RULES FOR ANALYSIS – HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS…..

Ok I will bridge an example from poker players to traders to give context around this document…..

When poker players talk about hands they don’t ask “so do you raise or fold with 56 suited (layman
terms is 5 and 6 with the same suit…..(diamonds/hearts/spades/clubs).

The reason why we don’t talk like that in poker is because there is no context to how the hand could
have been played. You can raise, fold, call with 56 suited in any number of situations. If we don’t have
context we can’t provide better insight…..

As a poker player talking strategy we want to know

1. How many chips did you have
2. How many chips did your opponent have
3. What was the trend in the table (Aggressive, passive), where did your opponent fit in.
4. Do you have history with your opponent (potentially they could play opposite to what they
normally play against you)
5. Do you see any patterns with this player
6. Did you have position on the player

IT’S THE SAME WITH TRADING!!!

If you show a chart and say “is this a buy or a sell” there are arguments for both. What you need to do is
provide context.

1. What is your trading plan

2. What are you goals with the trade
3. Where are your support and resistance or supply/demand zones
4. Any candles look weird/interesting (in other words do you see a pattern)
5. Is there any news scheduled…or do you see anything that can be affecting this pair
6. What does the higher time frame look like
7. How long have you been looking at this trade? (In other words have you been monitoring the
direction for a while…noticed patterns and not just flipped open MT4 saying “it’s time to trade”)
8. What time of day is it? What markets are open…is there volume.

PUT ALL THAT INTO YOUR ANALYSIS BEFORE YOU ASK “SHOULD I BUY OR SELL”

Critical thinking is important to trading because every scenario is different but if you have a plan of
attack or a check list it gives you a better determination of the likely outcome along with a more
constructive conversation that not only gives you better insight but also helps you raise your thinking
level.
SO DON’T GET MAD WHEN PEOPLE DON’T GIVE YOU A PROPER ANSWER BECAUSE MAYBE YOU
HAVEN’T PROVIDED ENOUGH INFO TO GET AN ANSWER.