Trade What You See

How To Profit from Pattern Recognition

Larry Pesavento, Leslie Jouflas

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781118044933
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Investments & Securities
• Index: Business

Trading the financial markets is extremely difficult, but with the right approach, traders can achieve success. Nobody knows this better than authors Larry Pesavento and Leslie Jouflas, both traders and educators of traders, who have consistently used pattern recognition to capture profits from the markets. In Trade What You See, Pesavento and Jouflas show traders how to identify patterns as they are developing and exactly where to place entry and exit orders. While some patterns derive from the techniques of Wall Street's earliest traders and other patterns reflect Pesavento's emphasis on the geometry of market movements and Fibonacci numbers.. Filled with hard-won knowledge gained through years of market experience, Trade What You See outlines both a practical and sophisticated approach to trading that will be of interest to both novice and seasoned traders alike.

Larry Pesavento is a forty-year veteran trader. He operates a Web site,

PART I

Introduction to Trading with Pattern Recognition

CHAPTER 1

Opening Thoughts

We have had the opportunity to come in contact with many traders over the years. Some are just entering this field, while others are experienced, successful traders. We thought it would be helpful to the reader of this book to hear our comments and observations on why some traders succeed and why some fail at trading.

As you read this book and study the methodology, we hope these insights will help to keep you on a path to success in trading. Trading requires hard work and perseverance. At times it can be a process of two steps forward and three steps back. Once you do find a consistent successful approach, though, there is nothing like the business of trading.

In this first chapter we cover what is the best way to use this book. We give our thoughts on why traders succeed or fail in trading, and offer suggestions for actions traders can take for successful trading.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

You will see as you progress through this book, we present many specific chart patterns and include suggestions for how to enter and manage those setups. We would suggest you start by keeping it simple and study a couple of patterns each day.

We also suggest that you work through the patterns in the order they’re presented. Start with the basics—geometry (Chapter 2) and harmonics (Chapter 3)—before moving on to the pattern formations. This will help you build a solid foundation and understanding of what we are teaching.

We include many examples of trades in each pattern chapter. Once you have a basic foundation in place of the pattern structures, you will be ready to study how these patterns are traded, and begin to think in terms of implementing these into your trading. We always recommend traders do some form of paper trading or simulated trading before committing real funds.

Learning how markets work is accomplished through time and experience. This is invaluable to the trader or investor. Determining what type of trading environment one is in, such as a trend environment versus a range environment, is important. Recognizing the subtle symmetry in all markets is an absolute prerequisite for a pattern recognition trader; this is done only one way: practice, practice, and more practice.

The only way the information in this book can be used to make money is to understand each pattern and apply sound trading principles. To help each trader accomplish this, we offer guidelines on developing a trading plan, covering pattern recognition, thinking in terms of probabilities, money management, risk assessment, and techniques for entering and exiting trades. Other subjects include setting up trading as a business and preparing for the unexpected. Treating trading as anything other than a business is a mistake. Even if the trader is not trading full-time, trading activities should be treated and set up as a second business.

A note on some of the charts throughout the book: Many of the chart examples are of the S&P 500 E-mini contract. This is an extremely popular market for traders and very conducive to the patterns presented in this book. You will find some of these charts labeled as “ES,” which is the root symbol for the S&P 500; others are labeled as S&P 500.

SUCCEEDING OR FAILING IN TRADING

It is each trader’s responsibility to develop the skills and discipline necessary for successful trading. We have not found and do not know of a holy grail in trading or an easy trading method. In many classic trading books, like Profits in the Stock Market, by H.M. Gartley (1935), there are observations about what accounts for successful versus unsuccessful trading. Interestingly, we have not seen many changes over the decades in this area. It seems to be the same aspects that constantly plague traders. There are, however, many actions the individual trader can implement to succeed.

