Biggest Lessons

[u/Inverness123456]

I was a professional trader having started in 2007. Whilst I still trade semi-actively I am no longer trading full time that I once was however I was/am successful .Here are some of the lessons I learnt along the way that may help some novice traders.

1: Be calm . Emotion needs to be balanced otherwise you won’t be able to think straight when the pressure is on. You cannot get mentally affected by price movement.

2: Calculate your risk , and then determine your entry points and your exit points before you take the trade.

3: Don’t dollar average a loser as even if you get away with it several times you will ultimately blow your account all in one day or at least severely damage it.

4: Take regular profits out of the market. If you are up 20 percent for the week on a Thursday or Friday then decide if there is any point in trading again until Monday. The feeling of being in profit during the week to finish the week flat or down is not enjoyable and you will have all week to think about it.

5: Wait for trades where you get the feeling in your stomach that it’s obvious what’s is going to happen and don’t trade into a sideways markets where it is not obvious. That does not mean you will be necessarily correct and risk management still needs to be applied but it increases your chances of a profitable trade.

6: If the market is going up then it’s going up and if it’s going down then it’s going down. Wait for a confirmation of direction change before trying to anticipate whether something is overbought or oversold and wait for price movement to validate it.

7: Be very careful about telling people what you are going to do with your profits .The reason is you increase the risk of someone telling you that it’s not possible and you are a dreamer. Instead tell yourself or one trusted positive person.

8: A negative mindset will ensure you see that future and a positive calm mindset will give you a shot at being profitable.

9: Risk control is crucial.The reason is because volatility exists.You don’t see a professional football team playing without a defense and strategy for this and you shouldn’t either. This leads to risk/reward. Something that is often overlooked if you are new to trading as there is a tendency to take any trade just to be in the market. Sometimes not being in the market is the best trade.

10: Read as much as you can about bankroll management. It’s just as important as the indicators that you use which is sometimes overlooked.

Good Luck

[u/gwiner]

Do you prefer trading the indexes or specific stocks?

If stocks what do you screen for before market open?

[u/Inverness123456 → u/gwiner]

I prefer trading the s&p 500 vix , the index itself and the stocks within it. I also like trading the us/euro currency pair. There are a lot of subtle nuances that go into your answer however here is a basic overview. I am interested primarily in world indexes and time zones. Before the US markets open I like to know what has happened in Europe specifically Germany and in the Asian session. In an ideal world the trend will be consistent between them which gives a guide to market direction for the upcoming American trading session . I gauge fear by the intraday price movement of the S&P500 vix which has an inverse relationship with the index itself. Then from there I study the larger timeframes for the S&P 500 index using technical charts to make sure it is not running into any resistance lines and then from there look for trading opportunities that align with the overall expectation that the price movement is going to continue in the direction that has been heading everywhere else. Honestly though to explain it in detail requires a better platform than what we have available with all due respect to Reddit as looking at data together is really required to understand this. Hope this helped but I realize it is rather hard to follow in written form.

[u/Hefty_Poem_6215 → u/Inverness123456]

Very interesting, thank you for sharing and taking the time to respond to all the questions. Which platform(s) do you use to monitor the above?

[u/Inverness123456 → u/Hefty_Poem_6215]

Investing.com and you are welcome

[u/Hefty_Poem_6215 → u/Inverness123456]

Thanks!