The Art Of Anticipation In Trading

Tony Robbins approved!

I’ll admit it, I’m a fan of Tony Robbins.
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I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but if legendary trader Paul Tudor Jones has him on a coaching retainer then that’s a good signal to me.

Anyway, I heard a quote from him the other day, and he said:
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​“Leaders anticipate, losers react”
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​Now, he was talking in the context of business (plugging his new book I think)
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​But as always with these sorts of things, it got me thinking about trading too…
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​This quote is totally perfect for traders.
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Think about it…
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​What are the traits of losing traders?
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​They get dragged about by the market, seduced by candle spikes and FOMO.
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​What are the traits of winning traders/leaders?
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​They have a plan, know where they are going to get in and don’t get sucked into reactive plays.
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Now, do you need to plan every small detail?
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Na… no one knows what’s going to happen, but developing a framework you can operate within helps you stay calm, patient and primed ready to strike at the best opportunity.
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​Let’s run through a quick example:
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​The market is in an uptrend on the higher TF yet moving sharply lower intraday.
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A ‘losing’ trader sees this and thinks to himself:
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​“Hmm the trend is up, I should buy this… oh look, it’s slowing down here, now’s my chance, I don’t want to miss it”
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​And he/she gets long only to be stopped out quite soon after as the selling continues.
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Now what does the winning trader think and do?
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​“Hmm the trend is up, I should buy this… what would be a good place to get long that minimises my risk and maximises my chance of success”
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​Then he/she works through some ideas:

  1. I’ll get long if I see an exhaustion candle (high range, high vol)
  2. I’ll get long if we form a double bottom over the space of a few hours
  3. I’ll get long if we find support above the daily low in the afternoon

You get the idea…
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​All of these are anticipation.
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​Same trade idea, same price action, but a very different approach.
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​Today think about how you can anticipate more and react less in your trading…
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​I have a funny feeling it will serve you better.