Becoming a successful futures trader doesn’t happen overnight. You don’t read a book and Voila! another successful futures trader dazzles Wall Street. It would be nice, but it’s just not going to happen. Once you decide to become a futures trader there’s a lot of hard work ahead. (more…)

Loss is the futures trader’s bugaboo, that annoying little wisp of fear in the back of your subconscious that keeps you from pulling the trigger and achieving success. To succeed as a futures trader you have to squelch thoughts of previous failures and concentrate on learning the new skills that will lead you to success. (more…)

When you’re climbing the learning ladder to success (see our last post), that last step is a huge leap! You may find yourself at the conscious competence level for a very long time before everything becomes so practiced and so ingrained that you reach unconscious competence and start trading in the zone as a master trader. Even when you’re in the groove and really working it, it takes time and practice, practice, practice before your routine and technique click to autopilot and using your system becomes automatic and effortless. (more…)

Whenever my team lost, the coach would tell us, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” Over the years I’ve learned there’s truth to that statement but that, personally, I’d rather win. I’ve also learned the power of loss. My dad used to say, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Good words to remember for a futures trader. It’s from the small losses that you learn how to win. (more…)

Technique, psychology and money management are the three essential elements that must be mastered to become a successful trader. You’ve developed a money management system, you’ve got your head in the profit zone (see our posts dated July 19 & 20), now comes the hard part: developing a system and honing your technique. (more…)

Curious about futures trading? Want to see how we pros do it? I have prepared a short video that takes you through the start of a typical market day. Click here to watch the action. (more…)

To be a successful futures trader you have to master three essential elements: technique, psychology and money management. Mastery and balance of all three elements is vital to success. In our last post we talked about the importance of money management. Today we’re going to discuss psychology. (more…)

Success as a futures trader is dependent on your ability to master technique, psychology and money management. Life as a trader can be phenomenally successful, but it can be equally risky, particularly while you’re learning to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. It would be a mistake to quit your day job until you’ve mastered the three elements of successful trading. Master only one and your lack of knowledge and expertise in either one of the other two areas may bring you to the brink of disaster and topple you over. Remember, mastery and balance of all three elements is vital to success. (more…)

With the right tools futures trading can be as easy as 1-2-3. Successful trading is 90% mental, 90% money management and 10% signals. So do you need to be a superman to become a successful trader? No, it only seems that way!

You do have to hone your skills, learn your trading system inside and out, develop a money management plan that works for you, and learn to read market signals. And you have to practice, practice, practice to develop confidence in your system and your abilities. Futures trading is not for the faint of heart. It’s a risky business that attracts the world’s best and brightest. A game of skill, futures trading is equally a battle of sharp wits and killer instincts. Develop yours and the world is your oyster! (more…)