Have you been consistent with your trading lately, maybe you are starting to see a steady flow of positive trades. It is then time to take your trading to the next level. This is something that needs to be done slowly and given time. Don't expect to simply increase from 1 contract to 10 contracts in the matter of a few days. You need to slowly build up to the larger size. Lets take about how you can do that!
Trading Plan
Before even thinking about upping your size you need to first have a proven trading plan/system. This system needs to tel you when to trade, when not to trade, when to enter, when to exit and most importantly when not to trade. Once this is done and you have the data to prove that it works you then need to let it run its course. This means you will trade this same exact plan for a minimum of 6 months. Remember the market is always changing and you will need to test your system in all types of market conditions, such as ranging,fast,slow,bullish & bearish.
Size
Now that you have the plan and the data to prove that it works, its time to add size. Adding size is something all traders think about, due to the fact they "can" make more money. But the flip side is you can always lose more money. It is a double edged sword that needs to be used with extreme caution. If you do decide to increase your size you should do so very slowly. This means instead of going from 1 contracts to 10 you will go from 1 to 2 to 3 and so on until you find the sweet spot for you.
Once you start to increase your size you will need to give your self the proper amount of time to adjust to this. Some traders will only need a few days or weeks to adjust to taking larger traders and losing larger trades. Some will needs months or even a year to get comfortable. This step should not be rushed, there is no shame if you need a year to adjust to increasing your size. Do what is best for YOU and don't worry what everyone else in the chat room is doing.
Mental
Many trades wonder why they have such anxiety and stress when they trade, 75% of this is due to trading too large of size. Instead of looking at your account and saying" I have $10,000 I can trade 2 ES contracts" look at the $10,000 and say" How much money can I comfortably lose and not get anxious/upset". Everyone wants to talk about making money but no one wants to come with the grips of losing money. This is why you need to have a large amount of data proving to your self that the system you are using is working well. This is also why you need to slowly add size.
If you are use to having a stop loss of $250.00 for each trade and then suddenly up that to $1000 you will most likely have some anxiety. this is why it is some important to up your size gradually. Doing so will give you time to get comfortable with losing more money and you will end up trusting your system even more when those larger trades start to pay off!
In summary, if you are looking to take your trading to the next level you first need to start off with a solid foundation just like we did when we started trading. This means you have a proven system with proven results. Next you will need to slowly add size, with an emphasis on slowly. There is no correct time frame for this and do what works best for YOU. While your adding size you will need to make sure you can mentally handle the size and not let your emotions control you.