Quote from bobcathy1:
That is a great contribution DB. I have decided to stop looking for a guru. Somewhere inside I have the answers if I only trust my own judgement. Like right now, I took a trade based on a rising double bottom on a 15 min chart and it worked fine.
I like patterns because they help me set natural stops and targets.![]()
I would also add that you should try to minimize your costs every step of the way... Primarily, I am referring to commission costs, and the bid/ask spread.
The best way to learn to make money is first to be able to consistently break even. Once you have done this, you can refine your methods to improve results, without seeing your capital constantly bleed away. For active traders, often their transaction costs (commissions/spread) are among the biggest reasons for their losses.
I would suggest you find a firm with very low costs, and then try to only give up the spread on one side of the trade. I almost always 'win the spread' on my trade entries, giving me a little cushion for my position initially. Of course, some trades get away from me and I never get my entry filled. But who cares, I can miss some trades and it's not an issue. The important thing is to ensure that your actual trades taken give you every edge possible for success.
-Eric
