FXStreet Expert Contributor
FXStreet
In trading, it is very easy to get lost in the game. You get on your trading platform, try to get some pips, and in the process you usually forget the most basic risk management practices. Here are 5 common habits that might help in limiting your risk exposure.
1. Double, triple, even quadruple-check you orders
Electronic trading has made it very easy for traders to execute trades. However, because of the ease and simplicity of electronic online trading, the chances of erroneous commands also rise significantly. Having a well-thought-out trading plan would be useless if you do not correctly input your orders.
A few years back, the financial market experienced a huge crash due to a "fat fingers" event in May 2010. A trader in a large trading firm had mistakenly input a few extra zeroes in his order and ended up selling $16 billion worth of future contracts instead of just $16 million.
Other traders who saw the order thought that something big was about to happen, so they sold too. This resulted to a collective intraday drop of $1 trillion in the U.S. equity market. Needless to say, the trading firm, as well as those holding on to stocks, lost a lot of money.
Double, triple, even quadruple-checking your order is very important in avoiding costly and unnecessary blunders. Make reviewing your commands part of your routine. It will just take a couple of seconds of your time!
2. Always have a trading plan
You'd think that all traders would have a trading plan by now. I have talked about having a trade plan many times in my previous blog posts. Unfortunately, a lot of traders still trade impulsively.
There are traders who trade completely on emotion and irrationally get into trades without thinking it through. At the very least, you should have a plan on where to enter or exit your positions. By doing so, you limit disastrous emotional reactions to adverse price movements.
You can make an account with our forum to make this easier on you. Just sign up, head on over to our "Trade Journals" forum, and start your own topic. That way, you can plan each trade accordingly and even receive feedback from the community.
3. Take profit on your winning trades
Another commonly overlooked risk management practice is taking some of your profits off the table while the price action is still in your favor.
I know it's tempting to ride a trend with a full position all the way to your profit target, but taking off a part of your position limits your exposure to potential volatility. After all, the saying "The trend is your friend until it ends" didn't come from nothing, did it?
Let's take the STA strategy or any other scaling technique for example. Let's say your trading plan calls for adding to your original position and moving your stop loss after a certain number of pips. If you take some off of your position midway, you may at least end up with a small win even if that trend suddenly reverses on you.
4. Take a step back from trading
Do you feel like you're in a trading rut? Are your fundamental and technical analyses off more often than you'd like to admit? If you said "yes" to these questions, then you probably just need to take a little time off from trading.
What's good about staying away from the markets completely is that you're not emotionally invested in any position. This usually allows you to reset and see market themes and chart patterns from a renewed point of view. And sometimes, a break will help you realize what you did wrong in your last couple of trades.
So take a step back, try to resist the lure of pip-making for a while, and you'll most likely come back with a refreshed mind and a new and improved trading plan.
5. Withdraw money from your account
While turning a couple of thousand bucks to a multi-gazillion trading account is a big confidence booster in trading, it's still advisable to withdraw some of your money regularly. For one, additional capital usually exposes you to impulsive decisions like trading with larger positions or overtrading.
Unless your trading goal calls for increasing your position sizes or your number of trades, withdrawing some of your money is one of your best bets at limiting risk. Besides, haven't I told you often enough that being a consistently profitable trader requires your focus on the process and not on profits?
Take some of your moolah from time to time; take a vacation with your partner or your friends; buy something fancy for yourself, and enjoy the hard-earned fruits of your labor.
1. Double, triple, even quadruple-check you orders
Electronic trading has made it very easy for traders to execute trades. However, because of the ease and simplicity of electronic online trading, the chances of erroneous commands also rise significantly. Having a well-thought-out trading plan would be useless if you do not correctly input your orders.
A few years back, the financial market experienced a huge crash due to a "fat fingers" event in May 2010. A trader in a large trading firm had mistakenly input a few extra zeroes in his order and ended up selling $16 billion worth of future contracts instead of just $16 million.
Other traders who saw the order thought that something big was about to happen, so they sold too. This resulted to a collective intraday drop of $1 trillion in the U.S. equity market. Needless to say, the trading firm, as well as those holding on to stocks, lost a lot of money.
