Successful trading requires three key pillars to succeed. Firstly, a solid understand of the theory (knowing the products and markets, understanding and managing risk etc.). Secondly a viable and tested trading system that generates profits and thirdly the most important part – integrating the process into our desired life style. Then we can start living ...
Know your trading edge
I often write about the aspects of my own trading that I am struggling with, and the things that I am working on. I think it’s important to stay on top of the things that you are trying improve. However, I also believe that spending too much time mulling over your mistakes can have a ...
Deliberate practice
Trading is a skill-set. It is a set of skills that you spend a lot of time practicing. When these skills are mastered, you are able to take money from the market at will. Trading is probably also one of the most difficult skill-sets to learn and master. The reason for this, I think is ...
Preparation breeds trading success
We put so much energy into finding the perfect system, learning all there is to learn about technical analysis, becoming more self-disciplined or automating systems to substitute for discipline. Technical analysis and discipline are essential. But they alone cannot turn a losing trader into a winning trader.
A traders journal
One of the very first things that we are taught when we start trading, is to keep a journal of our trades. The reasoning is simple enough: keep a record of the trades you took, why you took them, their outcome and whatever you may have learned from the trade. Keeping this record allows us ...
Consistency is key
Consistency is key. Many people look at successful traders and think that they make large amounts of money in very short periods of time. Frankly put, this is a fallacy. Successful traders tend to make a lot of small gains on a very consistent basis. Sure they have the odd day that they shoot the ...
Trading rules
There are many different ways in which you can trade. You can day trade, you can swing trade, you can long term trade, you can trade purely off technicals, you can trade purely off fundamentals, you can trade by mixing technicals and fundamentals, you can trade by reacting to news flow… This is starting to ...
Continual self evaluation
It seems to me that I am almost perpetually struggling with something. Which is great, because that is what trading is - a continual process of self evaluation and learning. You spend so much time working on getting a rule-based trading methodology to a point where you can consistently generate returns, and then you try ...
Monster losses, what went wrong?
Well, I got a little too big for my own boots over the last week or so. Being back in a day trading seat has been truly epic and very exciting for me, although I had almost forgotten how difficult it was. I started off with basically two weeks of being green every day. The ...
Persistent, patient and conservative
Persistence, patience and conservation - these are three intertwined concepts that I think are key ingredients to becoming a consistently profitable trader. I’ve found myself, a few times over the last couple of months, thinking and even saying that I should be trading bigger. “I’ve taken a 100 point move on the DOW, if I ...