Day Trading tips

In any given trading period there are only a couple of opportunities for realising an above average or outstanding profit. The more often you trade the more likely you are to hit the jackpot, that is if you are 100% convinced that all the trades you enter into are potentially successful.

Daytrading is a game you must constantly adapt yourself to. It is no longer the easy ride it once was in the carefree 90's. The rewards are still plentiful but you have to keep apace of the ever changing circumstances and shrewdly exploit what each opportunity offers.

There are those so taken with the weather report they forget to look up at the sky.

Are you the type that only wants to trade in a particular sort of market? Have you ever asked yourself why that is. Does the answer not give you some disquieting food for thought.

A student drew my attention to a profit I had quickly made while demonstrating a point, he thought it large and impressive. It was about $250- dollars. He compared it to the average 40 hour wage - that I had "just made in 20 minutes!". Suddenly, I was aware of how much I take for granted, especially considering all the market makers the banks have put out of business. The moral of the story, learn to be content.

The first priority of any businessman or Day Trader are costs. How much can I save on transactions costs and real time trading? How much on real time trades, Internet connections and so forth? As the saying goes a dollar saved is a dollar earned.

Hard work creates good luck.

Day Trading is an activity that should suit you. No coercion, you must feel eager and at ease.

Everyday thousands of speculators are trying with every available means at their disposal, be it technical analysis or clairvoyance to realise their dreams, as if there is a market somewhere where money grows on trees. As someone not given to flights of fantasy I know that will never happen. There is no system or method that can safely tell you what the markets are going to do. As a trader your energies are best employed ascertaining what "the others are thinking." When you know that you are in position to shear the obliging flock or milk the docile herd.

The market has one fundamental, the rest is human psychology twisted by fear and greed.

If you try to profit from an up turning market a tight stop-loss position can frustrate your plans. This happens because an upward trend seldom goes in a straight line. During the rise the market fluctuates, this can cause your stop-loss option to tumble. Often you have no time to reset your position because the market has moved on, leaving you behind and taking a different direction.

The biggest shifts in the market are not caused by individual investors but by Market Makers, institutions and big traders dealing amongst themselves. These account for 70% of all the trades carried out on the Nasdaq. Be aware!

Anything of real interest and value in life is dependent on chance or an indeterminable variable. It's important to realise things will not always go your way but if at the end of the day you gain more than you lose then you are a head of the game. You have to strike a balance between being excessively cautious and recklessly enterprising. Needless to say nothing ventured, nothing gained, but the risks have to be carefully calculated if you want to consistently succeed. Day Trading is not an occupation suited to everyone. Daytrading is not suited to all personalities.

A Market Maker sees stop-losses as skittles at the end of a bowling-alley. When volume is low he can by merely pressing a button knock them all for six by buying them all up in one discount lot, so putting them out of the equation. He strengthens his position on the cheep. He consequently, fortifies his position at a discount.

Good Day Trading is patiently waiting and watching for your opportunity. Sometimes that demands the patience of Job but you must not falter and be tempted to trade just for the sake of it.

There are two methods of calculating the direction of the market. One is technical analysis the other is assessing the animal on the hoof. Both share one thing in common, opinions are always divided.

The drama's of Ahold, Enron and WCOM don't worry a day trader. He always closes his position down before the market closes. He sleeps easy, it doesn't matter to him which businesses go to the wall.

A Day Trader must have the best currently available connections. The more dated providers such as are available through telephone connections fall short, capacity is limited. Information can get delayed and history is of no utility. If you have no choice but to use ISDN, use two lines to increase the speed.

A fundamental Day Trading strategy is to discover an opportunity before anyone else (your competitor).

You have to learn a few things before you can add a few strings to your bow and make a killing!

Extensive practical experience is needed to understand and apply theoretical knowledge.

The stock market like life itself has its ups and downs. As you get older you learn to bear the lean times and harvest the good.

In Day Trading sitting back and formulating theories is easy, putting them into practice is a different matter.

Day Trading is not essentially difficult. It's a straightforward skill, demanding discipline and adherence to the rules.

In the first months of trading your most optimistic expectation should be to break even. There after you will make some break throughs but nerves can still cost you 20% of your opportunities.

If you must have a particular share then you should be prepared to pay the extra cents above the last bid. If you must sell a particular share, be prepared to accept an offer under the last asking price.

Day Trading stirs the passions but they can often be a hindrance. If you zoom in on the money, you will pan out on the goal, which is achieving dispassionately a pre-selected target. Emotions need to take a back seat.