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Trading Hints and Tips

 tips-1

1. OPPORTUNITY. There are dozens of these every day, unfortunately you can’t buy them all, so only pick the top 10 and then narrow them down to 2 to 3.
 This is done by using your buying criteria which is part of your trading plan which you already have written down. (Hopefully you have one?)

 2. BUYING and SELLING. I have a pre planned strategy which I have developed by trial and error; this was achieved by learning by my trading mistakes  and the mistakes of others.
 3. PATIENCE.This is definitely a virtue worth developing. Sometimes the market is going up in the right direction, but is not going as fast upwards as you  would like.  Be patient and use a “stop loss” to lock in those profits. However small they may be.  Also don’t always be in a hurry to “buy that next share” just because you have that money burning a hole in your pocket.  Do your homework and then you have chosen the right share for the right reasons and not just because it looked good 

 4. STRESS.If it is hurting! Don’t do it, cut your losses or be content with a small profit and get out. (more…)

State of mind

“Many traders start out using a state of mind that focuses on “having.” Rather than focus on how to trade in concert with the markets, they are obsessed with profits, and what they can purchase with those profits.”

“The main goal is to make money, money that can be used to purchase objects of desire, such as a shiny red sports car, a spacious, luxurious home, or a large wardrobe of fine clothes. They believe that great financial success will be the solution to all their problems. Trading isn’t just a job; it’s their salvation. Although many traders are motivated by money, there’s a downside to focusing on what you can have as a result of your profits. When traders focus solely on accumulating wealth, on “having,” they tend to act greedy and may take risks in an effort to win. There is a blind and unrealistic focus on trading at a high level of performance. Unless they trade at a high level of performance, they can’t possibly “have” what they desire. But a novice trader can’t achieve a high level of performance, and so, there is a mismatch between skills and goals. (more…)

Trade with Discipline

1. never EVER add to a losing position. EVER! If it’s not working, why add good money to bad? At this point, you are in damage control mode. It’s another thing if you are trying to pyramid into a position. For example: You go into a trade with 1/3 size, add another 1/3 and add the final 1/3 in an attempt to build a full position in a stock you feel strongly about. I do not mind that. But adding money to a full position which is not working is a BIG NO in my book! You never want any ONE trade to ruin your entire week or month folks. DISCIPLINE!

2. NEVER ever compromise your stop loss. I know a nice ran away bull market makes everyone think that’s okay to remove the stop loss or lower the stop loss to much lower levels because eventually the stock will bottom and rebound. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL guys! This is absolutely NOT what we are trying to do as traders. This is basically turning your trades into investments just because you cannot handle the pain of a small loss. It is much easier to dig yourself back form a 2-3% loss than a 10-15% loss. Hindsight is always 20-20 and most of you will say “gosh, i shoulda stuck to the original stop”. Trust me, life will be much less stressful taking occasional small stop losses along the way then being stuck in “hold and hope” mode.

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