Trading is like any other profession; the student first learns the basics, and then expands to more sophisticated and in-depth learning in the chosen field. There are no skilled professionals in any field who have not reached a level of expertise without hard work and substantial experience. Any professional field requires a commitment and willingness to go through successes as well as failures. The failures can be the greatest teachers. Study the failures to develop into a better trader. Perseverance will be a key to a successful trading career.

Developing a mind-set that is conducive to trading will be essential to a trader’s success. This will include thinking in terms of probabilities, and accepting the fact that losses are as much a part of trading as wins. This is a process in itself to learn. These concepts must be internalized so they become a part of what you do each day without conscious thought.

Larry Schneider, director of business developments for the Zaner Group, futures and commodities brokers, states that often too much time is focused on learning the method or system in the beginning. This approach is contrary to the steps that must be done to meet success in trading. In his view and experience, focusing on learning a mental approach first would be more beneficial to novice traders. He says it is imperative for traders to understand that there is a learning curve and money can be lost if traders do not take steps to protect their capital.

Every trader has to go through essentially the same learning curve; no one seems to be exempt from it. Schneider suggests, from his experience of 34 years in the futures business, that traders start small, perhaps with the mini contracts available, while they are learning. If traders take the time to investigate the mental approach they will need to execute their plan, they will be far ahead of the game. His advice is to approach trading from the mental side first, then develop your trading methodology and plan.

Why Traders Succeed

We work with, coach, and mentor many traders. We see and have experienced the full gamut of things that can happen in trading. Here are some of the reasons we feel traders succeed:

• Solid knowledge and understanding of the markets they are trading.

• Technical expertise on how to trade their markets.

• A sound trading methodology with a proven edge.

• A trading plan based on the methodology.

• Sufficient capital.

• Thinking in terms of probabilities, rather than emphasis on the outcome of any one trade.

• Good money management; adherence to money management rules.

• Having mentors or seeking out experts and peers to gain trading knowledge.

• Assessing risk first, profits second.

• Employment of a set of trading rules.

• A foundation of daily routines, including mental preparation.

• Use of stop-loss protection.

• Maintenance of a high level of confidence and a positive attitude.

• Commitment to the process of trading.

• Perseverance.

• Taking 100 percent responsibility for each and everything that happens in their trading.

• Being in the habit of forgetting their last trade, win or lose, and moving on to the next trade.

Why Traders Fail

Conversely, we also see particular reasons traders fail. We would like to share these observations with you in the hope you can learn from these errors and avoid some of these pitfalls. An ancient proverb states, “The smart man learns from his mistakes—the wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”

• Lack of knowledge; traders enter the business constantly without a solid understanding of what the business of speculation involves.

• Lack of capital; small accounts typically lose money. Those few with smaller accounts who do succeed eventually hang on until they understand how leverage can be friend or foe.

• No trading methodology; they use a seat-of-the-pants approach.

• No trading plan.

• Failure to apply a solid money management system.

• Not seeking help from experts or mentors; not wanting to invest in an education of trading.

• Lack of understanding of the inherent risks present in trading.

• Failure to recognize the mental preparation necessary for successful trading.

• No trading rules applied.

• Altering a sound trading plan; early entries, early exits, moving stops, not entering trade setups.

• Random trading, which is trading anything outside of their trading plan and is usually emotion-based.

• Failure to develop the discipline necessary to trade successfully.

• Not learning from previous mistakes.

• Lack of commitment to the process of trading.

• Failure to use stop-loss orders, which is the number one way to turn a small loss into a large loss.

• Blaming outcomes on external sources and not taking 100 percent responsibility for each and every aspect of their trading.

STEPS TO TAKE FOR SUCCESSFUL TRADING

One very important item to keep in mind while learning to trade: Each action you take repeatedly will become a habit. The habits that form will lead to either your success or your failure. Habits in and of themselves are neutral; they do not know if they have a positive or negative effect. However, the results of the habits will have a...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• PART I - Introduction to Trading with Pattern Recognition
• PART II - The Price Patterns and How to Trade Them
• PART III - Essential Elements of Trading
• APPENDIX - Useful Resources
• Index