THE million dollar question, many have set out to figure out to do become a day trader but only a handful have become one. This week we are going to look at the steps to take if you dream of becoming a day trader.
All these steps will be realistic steps that anyone can take. The goal of this blog post is to help those who dream of becoming a day trader actually meet those dreams and goals, not to send everyone on a wild goose chase.
Starting
First one might be a little obvious, simply start working towards becoming a day trader. Far to often new traders over analyze what they want to do and it turns into a paralyzing event. Where they make no progress and the dream quickly dies. Now it should go without saying not to do anything risky or risk your lively hood on making this dream happen but you first need to start!
This can be done in many different forms, by watching YouTube videos on what day trading is, downloading a free trail from NinjaTrader, reading blogs anything you can get a hold of to figure out what day trading is about.
Word of caution, many social media pages and YouTube videos do not show the realities or what day trading really is, be very cautious not to get sucked into this type of thinking.
Learning
Next up is learning to day trade. Now if you are reading this blog we hope you become a Gorilla Futures Member and if you already are thank you for being a part of our family!
Traders can't turn their dreams into a reality if they do not have the proper education, there is no way around it. First you must learn the basics, such as what are futures and how they move. Then traders can move on to how to make the markets work for them.
Strategy
All traders will need to have a proven strategy. This means that the way the trader is trading and the rules they are follow have proven be to profitable over the long run. Now this part isn't one of those "sexy" Instagram post you will see but it is what trading is all about. You need to practice your system for an extended period of time.
Not only over a period of time but though all market conditions. This includes bullish,bearish and ranging market conditions. This is to prove to you that your system works are you can be confident that it will work.
When testing your system be sure to follow your rules no matter what. Bending your rules to give you a favorable outcome will only hurt you in the long run.
If it comes back your system does not work or needs tweaked then make the proper adjustments, document the adjustments and continue on. Now this does not mean that every losing trade you have you go back to the drawing board, it means you find the issues and improve on them.
Back testing your strategy will become second nature after you know all the basic and have a system down. Remember back testing might not be the most enjoyable activity out there but the more effort you put into it the better of you and your trading system will be.
Money
The elephant in the room is money, its a topic that does not need much explanation and has been covered in numerous other blogs.
If you are planning on day trading full time you will need to have a large nest egg that does not include your trading account and a way to pay all your bills. This is covered in the blog that is linked in the previous paragraph.
Routine
When/where and how are you going to trade. When are you going to wake up every morning to get ready for the session. Do you need 20 minutes or 45 minutes to get ready. Do you have an office or trading on the go. These are the questions you will need to answer if you plan on becoming a full time day trader.
Time
Lastly is time, this isn't want 99.999% of traders what to hear but its the truth. Trading takes time, you might get lucky on a few YOLO meme stonks or following the latest reddit short squeeze idea's. But to really become a day trader you will need to learn and grow into that person and be able to take trades on your own. Don't let this discourage you, the best time to start is now!
Comments