to uncover what is the real cause that’s causing you to blowout your account after stringing together some success. I really hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I did recording it. As traders we are always working on ourselves, and this is a great opportunity to take your development to the next level. As always, manage that risk and trade like a TRADEPRO. Resources Enjoying this podcast? We’d appreciate it if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Join our FREE trading room here Follow me on Instagram here and on Twitter here