How day trading works

Day trading is not a strategy to get rich quickly. Scalpers Routine

A very common misconception that people have about day trading is that it is easy: “buy low, sell high” or “buy the dip, sell the rally”. Again, day trading looks deceptively easy, but it is not. If it were that simple, everyone would be a successful trader. You must always remember that day trading is difficult and will not make you rich quickly. If you have this misconception, and if you want to get rich quickly and easily in forex market, you should stop reading this right now and spend the savings that you put aside for day trading on a nice family vacation. It would be much more satisfying to spend your money that way, rather than losing it in the forex market. Having mentioned all of these points, day trading can be a profitable profession. But keep in mind that it’s a highly demanding professional career and most definitely not a casual activity for beginners. It takes time to become a consistently profitable trader. Many traders will fail in the long and at times fatal day trading learning curve.

Often I am asked how long it takes to start making money as a trader. You may have heard it can take a year. Some professional traders may say it is not possible to make money for two years. I have found that most of the better fellow traders in our community consistently make money before the end of their sixth month. But for others it can take a year. On average, it usually takes from six to eight months. It always amuses me to see books and online educational courses that advertise teaching a simple strategy to make you money from “day one” or after a week or even after just one month. I am always intrigued to meet people who actually believe that advertising and are willing to pay for those products. Fast buying and selling orders in front of a moving screen demands the highest levels of concentration and discipline. Paradoxically, it attracts the most impulsive and gambling prone people. In day trading, you will be competing with the sharpest minds in the world. The market is a massive crowd of traders. The main objective of day trading is to take money from other traders while they are trying to take yours. That’s why it’s such an intellectually intense business. You do not generate money in the forex market. The only reason there is money in the market is that other traders have put it there. The money you desire to win belongs to other traders and they have no intention of giving it to you. That is why trading is such a hard business.

Day trading is not easy

It is a serious business, and you should treat it as such. You can succeed in day trading only if you handle it as a serious intellectual pursuit. Emotional trading is the number one reason traders fail. You will need to practice self-discipline and defensive money management. Good traders watch their trades and their money as carefully as professional scuba divers watch their supply of air. In day trading, simply being better than average is not good enough. You have to be significantly above the crowd to win in day trading. Unfortunately, day trading often appeals to impulsive people, gamblers, and those who feel that the world owes them a living. You cannot be one of them and you should not act like they do. You must start developing the discipline of a winner. Winners think, feel, and act differently than losers. You must look within yourself, discard your illusions, and change your old ways of being, thinking and acting. Change is hard, but if you wish to be a successful trader, you need to work on changing and developing your personality. To succeed, you will need motivation, knowledge, and discipline.