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4 Skills Every Trader Should Master 

The mental (emotional) aspect of trading is hands down the toughest hurdle between aspiring traders and

consistent success. For sure our technical nuts & bolts portion is vital. It goes without saying that we need

some type of method, system or approach for trade entry, management and exit parameters that create a

defined edge. The truth is there are countless ways to create such a viable edge! over the long"term, but

human management of such is the wea#est lin# in that chain.

$ut there in the real world we are taught to set tangible goals. Timelines, limits, targets and ob%ectives are

all part of the path to success. eed a roadmap to get where you're going in order to get there, right t

some point in our career we reali*e trading is a whole lot different than any other mainstream profession.

+ost of the rules that apply elsewhere are null & void in our world. Fiscal goal"setting is one of those. It's

natural for traders in general and day traders in particular to set structured daily goals. e wor# a defined

set of hours in our given shift- our time is exchanged for monetary reward expected. The people that we

#now have similar expectations. ow much did you ma#e today ! ow were the mar#ets today ! I see

on the news that stoc#s went up (down) big- how did you do today !

The word today! is sprin#led into every /uestion we hear. 0esterday is history, tomorrow remains a

mystery. The only measurement of success is today- one day at a time. 1ut in reality our profession is

nothing more than a series of wins and losses strung together over (hopefully) long periods of time. There

is no way to eliminate ris# or loss, because ris# is an e/ual part to reward in our e/uation. Focus on

#eeping loss controlled is a very different aspect than fixation on avoiding all losses, period. $ne is a

normal part of operation, the other is a path to failure.

+any times we'll read somewhere and2or hear about traders who never have a losing day. It is said they

string together wee#s, months or years worth of stretches with nothing but wins in the end. e've also

heard about bigfoot sightings all over the world for over a hundred years now. To my #nowledge no one

has ever produced a physical specimen of the latter or real"money proof of the former. 3erhaps traders

who never lose and sas/uatch each exist, I wouldn't rule either completely out. little bit of solid evidence

would be nice.

+eanwhile, those of us in the real world approach each trading day with one overall goal in mind4 perform

our functions correctly, follow our script and let the law of large numbers wor# our mathematical edge in

favor. That includes ta#ing valid trade signals after a string of losses. That includes letting the fourth trade

wor# towards its intended profit ob%ective following three straight controlled losses prior. That includes

trading through some adverse sessions where nothing we can do results in net"profit for the day.Punching Clocks Through Wins And Losses

5ust because mar#ets are open at a set time every day does not mean similar opportunities for profit and

loss exist. 6ome sessions ma#e it seem li#e money falls from the s#y between both bells. $ther times the

morning or the afternoon is generous while the other half is stingy. There are days, sometimes several of

them in succession where it appears the mar#et is closed for business. 3rice action goes nowhere, there

is nil chance to ma#e money and nothing can be done about that fact.

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Traders revel in those single days where favorable price movement results in profits that would normally

reflect an entire wee# or even month's worth of effort. ith the human"nature outloo# of exchanging time

for reward, we readily accept those occasions without a second thought. 6uch windfall but infre/uent

sessions are outside the norm, %ust li#e a true choppy or whipsaw congested session where it's all but

impossible to avoid stiff losses let alone ma#e two dimes of profit. 1ut we view those impossible"to"profitevent differently. hereas investing one day's worth of effort for a wee#'s average profit result is %ust fine,

investing a second day's worth of effort for one day's average net loss is not fine. To some it is downright

terrible.

Patience & Discipline

The worst trading sessions are often followed by the best. 7ull, flat, volume"less sessions usually lead to

high volume and range expansion the next day. If there are two or three dead sessions bac# to bac#, that

period usually resolves with several days of hyper"active price movement. 6tored energy is released,

released energy eventually exhausts movement. It's a fundamental part of financial mar#et behavior.

8nowing this cycle exists and expecting it to repeat as usual is important. hen we struggle to ma#e

headway for a day or two, better get ready for some very active tapes ahead. It's coming.

