Trading Commodities and Financial Futures: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering the Markets, Third Edition

Secret 4

Have a plan before you trade, and then work it

If you have a plan and follow it, you are able to avoid the emotionalism that can be the major enemy of any trader. You must try to stay calm during the heat of the session and remain focused. To do this, you have to be totally organized prior to the opening bell. Your daily mission, should you decide to accept it, is to make money each day or barring that, at least not to lose much. In normal markets, you should take normal profits. In those unusual markets (that occur rarely), you need to shoot for abnormal profits. This is one of the keys to success. The next is that you must always limit losses on trades that are not going according to plan! This takes willpower and is as essential a ...