Picture yourself at a tennis match.
You’re watching an intense ‘rally’ as opponents dance with each other from opposite baselines—exchanging shots across the court.
With each return, anticipation mounts—who’ll deliver the knockout blow?
Jump the gun and you risk losing the point. Instead the strategic way is to let mounting evidence show you the perfect moment. Then without hesitation execute an attacking knockout play. Correct?
Can you see and hear why tennis is a great analogy to trading?
- You have an opponent.
- You press when you can catch your opponent off guard.
- Go too soon or too late and you lose.
Are you aware it’s vital to vary trade size to win at trading? From Warren Buffet and George Soros to unknown market wizards, you only succeed at trading by varying trade size—including “pressing your bet” (increase size)—at precisely the right time.
How the knockout blow in tennis also applies to your trading
Notice how the trading below dances with the market?
The blue arrows are buys and the pink arrows are sells. There is a mix of long and short trades.
And if you think the trading above resembles treading water — you’re right!
But consider this:
When it comes to swimming what’s the most critical skill? Not drowning. Correct?
Therefore the initial focus in trading—like in swimming—is on mastering treading water. Make sense?
Now ask yourself:
If it was you who made all of those trades shown above including:
- Trades that go your way but turn around on you.
- Trades that lose.
- Trades that look promising only to end in a small draw.
After grinding away without tangible results—how confident are you in increasing your trade size and going for the knockout blow on the very next trade? Not—Very—Confident. Right? But can you change? Tell you in a minute.
Below you can see all the same trades with one exception—a single additional trade labelled ‘Press‘ indicating an increase in trade size.
Where you change gears and put on (in this case three times) more size than the previous trades. Make sense?
Confidence evidence or a combination of both
Like the tennis player—the knockout play is built on evidence.
The final trade shown above combined nine points of evidence which scream “Go for the knockout blow.”
Imagine you’d made that exact trade—based on nine points of evidence—between thirty and fifty times previously. What do you have in addition to evidence?
You also have self-confidence.
After so many repetitions—it’s hardwired into your DNA to “Go for the knockout blow” each time those nine points of evidence show up. Right?
Why?
The secret to confidence is nothing more than repetition—experiencing the process and outcome until they become ingrained in you.
But what else?
Confidence isn’t solely about entering with size. Right?
It empowers you to continue holding—and holding—and holding…
Until you extract maximum payout as per your game plan and playbook—as shown by Friday’s short trade below.
But if you’re like most people trading, you’ve experienced numerous challenges that erode your confidence over time. Agree?
Can you see why it’s important to allow for ample time for confidence to deeply root into your DNA —enabling you to execute knockout trades instinctively and without hesitation?
Trading skills aren’t just about knowledge. Correct? To be effective you must build intrinsic confidence through real-world application.
