In today’s video update, I want to show you how to take the guessing out of trading. Using Hawkeye’s suite of powerful tools, we show definitive entries and exits. This forms the basis of building a trading plan on a solid set of rules. Today’s example is from the daily S&P 500 e-mini futures contract, ES.

Hawkeye uses trend, volume and momentum together, over multiple timeframes, to help any trader know when to make the trade. Coupled with multiple-timeframes, this provides the key element in the decision process. Gone are the days of guessing whether the trade will work or not. Take the guessing out of trading and put probabilities on your side. Stop the guessing game. Learn to trade the Hawkeye way.

Click Here for the Free Book (The Lost Art of Volume Price Analysis)

Yesterday we had a very crude conversation about crude oil. I shared the Hawkeye Perspective on what to look for, and how to watch for the trade setup. Today, I show exactly how it played out, hitting both the upside and downside targets I gave you yesterday. Trading the news safely is possible.

Trading the News

The 3 minute price bar defines the range of the reaction of price to the news event. With patience, I show how volume led me in the direction of the trade setup, and the resulting profit potential. Again, volume shows the reversal and the market’s intent. Therefore, you can make the trade with confidence.

The Hawkeye Roadkill identified when the higher timeframes aligned with my 3 minute chart. This alignment setup, following our 3 Step Entry Method, showed how even more profits could have been made – just following the rules. As a result, confidence could be boosted, and bottom-line results increased.

In summary, the potential results could be $140 on the first trade and $440 on the 2nd for a single contract. If 3 contracts were traded, the results could be $420 on the 1st trade and $1950 on the 2nd. Learn to trade the news safely trading the Hawkeye way.

Click Here for the Free Book (The Lost Art of Volume Price Analysis)

In today’s update I share with you one of my favorite trade setups. Of course, volume leads the way, showing the market’s intent and direction ahead of time. But waiting for the trade to setup and knowing when to enter is the key. It’s called patience, and I’ll show you how we do it in today’s video.

Consolidation is the market’s way of telling you trend is about to occur. At Hawkeye, we teach how to identify consolidation. We also teach how to know when consolidation is broken, and a new trend has begun. So waiting for the trade to setup is the key to catching the trend. That’s why it’s one of my favorite trade setups.

When I see a well defined consolidation area, I know exactly how to define the breakout. Then when volume confirms the breakout, and I get confirming entry signals from my longer time frame charts, I’m free to enter the trade. I enter with confidence and with probabilities on my side.

So come to class and learn to trade the Hawkeye way.

Click Here for the Free Book (The Lost Art of Volume Price Analysis)

Sometimes you need to know when not to trade. Hawkeye identifies this very clearly using multiple timeframes. I illustrate it for you in today’s market update.

The Hawkeye Perspective
Using the daily, weekly, and monthly charts, Hawkeye Trend shows that all three charts are trend neutral. The monthly chart is in a neutral uptrend, the weekly chart is in a neutral congested downtrend, and the daily chart is in a neutral downtrend. When the trend is neutral, it is a good sign of choppy range-bound trading.

Therefore, it’s good to know when not to trade. Trading during congestion results in weak trends, and choppy price action. It kills trend trading strategies. The Hawkeye Trend was designed to keep you safe, and help identify weak, neutral trends. Learn to trade the Hawkeye way.

Click Here for the Free Book (The Lost Art of Volume Price Analysis)

Learn to trade multiple timeframes with safety. Hawkeye teaches how to trade volume and price using triple timeframes. Even when our signals are not perfectly aligned, we still can find great trade setups with confidence. Watch how I identified this Crude Oil setup in today’s video update.

In trading, patience is the key. When you see the faster timeframes setup, you MUST wait for the slower timeframes to align. It just keeps you safe, and out of the chop and noise. Therefore, if you practice patience, you reap the rewards.

By waiting for the proper time to enter, I show the 1st potential target of $0.29 was achieved. This equates to $290/contract, in about 45 minutes time. Plus, there is the potential for more to come by holding the trend. You can trade multiple timeframes with safety if you learn to trade the Hawkeye Way.

Click Here for the Free Book (The Lost Art of Volume Price Analysis)

by Guest Columnist, Kenneth Reid, Ph.D

Hi… this is Dr. Kenneth Reid from HawkeyeMindset.com

Reduce Your Errors

I would like to speak about how to reduce your trading errors. Like tennis, trading is a game of errors. In other words, we generally self-limit our success. Our outcome improves when we make fewer errors .

If your trading method has a potential 60-70% win rate, but on 2 out of 10 trades you execute poorly, it will be difficult to make money as a trader.

So it pays to strive for perfection in those elements that are under our control, since randomness plays such a large role overall.

First Mouse Syndrome

One of the most common issues traders face is a collection of behaviors I call the “First Mouse Syndrome.”

“First Mice” get whacked when they go for the cheese.

One reason is that First Mice tend to be excitable and they enter trades too early. It could be from greed, fear of missing out or just plain impulsiveness. Impulsiveness is usually driven by an over-reliance on intuition and an under-utilization of a technical method.

Premature entries lead to taking “heat” because the market has not yet developed internal coherence. The more push-back we experience, the more defensive we get. This leads to micromanaging trades and tightening mental stops.

Unfortunately, this almost always works against the trend trader. The key to trend trading is to give the market sufficient room to breathe once a trend is established.

The Hawkeye Trend Indicator

The Hawkeye Trend and Stops indicator is designed to do precisely this. However, with the three speed settings, you have some discretion in how you apply this indicator. Because first mice prefer to get in early, they will typically set Hawkeye Trend to ‘Aggressive.’

If you find that you are getting stopped out of good trades, you may be experiencing the stop hunting games that typically occur in futures and forex near key support and resistance levels. These games trap and punish First Mice.

The irony is that responsible First Mice stop themselves out willingly because they have been taught to manage risk with relatively tight stops. They want to “keep losses small and let winners run.” But 1 wrong + 1 right = Zero (a breakeven trader, at best.)

If you are getting stopped out and then find that the market often reverses and goes your original way, it may help you to think like The Second Mouse.

The Second Mouse

The Second Mouse gets the cheese by simply waiting for First Mice to be stopped out before taking action.

First mice tend to get stopped out when the first pullback fails. For example, if they shorted, the market quickly makes a new high and stops them out. . . and then the downtrend resumes.

If they went long, the market makes a new low and stops them out. . . and then the uptrend resumes.

This process creates the common ABC countertrend patterns that occur within trends. You will get stopped out on the A-leg of the ABC if your stop is too tight . If this is happening for you, consider adjusting Hawkeye Trend and Stops to the Conservative setting.

Moreover, it’s usually not a good idea to use mental stops to manage positions in a trend. Chances are you will react to random noise, micromanage your trade and choke it off.

Closing

You can watch a free video that discusses the First Mouse Syndrome by following the link below. It’s the latest video in the Hawkeye Mindset Mastermind Breakthrough program, which gives you highly practical weekly videos on trading psychology. Check out HawkeyeMindset.com for more information.

Download the free video sample here:

Hawkeye Mindset Mastermind Breakthrough Video Series – First Mouse Syndrome

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Join Randy in the next free LIVE Hawkeye Demonstration Room held every Wednesday at 9.30am EST US. You will learn more about volume and volume price analysis and see more examples and live trade setups. It is open to all.

Click this link for more information or to join us in class.

Learn to trade the Hawkeye way.

Randy Lindsey
Hawkeye Traders, LLC

Greetings Hawkeye traders, this is Dr. Kenneth Reid from HawkeyeMindset.com . We all want to improve our trading. What’s the best way to accomplish that?

Lazy Traders?

It’s not a question of working harder. There are no lazy traders. In fact, we have the opposite problem: screen time seems to increase way beyond what we originally expected. (Just ask your spouse.)

Unfortunately, screen time isn’t directly correlated with an improvement in our bottom-lines. Why not?

Like any profession, trading well depends on a proper mindset and the execution of specific skills. . . skills that need to be practiced.

Raw screen time doesn’t necessarily build these skills. . . or any skills, for that matter. In fact, excessive screen time can tire you out, zone you out. . . and keep you from developing the real-time skills you need.

