Profit In Your Trading More Consistently - The Way The Pros Do in 3 Simple Steps

Oct 24
10:22

2007

Brian McAboy

Brian McAboy

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Executing trades consistently is the key to profitable trading. These 3 simple steps are those that professional traders utilize, and you can do the same to take your trading to the next level. These actions will also address many of the trading psychology issues that you've been struggling against.

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Are you finding that your trading results are not as consistent as you'd like?  Are you wanting to reliably repeat when you have winners?  Of course!  Goal #1 in trading is profiting.  Goal #2 is then consistent profits.  Third is steadily increasing  profits.Your bottom line results are primarily the result of what YOU do,Profit In Your Trading More Consistently - The Way The Pros Do in 3 Simple Steps Articles more so than what the markets do.  There are traders making money every day, so blaming the markets is simply an excuse.  If you want consistent profits, then be more consistent in what you do in your trading.  First thing to realize is that trading is a repeated activity.  That's why having a good trading system is so important.  When it comes to making improvements in a process, and particularly when your objective is achieve greater consistency, the three steps below are ones you can take to dramatically improve your consistency.Step 1.  Clearly detail and write down your system.  One of the biggest mistakes that many traders make, particularly regarding consistency is that they don't have their system well-defined and written down.When you have an activity that isn't documented, there will probably be inconsistencies in how things are done.  The reason the military is so big on following procedure:  they insist that things be done in a standard, reliable and predictable manner.  The same is true for your trading. Step 2.  Analyze your trading system's critical factors.  A smart person once stated that for you to improve anything, you have to start with first measuring it.  In what other way are you to know if you're actually improving?  Your trading system has several measurable aspects that make the bottom line what it is, in addition to the all-important your account balance at the end of the month.Most every business has certain aspects that determine the profitability of the business.   Smart managers know to track those aspects and assign measurables to them.  It is critical to do this because by measuring each of them, it becomes very clear specifically where your opportunities for improving your system are.Step 3.  Make improvements through meticulous actions.  Once you have an analysis of your system, you now have the ability to focus on those particular aspects of your system to make improvements.  By having a method for this analysis, you can make changes to the system and test - with zero risk - either through back-testing or in a demo account and determine the true impact on the system's performance - in the specific area you seek.  As an example, let's say you run the metrics on your system and find that your winning percentage is currently 37%.  You've got an idea on how to improve it to 55%, which you "think" would increase your overall returns.  Next would be to run the analysis on the system with the change on real market data.  By looking at the results, you can see if this change accomplished it objective, but also if adversely affected other aspects of your system performance, such as a lower profit-to-loss ratio.  You then can make a educated decision on whether you should stick with your current system or go with the modification.Summary.  Trading is a process from which you want consistent - and reliable - results.  Spotting, entering and executing trades is an activity that you repeat on a regular basis, so if consistent profits is your desire, then focus on making what you do consistent.Step 1 is to make sure that you have clearly defined and written down your system.  By clarifying your system and then documenting it, you improve your likelihood to repeat what you do consistently.Step 2 is to measure your system to establish where you are now versus where you want to be.  This also let's you see your opportunities for improvement.Step 3 is to track these measurables and take steps in a meticulous manner and keeping your risk very controlled.There are a handful of metrics in your trading business that have substantial impact on your profits.  By measuring your system's performance and purposefully focusing on these metrics, you give yourself the quickest way to increase your profits.  Additionally, this will provide a major boost to your ability to consistently produce profits.