Profitable trading strategy

Profitable trading strategies to build a successful trading plan

Mental Preparation

How are you feeling? Have you gotten enough rest? Are you prepared for the tasks ahead? If you are not mentally and emotionally prepared, you should take a day off. This will almost certainly happen if you are distracted, absent-minded or distracted by the task at hand.

Most traders have a market-specific mantra that they repeat before the day starts to get themselves ready. Be the one that gets you into the trading zone. In addition, your trading zone must be free of distractions. Remember, this is an industry where distractions can cost you money.

Set risk levels

What percentage of the portfolio is worth the risk in one trade?
This depends on your trading style and willingness to accept risk. The amount of risk you take may vary, but on any given trading day, it could be between 1% and 5% of your portfolio. This means that if you lose this amount at any time during the day, you must exit the market and stay out. The best thing to do is to stop for a while and fight for another day in case you don’t get your way.

Set goals

Before you start trading, you should set achievable profit goals as well as risk/reward. What is the minimum risk/reward you are willing to accept? Most traders will not take any trade unless the possible profit is at least 3 times higher compared to the risk. For example, if your stop loss equals $1, then your goal should be a profit of $3 per share. Set monthly, weekly or even annual goals in terms of dollars or percentages of your portfolio and review them frequently.

Trade Preparation

No matter what system or program you use, mark significant and minor resistance and support levels on your charts. Set alerts for exit and entry signals and make sure they are easy to recognize or see through clear visual or audible signals.

Setting exit rules

Most traders make the mistake of focusing all their time and energy on spotting buy signals and paying very little attention to when and where to make an exit. Many traders can’t sell in a downturn because they don’t want to lose money. Get over it and learn to accept losses or you will never succeed as an investor. If your stop loss gets hit, it’s a sign that you made a mistake. Don’t take it personally. Professional traders lose more than they make, but by managing their money and limiting their losses, they still make gains.

Before entering a trade, it is important to know your exit options. Every trade has at least two exit options. The first is, what is your stop loss if the trade fails in your favor? It should be documented. A mental stop loss does not count. The second reason is that every trade should have a profit target. Once you have reached that goal, then you should sell a portion of your portfolio and move your stop loss to your remaining position.