RE:RE:RE:Surprised you didn't trade today.Bluesjunkie. If you're planning to daytrade you can't have the attitude of I'm just going to experiment with this to see how it goes. If you do, your sure to fail. You have to be all in whole hog, determined to make it work and fully commited or not do it at all.
You also need a "hunger" to be successful and profitable at daytrading. You need to really want it badly. Also, remember over 90% who try fail at it. Only about 4% to 5% of traders are succcessful, so the odds are severely stacked against you making it.
Most people lose money at daytrading and in all likelihood you will probably too. It's not easy money like you probably think it is or I perhaps make it out to be. It's also extremely stressful too.
Besides reviewing and studying my past posted trades and there is a lot of info there, if you're still in, here are some basics in random order:
1. Start small and take it slow. Trade small amounts at first, so if you lose on a trade and you will lose, at least you will only lose a small amount.
2. Remember, if you don't lose or haven't lost money on any given day consider it a success.
3. If you break even on any given day consider it a success.
4. If you make and profit on a trade consider it a bonus, not that you're good but a bonus because it's more likely than not that you will very easily lose it all and more on your next trade.
5. If a trade starts going against you, get out right away. Keep your losses as small as possible.
6. Don't get over confident and greedy (always be cautious) if you make a good trade like most people do because your next trade could probably and will probably be a loss wiping out most or all of your previous gains.
7. Study all of your trades at the end of the day. Create a trade log and record what you did well and where you screwed up. Re-read this mid- week and on the weekend to remind yourself to make yourself a better trader.
8. Develop a set of trading rules and stick to them and follow them.
9. If you lose on a trade. Step back and take a beak, clear your mind and emotions. Go for a walk. Never do what most people do which is to jump immediately back in and try to make it all back on their next trade. This is a sure fire way to lose even more money because you will not have the right mindset and in all probability out of desperation make a bad trade, like I've been guilty off many a time when I first started out.
10. At first only trade with your own money, not on margin. Margin can come later if you choose to go that route, once you actually know what you're doing and the risks involved.
11. You need to be disciplined, have patience and have a set of daytrading strategies and stick to those strategies as opposed to jumping all over the place.
12. Only trade when the odds are highly in your favor and the risk reward ratio is worth the trade.
13. Most new traders think they're smarter than everyone else, will be succcessful right away and make money. Think again, you're not smarter than everyone else, you will lose money. I guarantee you that. It's just the way daytrading works.
14. Be prepared for a long initial learning curve.
15. You need to put in time, effort, work, learning and practice into daytrading.
16. Leave your ego at the door and learn from your mistakes. Never make the same mistake twice which is easier said than done.
17. Trading is a job and work, treat it as such.
18. At first, always trade on an uptrend and on a green, bounce day. Stay away from red days.
19. Be familiar with a stocks general pattern, what it does and how it moves before trading it. A past pattern doesn't necessarily mean a repeat future pattern but a stocks general overall pattern will give you a better feel for the stock, how it moves and what it does.
20, Don't trade the first half hour until you are comfortable trading, due to it's extreme volatility. Safer entry points are from 9:55 am anywhere till 10:30 am or even up to 11 am in some cases, depending on the day and the stock.
21. Trade only on very specific, safe patterns that you're comfortable with. Remember, like I've said numerous times, it's all about the pattern.
22. Sometimes it's best not to trade. Never force a trade. Wait for the next opportunity that's highly in your favour. It's right around the corner waiting for you to take advantage of it.
23. Prepare and do your homework before the market opens.
24. Don't over trade. The more you trade in the day the more likely you will make losing trades and will lose money.
25. Google is your best friend. I'll let you figure this last one out because I don't believe in spoon feeding people. You need to do some of the work yourself, like I did when I first started out.
Hope that helps.
GLTY.