TRADERS TIPS

• Develop a traders' attitude.
  Trading is a business with many risks that need to be planned for. Trading is not a lottery or a gamble. A top traders' attitude may take time to develop.

• Confidence and belief.
  Confidence and belief in your abilities will help you succeed. Also examine your attitude on money and success.

• Money management and diversifying are important.  
  Not every trade is going to be a winner. Investing in a few different trades can help cushion a loosing trade. If you put everything into one trade at a time, a loss could set your account back quite a way. Just don't over trade so you are  able to stay focused on the trades.

• Trade the trade, not the money. 
  Focus about what made you enter the trade and focus on finding a good exit. Don't focus on the money.

• Realize that emotionally we may never feel like we have won. 
  We all want perfection. In other words, if we had a losing trade, we had too many contracts. If we had a winning trade, we didn't have enough contracts! Take what you can without getting too emotional.

• Using stops or buying opposing options is important. 
  Using stops may not get you out at the exact price you want, but using them is a must. You can also buy an opposing option as a hedge and if you get stopped out on the contract, hold on to the option for possible gains in the reverse direction.

• Practice, practice, practice. 
  If you've never traded before, start on paper. Even after you start to really trade, analyze your trades, winners and losers. Always be honest with yourself, don't let fear or greed get in the way of that.

• Get a long term perspective.
  Don't just look at the daily charts. Sometimes weekly, monthly and yearly charts can shine a new perspective on your trading. In time you can learn to combine them into your trade, because just one chart is not always right.