Today, we wanted to post another question from one of our Maverick traders who wonders how to watch economic news announcements in real time. While our Head Trader, Robb Reinhold, provides the short answer, he also discusses whether having the exact economic data point is even important.*
From: Michael N.
Subject: Hi from Mike
I am a new trader with Maverick. I want to tell you how refreshed I am when I hear your voice on the meetings.
It is so lonely at times with everything I’m learning. Then, as I am holding it all together in my thoughts while trading, I just lose it in my mind and seem to forget it all. :) Anyway, I look forward to all the meetings and your experience and knowledge.
My ears do burn at times when you are talking about bad habits, bad moves, amateur things, etc. I feel like you have been watching me. Ha ha! But, hey, I take the notes and do what you say and learn from my mistakes as best as I can. I try to progress forward as I, at times, feel the burn as I learn. So, thank you. I truly enjoy the work and process.
I was wondering if you could help with one thing, though, on announcements like today at 2:00 p.m. I hope this does not sound stupid, but I need to know.
When there is an announcement, I can see the little folders on Forex Factory, but how do I actually get to see and read or hear them as they happen immediately – or can I? I just want to be able to watch and listen as it happens live around the world. Is that possible? Am I missing something or doing something wrong? Today after 2:00 p.m. EST, the announcement was made and the market went mad a little and I was like, “What…how…who!?!” How did I miss it? I could not find it on Forex Factory or Maverick.
Anyway, thank you for everything. I look forward to meeting you one day. I could not make the Maverick Summit because my mother passed away – but next time!
Sincerely, Mike N.
-----Reply Message-----
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your email. I am so happy to hear that your ears are burning and you are becoming more aware of your faults. It's the one thing that you can't get out of books. I really believe it's our job to teach our traders the mental side of this business. I've always said that it takes about 3-6 months to learn enough "stuff" to trade correctly, but it takes years to master yourself. Take every loss/failure as a learning opportunity and you will speed up the process.
Later that day, it dawned on me that I never even found out what the U.S. Payroll numbers were and I realized that the news didn't matter at all. Only the price action mattered! I reflected back on the times when I would hear/see the news, make an opinion and then trade that opinion. I realized that I was simply trading my bias of what I thought the number or news report meant and that sometimes the market didn't agree with my opinion. Without access to any news, I was forced to trade only the price action, which is the market's opinion/bias of what the news meant.
The Takeaway: As a trader, the market's price action (bias) is always more important than our bias!
One of our long-term traders and Maverick team member, Joe Jensen, had the best quote years ago and we have made it part of Maverick Trading over the years. He said, "I'd rather be profitable than right!" At first, I thought that didn't make any sense since if you are "right," then you will make money anyway. Then, I realized that what he was saying was that his ego didn't matter. He didn't need to be "right" so that the market action and his opinion were the same; rather, he just wanted to make money by being on the right side of the trade. It was an insightful observation and one that I have tried to remember every time I want to be "right."
Now, to specifically answer your question, ten (10) minutes before the announcement, a little, round, green icon will appear on the Forex Factory calendar next to the announcement. If you click on that icon after the news announcement is out, it will give you the number as soon as possible. If you want more than just the number, then you will likely have to wait for another minute or two to get a story available in the folders icon.
Hope this helps,
Robb
-----Mike's Reply to Robb's Message-----
Thanks, Robb, for the words. They make a lot of sense and I will keep on. My mentality has changed a lot in the last couple months. I am much more relaxed and have less anxiety and more trust.
I had a trade on the USD.JPY the last couple of days and it was just moving back and forth on my purchase around 121. I woke up this morning and noticed that it made a jump and I was happy. I had a respectable stop on it. I can tell you that even if had been stopped out overnight, while I would not have been as happy, I would not have had a bad breakfast this morning.
It is just my new mindset. I am learning better price action and to take consistent, little bites every day. I have also learned to be able to "let it go" for a while.
Trading was literally running my life for a bit. I was either at the computer or thinking about it. Now, I am able to, for instance, relax and enjoy this weekend. I think that this growth for me will make me a better trader. Thanks again and have good weekend.
* NOTE: Some original wording has been slightly modified for legibility.
