Sunday, April 10, 2011

Advice for new traders

1. Trading is hard, actually make that very hard. There is a reason why over 95% of short term traders fail.

2. Start trading only with money you can completely afford to lose, not money you need to pay next month's bills with.

3. There is no holy grail for trading. No system can guarantee 100% winning trades. Impossible.

4. The market does not care for your opinion. The market is always right.

5. Do not call tops or bottoms.

6. Don't think a stock is cheap only because it might have fallen 50% in last couple of months.

7. Don't get frustrated by losses. Losses are part and parcel of the game and cant be avoided. Embrace them. Learn from them.

8. Do not average down. That's the easiest way to blow up your trading account.

9. Each day is a whole new opportunity. Each trade is a whole new opportunity. Don't let the old trade influence the new one.

10. Take responsibility for your actions. You can find a million of factors to pass the blame on to in trading but you will never be successful until you start taking responsibility for your own actions.

11. Take care of the risk. The rewards will take care of themselves.

12. Amateurs enter a position thinking about the potential reward. Professionals enter a position calculating the potential risk.

13. Stop loss. Stop loss. Stop loss.

14. The above points might seem a bit harsh but I wanted to paint a true picture for you readers. But let me end my saying that trading is the most challenging and fulfilling endeavor in the world. It can also be the most frustrating and humbling experience. But the great thing is, it is in your hands what you wanna make of it.

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2 comments:

ppmoore said...

Great advice. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

As always, wise words... Thanks!