For the past six months I have set out on a journey. The journey has been the gaining of trading knowledge with the end goal of having a good start to my trading career without too many mistakes.
A few years ago I had my first flirt with the markets. After an initial good start I started to think it was easy (big mistake). This confidence was short lived after a terrible run of bad bets. I lost £10k in a two week period. The next three months I went back basics with smaller bets which proved successful. But no sooner I thought I had the secret it all fell apart again.
So after reading several books, many threads and posts (on this forum)and a successful few months of paper trading I think I am ready.
The things I have learned in the past 6 months.
Firstly have a plan, then trade it.
Be patient. Let the markets move to your identified positions of support/resistance and then trade.
Be specialized. Better to know a lot about a few markets than a little about many.
Make each trade a high probability trade using trend lines, support and resistance and technical analysis indicators (pin bars, spinning tops etc).
Only bet with money I can afford to lose.
Use stops on every trade and NEVER move them because the market is going against you.
Keep a journal and write every reason why you a trade. Include time, reasons, results and feelings. AND review your journal on a regular basis.
Don’t be afraid to have losing trades. It’s impossible to be perfect.
Let winning bets run and let the market take you out of a position (by hitting your stop) in most cases.
Pay special attention to money management. Know exactly as you take a trade what you are risking and why. Never lose more than 2% on any trade.
Add to winning positions using some of the unrealised winnings when the position calls for it.
Work with longer timeframes (daily, 4 hours, 1 hour) until totally comfortable.
Try to master the markets you trade. Learn everything you can about them.
Start slowly with realistic aims. If you see yourself being a trader for the next 10/15 years then see the first few as the learning years. So no pressure to make a killing straight away. Keep it small and learn from mistakes.
Never stop learning. Keep improving your knowledge (books, forums, internet).
I start my journal tomorrow. Initially just working with a few thousand pounds (what I can afford to lose). I’m gonna be looking at major indices, some currency pairs and some commodities.
Can anyone add to the above?
Wish me luck
A few years ago I had my first flirt with the markets. After an initial good start I started to think it was easy (big mistake). This confidence was short lived after a terrible run of bad bets. I lost £10k in a two week period. The next three months I went back basics with smaller bets which proved successful. But no sooner I thought I had the secret it all fell apart again.
So after reading several books, many threads and posts (on this forum)and a successful few months of paper trading I think I am ready.
The things I have learned in the past 6 months.
Firstly have a plan, then trade it.
Be patient. Let the markets move to your identified positions of support/resistance and then trade.
Be specialized. Better to know a lot about a few markets than a little about many.
Make each trade a high probability trade using trend lines, support and resistance and technical analysis indicators (pin bars, spinning tops etc).
Only bet with money I can afford to lose.
Use stops on every trade and NEVER move them because the market is going against you.
Keep a journal and write every reason why you a trade. Include time, reasons, results and feelings. AND review your journal on a regular basis.
Don’t be afraid to have losing trades. It’s impossible to be perfect.
Let winning bets run and let the market take you out of a position (by hitting your stop) in most cases.
Pay special attention to money management. Know exactly as you take a trade what you are risking and why. Never lose more than 2% on any trade.
Add to winning positions using some of the unrealised winnings when the position calls for it.
Work with longer timeframes (daily, 4 hours, 1 hour) until totally comfortable.
Try to master the markets you trade. Learn everything you can about them.
Start slowly with realistic aims. If you see yourself being a trader for the next 10/15 years then see the first few as the learning years. So no pressure to make a killing straight away. Keep it small and learn from mistakes.
Never stop learning. Keep improving your knowledge (books, forums, internet).
I start my journal tomorrow. Initially just working with a few thousand pounds (what I can afford to lose). I’m gonna be looking at major indices, some currency pairs and some commodities.
Can anyone add to the above?
Wish me luck
