The Palm
The Palm
The Palm
1. Building Blocks:
What Is Trading & Investing?..................................................pg. 1
Fundamental Analysis..................................................................pg. 1-3
Technical Analysis............................................................................pg. 4-6
Basic Terminology............................................................................pg. 7-10
Sentimental Analysis......................................................................pg. 11-16
Risk Management.............................................................................pg. 17-18
Trading Gear..........................................................................................pg. 19-23
Trading Software...............................................................................pg. 24
Brokers..........................................................................................................pg. 25-27
2. Trading Gameplans:
How To Identify Direction..................................................pg. 28
Entries & Exits...........................................................................pg. 29-36
3. Getting Funded:
The Importance Of Capital..............................................pg. 37
How To Acquire Capital.....................................................pg. 38
Types Of Prop Firms.............................................................pg. 39
Fundamental Analysis
Fundamental analysis is the study of the real causes of
market movements, and examines the economic, social
and political factors that affect supply and demand,
which is one of the main causes of price movement.
It is a method of measuring the currency value by
examining related economic and financial factors.
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There are differences between fundamental analysis
depending on the market you are in from forex to other
markets such as the stock market which most people
are familiar with. Stock Market fundamental analysis is
interested in studying the financial statements and profit
rates of companies to assess the strength of the company
and the value of its shares. Forex fundamental analysis,
on the other hand, is concerned with studying the
macroeconomic factors that directly affect the
performance of the currency, and the study of some
economic, political and social factors that affect the
economy and impacting the movement of the currency
exchange rates.
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Where Do You Find Tools For Fundamental Analysis?
Fundamental analysis is very subjective. Always do your
own due diligence. There are many tools that can be
used for fundamental analysis. The easiest way to start
is having a reliable mainstream news outlet to feed you
day to day information and an economic calendar.
Mainstream Outlets:
Bloomberg
TD Ameritrade
WallStreet.com
Reuters
Daily FX
FX Street
Economic Calendars:
Forex Factory
TD Ameritrade
Daily FX
FX Street
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Technical Analysis
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To Identify Patterns In The Financial Markets, Technical
Analysts Focus On The Following:
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What Is The Difference Between Fundamental And
Technical Analysis?
Fundamental analysis is generally not used as
a tactical, short-term decision-making method.
Technical analysis enables traders to gain a vision of
the market and make the right move at the right time,
while fundamental analysis should be applied
strategically, over longer periods.
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Basic Terminology
What Are The Financial Markets?
Financial markets incorporate a framework that gives
buyers and sellers the abilitiy to trade financial
instruments, including equities, currencies,
cryptocurrencies, commodities, futures and options.
High High
Close Open
Open Close
Low Low
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What Is A Spread?
The spread is the price difference between the asset
or security that buyers and sellers are trading. These
are known as the ASK price and the BID price.
Example:
Spread
Bid Price Ask Price
Spread
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Types of Executional
Orders
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What Is Leverage?
Leverage is the ability to increase a participants
exposure without having to pay the full amount of the
investment. Leverage can be both a good and bad thing
depending on the use case. Leverage is supplied through
the brokers. Leverage can be beneficial to those who can
protect capital properly and seek additional capital for
additional entries. Leverage can be dangerous due to
the additional risk exposure it applies.
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Sentimental Analysis
What Is The Psychological Aspect Of Trading?
The psychology of trading is complex and it takes time
and commitment to fully master. It is a broad term that
includes all the emotions and feelings that a trader will
experience while trading. Some of these emotions are
positive and helpful which should be embraced while
other ones like fear, greed, nervousness and anxiety
should be banished. The mental aspect of trading is
often overlooked but it is a foundational part of any
trader’s skill set. For a more in-depth coverage of this
subject, visit www.pinksand.co/bluepalminstitute
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What Are The Basics Of Trading Psychology?
Trading Psychology is the emotional extension of the
trader’s decision making process related to market
dynamics and of the trader’s sentiment defined by
greed and fear. Trader’s sentiment is formed by past
experiences and by the actual impact of the latest news
and conditions. The real challenge is in reducing
the impact of the built-in emotions fueled by failure or
success while assessing the behavior of the markets.
Some traders are more apt to trade based on emotions
and risk the outcome by questioning their wisdom and
by not following their plan, which may force them to
close their positions too early or to hold a losing position
too long. It is after all, a mind game.
Fear
Is one of the two most frequently talked about emotions
in trading. Fear manifests itself in a number of ways in
trading and it can be the cause of many trading
mistakes. The fear of losing lets traders delay the
realization of a loss, which then turns into much greater
losses, and the fear of giving back profits which make
traders close winning trades too early.
