Success in any endeavor begins with Awareness. Before preparing to create my plan for any trade I must be aware of
- My mental state: Am i open to making profit today. I am what I think I am and if I feel deserving of good trades, they will flow to me if not I will find a way to lose money.
- Market condition: I was once told that forex market trades 24 hours a day, I found out later to the dismay of a past account that I should not trade just any time during a 24 hour day. Pick my spots and learn the attributes of market flow through each region for the pair you trade.
- Risk: It would be foolish to risk climbing a 20 foot tree in order to grab one apple. If a good entry has been missed, move on the the next Trade (tree).
- Long term outlook- Support and resistence on 4 hour + timeframes are always noted on my charts and I must we aware of price action near these levels. They could provide good chances for entries and/or exits on lower time frames.
- $ Goals- Either long term or short. I have intraday goals and postion goals. I must Know which I'm working for when I create my trade plan.
Lastly, Who am I, and why do I trade. Do I trade because I feel like I have something to prove to myself or someone else, or maybe I think I need a get rich shceme so I can retire at 35, I hate my boss and rather be my own, a little extra cash can't hurt, or my kids college fund, my retirement money can be manage better by me. Any of these? The point is I know why I do this and I think about it everyday and it keeps my head straight when trading gets tough and the darkside of my inner trader tries to lead me astray.
- My mental state: Am i open to making profit today. I am what I think I am and if I feel deserving of good trades, they will flow to me if not I will find a way to lose money.
- Market condition: I was once told that forex market trades 24 hours a day, I found out later to the dismay of a past account that I should not trade just any time during a 24 hour day. Pick my spots and learn the attributes of market flow through each region for the pair you trade.
- Risk: It would be foolish to risk climbing a 20 foot tree in order to grab one apple. If a good entry has been missed, move on the the next Trade (tree).
- Long term outlook- Support and resistence on 4 hour + timeframes are always noted on my charts and I must we aware of price action near these levels. They could provide good chances for entries and/or exits on lower time frames.
- $ Goals- Either long term or short. I have intraday goals and postion goals. I must Know which I'm working for when I create my trade plan.
Lastly, Who am I, and why do I trade. Do I trade because I feel like I have something to prove to myself or someone else, or maybe I think I need a get rich shceme so I can retire at 35, I hate my boss and rather be my own, a little extra cash can't hurt, or my kids college fund, my retirement money can be manage better by me. Any of these? The point is I know why I do this and I think about it everyday and it keeps my head straight when trading gets tough and the darkside of my inner trader tries to lead me astray.