New Forex Trading Strategy

Monday, September 28, 2009

How To Learn Day Trading From The Pros

By Tim Hunt

A job as a day trader is a great way to make money in a very lucrative field. It is not, though, an easy way to get rich quick. You will need to put effort and work into it.

Trading commodities and stocks is a day job, and a challenging one at that. Though it can be lucrative, certain habits must be learned for success, and the trader with particular traits is more likely to be successful.

Time management is the first important habit. You must be able to wake up early and alert first thing in the morning and be ready to evaluate how you'll play the market that day. All of this must happen before the opening bell, which starts at 9:00 a.m. in New York, 6:00 a.m. in California, and 5:00 a.m. in Alaska and Hawaii. Getting out of bed early is only half the story; you'll also need to stay on schedule and have a good internal alarm clock. If you're the type who can't function before 11:00 a.m. or has to guzzle down multiple cups of coffee before facing the day, day trading may not be the job for you.

A second critical habit is a good set of numerical analysis skills. Making and losing money based on gut hunches is a given, but you'll also need to make educated choices based on what you've read, summarized, and synthesized so that you can make good judgments quickly with this background knowledge. All of this needs to be done fast, and you'll need to quickly judge trends in financial markets and apply these snap analyses to your trading decisions.

Although you'll need some good quantitative skills, you don't have to be a mathematician to be a successful day trader. You can cultivate your quantitative skills with just a bit of practice.

A third important habit for day traders is observational skills combined with good short-term memory. You'll also need patience. Keep your cool even when you miss catching a stock at its highest point, or when you lose money because an anticipated low never arrived. Likewise, you must stay calm when you make a big winning trade as well.

Dedication to research is a fourth important habit. You won't need to pore over accounting statements like professionals in long term investing, but you will need to analyze trends that appear in the constant influx of information. You'll need to take an active role in decision-making, and choose trades based on this background knowledge. You can't make good judgments without the right research; but don't let an obsessive need to research cripple your ability to think and act on your feet.

Remember that you don't have to do all of this research and analysis alone. High level traders have many research tools and tricks, and various data analysis tools close by.

If you decide to pursue a career change in the field of day trading, you'll need to start by building a support team, including a broker, and some investors who can help you apply leverage to the market. Recognize that you will need to work, and it's a kind of work that requires focus, drive, and dedication.

If you think your skills are a good fit for day trading, this can be an incredible way to earn great money. It's an enjoyable profession that can "enrich" your life as well. - 23305

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