10 Golden Rules for Trading Success (2024)

It doesn’t matter what you trade, it’s how you trade that makes you successful or not!

The 7 Day Challenge

Only about 5% or less of you all will actually do this but I’ll make the challenge anyway. I am already a strong believer in following a trading system or I wouldn’t keep writing and preaching about it. But once you have a reliable set of trading rules, your discipline can help you reap huge rewards.

Read these rules before your day starts for just 7 days! I promise you that your whole way of thinking and trading will change in just 1 week.

Rule #1: Follow Your Written Trading Plan

If you didn’t guess that this was the first rule then you haven’t been reading my blog long enough. This is the #1 reason why traders fail. It is human nature to want to vary or break rules and it takes discipline to continue to act in accordance with the established rules.

Write out a plan, even if it’s simple at first, and follow it religiously.

Rule #2: Keep Learning On A Daily Basis

The markets are changing every single day and the strategies that you may have used 5 years ago might not work now. You need to continue to educate yourself on a daily basis.

Read an article or watch a video tutorial, and over time you will build a huge knowledge base that is fundamental to successful trading.

Rule #3: Don’t Let Losses Compound

Per your trading plan you should already know when and where you will cut your losses. Whether it’s a technical failure or percentage move doesn’t matter as long as you have something in place to mitigate risk.

Some traders have an even lower tolerance for loss than you might have which is fine. The key point here is to have set points (stop loss) within the limits of your tolerance for loss.

Rule #4: Never Set A Price Target

Hear me out on this. Don’t set a price target and automatically get out of good trades. If you are long a Call and the stock hits your “target” don’t just automatically exit! Let profits run wild. Place a trailing stop loss order and see how high it can go from there after locking in gains.

Realistically, I can never pick tops and neither can you, so why exit? Never feel a stock has risen too high too quickly (or fallen too low too quickly).

Rule #5: Master One Strategy At A Time

Never jump from one trading style to another. Master one style and strategy first rather than becoming average at several. Focus and work hard to completely understand every angle, abnormality, risk, reward of say Credit Spreads and then move on to Iron Condors.

Don’t be a jack of all trades when it comes to options trading until you have experience.

Rule #6: Listen To The Charts (My Favorite)

In case you didn’t already know, you cannot effect the market. Sorry, but you just can’t. Praying, pleading, and even giving up your 1st born son won’t even help. So stop hoping and wishing already!

Everything is reflected in the price and volume when it comes to technical analysis – this is why I favor it over any other system. Master the charts and let them guide you.

Rule #7: Don’t Make Excuses, I Have No Pity!

We live in a period of time where there is limitless opportunity to build massive wealth. The wealth of information and training online today about trading is incredible – and for the most part free.

I don’t pity anyone who gives me an excuse as to why they are not successful! Work hard now and the reward will be great at the end of the day.

Rule #8: Stop The "Analysis Paralysis"

Start trading more often and stop analyzing the markets to death. Now of course don't take this over board and become a day trader. The point here is that you set up a system and continue to make trades - even if they are small trades (1 or 2 contracts at a time).

Most people just analyze and analyze but never get in! How are you ever going to learn? Start small but keep trading. If you learn to master trading with only a few shares, then trading a couple hundred or thousand shares will be much more successful.

Rule #9: Walk Away From The Computer

My own personal morning routine includes this element and it’s essential for clearing your mind. Successful trading isn't solely about trading - it's also about being emotionally and physically strong.

Reduce the stress every day by taking time off the computer and working on other areas of your life – especially family. A stressed out trader will not make it in the long run.

Rule #10: Be An Above-Average Trader

We all trade for 2 simple reasons: Money and Freedom. In order to succeed in any market you need to set your expectations high. Don’t settle for mediocrity.

Stay motivated and set realistic and achievable goals that continue to take you to the next level. And finally, ask for help from others, get a coach, or join a trading forum to keep you accountable.

10 Golden Rules for Trading Success (2024)

FAQs

What are the golden rules of trading? ›

Let profits run and cut losses short Stop losses should never be moved away from the market. Be disciplined with yourself, when your stop loss level is touched, get out. If a trade is proving profitable, don't be afraid to track the market.

What is the 10 rule in investing? ›

The 10% rule is a quick and straightforward way for investors to evaluate the potential profitability of a real estate investment. It involves calculating the expected annual income from the property and ensuring it equals at least 10% of the property's purchase price.

