Are Exchange Traders Born or Made?
There is no denying that exchange trading is a tough gig; often, most people are put off after just a few weeks but is this because they simply weren't made to do it?
Before starting, many people don't even consider; do you have to be ‘born to do it’? Personally I don't think you do, but others have said different...
We've all heard and seen others have made huge sums of money from trading and what makes it worse; they aren't really trying. However, there are some things that even beginners can do to increase their chances of winning money. Beginners only stay beginners because they either don’t take the time to learn or they give up too quickly; in truth, exchange traders can be made.
Be Sensible - If you want to become a high-quality trader, you need to learn to not over-celebrate in much the same way that you shouldn't dwell on losses. It is very easy to lose motivation after losing money on consecutive trades and days but each day is different and so should be treated uniquely. For example, if you lose twice a week, it just so happens that on some weeks those days will be consecutive. Accept it!
Don’t Chase - The easiest thing to do after making a loss? Carry on trading until you turn that loss into a profit but the problem is that it very rarely turns into a profit. Experienced traders will have will have been on chase on time or another, but the sooner you can get out of this habit, the quicker you will start to earn money.
When we chase, our decisions are affected by emotion and we tend to make knee-jerk decisions not based on fact or form.
Strategy - The most effective way of preventing ‘the chase’ is to have a Betfair strategy and to stick to it no matter how badly (or well) the day is going. There will be days in which you win a decent amount of money; in the same breath, there will be days where you lose a good amount of money but as long as you stick to your strategy, you won’t be making it any worse.
The same goes for if you are winning too; don’t back out just because you are winning, stick to your strategy and allow your decisions to be made by fact rather than emotion.
Don’t Worry - We have all made a prediction without acting only to find that had we backed the decision, we would have made some money; if this happens, don’t panic. The easiest thing to do is to go hunting in order to make up for that money you ‘could have’ won. However, this will lead to poor decisions and again, it will be going against your pre-planned strategy.
If you find that you called a good prediction without backing it, congratulate yourself and use that confidence for the next day. It shows that you are beginning to understand the market and instead of beating yourself up for not backing it, be glad that you made a correct prediction and use the confidence for future strategies.
In truth, there may be some people who have a natural talent for exchange trading but that doesn't mean that the skills can’t be learnt. If you use the tips listed above and incorporate them into your plan, you have a great starting point to start earning some money!
