Day trading used to be an activity for people who specialized in the market. It was for professional stock traders who made their way down into the pits of the stock exchange. But the stock exchange has moved its way onto the internet, and with this online availability it has become possible for more and more people to use day trading for a living.
Lets face it. When you are a day trader you don’t care if the market is going up or down because you have the full set of skills to take advantage of both long and short opportunities. Having said that you’ll find certain seasonal trends tend to make life a little easier for you by increasing both turnover and volatility.
Establish a Well-Funded Account: This is one of the MOST overlooked aspects of commodity day trading. Studies in the past have shown the more money you have on hand in your trading account, the more chance of success you will have.
Something that paralyses many traders is having access to countless trading methodologies that all look brilliant on paper and unfortunately waste many hours of backtesting and research. If you’ve already spent a year or so day trading you should be somewhat familiar with what your edge is in the markets. Think of your edge as a statistical advantage you have that positions you in such a way as to consistently profit from the daily market activities.
Every day trader needs to have an edge that they can exploit in the market. An edge is nothing more than a statistical advantage that you have when you put your money at risk in the market. Essentially it means for every dollar you risk, you’ll get your dollar back plus a little more. By clearly understanding your edge you’ll be best positioned to take advantage of opportunities when they are presented and less likely to procrastinate over trades.
Many people ask for the best trading book available and little do they realize that the best book you can get your hands on is written by none other that YOU. Commit to keeping a trading journal or day trading diary for a full 30 days and notice the results at the end of it.
Day trading for a living is a very lucrative, but can be a very risky activity. Before you take part in day trading you need to make sure that you are prepared. Take part in simulating exercises and take any advice that you can give. Anybody can be a successful day trader, but like everything else you need to prepare, practice and inform yourself.