Keys to Daytrading Success
This is not like most career fields, where an average teacher, middle manager, or sales person can sustain a living. An average performance in trading is one in which the trader does not make money at all. The Times article cites research suggesting support for the often-cited statistic that 80% of day traders lose money.
I’m in an interesting position, because–as a trading coach–I see the actual trading of actual traders, not the performance claims of wannabee gurus. I also see which traders have been able to sustain meaningful livings from their trading and which have not.
Here is a post outlining what I see among the consistently successful traders. The links at the bottom of the post will also help you focus on what helps traders sustain solid performance.
The most important contributors to trading success:
1) The development of concrete trading skills: pattern recognition, ability to execute sound trade ideas to create a positive expectancy, sound risk management;
2) The cultivation of the mental toughness, continuous learning, and discipline that enable you to adapt to new, challenging market conditions.
Sitting at a computer each day, not having a concrete strategy for the day, and relying on a vague sense of intuition to get you through is not going to cut it.
Success is something the great traders do, not just something they have. They work on building skills, they work on building themselves, and they have routines in place for accomplishing both.
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