ZF Capital

Invest your money, not your ego. Even the most carefully-crafted system is going to lead you astray eventually. Conditions change. Markets change. And even a system which is working just fine may have to be altered because of a new data point. Always be willing to adapt. Unwillingness to change your mind can cost you more than you’d believe. Never let a trade become an “investment” merely because you failed to listen to the market.

– StoryTeller, TMF Boards

Trader, know thyself. It’s been said that 97% of successful trading is understanding and utilizing one’s own strengths and limitations. If you continually put yourself into trades that don’t play into your strengths, then you’re going to lose money, and you’re going to beat yourself up mentally in the process.

– StoryTeller, TMF Boards

When initiating a trade, enter as if it has the potential to be the biggest trade of the year. In other words, plan your trade. Don’t enter a trade until it has been well thought-out. Devise a campaign for adding to the trade (pyramiding). Set contingency plans for exiting the trade. Unless, of course, you need to lose money.

– StoryTeller, TMF Boards

Be willing to make mistakes and accept small losses. Trading is trading, markets are markets, and losses are unavoidable. However, they are manageable. Set stops, either mentally or with your broker, and execute them at the planned point without hesitation. This is how you manage your risk. And it is the only way you will protect your capital and stay in the game.

– StoryTeller, TMF Boards

Keep a trading journal. It’s difficult to learn from mistakes if you don’t remember them. Always keep your past mistakes, and successes, close at hand. Keep your eyes open, and write down the market actions and reactions you see. Write down how the market moves at certain points. A thorough journal is as valuable as any trading handbook yet written.

– StoryTeller, TMF Boards

Think like a guerrilla warrior. Fight on the side of the market that is winning. Don’t waste time and capital on futile efforts to gain fame by buying the lows, or selling the highs, of some market movement. Your duty is to earn profits by fighting alongside the winning forces. If neither side is winning, then don’t fight at all.

– StoryTeller, TMF Boards

When sharp losses in equity are experienced, take time off. Close all trades and stop trading for several days. The mind can play games with itself following sharp, quick losses. The urge to “get the money back” is extreme. Never succumb to this.

– StoryTeller, TMF boards