Futures trading with competitive advantage: Use other traders’ emotions for your gain

Every futures trader knows the feeling. You enter a trade and your heart pumps faster, the hair on your arms and back of your neck stands up, and you watch with dismay as the price moves underwater.

You made a mistake.

There’s no choice but to cement that loss. But then suddenly, excitement and relief flood you when the price moves back to where you planned, and now you anticipate not only making up your initial loss but then some. Then, the price moves against you again, and you take another hit.

This whiplash in emotion can leave you feeling drained and frustrated. But you’re not alone. Every trader experiences these emotions—it’s only human.

But did you know you can turn these emotions to your advantage and create opportunity from them? In the recent NinjaTrader Ecosystem webinar, “How to Make the Competition’s Blind Spots Your Competitive Advantage,” Adam Fiske of BossTrading explains how to do just that.

Futures trading with discipline and a discerning eye

Many futures traders fall into the trap of feeling like they always need to be trading. Fiske explains this mindset:

• “Time is money. If I’m not in a trade, then I’m not making money.”
• “Traders trade. If I’m not trading, then I’m not a ‘trader.’”

This mindset can lead traders to make unnecessary trades, increasing risk as well as loss. When we consider the dopamine spike that occurs when trading, we can see that there are simply too many factors encouraging traders to trade all the time, increasing their vulnerability.

However, Fiske explains that the aware and informed trader can use this to their competitive advantage. Traders can find themselves caught in a bad trade anytime—but the trader who is aware of their neurochemical reactions to trading will often land more frequently on the winning side of a trade.

To learn more about Fiske and BossTrading’s trading playbook, view their webinar here.

Interested in more futures trading tips? Explore the NinjaTrader Ecosystem’s on-demand video education library, with new events added weekly. Check out our schedule of upcoming webinars and register to attend live events.