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Greed
When we look at the hard facts, greed often causes a
number of impulsive trading decisions that should be
avoided. Traders who are influenced by greed often
don’t adhere to sound risk and money management
principles. Greed also reinforces the gambling mindset
which describes trading without set rules and based on
impulsive decisions.
Hope
Fear and greed come hand in hand. Traders who are
in a losing position generally show signs of hope , when
they fail to accept the upcoming loss and give a trade
more room to breathe. There are other instances where
traders try to compensate (hope) for past losses by
entering a trade with a position that is too big and not
according to their plans and rules.
Boredom
Is more a current state than an emotion. Traders who
are bored usually lack focus. The trader lacks focus
when they go through the same instruments and
time-frames over and over without clearly knowing
what they are looking for or when they miss trade
entries, because they weren't paying attention or they
were browsing the internet and doing something other
than trading. It is time to take a break.
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Frustration
Is oftentimes the source of errors that result from the
previously mentioned emotional conditions. Frustration
begins to show when traders miss trades, because they
do not follow the trading plan, breach their rules and
lose money, take too much risk and lose large amounts
of money, or recognize what they should have done.
This then reinforces all the bad negative behavior
patterns that a trader is challenged with and intensifies
the trader's emotions and problems. The moment you
find yourself with the following thoughts,
is time to take a break and refocus:
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Tips & Tricks To Control The Mind
Many problems with trading emotions are caused by
an external definition of what "success" means to us.
Each trader must define our success as traders based
on our own definitions, not on the definitions of others.
Before you are a trader, you are a human being with
many responsibilities. Family, work, friends, bosses,
significant others and many other responsibilities and
the pressures that come with them. What is in your
mind before you begin trading? It is important to begin
the trading in a good frame of mind. Stop taking loses
personally as a way to end the strong influence of
negative emotions that hurt your trading results.
Accept the randomness of the markets. It will help in
executing your trading strategy regardless of the
emotions you feel. Analyze the causes of your emotions.
It is trade related or did you begin our day with altered
emotions?
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Step Back And Consider The Following:
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Risk Management
What Is Risk Management?
Risk management is the most important element in
the game. This process is based on analysis,
identification, acceptance or mitigation of uncertainty in
market conditions. While planning for risk management,
traders should:
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Trading Gear
The Hardware
Trading is about working quickly, which means your
equipment must be very fast. There are conflicting
suggestions and opinions about what kind of computer
to get.
Apple or Windows?
What is important is that your computer can boot up
the latest version of Windows (Windows 8/10/11). Apple’s
OS is incompatible with most critical trading tools. Your
computer is going to need some impressive stats. A fast
processor is a must, as is enough memory and RAM to
avoid lag. Experts recommend a minimum 1 gig of RAM,
and a 40GB hard drive to start. We say a minimum of
8GB for RAM (the more, the better) and 500GB of hard
drive. Multiple monitors are valuable tools, and worth
investing money in. Between three and four monitors is
common, but some traders and investors have reported
seeing traders using 12 monitors at a time.
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Other Considerations
Your internet connection needs to be fast, stable and
strong in order to trade successfully. Don’t skimp on
your internet provider, and go for a high-speed
connection. If you’re unlucky enough to be in an area
with poor WiFi, consider a signal booster to increase
your reception. If possible a wired connection is
preferred. When checking your internet, you want to
make sure that pages can load immediately and you
don’t experience any lag in data.
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#3 Do you have a big desk? You are going to need a
pretty big desk. Think about it, if you have 3 screens for
trading with an average screen of 20+ inches, your desk
will need to be 5+ feet in length at a minimum. Having a
decent size desk will allow you to comfortably place the
screens next to each without making you feel cramped.
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#7 Do you have a backup computer and an alternate
means of accessing the web? At any given time either
your computer or internet connection could fail you.
A backup plan is necessary when in financial markets.
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Also, think about when you plan on taking lunch.
Depending on how ambitious you are, you may be
saying to yourself, “I’ll just power through it." Wrong.
You need to eat; it provides you much needed energy
and also gives you a break from the trading day.
We're not suggesting you to take a 2 hour lunch every
day, but a 30 minute or 1 hour break will do you and
your trading some good.
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Trading Software
You’re going to need a lot of data and platforms to get
started in trading. Both new and experienced traders
can benefit from using one of the many trading software
options available in the market to support their trading
decisions. Automated and manual trading software's
are available with varying levels of sophistication to
meet different needs. All brokers will provide you with
trading software's to help you with setups based on your
trading strategy and when to enter/exit trades.
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Brokers
What Is A Broker?
The person or firm that will assist you in buying or selling
a financial product.
