If you’ve ever entered a trade too early and watched the market move against you…
Or waited too long, only to see the perfect entry fly away — you’re not alone. Every trader, especially in the early stages, struggles with when to enter a trade. It’s one of the most common and most painful parts of trading. In this guide, I’ll show you a simple method that can help you improve your trade entries — not by guessing or gambling, but by learning to read the market like a story.
Learn the Secret of Forex Trading, Click here to download a free e-book now
1. First, Understand the Market Story
Before you hit that “Buy” or “Sell” button, you need to understand what’s really happening on your chart.
Think of the market as a story — it has direction, rhythm, and emotion.
Your job as a trader is to find out:
- Who’s in control — buyers or sellers?
- Are we trending up, trending down, or moving sideways?
- Where are traders likely to take profit or enter new positions?
To do this, start by marking the structure:
- Higher highs and higher lows = uptrend
- Lower highs and lower lows = downtrend
- Mixed structure = consolidation
This step alone can save you from taking 70% of bad entries.
Remember, If you can’t identify the structure, you don’t have a trade setup — simple.
2. The Power of Waiting for a Pullback
Here’s one truth most beginners ignore: the market always pulls back.
Even in a strong uptrend, price never moves in a straight line — it goes up, comes down a bit, then continues.
When you learn to wait for that pullback, you:
- Enter at a better price
- Have a smaller stop loss
- Trade with more confidence
For example, if EUR/USD is trending up and you see a pullback to a previous support area — wait. Let the candle confirm that buyers are returning.
That’s often where the real move starts.
📍 The best traders don’t chase the market.
They wait for it to come to them.
3. Confirm Before You Commit
Now that you’ve spotted a pullback, don’t just jump in — confirm it.
Confirmation means looking for signs that the market is ready to move again in your direction.
You can use:
Candlestick patterns:
Look for strong reversal signals like a bullish engulfing candle at a demand zone or a pin bar rejecting a resistance level.
These patterns show that the opposite side (buyers or sellers) is losing strength, and momentum is shifting in your favor
Trendline breaks
If the pullback creates a mini counter-trend, wait for a break above the short-term trendline (in a buy setup) or below it (in a sell setup).
Indicators (optional)
For extra confidence, use indicators like RSI, Stochastic, or MACD to confirm the shift in momentum.
For example, if RSI moves from the oversold area and crosses above 30, it supports a bullish continuation.
By combining these clues — structure, pullback, and confirmation — you reduce false entries and increase your accuracy.
4. Risk Small, Think Long-Term
One mistake I see many traders make is increasing their lot size because “this setup looks perfect.”
Don’t do that.
Even the best setups fail sometimes.
What separates a smart trader from a gambler is risk management.
Follow these simple rules:
- Risk only 1–2% of your account per trade
- Always use a stop loss
- Never move your stop loss away from your original plan
If you manage risk well, you can survive bad days — and good setups will take care of themselves.
5. Journal Every Entry
This part is not exciting, but it’s where real growth happens.
After every trade, write down:
- Why you entered
- What you saw on the chart
- What happened after
- What you’ll improve next time
When you review your trades weekly, you’ll notice patterns.
Maybe you enter too early on breakouts, or ignore confirmation signals when emotional.
Your journal tells you the truth that your emotions hide.
6. Practice on Demo First
Before you try this method on a live account, test it on a demo account.
That’s your training ground — no pressure, no losses, just learning. The more you practice, the more you’ll notice how price behaves at structure points, how it pulls back, and what good confirmation really looks like.
When you finally move to a live account, your decisions will be calm and confident — not emotional guesses.
Final Thoughts
Improving trade entries is not about finding a magical indicator or a secret strategy.
It’s about understanding structure, waiting for the right moment, and protecting your capital.
Risk Disclaimer
Deriv offers complex derivatives, such as options and contracts for difference (“CFDs”). These products may not be suitable for all clients, and trading them puts you at risk. Please make sure that you understand the following risks before trading Deriv products: a) you may lose some or all of the money you invest in the trade, b) if your trade involves currency conversion, exchange rates will affect your profit and loss. You should never trade with borrowed money or with money that you cannot afford to lose