It’s a paradox: trading too much is the most common trader problem that’s not even recognized as a problem. Check out this comment from the owner of a popular futures prop shop:

“Our average profitable trader is active less than 3 hours a day. Our average struggling trader logs more than 6 hours a day.”

And I know traders who are in front of their screens 12 hours a day or more!

Sure. . . it’s natural to try harder when you are not getting the results you expect. And it’s natural to expect your results to be proportional to your effort. And in some fields of endeavor these expectations are correct.

But trading isn’t one of them.

Here’s why.

The typical struggling trader operates with an idiosyncratic mix of biases, goals, predictions, snap judgments, impulses and intuitions combined with an equally eclectic set of technical tools.

Although you may swear loyalty to a particular method, such as Hawkeye, when push comes to shove in live trading, many traders quietly change the game.

In this ad hoc situation, the number of unique discretionary combinations available to enter, manage and exit any one trade… probably runs into the thousands.

When the pressure is on, consistency becomes elusive. So elusive that our results can be much worse than chance. Seriously. It will seem like you are missing virtually all the good trades and taking virtually all the bad trades!

I know it sounds impossible, but I hear about this often and I’ve experienced it myself. It causes traders to profoundly mistrust themselves and feel almost cursed.

The good news is that the solution is within everyone’s reach.

Good trading relies on a small group of attitudes and abilities that are the opposite of the idiosyncratic mix we have, by default, in our heads.

Good trading is:

1. Unbiased,
2. process orientated,
3. well-planned,
4. disciplined, and sometimes
5. counterintuitive.

A Trading Mindset

This is the mindset needed to trade successfully. We call it the Hawkeye Mindset. (This is how Randy trades, right?) Without it, you are subject to your own random discretionary ideas, impulses and behavior.

Mindset is crucial, but it’s not enough. We also have to master the specific skills regarding entering, managing and exiting trades. Mindset needs to be practiced. . . and so do the skills.

But frankly, most traders never actually practice. . . they just analyze and trade.

Either they feel they don’t have time to practice, they don’t think practice is important, or they think trading itself is practice. But it’s not.

Truly effective practice has three essential ingredients: It’s…

1. Specific,
2. Measurable, and
3. Progressive. . . which means the challenge increases incrementally over time.

I call this “Conscious Practice.” Conscious practice creates hundreds of small breakthroughs, which generate measurable macro improvement. (And they generate dopamine, too. . . so you will enjoy practicing.)

This isn’t just a theory. . . this is the training method that resulted in 90 new records at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

And if you start applying it, you can break through your own limits and set new performance records on a regular basis.

So here’s a quick quiz:

Conscious Practice is ____________, ______________, and ____________ .

Ready to start?

Step 1: Pick a specific attitude or skill you want to get better at. Get very specific.

Step 2: Set measurable goals and track your progress using market replay or practice in a live market in Simulation mode.

Step 3: As you make progress, progressively raise your criteria for success.

Key Point: This recommendation may shock you. . . if you are not yet profitable. . . spend 90% of your time practicing conscious skill development in Simulation Mode. . . and 10% trading live. As you notice your mindset and skills improving, gradually increase the proportion of live trading.

If you are ready to start your own program of conscious practice, download the free video below, which is part of the low-cost Hawkeye Mastermind coaching program available on HawkeyeMindset.com

Hawkeye Mindset Mastermind – Does Practice Make Perfect?

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Join me in the next free LIVE Hawkeye Demonstration Room held every Wednesday at 9.30am EST US. You will learn more about volume and volume price analysis and see more examples and live trade setups. It is open to all.

Click this link for more information or to join us in class.

Learn to trade the Hawkeye way.

Randy Lindsey
Hawkeye Traders, LLC

Mindset of a Successful Trader

It doesn’t matter the amount of money you have. It doesn’t matter if you are a great technical analyst. It also doesn’t matter your depth of knowledge in trading. If you don’t have the right trading mindset, you may never become a successful trader.

The type of mindset you have will determine if you are going to succeed or fail. While having a great psychology is important in trading, most traders just ignore it and see it as something they will work on later. This is a huge mistake.