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Advantages of working with a Regulated Broker are:
Transparency in trading processes
Trader fund security
The remedy in case of a dispute
Protection from fraudulent activity
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What Brokers Do You Recommend?
For United States Clients:
TD Ameritrade
Forex.com
Oanda
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CHAPTER 2:
TRADING GAMEPLANS
How To Identify Direction
A trend is a consistency of points of value and these
points represent whether the trend is moving up or down.
To establish a trend, four points must develop. These four
points develop in two main sequences. For a bullish trend
to develop we must receive a low, a high, a higher low,
and a higher high. For a bearish trend to develop we
must receive a high, a low, a lower high, and a lower low.
Once these four points have developed then a valid trend
has formed.
Higher
Higher
High
High High
High
High Continuation
Impulse High
Higher
Low Higher
Low
Low Low
Low
High
High
High Lower
Lower
High
High
Impulse
Low
Lower
Low Lower
Low
Low Continuation Low
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Entries & Exits
Impulse Entry
An impulse entry is an entry when price is breaking
through any key higher timeframe levels. These levels
are typically found on the Weekly and Daily timeframe.
Once price is near these levels, we then go down to the
lower time frames and start finding our points of entry.
When price is nearing these key levels, we will do the ff:
15 Minute
Timeframe
Candle needs to
break the Daily
Lower High
15 Minute
Timeframe Candlestick breaks
above the Daily
Lower High
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3. Once price succesfully breaks and closes above
the key level, we will then take an entry.
15 Minute
Timeframe
Entry is taken after the
close of the candlestick
15 Minute
1:1 R:R was reached and
Timeframe hit the Weekly Lower
High (Key Level)
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Rejection Entry
A rejection entry is a counter trend entry. We will never
look for this type of trade before an impulse entry has
happened. After an impulse entry has taken place we
will do the following:
Price is struggling
to get past the
4 Hour Daily Lower High
Timeframe
4 Hour
Timeframe
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3. Once price succesfully breaks and closes below/above
the key level, we will then take an entry.
4 Hour
Timeframe
4 Hour
Timeframe
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3rd Point Entries
A 3rd point entry is an entry that happens after the
impulse. A 3rd point entry can never take place without
an impulse. After an impulse entry has taken place we
will do the following:
4 Hour
Timeframe
4 Hour
Timeframe
Price is exhausting and
decelerating, respecting
the Past Daily High
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3. The target should be a minimum 1:1 risk to reward (R:R)
or the next key level and your stoploss should be
below/above the most recent higher low or lower high
of the timeframe of which you have entered.
4 Hour
Timeframe
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Continuation Entries
A continuation entry is an entry that happens after
the impulse. A continuation entry can never take place
without an impulse. After an impulse entry has taken
place we will do the following:
2 Hour
Timeframe
2 Hour
In this area of price, a 2
hour Lower High can be
Timeframe
seen. The 2 hour Lower
High formed which is
a key level
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3. Look for a successful break below/above the key level
of the 4 point counter trend then take the entry.
2 Hour
A successful break above
Timeframe the 2 hour Lower High
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CHAPTER 3:
GETTING FUNDED
The Importance Of Capital
There is a huge conversation regarding capital
for trading & investing. "Is it better to just try to turn a
$100 account to $100,000 or is it better to get funded or
should I simply compound over time?" There are many
questions and conversations, but the main thing that
keeps being a relevant topic in this conversation is
capital.
There are some traders that can trade with low amount
of capital and get an abnormal amount of return,
but the downside of this is that the risk that is being
used can completely wipe away the whole account.
Capital allows you to mitigate the problems that arise
from trading with small capital.
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How To Acquire Capital?
Now there are multiple ways to acquire capital.
The first way is through a prop firm and get a funded
account. Every prop firm is different and have certain
rules in place not only to protect them but as well to
protect you as the trader.
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Types Of Prop Firms
There are many different types of prop firms out right
now, but the main things to look for is credibility, reviews
and see if they have great customer support in case any
issues are to arise.
$25,000
$50,000
$100,000
$200,000
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CHAPTER 4:
BECOMING A
FULL-TIME TRADER
The Necessary Steps
This is probably the most talked about topic in trading
from how to become a full time trader and when is the
proper time. The answers will differ depending on the
individual but these factiors are the most important to
take in to consideration before transitioning into a full
time trader:
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4. What is life like as a full time trader? Life as a full time
trader is much different than working a full time job and
trading on the side. When trading full time, you have a
lot more time on your hands and that can either result
in a positive or negative variable in your trading. Before
becoming a full time trader, slowly adjust to your work
schedule to get a better grip of what full time trading is
like.
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