Just follow these Trading Rules

  followtherules

 Stops – a stop price must be in place at all times for all positions.

 Balance – this one is the hardest of all to define, but because it is impossible to know with certainty the future direction of the market, a balance between bullish and bearish positions is the most prudent. In addition, if you are heavily weighted either bullish or bearish, and if the market moves strongly in your favor intraday, you should consider taking on a large opposite day-trade position for “insurance” profits in case that intraday move reverses. 

Freshness – positions should be regularly refreshed for the sake of updated stops. This is especially important when the market has moved in your direction a meaningful amount so that you can lock in some profits with tighter stops.

Emotional Awareness – use emotional awareness to your advantage, understanding fear often accompanies reversals in your favor and hubris often accompanies reversals against your positions.

Exits – the only acceptable exit is either being stopped out of a position or reaching a target price which has a clear technical rationale, and even in cases of the latter, partial exits are preferable to outright closes.

 

Opening Bell – no new positions should be initiated in the first 30 minutes of any trading session. There are an astonishing number of pre-opening orders, and in my experience, I have found it better to let all the open bell excitement die away before getting into any new positions.

Sizing – initial position sizing must be consistent among instrument types irrespective of anticipated opportunity.

Following these rules consistently isn’t easy. But every month r I get a little better at it, and every monthr I do better in my trading. I urge you to consider making these rules an important part of your trading life.