I thought I’d kick things off by sharing a list of the best traders I’ve learned from over the last ~20 years.
#1: Lance Beggs
At the time of writing, YTC is in its last days. A few months ago, Lance announced he was shutting down YourTradingCoach.com. It’s a huge loss for the trading community – Lance’s approach to trading, self-development, and performance will be sorely missed. Here’s an example of his thoughtful approach to price action:
Lance’s material focuses on learning theory, stress management, and creating positive feedback loops into your trading. One of many big takeaways I got from him was the idea that “you’re probably not doing enough review”. His approach to journaling completely rewired my brain, and I’ve borrowed a lot of his philosophy in my own trading and self-development.
Website: YourTradingCoach.com (no longer active)
Twitter: @lancebeggs
#2: Tom Dante
Another one of the OG’s of trading Twitter, Tom is a journalist-turned-trader. He’s one of the rare examples of a self-taught retail trader joining a top prop firm and eventually striking back out on his own. I was a student of Tom’s back in ~2013 and I learned a lot by following his work on various forums like Trade2Win.
Tom’s a talented writer with a hilarious take on things….but he’s also a very, very serious trader. My big takeaways from his work overlap quite a bit with Lance Begg’s perspective – an intense discipline around journaling and an emphasis on understanding the metagame during entries and exits. Both Tom and Lance tend to be in a position to be able to cover/exit where other traders are just starting to consider entering.
Website: trader-dante.com
Twitter: @trader_dante
YouTube: @traderdante
#3: Bob Volman
Volman is the author of several books on short term trading: Understanding Price Action Trading and Forex Price Action Scalping. Both are excellent reads, though I would starting with UPAT and then tackle FPAS. I think some people read trading books in great detail, trying to glean the author’s exact system – if that’s what you do, I’m not sure Volman will be your cup of tea. Although he does outline very specific rules, I found them hard to apply.
But. the big value is his general approach to describing what’s happening. The meaning behind the price action. For example, his material on “double pressure” was absolutely game-changing for me when it comes to trading breakouts and breakout failures. The other really cool thing about Volman is that he shares his journal – you can just grab it from his Dropbox. That is INCREDIBLY valuable!
Journal: (Dropbox appears to have been taken down)
Website: (None that I know of)
#4: James16
James16 is the guy behind a now-defunct forum you may have heard of, the James16 Group. You might be familiar with the public thread he posted on Forex Factory way back in the day. That eventually developed into the paid forum, which I called home for several years.
James, Big Mike, Jarroo, and a few other traders created a learning environment that was at times chaotic….but ultimately really helpful. I met a few other traders I’m still in touch with (we still have a WhatsApp group from back then).
ForexFactory: The big James16 thread
#5: Paul Singh
Paul’s taught me a lot about stocks, especially the idea of understanding what’s happening in the market and watching money rotate through different sectors. At some point, I will probably return to swing trading and I will be using a lot of Paul’s big picture analysis.
Paul’s a great follow on Instagram and you’ll learn a lot by watching his quick hit recaps of his trades and his take on the market. He’s part economist, part poker player, part serious journaler. Are you seeing a trend with the people on this list??
Website: pauljsingh.com
Instagram: @therealpauljsingh
#6: Al Brooks
Brooks has a series of excellent books, starting with Reading Price Charts, Bar by Bar. His other books, on trading trends, ranges, and reversals are also great, but start with Bar by Bar. Brooks’ writing is a lot like his speaking voice – dry and serious. The books are dense….but holy moly will you learn a lot about how a pro develops his perspective on trading price action.
Like Volman, you might be tempted to try to execute his system as described in the books and his course (which is also good), but I’d suggest focusing on understanding the big picture concepts.
Website: brookspriceaction.com
Facebook Group: Al Brooks, Brooks Trading Course, and Brooks Price Action
