When and How Should I Trade?

Educational Blogpost; Volume 1

Traders,

Hello and welcome to the first ever educational blogpost for this Substack.

This will be the first of many and I am excited to share what I have learned over the years trading various liquid markets.

Let's go ahead and get right into it.

Isaiah, why did you choose this topic as your first educational blogpost?

There were many topics I could have chosen for my first educational blogpost, whether it be about the DOM (Depth of Market), VP/MP (Volume/Market Profile), Footprint, Psychology, etc. I chose to write about this topic first because I think before a trader can become successful or profitable, he must learn to first NOT lose. I believe the key to profitability is defining risk and NOT losing money.

Thus, if you can come to learn and understand what kind of day it is intraday and what conditions you are good/not good at trading, then you can avoid taking unnecessary losses. While I think losses are a part of the game, there is a fine line between taking necessary losses and unnecessary losses. Unnecessary losses occur when one is trading what they do not understand/are not trading their edge/trading when conditions are not in their favor. Necessary losses occur when one takes a losing trade when trading their edge/conditions are in their favor. I think taking too many unnecessary losses are what end up taking many out of the game and may very well be what separate the consistent winning traders from the losing traders.

How do I define a market and what kind of day it is?

I truly believe no two sessions are alike. Meaning, every session is going to be different, like a snowflake. Markets are completely open and free for anyone to participate. Everyone has different goals when they enter in their buy and sell orders, which will in turn impact the day-to-day ebbs and flows of the market.

IMO, anyone seeking exactness in an unstructured environment is going to be sorely disappointed. There is no exactness in the marketplace. You have to let go of the idea that exactness exists — in ANY market. It does not exist.

With that said, there are indeed specific types of days which I have come to recognize their characteristics and in turn I have developed strategies to trade them and better yet, how NOT to trade them to avoid getting burned.

The Four Types of Markets.