We’ve all seen the news, football season is here. The excitement is building up as this year’s UEFA Champions League draws closer.
Happening at London’s Wembley Stadium, this year’s event marks the 69th season of Europe’s top club competition and the 32nd as the UEFA Champions League. Big teams like Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich are the ones to watch this year.
Top athletes are always inspiring, and often in ways that aren’t directly in the sport itself. Take for instance the story of someone like Manny Pacquiao – a man who overcame the odds stacked against him to become the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing.
There is much to learn from Pacquiao about discipline, about familial bonds, and about the importance of being grateful.
So what can football teach us? How can Nicolae Stanciu’s superb strike in Romania’s stunning win against Ukraine help us understand how the world works just a little better?
Learning when to act is an art form. It’s true—there is an almost artistic quality to identifying the perfect time to get things done. This applies to all things, from business, to racing, to even cooking.
For the uninitiated, market behaviour can seem erratic and meaningless. For masters of identifying opportunity, market behaviour manifests as signals; signals that tell them how they should act in any given circumstance.
Like a star player in front of a penalty shootout, it’s about reading the often subtle signals given by the goalkeeper before striking the ball into the net.
For such master readers, swing trading is perfect. Contrary to day trading, it’s not about making rapid trades that make small differentials, but rather good, decisive trades that make a significant difference in your portfolio.
Swing trading comes with some pretty cool advantages:
To create a winning game plan, swing traders look to different tactics and setups to win. They use Trend Catching strategies and mix patterns, indicators, and strategies.
It’s kind of like how football teams have their plays and strategies. There isn’t one sure-fire winning strategy—anything can happen in the markets (or in this case, the field).
Tip 1: Understanding support and resistance in trading
Let me indulge the football fan in me. Consider the 4-4-2 formation that consists of 3 lines: one back four, one midfield four and two strikers.
In this formation, the combination is quick, followed by a striker making a precise pass and taking a shot on goal. It’s all about timing and making sure the attackers don’t go offside.
Swing trading works the same way. When looking at the trading charts, there are 2 lines to keep an eye on.
Support: A spot on your chart where buyers are likely to jump in.
Resistance: A spot on your chart where sellers are likely to step in.
Stick close to the support and resistance levels on the candlesticks, and aim to exit at a good position, ideally after taking some profits.
Tip 2: What is a moving average and how to calculate it?
In a fast-paced 90-minute football match, scoring opportunities often arise, much like the role of the Moving Average (MA) in swing trading.
While prices can be volatile and challenging to interpret, the 50 MA acts as a reliable guide for swing traders, offering a balance between short-term and long-term trends and making it a favoured tool for trend riding.
Tip 3: 15 most popular candlestick patterns you should know
It’s important to first recognise these candlestick patterns:
· Bullish reversal candlestick patterns : Eg. Hammer
· Bearish reversal candlestick patterns: Eg. Shooting Star
And let the markets show signs of reversal.
Use trendlines, support and resistance levels, and the chart patterns to identify potential breakouts.
Tip 4: A guide to using moving average in predicting market turning points
Mastering this skill is essential for making the most of these momentum shifts in asset prices.
Using a parallel in football–while many may think Christiano Ronaldo was goal-shy between the 11th to 20th minutes in his match with Portugal, some believe that this time was used by him to strategise on how to score international goals.
Tip 5: Understanding the moving average break pattern
The breakout swing strategy is all about having the keen eye to spot breakouts that go beyond the usual support and resistance levels.
Let’s talk about a swing trading entry strategy that targets breakout traders who get “trapped.” These breakout traders go long when the market breaks above its highs.
But what if the market breaks out and then reverses downward? Now, these traders are “trapped” with their long positions losing value. As the market keeps dropping, it hits their stop losses, pushing prices down even more.
And this is how the False Breakout can serve as an entry trigger into a trade.
Tip 6: How to set a correct stop loss and avoid stop hunting
In terms of positioning to make effective plays, players must create space, often passing and spreading the ball across pitch; cue Paul Scholes, master of the long pass.
Similarly, a stop loss needs a bit of “buffer” to allow the market to move in your favour. Otherwise, even if your analysis is correct, you might exit early without giving your trade enough room to breathe.
Tip 7: Understanding Fibonacci
This could be your personal great saves of the season—a superb stop in this collection featuring Thibaut Courtois.
Place your Stop Loss just below the next Fibonacci level when buying or just above when selling. This way, if the trend reverses, your losses are minimised.
· If you’re long, take profits at potential selling points like swing highs or resistance.
· If you’re short, take profits at potential buying points like swing lows or support.
But remember, past wins don’t necessarily guarantee future success. It’s up to you to assess the risk/reward ratio and choose the strategies that work best for you, keeping in mind that most trades, like plays, might not always lead to a touchdown. Stay agile, learn from each trade, and keep pushing for your goals.
Got football fever? It has its upside—VT Markets is kicking off a limited-time campaign and your football fantasy could reward you big time!
Guess the winning team, join the lucky draw, and you could walk away with a share of the prize pool. It’s just like playing the EURO Match Predictor.
Follow us on:
