Winning Traders Must Have These Three Elements

Trading System

  • They trade a robust system or method that wins more money over time than it loses.
  • Their system gives them a reward to risk ratio that is in their favor.
  • Their system or method is proven to work with a live trading record over many markets and trades or has  historical back testing.

Trading with Managed Risk

  • They manage the risk of ruin to avoid blowing up their account.
  • They risk no more than 1%-2% of total account equity on any one trade.
  • They manage risk through proper position size so they do not risk their account and ability to trade int eh future on any one trade.
  • They do not risk more than 6%-12% of their capital at one time across multiple trades.

The Mind of the Trader

  • They have faith in their system or method and continue to trade it even when they are losing so they capture the wins when they start again.
  • Almost all winning traders have come back from blowing up their accounts or losing a lot of money, they persevered while many others quit before they won. You will have to do the same if you do not understand the risk of ruin .
  • Most winning traders have learned to separate their trading from their self worth and ego. They treat it like a business not an ego trip.

Your focus in your trading career should be like a laser on finding the right system & method, learning why it is so important to manage risk then doing it, and having the right mind set to stay disciplined, passionate, and focused to get into the winning circle. With these three elements incorporated into a trading plan you will eventually win big. If you are missing any one of these three elements in your trading the odds are that you will be out of the game quicklyeither after a string of losses, loss of faith in yourself or system, or loss of belief that winning at trading is even possible for you.