Daytrading

No longer does the floor trader have exclusive rights to the spoils of day trading. Virtually any trader, armed with knowledge, a trading system or method, and sufficient starting capital can compete effectively in this high stakes game.

 However, the possibility of profitable day trading is nothing more than an unattainable dream if the rules and procedures of the game are not properly understood, learned, and applied. It is the rare individual indeed who is capable of achieving the discipline and persistence that are among the prerequisites for success as a day trader.

In order to achieve this end, the following inputs and ingredients must be present
 (not necessarily in order of importance):

• Knowledge of trading terms, methods, systems, and indicators

• Sufficient starting capital, all of which must be risk capital

One or more viable, tested, effective, and operational trading
systems, methods, and/or indicators

The time, patience, and persistence to effectively and consistently implement
the indicators, systems, and/or methods

• The discipline to follow through on trading signals

The discipline to take losses and profits when so indicated by
the system or method being used for day trading


There can be no profit, no success, and no fame unless the trader
has first mastered the self-discipline and persistence that are
essential ingredients to profitable day trading. These skills are
intrinsically intertwined in the psychology of the trader.
My experience has taught me that the single most important aspect of any
trading method, whether for the long-term, intermediate-term,
short-term, or day trade, is the psychology of the trader. Without
functional psychological tools, the best trading system in the
world will be subject to the whims, fears, and hopes of the trader.
The psychologically weak trader will undermine the system, and
the result will be loss after loss.