Many people believe that trading cannot be taught. They say that the best traders in the world are born with an innate gift that allows them to trade the markets with ease. Others, however, think trading can be taught, and this was famously put to the test by Richard Dennis and his Turtle Traders.
Whatever your personal opinion, successful traders do require certain skills and here are a few:
1. Discipline to trade to follow the plan
One of the key skills a trader must have is the discipline to follow the plan. When things are going wrong and the markets are not playing as expected, it’s tempted to abandon the plan and trade by gut instinct but this is a mistake. In fact, it’s times like those when the trading plan becomes even more crucial.
2. Intense work ethic
Some people get into the markets for the money alone and it is these people who normally do not last very long. Surviving in the markets means having the work ethic to do your homework on the markets, to analyse future opportunities and to go over all of your previous trades looking for ways to improve. In the end, it’s no surprise that those who do well in the markets are those that stick at it for long hours every day of every week.
3. Recognising when you’re wrong
Being able to recognise when you’re wrong is what sets winning and losing traders apart. If the price action is telling you that your trade is wrong, you need to have the strength to throw in the towel and close the position out for a loss – before it gets even worse. All traders make losing trades so traders who can’t recognise when they are wrong stand to lose much more hanging on.
4. Pulling the trigger
To succeed in trading requires finding profitable opportunities the moment they appear so it is necessary for a winning trader not only to find the trades but to act on them without delay. Following technical indicators and watching price action can lead to good trade signals but if pulling the trigger on a trade is a problem, it will always be difficult to make money. Because, profitable trading opportunities rarely exist for very long in the forex markets.
5. Patience
Patience is required in large amounts in order to be a successful trader. You must be patient to wait for the perfect opportunity to trade, then you must be patient enough to watch that trade as it loses money. Finally, you must be patient enough to go through the many years of hard work which it takes to become good at trading.
Whatever your personal opinion, successful traders do require certain skills and here are a few:
1. Discipline to trade to follow the plan
One of the key skills a trader must have is the discipline to follow the plan. When things are going wrong and the markets are not playing as expected, it’s tempted to abandon the plan and trade by gut instinct but this is a mistake. In fact, it’s times like those when the trading plan becomes even more crucial.
2. Intense work ethic
Some people get into the markets for the money alone and it is these people who normally do not last very long. Surviving in the markets means having the work ethic to do your homework on the markets, to analyse future opportunities and to go over all of your previous trades looking for ways to improve. In the end, it’s no surprise that those who do well in the markets are those that stick at it for long hours every day of every week.
3. Recognising when you’re wrong
Being able to recognise when you’re wrong is what sets winning and losing traders apart. If the price action is telling you that your trade is wrong, you need to have the strength to throw in the towel and close the position out for a loss – before it gets even worse. All traders make losing trades so traders who can’t recognise when they are wrong stand to lose much more hanging on.
4. Pulling the trigger
To succeed in trading requires finding profitable opportunities the moment they appear so it is necessary for a winning trader not only to find the trades but to act on them without delay. Following technical indicators and watching price action can lead to good trade signals but if pulling the trigger on a trade is a problem, it will always be difficult to make money. Because, profitable trading opportunities rarely exist for very long in the forex markets.
5. Patience
Patience is required in large amounts in order to be a successful trader. You must be patient to wait for the perfect opportunity to trade, then you must be patient enough to watch that trade as it loses money. Finally, you must be patient enough to go through the many years of hard work which it takes to become good at trading.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD: Bears retain control below 1.1780-1.1770 confluence breakpoint
The EUR/USD pair remains on the back foot through the Asian session on Friday and currently trades just above mid-1.1700s, well within striking distance of a nearly one-month low set the previous day.
GBP/USD seems vulnerable near one-month low as traders await US data
The GBP/USD pair prolongs its weekly downtrend for the fifth consecutive day on Friday and slides back closer to a nearly one-month low, touched the previous day. Spot prices trade below mid-1.3400s during the Asian session on Friday and seem vulnerable to slide further as traders now look to important US macro data for a fresh impetus.
USD/JPY remains strong after Japan’s National CPI cools down
The Japanese Yen shows weakness against the US Dollar during the Asian trading session on Friday. The USD/JPY pair holds onto gains near its weekly high of 155.20 posted on Thursday. The pair is under pressure as the US Dollar continues to outperform due to signals from Federal Open Market Committee Minutes of the January policy meeting that officials see no rush for interest rate cuts, with inflation remaining persistently above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
Editors’ Picks
GBP/USD seems vulnerable near one-month low as traders await US data
The GBP/USD pair prolongs its weekly downtrend for the fifth consecutive day on Friday and slides back closer to a nearly one-month low, touched the previous day. Spot prices trade below mid-1.3400s during the Asian session on Friday and seem vulnerable to slide further as traders now look to important US macro data for a fresh impetus.
EUR/USD: Bears retain control below 1.1780-1.1770 confluence breakpoint
The EUR/USD pair remains on the back foot through the Asian session on Friday and currently trades just above mid-1.1700s, well within striking distance of a nearly one-month low set the previous day.
Gold eyes next breakout on US GDP, PCE inflation data
Gold sticks to recent gains around the $5,000-mark early Friday, biding time before the high-impact US macro events. The focus is now on the US fourth-quarter Gross Domestic Product, core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index and the Supreme Court’s ruling on President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple remain range-bound as breakdown risks rise
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple are trading sideways within consolidation ranges on Friday, signaling a lack of directional bias in the broader crypto market. BTC rebounded from key support, and ETH is nearing the lower consolidation boundary, while XRP is holding at its lower trendline boundary.
Hawkish Fed minutes and a market finding its footing
It was green across the board for US Stock market indexes at the close on Wednesday, with most S&P 500 names ending higher, adding 38 points (0.6%) to 6,881 overall. At the GICS sector level, energy led gains, followed by technology and consumer discretionary, while utilities and real estate posted the largest losses.
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