A Disciplined and Organized Approach to Stock Market Trading

A Successful Stock Market Trading Strategy

Many traders lose simply because they are inexperienced. They place trades based on hunches, news, or advice from friends, rather than defining clear risk and reward targets. Others have the potential to educate themselves but are overcome by their emotions. They retain losing positions in the hope that they may transform into winners, and they sell winners out of fear of losing a modest profit. They overtrade to satisfy a demand for action or to avoid missing out.

The consistent winners take the following approach:

1. They have a plan for entering and exiting trades.
2. They practice sound financial management.
3. They take proper actions and adhere to a trading strategy.
4. They keep detailed records in order to review their conduct.
5. They prevent overtrading.
6. They have a winning mentality.

1. A method for entering and exiting trades

You must devise a plan to improve your odds with each trade you make. Your plan should be as objective as possible, using the following components:

Entry conditions: include technical analysis, fundamental analysis, or both before you can enter a trade.

Initial stop loss: the price at which you will close out the entire position if things do not go your way. The risk per share is the difference between the entry and stop prices.

Initial price target: the price at which you will take some or all of your earnings if the deal goes well.

Trade management: is a collection of rules that govern your activities when you begin a deal. It could contain trailing stops, closing positions, and so forth.

The purpose for each action you do should be clearly stated in your strategy.

2. Money management principles to reduce losses to a minimum

Money management’s purpose is to assure your survival by minimizing risks that could put you out of business. The following should be included in your money management rules:

The maximum risk amount for each trade. Your risk per share is the difference between your entry price and your initial stop loss. The share size is determined by your maximum amount at risk for each trade.

The total amount at risk for all open positions.

Maximum daily and weekly losses before you cease trading; avoid trading your way out of a hole after a losing streak.

During your learning phase, your primary goal should be to survive rather than to make money. Begin with minimal limits and gradually increase them as you become a consistent winner; otherwise, you will become bankrupt fast.

3. A trading strategy to take emotions out of your trading decisions

Emotions may transform brilliant individuals into morons during trading hours. As a result, you must avoid making emotional decisions during those hours. This necessitates a precise trading strategy as well as money management guidelines.

The reason for any action you take during trading hours should not be greed or fear. The reason should be that it is part of the plan. Your task becomes one of patience and discipline with a strong plan.

You must strictly adhere to the plan. Any valid cause for an exception, such as fixing an error, should be incorporated into the plan.

4. Maintaining accurate records

While accumulating experience cannot be hastened, it can be made much more efficiently by keeping detailed records of your actions. Good records will enable you to:

Review your activities at the end of each day to ensure you followed your strategy rather than your emotions.

Learn from your losses – they cost you money, so make sure you get an education in exchange.

Keep a notebook of your observations as well.

5. Overtrading

Sometimes the greatest thing to do is nothing at all. Not trading on bad days is critical to becoming a consistent winner; in some instances, overtrading is particularly tempting:

• If you trade to satisfy a desire for action or to alleviate boredom,
• If you can’t yet devise the right plan but can’t wait,
• If you are concerned about missing out on a spectacular deal or market,
• If you desire to avenge a loss (revenge),
• If you trade to feel as if you are working rather than lounging around. Aside from the actual buying and selling, trading entails a significant amount of work.

Under the following conditions, you should not trade:  

• You are not adhering to any trading strategy,
• You have met your daily or weekly loss limit,
• You feel ill or extremely weary,
• You are exceedingly emotional (upset, under a financial strain, or self-esteem damaged),
• You are experimenting with new tools with which you are unfamiliar,
• You require time to focus on your trading strategy.

A winning mentality

Losing traders seek a “sure thing,” cling to hope, and avoid taking minor losses. Their trade is motivated by emotions. Trading must be viewed as a probability game in which you do not need to know what will happen next to profit. Before you make a transaction, all you need to know is that the chances are in your favor.

If you believe in your edge, or that the odds are in your favor for each transaction you enter, then you should have no expectations other than that something will happen.

Your mindset will have an immediate impact on your trading results if:

• Accept responsibility for all of your actions; do not blame the market or global events.
• Trade to trade well and for the love of trading, not to trade frequently and for profit. The money will come as a result of successful trading.
• Don’t let other people’s opinions influence you. Make your own decisions and stick to them.
• Never believe that making money in the market is simple, and never believe that you know everything.
• When you place a deal, you should have no expectations because you know anything might happen.
• Don’t try to predict the future; trading is a game of probabilities.
• Use your brain and be calm; do not become enthusiastic or depressed.
• Treat trading like a serious intellectual endeavor.
• Do not keep track of how much money you have gained or lost while trading; instead, concentrate on trading successfully.