Here are ten things I believe are needed to be a great trader. It will surprise some that predicting, stubbornness, reading a balance sheet, or stock picking is not on here. It is all a game of risk management, mind, and a robust system. Everything else is just noise.
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Passion for trading, only passion can fuel the work ethic needed to do the hard work that leads to success.
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Goal oriented traders succeed, if you know why you are trading and where it leads you may just get there.
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Perseverance: It is hard to lose if you never quit.
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Resiliency: The ability to come back from losses may be the secret to trading success.
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Back testing systems and methods before trading them speeds up the learning curve and side steps a lot of learning through real losses.
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Understanding your edge and trading only with that edge is crucial to out performing the traders that lose money.
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Great traders understand that a winning system has to have either bigger wins than losses or a high winning percentage with controlled losses.
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Keeping losing trades as small as possible is essential for profitable trading along with leaving profitable trades unlimited to the upside when possible.
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Flexibility allows a trader to take what the market is giving while sticking to opinions can lead to huge losses.
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Disciplined use of a trading plan instead of emotions for trading is crucial for great trading.