Join Our Six Figure Traders Live On Zoom For Free

Every single week one of our six figure traders go live on Zoom. They go over their trading strategy, look at recent trades, do some backtesting with the students, and dive into the live charts.

Research

Everything we do is based on peer reviewed and published scientific research. We never guess and we never assume. When we have an idea it has to be backed up by evidence. Below is a list of some of the research we have conducted to create our programs.

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Scientific Principles Behind Successful Trading Academy Students

At The Trading Academy, our students achieve remarkable success, consistently mastering trading strategies that many struggle to learn. But what makes our approach work so well? This research paper dives into the science behind it.

The secret lies in three key areas:

  1. How We Teach – Our students don’t just memorize strategies; they follow a structured, step-by-step learning process. This includes deliberate practice, where they refine skills with feedback, social learning, where they engage with mentors and peers, and cognitive load management, which ensures they absorb complex information without feeling overwhelmed.
  2. How They Think – The biggest challenge in trading isn’t just knowing the right moves—it’s making the right decisions under pressure. Our approach trains students to overcome common psychological traps, like fear, overconfidence, and loss aversion, using insights from behavioral finance and emotional regulation techniques that help them stay disciplined.
  3. How We Structure Learning for Long-Term Mastery – Learning to trade isn’t about jumping in and hoping for the best. Research shows that structured education—breaking down skills, scaffolding knowledge, and progressing from backtesting to demo trading to live execution—helps students retain information better and perform more consistently in real markets.

This paper explains why our methods work, backed by scientific research on learning, psychology, and education. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced trader, understanding these principles can help you improve your trading performance and build a more structured path to success.

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Evaluating Four Price Action Trading Strategies: Efficacy and Validity

At The Trading Academy, we don’t just teach strategies - our students test them as part of the curriculum. This research paper evaluates the real-world performance of four core trading strategies taught in our Academy: W&M Patterns, The SID Method, Supply & Demand Zones, and Bollinger Band Pullbacks. Each strategy was backtested by students across hundreds of trades and analyzed for both statistical validity and theoretical soundness.

Here’s what we found:

  1. Strategy Performance That Goes Beyond Luck: Every strategy showed consistent profitability across student backtests, with win rates and total returns far exceeding what would be expected from random chance. Some strategies, like W&M Patterns and Bollinger Pullbacks, delivered win rates above 70%, while others - like Supply & Demand Zones - succeeded by using asymmetric risk-to-reward setups. All four demonstrated a positive expectancy when executed with discipline.
  2. Psychology and Market Structure Make These Strategies Work:These aren’t just technical tricks - they’re grounded in how markets behave:

    • W&M Patterns capture fear and greed turning points, where crowd sentiment shifts at double tops and bottoms.
    • The SID Method exploits extreme price moves using RSI and MACD indicators, supported by behavioral finance findings on mean reversion.
    • Supply & Demand Zones identify institutional order flow areas, trading the first retest with high reward potential.
    • Bollinger Band Pullbacks blend volatility and momentum theory to catch trend continuations with high precision.
  3. The Science Supports It: Academic research increasingly acknowledges the power of technical analysis - especially when applied systematically. Peer-reviewed studies show that patterns, indicators, and volatility-based strategies can all produce real, repeatable edges in the right market conditions. This paper synthesizes decades of finance research with student backtesting data to show where theory and practice align.

This research shows that structured education combined with rigorous testing leads to more than just theory - it leads to statistically significant results. Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer in technical trading, this study offers compelling evidence that when taught and executed properly, trading strategies can outperform random chance and deliver meaningful returns.

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Why Retail Traders Fail: A Meta-Analysis of Key Challenges and Effective Solutions

Why do so many retail traders lose money - even when they work hard, study the markets, and follow strategies? This research paper investigates the answer through a comprehensive meta-analysis of academic studies, industry data, and behavioral finance.

The findings highlight four major areas that consistently contribute to failure and, more importantly, point to what can be done about them

  1. Psychological Factors Matter More Than Most Expect
    Many traders struggle not because they don’t know enough - but because they can’t execute under pressure. The research explores how common biases like overconfidence, loss aversion, and herd behavior lead to inconsistent results. It also outlines how emotional discipline and stress management are key components of long-term success.
  2. The Right Education Is Rare - But Crucial
    Being good at trading doesn't mean someone is good at teaching it. This paper explains why many educational programs fall short and how structured, step-by-step instruction - backed by learning science - can help traders build real skill. It also debunks the myth that success in the market automatically qualifies someone to mentor others.
  3. Structural Challenges Raise the Bar
    Retail traders face higher friction costs, fewer informational advantages, and tougher competition than they realize. From transaction fees to algorithmic competitors, the environment isn’t always forgiving. This paper details these challenges and offers strategies for navigating them through better risk management, strategy selection, and time horizon alignment.
  4. Social Media Can Mislead as Much as It Informs
    While online communities have opened up access to ideas and support, they’ve also introduced hype, misinformation, and unrealistic expectations. This section unpacks how social comparison, influencer culture, and selective success stories distort perception - and what traders can do to stay grounded and focused.

The conclusion is clear: while trading is difficult, failure is not inevitable. With the right educational structure, validated strategies, and psychological preparation, individual traders can dramatically improve their chances of success. The paper includes case studies from The Trading Academy that show how students applying these principles outperform typical industry outcomes.

If you want to understand not just why traders fail - but how they succeed - this paper offers a research-backed roadmap.

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Who are we?

The Trading Cafe Limited is a company registered in both Hong Kong and the U.S. We run a free online school for people who would like to learn trading properly. This is an education focused platform and we do not offer any trading signals, financial advice, or trade recommendations.

In fact, we actively recommend newcomers stop trading altogether until they have gone through the necessary education in order to do it safely. We do sell products and services under a brand called The Trading Academy.

Where are we?

Our team works remotely from all over the world and we have flexible working hours, however we do have two permanent addresses:

U.S. Address:

The Trading Cafe LLC

1007 N Orange St. 4th Floor Suite #3131, Wilmington, Delaware 19801, United States

Hong Kong Address:

The Trading Cafe Limited

2301 Bayfield Building, 99 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong


Founded by Zack van Niekerk and Peter Visser

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