Day Trading is Hard Work, Not Easy Money
Does all this talks of vacations and choosing your own hours make trading sound like an easy job and easy money? Well this may burst your bubble, but there is much more to it. While a trader may only actively trade for four hours a day, he spends a considerable amount of additional time preparing to trade. This means researching, studying, and reading. Even professional, well-seasoned traders will spend a lot of time on the weekends analyzing charts and fundamentals, and reading anything and everything about the market.
A typical trader (if one exists) starts the trading day at 8:00 a.m., takes an hour for lunch when the market begins to slow (only if he is not holding positions), and continues to trade until the market closes at 4:00 p.m. For the next hour, the trader prints out all trades made that day and analyzes their strong and weak points. Another hour is set aside that same evening to prepare for the next day. It is better to do this later in the evening, not immediately after the market closes. Traders can remain very emotional from the trades they have just completed and preparing the following day’s charts in this state can lead to poor technical analysis.
So be warned, you cannot take numerous holidays and work an hour a day. Many traders spend much time outside market hours reviewing and studying to maintain their success. Over trading is not beneficial. Just because you work hard trading every minute the markets are open, there is no guarantee you will make more money. Taking the time to evaluate your trades and identify your weaknesses, and then taking corrective action, will do more to improve your bottom line.
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