Saturday 12 April 2014

Top 15 Ways to Manage Trader Stress

Trading stress is primarily caused by two things: either not knowing what to do or knowing what to do and not doing it.

Many times in trading a new trader will discover that real money on the line is not the same as reading about trading or simulated trading. One of the top three things that will determine the success of a trader is the trader’s psychology, the weakest part of any trading plan is the trader. Stress can knock a trader out of trading faster than anything else. You have to trade like it is a business. Realize that it is highly probable that half of your trades will be losers and your profits will come from the half of your trades that are bigger winners than the half that are losers. You can not control the market you can only control what you do, your entries, exits, position sizing, and method. Practicing discipline and self control at all times keeps you out of very stressful situations. The key to trading success is not fun and excitement and being right all the time, it is about making what you do as sterile and boring as possible and steadily make money with good trades that have the odds in your favor. This is a business not an amusement park ride, trade accordingly.

01. Only risk 1% of total trading capital per trade with stop losses and proper position sizing. Proper positions sizing makes the emotional impact of any one trade only one of the next one hundred a totally different mental perspective than an all in/have to be right Hail Mary trade.

02. Only trade a position size you are comfortable with.

03. Trade a method or system you believe in based on back testing of a positive expectancy.

04. Know where you will get out of a trade before you get in.

05. Only trade with a detailed trading plan.

06. Believe in your ability to follow your trading plan. You must have faith in yourself to lower your stress levels.

07. Know yourself as a trader and only take your kind of trades. Take trades that will leave no regrets because they were good trades regardless of out comes.

08. Do not listen to any unsolicited advice about the trade you are in, follow your own plan. Noise can really cause stress and mess up a trade, trade with emotional horse blinders on, keep out others voices and listen to your trading plan.

09. Sit out markets that you are uncomfortable trading due to volatility or other looming risks. Know when it is time to trade and time to ‘go fishing’. This can save you a lot of emotional capital.

10. Do your homework before you trade. Be confident in your trade until it hits your stop. Get out when your stop is hit, you already lost money don’t lose sleep as well.

11. Keep your ego out of your trading, run it like a business.the P& L is your focus not your ego and not trying to prove anything to anyone else.

12. Only trade when the odds are believed to be in your favor. It is much less stressful trading with the trend than against it.

13. Do not blame yourself for losses if you followed all your rules. The market giveth and the market taketh away, just keep taking your entries and exits.

14. If you do not know what to do, DO NOTHING.

15. To lower stress levels trade less and get away from watching every single price change. Day traders could trade only the open and closing hour, swing trader and trend traders could just take opening or closing signals. You could go from every tick to just checking in every hour or so if you have options or hard stops in. Most of the days trading is random noise, and randomness will stress you out focus on your time frame and only the quotes that really manner when they manner.

Source: http://newtraderu.com/

Quote for the day

"Successful people don't fear failure but understand that it's necessary to learn and grow from." -  Robert Kiyosaki