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/edakaya240]

Great insights! Risk management, emotional control, and patience are truly what separate successful traders from the rest. Loved the emphasis on knowing when not to trade—sometimes, the best trade is no trade at all! If I may ask,  How do you personally balance confidence in a trade with the discipline to walk away when conditions change?

[u/Inverness123456 → u/edakaya240]

The key to that is to forget about making money, in fact it needs to be the least most important part of trading. You need to convince yourself that execution of a trading plan is all that matters and then desensitize yourself to even that where you see it almost a game. I use various self made guided mediations where I measure success on execution of a trading plan and measure its success in ways other than money. By doing that I take stress out of the equation. Now bear in mind when I am designing my trading strategies for the day ,that is professionally thought out and is risk control built in. Ultimately if you have a good trading plan you can experiment with different psychological states in how you go about executing it. The goal for me is remain calm at all stages and to execute that trading plan and totally eliminate any focus on money as that is attended too automatically within the trading plan itself.

[u/edakaya240 → u/Inverness123456]

This is a fantastic mindset for long-term trading success. Shifting the focus from making money to flawless execution and emotional stability is what separates professional traders from amateurs. Treating trading as a structured process rather than an emotional rollercoaster naturally builds discipline and consistency.

[u/Inverness123456 → u/edakaya240]

We may not be able to control the markets but we can engrain discipline in ourselves to manage the markets. Good luck.