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Twenty Keys to Success as a Day Trader

It is not possible for me to overemphasize the fact that great traders, in particular great day traders, are great because they have mastered the discipline of trading as well as the mechanical techniques. I've placed great emphasis on discipline and feel that since it is undoubtedly the weak link in the chain of trading behavior, no consistent success is possiВэble without it. There are many opinions as to what constitutes discipline. Different traders and different writers will give you distinctly different opinions. My point of view has been tempered and shaped by over 22 years of trading, trading which has exposed me to every conceivable type of market and every conceivable type of news event. This has forced me to develop an arsenal of time-tested procedures which I now share with you. The best way for me to convey this information is by listing the items. So here they are, not necessarily in order of importance:

1. Find your place. One of the most important considerations in day trading is for the trader to find his or her place in the vast world of day trading. There are many things a day trader can do, but only so many can be done at one time. I suggest you find one or several techniques which you can relate to well and which you feel particularly confident with. These are the techniques which you should then use in your tradВэing. Use them consistently, day in and day out. You will find that certain techniques work best in certain markets: S&P futures, for example, are especially well-suited to the gap opening systems I have described earliВэer. T-bond futures are particularly well-suited to the support and resisВэtance, scalping type methods I have discussed. Currency futures, given their sharp and fairly quick moves, are especially well-suited to hit-and-run trading also discussed earlier. The gap method also works well in currencies but with some variation on the theme. Determine which approaches suit you best and devote your time to those methods consisВэtently and for a reasonable period.

2. Don'f expect immediate results. Many a trader, in fact, many a day trader, has been sorely disappointed when immediate success was not attainable. I urge you to persevere. Be consistent in giving yourself suffiВэcient time to achieve success. It's one thing to learn how to ride a bicycle by reading a book (which is basically what we're doing here), yet it's a far different thing to actually get on that bicycle and ride it after reading the book.

I assume that most of you have already done quite a bit of trading. Although you may feel that this experience will serve you well, it will as a matter of fact most likely be detrimental, since you come to the market with preconceived notions which may stand in your way. You will need to abandon these ideas in favor of those in this book, provided of course that what I've said makes sense to you. Therefore, it is important to remember that the process will take time. Some failures at first will be necessary. You will need to fall off the bicycle a few times before you can ride it. At first your riding will be shaky and slow. After a while, howВэever, you will feel at home on the day-trading bicycle, and it will take you where you choose to go, provided you follow a smooth road. How long will it take? There is no answer other than perhaps more than 2 weeks and less than 2 years, but these are certainly not hard-and-fast rules. Some individuals can be successful in several weeks, whereas othВэers are still not capable of achieving consistent success as day traders even after many years.