Thursday, January 29, 2009

How To Learn Day Trading From The Pros

By Tim Hunt

Day trading can be an excellent way to make very good money. But, it is not an easy job, as some may imply. You'll need to put in a lot of work to be successful.

Day trading stocks and commodities is a great job and a quite profitable one as well. It requires certain traits for success, and certain habits will need to be internalized.

Time management is the first important habit. You must be able to wake up early and alert first thing in the morning and be ready to evaluate how you'll play the market that day. All of this must happen before the opening bell, which starts at 9:00 a.m. in New York, 6:00 a.m. in California, and 5:00 a.m. in Alaska and Hawaii. Getting out of bed early is only half the story; you'll also need to stay on schedule and have a good internal alarm clock. If you're the type who can't function before 11:00 a.m. or has to guzzle down multiple cups of coffee before facing the day, day trading may not be the job for you.

A second necessary habit is the ability to make good decisions with quick quantitative analysis skills. While hunches can make and lose money in day trading, you'll need to read, synthesize, and understand numbers without having to ponder them at length. You'll need to be able to determine financial trends at a glance, and act quickly with that information.

Let me just point out that you don't have to be a mathematician to be good at day trading. You can learn certain quantitative skills, even if you were never that great at math. Certain numerical skills will seem automatic to you once you've practiced them a bit.

A third habit that breeds success for day traders is patience and the ability to make keen observations. These habits must be combined with an excellent short-term memory. Patience can be tough to muster when you face the disappointment of missing a stock at its peak, or when you lose money because your low never came to pass. Try not to let these challenges drag you down. Also be sure to keep your cool when you score a winning trade.

The fourth habit you'll need to cultivate is research skills. Day trading, thankfully, does not require the same kind of in-depth numerical analysis as long-term investments, but you'll need a handle on the flow of information so that you can use this knowledge base when making quick judgments. Doing your research ahead of time is the only way to make good judgments quickly. But, don't get bogged down so much by research that you lose the ability to think and act fast.

Remember that you don't have to do all of this research and analysis alone. High level traders have many research tools and tricks, and various data analysis tools close by.

If you think you are ready for a career change and that day trading may appeal to you, you'll need to start by creating a support team. At a minimum, you'll need a broker, and a few investors willing to help you level the market. Realize ahead of time that it's hard work, and will require savvy, dedication, and focus.

If, after reading the skills listed above, you think you have what it takes to be a successful day trader, day trading may offer you a challenging and fun way to make a great living. It's a job that can be a ton of fun, and can provide tremendous riches ? in more ways than one. - 16036

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