How to start Day Trading A Funded Account ?

Chapter 5

Practice makes better

During my many years of experience, I’ve noticed the existence of a common denominator among the very best traders. I’m serious, it seems to me that virtually every successful trader, every man and every woman that has made a ton of money and a name for themselves in the “Trading Universe” has this particular character trait.

It is their unstoppable willingness to improve themselves and the sheer determination in their stride to succeed.
These traits alone can go a long way and traders know it. Time and effort are focused on improving strategies, mindset, risk management, knowledge and so so much more.

You’ve been reading all the way to this point so I’m not going to doubt your determination and your willingness to improve but when it comes to self-improvement, we can all get a little better.
Want to know how? Ok, let’s talk about it.

So how do you do it?

Improving your trading requires several things:

Screen hours – I am sorry to be the one who’s got to break it to you but if you really wanna be a great trader, you’re going to have to spend a long time in front of the screen. I mean a really long time. If your eyes aren’t burning by the end, it’s not long enough.
During market hours, study the charts, follow price movements, identify trends and patterns-forming and attempt predictions. Even when the market is closed, you can still get lots and lots of value by analyzing charts, you can review the day, the week and the month. You can draw trend lines, support and resistance areas, and patterns. You can match forming patterns and price levels to historic data and behaviors, enriching your awareness and confidence in the market.

Trading journal – A trading journal is a very simple tool but it will improve your trading skills massively. Keep one! Register the positions you open, the reason why you’ve opened them and the results. Jot down the time of day, price, and details. They will help you to see and create patterns according to even the most unnoticeable details. You might see patterns in price, market behavior, or even in your own behavior that might help to put into focus parts of your strategy (or your behavior) that might need improving. As well as those that are working well.

Record yourself while trading – Record yourself while trading. Something that helped me – and many other traders – is recording my trading day digitally.
There are programs out there that record your screen while using a microphone to also record audio. Once trading is over, you can go through the recording, and understand if and what mistakes you made, why they happened and what you have done well.
You’ll also have the opportunity to evaluate your reaction speed and to review again and in real-time price movement of your stocks. You will also hear yourself and remember what your thoughts were before entering a trade and during your management of it.

Burning your eyes on a PC screen will not always be a pleasure but it is a vital process that is necessary for your learning and improvement. Everyone has to start from somewhere. No trader was ever born already having the skills, knowledge, and the right answers. Even the most successful traders alive today had to go through the same things you are about to go through. They had to learn the same things you are studying now. They too had to discover the right strategies for their character and set their own trading rules, targets and limits.

To be fair, I believe most bad traders would have also gone through the same process. What differentiates them from the successful ones is their perseverance, commitment, their will to self-improve, and the hard work they are willing to put in to succeed. Think of that if you ever feel things are getting a little hard or that your willpower is weakening.