10 Steps To Professional Day Trading

Everyone trades a little differently. The trading method outlined below is MY personal approach to trading. This method has worked for me for the last 20 years, and has helped me to avoid big draw downs since the mid 1980's. My trading strategy has helped me to make a good living trading.

It takes some time to learn my method of trading because it's based on tape reading and getting a "feel" for the market. This is *not* about a fast,easy formula to "get rich quick" while you sweat out every trade. Instead, this is about developing confidence and trading consistently without fear and without big draw downs.

Here is my 10 Step Approach to Learning My Style of Trading:

1. Practice exiting trades at break-even, using a one-tick target, a two or three tick soft stop (mental stop) and a 1.5 point hard stop. Never *allow* the market hit your hard stop. Exit by moving your target toward your hard stop, not by moving your hard stop towards your target. With time, all of this must become a reflex. You won't always be able to keep your losses down to 2 ticks, but only on rare occasions should you find yourself letting the market hit your hard stop. ("Rarely" means only about once every 50-100 trades after you get the hang of it.)

Even though your entries won't be good enough in the beginning to make a profit trading these tight soft stops, your entries will gradually improve until you turn the corner and become profitable.

Learn exits and entries separately. Don't let the one influence the other.

Taking losses this way takes dedication and discipline, so stick with it. It's the key to confident trading. If you never take large losses (and rarely medium size ones), the fear of loss pretty much goes away, and your confidence grows. Especially after your entries improve enough to support a "scalping" type exit strategy.

2. Every trade *in all market conditions* begins as a scalp. Let me clarify this: if you're in a choppy market and you're looking to get small gains, like a point or so, manage your initial hard and soft stops *exactly* the same way you would in a quick trend or any other type of market. That means keeping losses as close to 2 ticks as possible, taking lots of break even trades and exiting every time the market doesn't give you *instant gratification* (within a minute or so).

No matter what the market is doing, you must demand that it moves in your favor right after you enter, otherwise you get out as close to break even as possible. This means you'll be closing a lot of trades near break-even within the first minute. This is the foundation of learning to trade for consistent gains.

3. Don't worry about the commissions on break-even trades. If you do, you'll hold on to losing positions, begging them to turn around for you. This is called *hoping.* In this business, this type of *hoping* is the kiss of death. Your money-making trades must move your way in the first minute or less. When trades don't act right in the first minute, most of them will hit your hard stops.

So don't get hung up on the fact that your broker loves you. Who cares if he/she makes a living?

Your concern is *limiting losses*. I care more about this than anything else in trading. (Well-timed entries make my tight soft stops possible, so they're almost as important as the exits.)

4. Practice your entries until your timing is so good that you can *reasonably expect* the market to go your way immediately, before it goes more than 2 ticks against you. This is not easy at first, but if you stick with it, you'll get it.

5. Practice fading the emotional extremes on your entries. (Fading means entering in the opposite direction of the market's last move.) When an extreme NYSE-Tick (often above 1000 or below -1000) occurs at the same time the market accelerates into a support or resistance area, look for a price stall or reversal and fade the move. Fade the emotion.

6. Rarely, if ever, *chase* the market on your entries. Wait for a pullback to get onboard a trend.

I favor shorts over longs... I can get out of a short position quicker than I can get out of a long position. I don't know why. I like to say that I "see gravity better than helium." In the rare strong-trending markets where I may chase an entry, it's going to be a down trend, not an uptrend. I don't trust up trends enough to chase them. Maybe it's just a personal quirk and maybe not. I honestly don't know.

But it's interesting to note that most (not all) professional traders I've met are Bears and prefer short positions over longs. You should give it some thought and find out which direction works better for you. Are your losses bigger on shorts or longs? Specialize in one direction and trade the other direction only when things are looking real good.

7. Never let a gain turn into a loss. This will mean getting out of most trades a little (or a lot) too soon. You just have to live with it. Swing for home runs (greed) will ruin your trading. There is no mechanical formula that I know of, (such as, "move your stop to break even after you get 3 ticks gain") that will work. You have to develop a feel for how the market is acting at the moment, and use your feel to reduce your target or advance your hard stop. This comes with experience.

