We’re coming up on three months since I decided to take an extended break from regular posting, so I guess it’s time to make a decision. I had hoped that a break would refresh me and reignite the passion that once existed for this venture. Unfortunately that has not been the case so it’s time for me to call an end to YTC. Absent the passion and excitement that drove me over the last decade and a half, the impact upon my own trading and my family life is no longer acceptable. I owe it to my wife and kids to focus more on them, on myself, on my own trading and other non-trading ventures. This ha ..read more

Effective today (31st March 2023) I’ve decided to take a few weeks (maybe months) break from regular posting. After being online 24/7 for what feels like forever (actually a decade and a half), it’s time for some much needed R&R. Best of luck with your trading, Lance ..read more

I’ve spent 15 years now writing for YTC. In this time I’ve come to realise that those who take action are a rare breed of people. Well done if you have. But if not… let’s use the start of the new quarter as a line in the sand. A time to leave behind your mediocrity. And a time to make a new beginning. I’ve shown you the path. It was discussed in this article a fortnight ago: Your Stats Set The Benchmark. Now Improve Them. Recognising that success doesn’t come from the strategy alone, but instead from ACTIVELY tracking and improving YOUR ABILITY to execute the strategy to produce profits. A nev ..read more

Common complaints about the market open: It’s too fast! It’s too volatile! There is too much uncertainty! I get it. And perhaps these traders are best just standing aside. Allowing some structure to develop and THEN trading. But here’s what I think. They’re missing an important point. YOU can create SIMPLICITY within that uncertainty by predefining and setting limits to your action. IF price does “this” AND does it in a way that makes sense THEN I will trade this setup. One or two scenarios are sufficient. And IF that doesn’t happen, THEN I’ll stand aside, allow some structure to develop and ..read more

I want to start by taking you back to an article published in December 2021 and reposted just two months ago – Two of the Most Important Weekly Review Questions.   Two of the MOST IMPORTANT weekly review questions: What is my current goal? What do I need to do to get there? Not vague goals like “I just want to be profitable“. Narrow your focus to something specific, detailed and achievable. Small incremental improvements. Stretching just slightly beyond current levels of performance. And then push for it. Everything else is a distraction. Your whole week MUST be devoted to achieving t ..read more

I’d like to expand upon a little side-comment made in the fifth image from last week’s article. We’ve discussed choppy conditions quite a lot on my site. The plan is usually the same. Recognise the chop. Define the upper and lower boundary of the structure. Put in price alerts if you wish. Step back from the keyboard, remain patient, and wait for a break of structure before resuming trading. This comment from last week’s article adds a new element to consider, at those times when the choppy narrow-range structure occurs at market open. So often we see that it’s the price action immediately ..read more

Those who have been around my site for a while will be aware that I’m not a fan of taking breakout trades. I’d much rather let the level break and then seek either breakout failure or breakout pullback trade opportunity. But there is another option. Entry BEFORE the breakout level. Let’s look at an example and see how this plays out. We’ll start with some higher timeframe context from the 30 minute chart. This twitter post will give more insight into the nature of the news-event level, if you’re interested. As a higher timeframe trap has been sprung, my intent is to take any early entry LONG ..read more

Keep it simple, traders. A month ago we discussed trading off news reaction highs and lows. You can find that article here if you missed it – https://yourtradingcoach.com/trading-process-and-strategy/trading-off-news-reaction-highs-and-lows/ This was the structure at the time…    So I’m hoping that you took the lesson from that article and studied a few more examples from your own charts. And then added this into your own plan. These are obvious news-derived S/R levels from which we can trade our YTC PAT BOF, TST or BPB setups. And while the market will never repeat the exact same p ..read more

This is NOT what I wanted to see… But then the market doesn’t care for what I want to see. It’s my job to adapt to the market. Not the other way around. So let’s trade… and talk about actions taken when the market open becomes STUCK. Nothing unusual here really. If you want a rule of thumb to carry forward into your trading: Markets can (and often do) get stuck within narrow-range gaps. Be prepared for them. Recognise them. And adapt. When the opening sequence get stuck, consider standing aside until a confirmed break. Trade ONLY when you see edge. Stand aside when you don’t. And i ..read more

Let’s look at a slight variation of the “One Week Five Innings” concept discussed over the last two years. The background first for those who might have missed it: Article 1: One Week – Five Innings – Show Me How Good You Are! Article 2: One Week – Five Innings – Part 2 These articles asked you to consider a slight mindset shift. No longer seeing each day as a unique game that you try to win. But instead, seeing each day as just one part of a much larger (5 innings) game.   This is a mindset shift that takes some of the performance pressure off individual days. A mindset shift that allo ..read more