If you are trading with a wrong mindset, it is not about the money you have in risk capital or how much you have mastered your strategy, you can still fail. No amount of money or strategies can make you successful if you do not have the right mindset about trading.

Below are some important trader mindsets you need to understand if you want to achieve lasting success in the market.

Money and mindset

The truth is that risking money during trading influences your mindset. One important factor to consider in maintaining and achieving the right trading mindset is proper risk management. When you risk more than what you can handle emotionally, this may affect all other part of your trading. This may lead to having a wrong mindset immediately when the trade starts. You may become over emotional and anxious, which is not good for the business. The best approach is to begin your first live trades with small amounts. You have to ‘test the waters’ so as to know your risk spot where your emotion is not too high.

Expectations are key

Most people usually come into the business with high and unrealistic expectations on different things. They are not realistic about how long it will take them to properly learn trading, how long to become consistent and successful, and how frequently they are going to win trades. Starting something with a load of unimaginable expectations, you are simply getting ready for emotional pain.

You have to relinquish every emotional attachment to trading. And also minimizing your risk, just as we have discussed before, can be achieved by not setting too high expectations about your trades.

Simple is better

As humans, we always have the tendency to make simple things complicated, we make things harder than they really should be. This is very true when it comes to trading. Having a messy and complicated trading strategy is the number one thing that can negatively influence your mindset. It is very important that you stay calm and clear your head when trading, and for this to be possible, you need a simple trading strategy, especially one using volume and price action.

Summary

Therefore, building a foundation with a simple but very effective trading strategy is the first step to achieving a proper trading mindset. Next, with a balanced money management approach and with properly managed expectations, consistency and discipline, you will be on the way to developing the right trading mindset, and therefore, consistent trading success.

At Hawkeye Traders, we not only equip you with world-class indicators, and with strategies and training that help you on your trading journey, but we also train you on the proper mindset. We have a whole website dedicated to developing a successful mindset: http://www.hawkeyemindset.com/mastermind/

 

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Join me in the next free LIVE Hawkeye Demonstration Room held every Wednesday at 9.30am EST US. You will learn more about volume and volume price analysis and see more examples and live trade setups. It is open to all.

Click this link for more information or to join us in class.

Learn to trade the Hawkeye way.

Randy Lindsey
Hawkeye Traders, LLC

by Guest Columnist, Kenneth Reid, Ph.D

Hi… this is Dr. Kenneth Reid from HawkeyeMindset.com This week I’d like to discuss “Multitasking.”

Traders multitask to reduce anxiety and for neuro-stimulation. There’s an upside and a downside to this habit. Let’s take a look at how all this works and I’ll provide a link that will help you change this habit (or any habit) in just 5 minutes a day.

ANXIETY REDUCTION

Traders subscribe to news feeds and guru blogs or chat rooms to help explain and predict market movement. We naturally want to know “why” the market did X and not Y, and what it is likely to do next, because knowledge (even pseudo-knowledge) lessens anxiety.

The question then becomes: “Although you may feel better, how does that ‘knowledge’ actually affect your trading?”

Often theories and predictions work against us, because they are so subjective. If we have a theory about something it can be difficult to see the objective truth… if the truth doesn’t accord with our theory. And that disconnect can get us on the wrong side of the market.

For example, if you think the market ‘should’ go up, you will probably miss the entry for the short sale.

NEUROSTIM

Multitasking also provides neuro-stimulation, the universal antidote to boredom.

Some traders get bored almost immediately… and they absolutely hate it. For them, multitasking is like an ADD drug, because information, engagement, hyperfocus and risk are stimulants that induce a state of pleasant concentration and mild euphoria. It’s a dopamine high.

Consequently, multitasking for ‘neurostim’ can easily slide into trading addiction. Like a slot machine player, these traders are trading to trade. I’ve seen this addictive behavior in doctors and dentists who trade between patient visits or while a patient is getting prepped or numb.

I coached an anesthesiologist who traded in the hallway between operations, and a surgeon who traded forex from his hospital office. Both were losing money. The distraught wife of the anesthesiologist told me he had already burned through his kids’ college fund.