8. Develop a feel for the big picture movements of the market, not just the intraday action. Use the end-of-day market internals to analyze the market's mood and develop a daily bias.

9. Practice does *not* make perfect. Only *perfect practice* makes perfect. I learned this in my younger years, pursuing a professional baseball career. Perfect practice will keep your losses smaller than your gains in the trading business.

There are a lot of things involved in perfect practice. When you get tired, or when the phone rings, or whatnot, *don't trade*. Always, *always* exit trades exactly the way I've outlined above on every trade in every market condition. Always *wait* for your pitch, the well-timed setup for entering. Don't practice sloppy entries just because you're bored. Only perfect practice will help you. Anything else just amounts to practicing bad habits.

10. Get a mentor. I traded for 6 years before I learned to keep my losses small. My trading turned around immediately after I met my mentor and talked to him on the phone for one week. Is there any serious profession that you can learn without a mentor? Maybe there is, but I don't know of any. It's certainly not trading.

Mike Reed is author of TradeStalker's RBI Trader's Updates. He has been trading the Market for 23 years. His support and resistance numbers have been published on the internet since 1996. Mike's nightly support and resistance zones are specific and incredibly accurate. He offers an unlimited free trial of his nightly TradeStalker RBI Trader's Updates. He will be offering "live" training online as well. http://www.TradeStalker.com

Copyright 2005 Mike Reed

MORE RESOURCES

     Large inventory of office cubicle and partitions walls for sale in Northeast Ohio

     Find home remodeling contractors Akron Ohio

RELATED ARTICLES New Opportunities with Forex Trading The simplest definition of currency trading is the practice of exchanging one country's currency for another country's currency. Basically, currency trading involves four main variables: currencies, exchange rate, time, and interest rate. 6 Critical Factors For Successful Trading Success in any profession can be broken down into a number of critical factors. Trading is no different. Trade Exit - How To Cut Losses And Let Profits Run Cut your losses short and let your profits run. This is the essence of your trade exit rules. How To Choose Wisely A FOREX Broker Most traders use a FOREX broker to handle their transactions. What exactly are brokers? Strictly speaking, brokers are individuals or companies that buy and sell orders according the investor's decisions. E-currency Exchange Trading If you are reading this article you are probably one of the many people who have spent countless hours searching for unique ways to make money on the internet. Very few people have gone on to succeed and most have failed miserably time and time again. Online Stock Trading: Freedom of Trade I remember the first time I started to trade online. It was just before the tech bubble of the late 1990's and the internet was still something new for most people. The Basics of Forex Foreign exchange market is also known as Forex or FX market. To date, it is the world's biggest "economic bazaar". Factors Influencing a Currency Pair Exchange Rate IntroductionThe exchange rate refers to the value of the US dollar against the values of currencies of other countries. Such a rate helps determine how much we pay for imported goods and services and how much we receive for what we export, among other things. An Evaluation of the Devaluation A Minister of Finance is morally right to lie about a forthcoming devaluation and a woman has the right to lie about her age. This is the common wisdom. Options Trading - Advantages and Disadvantages What is Options Trading?An option is simply granting someone the right to buy or sell something in the future. In the case of Dow index futures options, when someone buys a Dow call option they are buying the right to purchase that underlying Dow future at a specific price, known as the "strike price," at a future point in time, known as the "expiration date. Internet and Computer Systems in the FOREX Business With every passing year the interest in electronic trading is bigger, more especially trading shares and currency through Internet. A new profession came forward - this of the currency dealer. A Look at Online Forex Brokers An online forex broker is a firm that facilitates retail trading using Internet technologies. Global Forex Trading (GFT), one of the popular online forex brokers. Exploring the World of Day Trading Are you looking into a career in day trading? In the past, the tools for day trading were available only to professionals. But thanks to the power of the Internet, everything you need to get started is now conveniently online. A Look at Forex Market Makers The investor in the currency market takes for granted that a pair of currencies can be bought or sold at a moment's notice. Once an order is placed with a broker, the trade is executed within seconds. 10 Steps To Professional Day Trading Everyone trades a little differently. The trading method outlined below is MY personal approach to trading. What is Forex Trading? Forex, or Foreign Exchange, is the simultaneous exchange of one country's currency for that of another. The way it works is an investor who wishes to purchase or sell one currency for another with the hope of making a profit when the value of the currencies change in favor of the investor. FOREX 101: Make Money with Currency Trading For those unfamiliar with the term, FOREX (FOReign EXchange market), refers to an international exchange market where currencies are bought and sold. The Foreign Exchange Market that we see today began in the 1970's, when free exchange rates and floating currencies were introduced. The Secret of Reduced Margin Spreads One of the best kept secrets in trading is that of reduced margin spreads. You cannot name a trading method that provides more safety or a greater return on margin than does a reduced margin spread, while also being one of the least time- consuming ways to trade. The Seven Most Traded Currencies in FOREX. Currencies are traded in dollar amounts called "lots". One lot is equal to $1,000, which controls $100,000 in currency. Stocks Trading - Advantages and Disadvantages What is Stocks Trading? Companies throughout the world issue new stock shares every day. They do so to raise capital in order to invest in the business.