Double, triple, even quadruple-checking your order is very important in avoiding costly and unnecessary blunders. Make reviewing your commands part of your routine. It will just take a couple of seconds of your time!
2. Always have a trading plan
You'd think that all traders would have a trading plan by now. I have talked about having a trade plan many times in my previous blog posts. Unfortunately, a lot of traders still trade impulsively.
There are traders who trade completely on emotion and irrationally get into trades without thinking it through. At the very least, you should have a plan on where to enter or exit your positions. By doing so, you limit disastrous emotional reactions to adverse price movements.
You can make an account with our forum to make this easier on you. Just sign up, head on over to our "Trade Journals" forum, and start your own topic. That way, you can plan each trade accordingly and even receive feedback from the community.
3. Take profit on your winning trades
Another commonly overlooked risk management practice is taking some of your profits off the table while the price action is still in your favor.
I know it's tempting to ride a trend with a full position all the way to your profit target, but taking off a part of your position limits your exposure to potential volatility. After all, the saying "The trend is your friend until it ends" didn't come from nothing, did it?
Let's take the STA strategy or any other scaling technique for example. Let's say your trading plan calls for adding to your original position and moving your stop loss after a certain number of pips. If you take some off of your position midway, you may at least end up with a small win even if that trend suddenly reverses on you.
4. Take a step back from trading
Do you feel like you're in a trading rut? Are your fundamental and technical analyses off more often than you'd like to admit? If you said "yes" to these questions, then you probably just need to take a little time off from trading.
What's good about staying away from the markets completely is that you're not emotionally invested in any position. This usually allows you to reset and see market themes and chart patterns from a renewed point of view. And sometimes, a break will help you realize what you did wrong in your last couple of trades.
So take a step back, try to resist the lure of pip-making for a while, and you'll most likely come back with a refreshed mind and a new and improved trading plan.
5. Withdraw money from your account
While turning a couple of thousand bucks to a multi-gazillion trading account is a big confidence booster in trading, it's still advisable to withdraw some of your money regularly. For one, additional capital usually exposes you to impulsive decisions like trading with larger positions or overtrading.
Unless your trading goal calls for increasing your position sizes or your number of trades, withdrawing some of your money is one of your best bets at limiting risk. Besides, haven't I told you often enough that being a consistently profitable trader requires your focus on the process and not on profits?
Take some of your moolah from time to time; take a vacation with your partner or your friends; buy something fancy for yourself, and enjoy the hard-earned fruits of your labor.
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Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD hits two-day highs near 1.1820
EUR/USD picks up pace and reaches two-day tops around 1.1820 at the end of the week. The pair’s move higher comes on the back of renewed weakness in the US Dollar amid growing talk that the Fed could deliver an interest rate cut as early as March. On the docket, the flash US Consumer Sentiment improves to 57.3 in February.
GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above
GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.
USD/JPY drops back below 157.00, as focus shifts to Japan snap election
USD/JPY is back in the red below 157.00 in the Asian session on Friday. The Japanese Yen recovers ground against the US Dollar amid some profit-taking ahead of Japan's snap general election on Sunday. The preliminary reading of the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index report for February will be released later on Friday.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD: US Dollar to remain pressured until uncertainty fog dissipates Premium
The EUR/USD pair lost additional ground in the first week of February, settling at around 1.1820. The reversal lost momentum after the pair peaked at 1.2082 in January, its highest since mid-2021.
Gold: Volatility persists in commodity space Premium
After losing more than 8% to end the previous week, Gold (XAU/USD) remained under heavy selling pressure on Monday and dropped toward $4,400. Although XAU/USD staged a decisive rebound afterward, it failed to stabilize above $5,000.
GBP/USD: Pound Sterling tests key support ahead of a big week Premium
The Pound Sterling (GBP) changed course against the US Dollar (USD), with GBP/USD giving up nearly 200 pips in a dramatic correction.
Bitcoin: The worst may be behind us
Bitcoin (BTC) price recovers slightly, trading at $65,000 at the time of writing on Friday, after reaching a low of $60,000 during the early Asian trading session. The Crypto King remained under pressure so far this week, posting three consecutive weeks of losses exceeding 30%.
Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election Premium
The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans.
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