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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…)

Van Tharp Wisdom

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“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. Traders in a “having” state of mind often feel frustrated that their trading efforts fall short of their expectations. And when they feel frustrated, they have difficulty concentrating on their ongoing experience. They tend to make trading errors, which intensify their feelings of anger and frustration. In addition, they are tempted to give up easily and avoid putting in their best effort. They tend to think, “Why should l even try? I’ll never achieve the level of success I desire.”

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6 Types of Traders

  • Pretrader. Everything is new at this stage, and everything is difficult. This is the point where the trader is learning the very basics of charting and of market structure and is also just starting to explore the marketplace.
  • Novice trader. At this stage, traders are not trading to make money; they are trading for experience and to begin to deal with the emotional challenges of trading. One of the main signs of progress in this stage is that the trader will start lose money more slowly than before—still losing, but losing less often and less consistently.
  • Early competent trader. The first step toward making money is to stop losing money. A trader whose wins and losses balance out (before commissions) has taken the first steps to competence. (At this stage, the trader is still losing money due to transaction costs and other fees.)
  • Competent trader. The first stage of real competence is achieved when the trader is able to cover transaction costs with trading profits. Reaching this stage may take a year and a half to two years, or more. Consider this carefully—two years into the journey a realistic expectation is to finally have accomplished the goal of being able to pay for your transaction costs. This may not seem like much, but very few individual traders ever survive to this stage.
  • Proficient trader. Here the trader starts making money. Errors and mistakes are far less frequent, but, when they do happen, they are corrected and reviewed, and the lessons are quickly assimilated. The trader has been exposed to the stressors of trading so many times that they have now lost most of their emotional charge and is able to approach the markets in an open, receptive state. As competence grows, the trader can look to manage more money; developing the skills of trading larger size and risk becomes a focus.
  • Experienced trader. It is difficult to imagine a trader becoming a true veteran without living through a complete bull/bear market cycle—about a decade in most cases. This trader has finally seen it all and has also become cognizant of the unknown and unknowable risks that accompany all market activity. It is possible for developing traders to gain much of this veteran trader’s knowledge through study at earlier stages of development, but there is no substitute for experience and seeing events unfold in the market in real time.

Learn to be Disloyal

Loyalty many be a virtue in family ,friends ,and pets ,but it is a fatal flaw for a trader.Never have loyalty to a position.The novice trader will have  lots of loyalty to his original position.He will ignore signs that he is on the wrong side of the market ,riding his trade into a large loss while hoping for best.The more experience trader ,having learned the importance of money management will exit quickly once it is apparent  he has made a bad trade.However ,the truly skilled trader will be able to do a 180- degree turn ,reversing his position at a loss if market behaviour  points to such a course of action.

TRADING MANTRA'S

trading-mantrasEven the best traders in the market have trading sessions that are less than optimal.  Human nature dictates that we make mistakes, and trading the stock market is no exception.  Subsequently, there is always room for improvement, whether you are a novice trader or a seasoned veteran. 

  1. Stick to Your Guns – Don’t try to run from the market.  The only way to boost trading profits is to stay in the game and keep trading.  Running from the trades and the action will keep you out of the market, whether it is hot or cold.  Sticking to your trading plan and enacting trading discipline are the keys to producing profits.

 

  1. Set Stop Losses and Take Profits – “Set and forget” trading is generally profitable.  When you place each trade, remember to place your exit and stop loss, and then let the market be your guide.  Have a preset limit of how much you’re willing to win and how much you can lose.  Technical analysis will tell you the best price for selling (near resistance) and the best place for buying (near support).  Support and resistance points are the best places to put limit orders. (more…)

“What advice would you give to a novice trader?” by Jack D Schwager

This was taken from the book “The New Market Wizards”, it’s one of the questions posted by Jack D Schwager to Gil Blake. And this was his answer:
“There are five basic steps to becoming a successful trader.

  • First, focus on trading vehicles, strategies, and time horizons that suit your personality.
  • Second, identify non-random price behaviour, while recognizing that markets are random most of the time.
  • Third, absolutely convince yourself that what you have found is statistically valid.
  • Fourth, set up trading rules.
  • Fifth, follow the rules. In a nutshell, it all comes down to: Do your own thing (independence); and do the right thing (discipline).”
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