What Your Trading Education is Missing

When we learn a new skill it takes time to develop it. The best way to do so is to practice under a mentor. Think back to when you first learned to drive. You likely had someone review the basic operations of the vehicle and traffic laws with you. Then they likely rode with you in a controlled environment and monitored your progress. Eventually, you may have entered the open road with that person mentoring you and guiding you as you practiced your new skill. Now, you likely drive without much thought as you adjust your radio, put on make-up, slurp your Starbucks or eat your Egg McMuffin.

Free WorkshopTrading is a lot like learning to drive. It is a skill that must be learned and practiced. In Online Trading Academy’s Professional Trader Course you learn the basics of trading, the foundation. This is much like learning the basic vehicle operations and rules of the road. You now know what you didn’t before, but you aren’t experienced enough to drive yet. Online Trading Academy recognizes this and takes their classes a step further than anyone else. We drive with you in a controlled environment. This is accomplished with live trading in our classroom, using our funds and under the supervision of an experienced trader/instructor. Most students think that they are done at this point and ready to take on the markets but they still lack that “on the road” experience.

That would be like driving out of that parking lot onto a busy freeway with no experience. You are going to be a danger to yourself and others! When I learned to trade, I took on a mentor who guided me through the markets. I was able to share trading plans and ideas with this person and they helped to correct my mistakes before they occurred, or before they grew too large to manage. While the trading floor is gone, the electronic mentoring lives on. I am proud to be one of the instructors for the Extended Learning Track (XLT) program at Online Trading Academy. We have several sessions per week that offer education and review for the skills you learned in class. We also set up and take swing and intraday trades and review student trades. This is the equivalent of the “on the road” training that will shorten your learning curve and greatly enhance your skills.

I wanted to show you some examples from the trading sessions we held in the past in order to demonstrate the power of this mentoring. Before we enter into any trade, we must plan the trade. The instructors in the Extended Learning Track review the market conditions and potential trades for the session before any trading takes place. These are the same steps that any successful trader should do, and watching this will develop good trading habits for you.

Look at the trade we planned and executed on RIMM, (this is now the company known as Blackberry, BBRY). Even though we had a plan in place, as experienced traders we are always open to new opportunities and adjustments due to ever-changing market conditions. We took a live trade in the Stock Mastery XLT mentoring room based on RIMM failing at supply. This proved to be a nice winning trade to start the day. We were eventually able to take the second planned trade. Having an experienced trader demonstrate how to plan and adjust to market conditions is critical to your success.

We did something similar in another session in the Stock Mastery XLT Class. A student was asking about a stock, LULU. As the instructor, I immediately noticed a strategy that I employ in the market and immediately planned and taught the trade strategy to the students. We were able to take the trade with success and even had another opportunity using the same strategy after the class ended for the day.

Learning a skill doesn’t mean you are ready to apply it efficiently and immediately. Trading successfully is a journey and it becomes easier with help. That is what we are here for as instructors and mentors. Utilize the tools and assistance available to you and don’t take the journey alone. You’ll find the path is much easier that way. Until next time, trade safe and trade well!

Learn to Trade Now