Chapter 10:
Next Steps for Beginner Traders
I appreciate you taking the time to read thus far in this book. I hope you’ve found lots of valuable information and ideas to help you move forward in your day trading career. The one key message I desire that you will take away from this book is that under no circumstances can you be an emotional trader. Somehow, you have to find inside of yourself the ability to resist making emotional decisions in the midst of a trade.
You also need to learn some technical skills. You have to find one strategy that suits your personality and practice it in your simulator, and then practice it some more. And then you have to stick to it. Like glue. You also have to be able to make decisive, but reasoned, decisions based on your well-thought-out in advance trading plan. You also have to have settled in your mind, again, in advance, how much you can afford to risk on any one trade. Don’t forget my rule: no more
than 2%! And in many ways, that is just the beginning. Successful day trading is based on three important skills.
- You need to constantly analyze the balance of power between buyers and sellers and bet on the winning group (discussed in Chapter 6).
- You need to practice excellent money and trade management (discussed in Chapter 3).
- And you need sufficient self-discipline to follow your trading plan, to avoid getting overexcited or depressed in the markets, and to resist the temptation to make emotional decisions.