10 more things I learned in my short trading career
1. Go online and connect with other traders, ask the right questions (keyword: right) and talk shop. Joining TradingView is the best decision I made by far since I started trading. Social networks add value and my trading has improved a lot by being exposed to different ways to trade and by being able to see what works and what does not. But never trust a trader at their word; always do your own research.
2. One thing is certain; there will be losing trades. With good money management techniques you give back little profit when the market moves against you and you can accept losing trades as a controllable cost of making yourself available for the winning trades.
3. You cannot control the outcome of a trade. You can only control the setup and the risk you accept.
4. Patience is key. That’s why I (being a day / swing trader) don’t work with daily targets, but rather with monthly targets, to avoid chasing trades and forcing setups that are sub par. Take only good set ups with sufficient confirmation and if you don’t see one: don’t trade.
5. No single system will be right 100% of the time. Build the case for entry, using several kinds of input into your decisions. Go for confluence to increase the edge.
6. Don’t psychologically micro manage your trades, monitoring each candle as it develops. Once stops and targets are clearly defined, let a trade play out. Sometimes stepping away from the screen helps.
7. A trading plan can help you identify whether a series of losses happened due to market conditions or due to trading errors.
8. I look at trading as running a small business with no customers, no suppliers, no psychical stock to maintain, no brick and mortar business space to rent, no government mandated opening hours, no chasing of your payments, no employees to manage and no colleagues to depend upon. What’s not to like?
9. It helps to be a positive person. I don’t mean delusional or overconfident (there are plenty of those), but just positive. Trading is an activity where analysis, risk and stress come together and your trading psychology will be helped greatly if you have a positive disposition.
10. Practise prudent portfolio management where you start small and slowly grow the portfolio step by step by adding more pairs / instruments.
2. One thing is certain; there will be losing trades. With good money management techniques you give back little profit when the market moves against you and you can accept losing trades as a controllable cost of making yourself available for the winning trades.
3. You cannot control the outcome of a trade. You can only control the setup and the risk you accept.
4. Patience is key. That’s why I (being a day / swing trader) don’t work with daily targets, but rather with monthly targets, to avoid chasing trades and forcing setups that are sub par. Take only good set ups with sufficient confirmation and if you don’t see one: don’t trade.
5. No single system will be right 100% of the time. Build the case for entry, using several kinds of input into your decisions. Go for confluence to increase the edge.
6. Don’t psychologically micro manage your trades, monitoring each candle as it develops. Once stops and targets are clearly defined, let a trade play out. Sometimes stepping away from the screen helps.
7. A trading plan can help you identify whether a series of losses happened due to market conditions or due to trading errors.
8. I look at trading as running a small business with no customers, no suppliers, no psychical stock to maintain, no brick and mortar business space to rent, no government mandated opening hours, no chasing of your payments, no employees to manage and no colleagues to depend upon. What’s not to like?
9. It helps to be a positive person. I don’t mean delusional or overconfident (there are plenty of those), but just positive. Trading is an activity where analysis, risk and stress come together and your trading psychology will be helped greatly if you have a positive disposition.
10. Practise prudent portfolio management where you start small and slowly grow the portfolio step by step by adding more pairs / instruments.
You don´t need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - B. Dylan
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