What is No 1 rule of trading? ›

Rule 1: Always Use a Trading Plan

You need a trading plan because it can assist you with making coherent trading decisions and define the boundaries of your optimal trade. A decent trading plan will assist you with avoiding making passionate decisions without giving it much thought.

How much money do day traders with $10,000 accounts make per day on average? ›

With a $10,000 account, a good day might bring in a five percent gain, which is $500. However, day traders also need to consider fixed costs such as commissions charged by brokers. These commissions can eat into profits, and day traders need to earn enough to overcome these fees [2].

What is 90% rule in trading? ›

The 90 rule in Forex is a commonly cited statistic that states that 90% of Forex traders lose 90% of their money in the first 90 days. This is a sobering statistic, but it is important to understand why it is true and how to avoid falling into the same trap.

What is the rule of 20 in trading? ›

In other words, the Rule of 20 suggests that markets may be fairly valued when the sum of the P/E ratio and the inflation rate equals 20. The stock market is deemed to be undervalued when the sum is below 20 and overvalued when the sum is above 20.

What is the 10 am rule in stock trading? ›

Traders that follow the 10 a.m. rule think a stock's price trajectory is relatively set for the day by the end of that half-hour. For example, if a stock closed at $40 the previous day, opened at $42 the next, and reached $43 by 10 a.m., this would indicate that the stock is likely to remain above $42 by market close.

What is the Warren Buffett 70/30 rule? ›

A 70/30 portfolio is an investment portfolio where 70% of investment capital is allocated to stocks and 30% to fixed-income securities, primarily bonds.

What are Warren Buffett's 5 rules of investing? ›

A: Five rules drawn from Warren Buffett's wisdom for potentially building wealth include investing for the long term, staying informed, maintaining a competitive advantage, focusing on quality, and managing risk.

What is the 70/20/10 rule in trading? ›

Part one of the rule said that in the next 12 months, the return you got on a stock was 70% determined by what the U.S. stock market did, 20% was determined by how the industry group did and 10% was based on how undervalued and successful the individual company was.

How to hold a winning trade? ›

If you want the ability to hold winning trades for longer, you need to lower your risk. The only way to have peace of mind while holding a position for weeks is to know that a loss won't break the bank. That isn't possible if you're risking 20% of your account balance on a trade.

What is the 80% rule in trading? ›

The Rule. If, after trading outside the Value Area, we then trade back into the Value Area (VA) and the market closes inside the VA in one of the 30 minute brackets then there is an 80% chance that the market will trade back to the other side of the VA.

Can you make $200 a day day trading? ›

A common approach for new day traders is to start with a goal of $200 per day and work up to $800-$1000 over time. Small winners are better than home runs because it forces you to stay on your plan and use discipline. Sure, you'll hit a big winner every now and then, but consistency is the real key to day trading.

Who is the most profitable day trader? ›

There are a lot of successful traders but Jesse Livermore is often regarded as the most successful day trader.

Do day traders pay taxes? ›

How day trading impacts your taxes. A profitable trader must pay taxes on their earnings, further reducing any potential profit. Additionally, day trading doesn't qualify for favorable tax treatment compared with long-term buy-and-hold investing.

What are the 5 golden rules of investing? ›

The golden rules of investing
  • If you can't afford to invest yet, don't. It's true that starting to invest early can give your investments more time to grow over the long term. ...
  • Set your investment expectations. ...
  • Understand your investment. ...
  • Diversify. ...
  • Take a long-term view. ...
  • Keep on top of your investments.

What is the 5 rule in trading? ›

5% Rule: This rule applies to the total risk exposure across all your open trades. It recommends limiting the total risk exposure of all your trades combined to no more than 5% of your trading capital. This means if you have multiple trades open simultaneously, their combined risk should not exceed 5%.

What are the 3 basic golden rules? ›

1) Debit what comes in - credit what goes out. 2) Credit the giver and Debit the Receiver. 3) Credit all income and debit all expenses.

What is the 3 5 7 rule in trading? ›

What is the 3 5 7 rule in trading? A risk management principle known as the “3-5-7” rule in trading advises diversifying one's financial holdings to reduce risk. The 3% rule states that you should never risk more than 3% of your whole trading capital on a single deal.

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