We wrote A LOT of trading articles in 2016. Our primary goal is, and always has been, to provide the knowledge that can guide you and build your foundation as a trader so we can grow together. So to help everyone catch up as well as give our loyal readers a quick refresher, we put together this list of 2016’s most popular articles.

Below, you’ll find helpful tips on managing stop loss orders, properly entering and exiting trades, understanding bull and bear market phases, candlestick patterns, chart patterns and much more. Everything you need to potentially trade better and smarter in 2017.

The Parts of a Trading Method you should consider Automating

Automating trading systems is a very popular approach because some traders believe that it can help them make decisions free of emotions and be more consistent in their trading. Although the intention behind automating trading systems is usually good, the execution is often not. In this article, we will show you why you should consider optimizing certain aspects of your trading and which parts should remain discretionary.

• The idea behind automating a trading system
• Challenges of automating trading
• Elements that can be automated: Entries and Position Size

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Build a Portfolio of Traders in TradingView

Tradingview is not only a great web based charting platform, but its social and member-oriented aspect allow you to connect with other traders and learn from more experienced traders. We will show you how to leverage Tradingview’s social functions to build a portfolio of traders that you can learn from and potentially improve your own trading.

• Step 1: Finding the traders with a positive expectancy
• Step 2: Find the right traders for your own purposes
• Step 3: Analyzing trader portfolios

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How to Manage Stop Loss Orders more effectively in your Trading

Stop loss orders are probably the most controversially discussed topic in trading. But, there are many misconceptions when it comes to using them. With this article, we want to help you develop a deeper understanding of what stop loss orders really do and how to avoid the most common mistakes.

• Break-even stops
• Dynamic risk and stops
• Trailing a stop correctly and stop context

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The Real Role of Trade Entries and what Really Matters

One question that is always asked in trading is whether entries are really the most important aspect of a successful trading method. And if not, what is? It is tough to understand, especially in the beginning, that entries are just a way to get into the markets and that they may have little correlation to the outcome of your trades. We want to take a closer look at the components of a trade, how your trading method fits in and what really makes a difference in your trading. Hereby, we will highlight the role of entries and how other concepts influence your trades.

• The role of entries
• Why order placement is more important than entries
• Working on your trade exits

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How to Read Bull and Bear Market Phases – Accumulation, Participation & Distribution

Dow Theory is a cornerstone of price analysis, and its principles have been time-tested over decades. An understanding of the three market phases and the trend cycle concepts within the Dow Theory can help traders make sense of the way price moves and shed new light on how bull and bear markets are created.

• The Accumulation Phase
• The Public Participation
• The Distribution Phase

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Exploring Supply and Demand Zones and how to Trade them

In this article, we will explain supply and demand zones and what they can tell you about price charts as well as how to use them in your trading. First things first: a supply area on a chart is an area where selling interest outnumbers buying interest and the price falls until the buying-selling balance is restored. Similarly, a demand zone is a price level where price rallies because there is much more buying interest than selling interest. All this will become clearer once we start looking at charts.

• Supply and demand = the origin of price moves
• Support/Resistance vs Supply/Demand
• Price “magnets”

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A “better” Trading System is not the answer to your Problems

Let’s assume that you built a discretionary method or even an automated system, that has the potential to earn above average returns. How can you make sure that your method is applied in a manner that is robust and can be traded long term?

• How much is trading taking out of your life?
• Setting unrealistic expectations.
• Focus on making small wins

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Cutting through the Noise – Analyzing Price Action Correctly

Over the past few months, we have looked into the different indicators and charting tools that help us better understand price action. Today, we are going to take a step back and focus on the purest form of price and chart analysis: Trend and Wave analysis.

• The Basics of Trend Analysis
• Analyzing the recent Gold Price Action
• Treasury Bond Market Phases

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14 Essential Candlestick Patterns to help you read Charts

Candlestick patterns serve as a good visual guide for both day traders and swing traders. You can recognize momentum, change of direction (rejection) and/or price confirmation.  It usually takes time to recognize these patterns, but with a little bit of training and understanding, you can start seeing them in real time trading.

• Single Candle Pattern
• 2 Candles Patterns
• 3 Candles Patterns

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6 Chart Patterns Every Trader Should Know

Today we will expand on the previously discussed single and multi-candlestick trading patterns and focus on broader chart patterns. There are six patterns in particular which can help traders make sense of charts by understanding the buyer-seller balance and we will go over what each of those patterns reveal about overall market sentiment.

• Double Tops and Fake Breakouts
• Head and Shoulders
• Saucers – Cup and Handle

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Now tell us what you think?

Use the comment section below to share links to your favorite trading articles from us or around the web. We’ll use your selections to help us decide what to focus on and write about next year. Thanks for reading, and have a great 2017!

There is a substantial risk of loss in futures trading. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

The placement of contingent orders by you or broker, or trading advisor, such as a “stop-loss” or “stop-limit” order, will not necessarily limit your losses to the intended amounts, since market conditions may make it impossible to execute such orders.