Click here to   Find used office equipment in Ohio at www.OfficeJax.Has.It www.Akron.Has.It Find the best fleamarkets at www.FleaMarketWorld.Has.It Find electric powered vehicles at www.NoGas.Drives.It Flea Market World Free Automatic Link Exchange Akron City directory Find homes for rent in Akron Ohio www.homes4rent.has.it Anonymous and Confidential U.S. Mail Drops - No ID Required reship worldwide

Click here to Free one way backlink

[Back to Top]   auction news and listings for Akron, Ohio Akron crafts and hobby news center Akron Ohio pet news Advertising and promotions Akron, Ohio The Akron blogging news center Akron Ohio web site design news best tips and home remedies Akron Mortgaging and refinancing Akron currency trading

Home | Site Map © 2012 - 2022 All Rights Reserved

currency trading forex currency trading online currency trading foreign currency trading currency forex learn online trading currency forex online trading currency day trading currency trading system forex currency trading system currency privateforextrader.com trading currency exchange trading e currency trading currency foreign privateforextrader.com trading book on currency trading currency trading broker currency trading software day trading forex currency currency ireland trading online currency trading system currency future trading day trading for the currency market online foreign currency trading fx currency trading forex currency trading beginner forex training course currency trading currency day system trading currency trading course 4x currency trading currency trading tutorial currency trading information foreign currency exchange trading currency global in market trading started in currency trading commodity  currency trading trading the global currency market international currency trading course in currency trading automated currency system trading foreign currency trading software currency trading strategy currency forex learn trading currency make money trading currency trading signal currency option trading currency forex market trading currency trading made easy chart currency trading currency trading  tip currency foreign forex trading currency demo trading currency trading forex spot rate learn currency trading basics currency trading currency trading for beginner forex currency trading broker currency electronic trading currency game trading currency exchange foreign  forex trading interbank currency trading practice currency trading currency forex fx software software software trading free trading currency guide tool online currency forex trading currency news trading best currency system trading currency trading account currency currency forex forex learn online online trading online currency trading strategy currency trading platform currency forex learn online online trading trading currency trading training company currency exchange foreign trading company currency forex trading currency euro trading currency forex trader trading automated currency trading currency foreign system trading currency market trading currency option trading system currency trading seminar business currency currency home internet trading trading canada currency trading spot currency trading currency exchange rate trading currency forex pair trading using vantagepoint currency network neural trading boards currency forex trading how to start currency trading currency trading australia currency forex tag trading currency forex trade trading currency insurance trading currency trading education live currency trading online currency option trading advisor currency expert trading, commodity currency future trading currency day foreign trading currency exchange link trading credit currency trading