Trading addiction is also a risk for those who work from a home office. One client, a father of three, worked at home for a Fortune 500 company. He preferred to trade, so he did just enough corporate work to avoid drawing attention to himself. Although he was depleting his savings, he prioritized trading over his day job because he believed he was “on the verge of greatness.”

This particular (delusional) belief is common in male traders with Adult ADD or a trading addiction. They can’t see the self-deception, although spouses recognize it quite early… and it scares them.

NEXT STEPS

Reading about multitasking, or any other trader issue, is useful, but it’s not sufficient to actually change a sub-optimal trading behavior. You will forget about it in 5 minutes and go back to trading the way you always have. Nothing will really change.

However, if you are interested in reaching your full potential as a trader as quickly as possible then get on the fast track… join our new Mastermind Breakthrough program at Hawkeyemindset.com.

You get a weekly experiential video that will empower you to eliminate bad trading habits and install good ones in just 5 minutes a day. 50 videos a year on 50 practical topics essential for trading mastery. It’s the easiest way for traders to increase discipline and improve your trading on a daily basis.

The Mastermind Breakthrough videos are based on the same principles and techniques used by Olympic coaches and trainers for Navy Seals. Results have been phenomenal… and if you can afford Netflix, you can afford this service.

Go to www.hawkeyemindset.com/mastermind to find out more.

 

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Join us in the next free LIVE Hawkeye Demonstration Room held every Wednesday at 9.30am EST US. You will learn more about volume and volume price analysis and see more examples and live trade setups. It is open to all.

Click this link for more information or to join us in class.

Learn to trade the Hawkeye way.

Good trading,

Randy Lindsey
Hawkeye Traders, LLC

by Guest Columnist, Kenneth Reid, Ph.D

Hi… this is Dr. Kenneth Reid from HawkeyeMindset.com

Commitment

Every trader I’ve ever met or coached has been 100% committed to trading. When I ask…“When do you plan on retiring from trading?” I always get the same answer: “Never!”

But what are most traders really committed to?

Based on hundreds of coaching interviews, most aspiring traders are committed to various Outcomes… such as winning, making money, becoming wealthy, being right, figuring it all out.

While we all want these things, a commitment to Outcome, per se, can actually work against the aspiring trader. That’s the sticky paradox of trading for a living.

The Commitment Perspective Change

Over the years, I’ve noticed that there comes a time in every trader’s development when he or she needs to make a different type of commitment in order to achieve their full potential. Otherwise they stay permanently stuck at whatever level they are on.

To better understand this, I’d like you to listen to some words about commitment that continue to inspire me. They were written by a Scottish explorer and mountaineer who survived imprisonment in POW camps during WWII.

He didn’t just “face” challenges that befell him, he sought them out. He assumed risk. And in doing so, he learned a secret that literally saved his life. I think it’s something we all need to learn because trading is dangerous, too.

You can watch a free 3-minute video version of this article and hear his famous words here

(This article will have more impact/value if you listen to that video.)

The Commitment Challenge

So today I’m going to challenge all aspiring Hawkeye traders to make a commitment…not to an Outcome… but to an ongoing Process of self-improvement. What would you be improving exactly? Your ability to skillfully and effectively assume risk.

Having this ability gets us into “The Zone,” the sweet spot that lies between being foolhardy on the one hand, and risk averse on the other. As I mentioned in a previous article, another name for this mental-emotional state is ‘flow.’

And the happy paradox is that if we make a commitment to continuous self-improvement, we seem to encounter serendipitous support for achieving all our goals. This isn’t magical thinking…it’s the essence of mastery.

Next week I’ll discuss a way for Hawkeye traders to transform your commitment into highly practical action steps. Stay tuned.

 

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Join us in the next free LIVE Hawkeye Demonstration Room held every Wednesday at 9.30am EST US. You will learn more about volume and volume price analysis and see more examples and live trade setups. It is open to all.

Click this link for more information or to join us in class.

Learn to trade the Hawkeye way.

Good trading,

Randy Lindsey
Hawkeye Traders, LLC