Trading Coach Advice - Fix Your Mistakes Easily

When you start a new activity you’re of course going to make some mistakes. Trading is no different. Inexperienced traders will make lots of mistakes as they learn about the game of trading. The best way to approach the task of learning to trade is to understand that it is natural to make mistakes and be ready to fix those as you recognise them in yourself.

I recently interviewed a number of trading coaches and mentors and asked them what are the common mistakes they see when coaching new traders. These professional traders also spend time coaching private clients, so they regularly see traders progress from novices to making money out of the markets. The coaches find that it is only those people that are willing to learn from their mistakes and improve their performance that get to the level of making regular money from the markets.

So what are the mistakes that you need to look out for and try to avoid as a new trader. The first mistake is that new traders do not have a trading plan, or if they do it have one it is not complete. A trading plan is your game plan and tells you what you should do in different situations. A trading plan will help you when you are under pressure and have to make a decision, as you have already thought about it and will have determined the best action in the situation.

Another mistake that people new to trading make is being impatient. When you begin trading you cannot wait to start and trade. Sometimes people become impatient and will force a trade that isn’t really there. The people that force trades will take a trade that almost meets the criteria instead of waiting for the ideal setup. One of the keys to trading is to recognise that you must wait for your setups, you cannot force trades that are not there.

Stops are also a common problem. Many people will set the stop too near the price that they bought. It is the fear that gets them. These people are worried about losing their money and to protect their money and prevent a loss, they will set a very tight stop. They have not yet learnt that you must allow a trade to develop and setting a very tight stop will just get you out of a trade before it has had a chance to develop.. A trading coach can be a great way to speed up your learning of how to trade.