Thursday, February 25, 2010

Trade like a pro - 7 Must Know Tips

The most successful floor traders are those who have most experiance, this is no coincidence at all and should be a marker for those who want to become a good negotiator. Day trading can be compared with being an athlete, as a golf pro or tennis champion, you must be qualified and in good physical shape. Skills required to be developed over time and practiced until they become 2: e character. If you want to learn how to day trade you must be prepared to put in effort. Here are a few of the key skills you must develop as a trader. 

1. Technical analysis can be used for futures and the more solid stocks, options and bonds, that most people trade. This can give you a big advantage over other operators who have not taken the time to study the chart support and resistance areas, Trendline and patterns. Learning technical analysis is really a must do if you want to trade futures successfully. 

2. It is a fundamental point, but is very important, always have your marketing plan prepared before you enter a trade, never try to create it on the fly, you will be too emotional. Make sure you have an entry and exit points in your plan. 

3. Keep your losses small!, It's the one thing that every trader must do if they want to trade for a long time. By doing this, you will preserve your capital gives you the opportunity to trade another day. Your small wins will compensate your small losses give you big gains to give you an overall profit 

4. Over trading is a big mistake that a lot of amateurs make. Professionals tend to be more patient and wait for better opportunities to come together, this is called cherry picking and takes both patience and discipline. These are essential skills that you develop. 

5. This is a great day trading tips, it's important that you track all of your transactions and review them to see how you're doing it wrong. This is quite hard work but it is what separates professionals from amateurs. Unless you do this you will keep making the same mistakes. The best way to do this is to keep both a daily and weekly log. 

6. Only trade when you are both physically and mentally prepared. This is often overlooked but very important. Do you think a tennis star can win a game when they are tired and not mentally focused?, It is unlikely. Being prepared means getting a good night's sleep, your trading station and charts prepared well before the market opens, it will take time each day to review your trading plan and rules. Finally, you must have the mental state of mind and confidence that you will succeed today in your trading. 

7. If you are new to trading futures contracts take time to paper trade until you are absolutely sure that you'll earn money. You will know when you're ready, because you will begin to hate paper trading to know that you could make real money profits on a consistent basis. 

Remember that markets only trend about 20-35% of the time, the rest are either sideways or very uneasy, if you want to do trend trading to win, you must be fully prepared when opportunities arise.

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