$bviously we'd all love to have every trading day result in new all"time high profits. one of us would ever 

opt to experience a net"loss session again. That's %ust one of numerous human emotions in the mix.

9eality is, wins and losses distributed intraday and li#ewise day to day are all part of the natural course.

Traders with gambling tendencies or ultra"competitive personalities tend to struggle with accepting loss as

part of our profession. They ta#e various small to extreme measures in fighting the natural process.

6ometimes the result is benign, other times career ending.

Personal Pursuit

There are four segments one needs to harness : master before consistent success is possible. They are4

! ; bility to read charts2mar#ets and determine whether price is more probable to go up, down or

continue sideways from any bar forward. e need to #now whether visible clues give odds of probability

for pending direction, or not. e need to #now this information inside all mar#et conditions4 low volatility,

normal volatility and high volatility. Intraday traders will commonly face all three varied conditions one or

more times daily. e especially need to #now when we cannot #now what is probable to happen next.

hen price movement goes from favorable to unfavorable per your method or approach, we need to

#now that through the shift of change.

" ; bility to determine where high"odds trade entry locations exist. +astery of step verything

the mar#et #nows at any moment in time is reflected in its chart(s). The ability to weigh : measure : read

that collective information determines our ability to identify exactly where long or short entry signal

locations with greater than ?@A odds to succeed exist in front of us.

# ; bility to determine your own method of trade management. I can promise you this4 no one on earth

can teach you how to manage your trades when your real money is live in the mar#et. hen your real

money is ebbing & flowing in your account, anything else that anyone tells you will be forgotten. The only

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thing that will matter to you is ma#ing yourself feel good about the end results of that individual trade. That

is not an opinion- it is an absolute law of human"nature fact.

4 ; bility to manage yourself through all aspects of reading mar#et action, determining trade entry and

managing live trades from entry through execution to exit. That includes self"honesty of admitting when

price action appears measured and predictable versus unruly. onoring and acting on trade entry signalswhen confirmed, instead of succumbing to trigger"shy hesitation and2or chasing trade fills well past ideal

entry locations due to fears of loss on both counts. olding stop"loss orders to contain ris# at

predetermined levels based on logic and reason rather than crowded too close or pulled to avoid loss out

of emotional fear.

Those are the four separate legs of our profession that overlap but stand apart. The first two aspects can

be taught by someone to others. +anaging live trades and managing ourselves through the entire

process are learned on your own, because they can't be taught by anyone else.

Survival $nstincts

The very moment someone places a live trade in their account, mental : emotional mode shifts from

ob%ective gathering of information to tunnel"vision focus on outcome results of the trade. ll else ceases to

matter from there as survival mode instincts #ic# in. Boices are tuned out, text is ignored and advice

doesn't even almost begin to reach closed minds. The only thing that trader cares about then is exiting

this trade in a manner which ma#es him (her) feel good about the whole experience. That's it- all about

the feelings. ny type of profit beats any type of loss, obviously. The measures a trader will ta#e in

managing or mismanaging their trade is directly related to emotional comfort needs at that stage of their

development.

For these core human instincts, any attempts for one trader to follow another through the process of trade

management and exit verbatim will always fail to meet the ob%ective. o two traders, let alone any group

of traders will ever hold all of their trades through the same curve of stop management and exit for profit

or loss result. ever has happened, never will happen, cannot happen until nature repeals the human

nature of survival instincts.

Su%%ation

Too many traders never get past the shallower thin#ing levels from the point where beginners begin. 0es

the technical nuts & bolts aspect of trading is important. Fancy charts filled with arrows, pointers and text

instructing someone on where to get in a trade and why always hold everyone's attention. nd for good

reason. 1ut then what hat do you do once that trade, the next trade and the next ninety"eight to follow

all behave somewhat differently from one another That is where the real measure of success or failure

begins to unfold.