Learn To Trade Like A Professional

The most successful floor traders are those that have the most experiance, this is no coincidence at all and should be a pointer for those who aspire to become a good trader. Day trading can be likened to being a sportsman, such as a golf pro or tennis champion, you need to be trained and in good physical shape. Skills are needed which must be developed over time and practiced until they become 2nd nature. If you want to learn how to day trade you must be prepared to put in the effort. Here are some of the key skills that you must develop as a trader.

1. Technical analysis can be used for futures as well as the more standard stocks, options and bonds that most people trade. This can give you a large edge over other traders who have not taken the time to study the charts support and resistance areas, trendline and patterns. Learning technical analysis is really a must do if you want to trade futures successfully.

2. This is a very simple point but is very important, always have your trading plan prepared before you enter a trade, never try and create it on the fly, you will be much too emotional. Make sure that you have both an entry and exit point in your plan.

3. Keep your losses small!, this is the one thing that every trader must do if they want to stay in the game for a long time. By doing this you will preserve your capital allowing you to trade another day. Your small wins will compensate your small losses allowing your big wins to give you an overall profit

4. Over trading is a big mistake that a lot of amateurs make. Professionals tend to be more patient and wait for the better opportunities to come along, this is called cherry picking and takes both patience and discipline. These are essential skills that you must develop.

5. This is a big day trading tip, it is important that you track all your trades and review them to see where you are making the mistakes. This is hard work, but this is what separates the professionals from the amateurs. Unless you do this you will keep on making the same mistakes. The best way to do this is to keep both a daily and weekly log.

6. Only trade when you are both physically and mentally prepared. This is often overlooked but is very important. Do you think a golf star can win a game when they are tired and mentally not focused?, it’s unlikely. Being prepared means getting a good nights sleep, having your trading station and charts well prepared before the market opens, taking the time each and every day to review your trading plan and rules. Finally you must have the mental frame of mind and confidence that you are going to be successful today in your trading.

7. If you are new to trading futures take the time to paper trade until you are very confident that you are going to make money. You will know when you are ready because you will start to hate paper trading knowing that you could be making real cash profits on a consistent basis.

Remember that the markets only trend for about 20-35% of the time, the rest is either sideways or very choppy, if you want to do trend trading to win you must be fully prepared when the opportunities arise.

One of the most popular technical analysis indicators is the simple moving average also known as SMA, if you learn how to use these correctly they can be a very useful tool to help you to make good trading decisions.

The 50 simple moving average, or 50 SMA, is simply the sum of the last 50 values for each period, divided by 50, this is a moving window, as time moves on so does the average. Notice that I used the word period because this indicator works on any time period in exactly the same way.

It can be used on monthly, weekly, daily, hourly, 30 minutes, 15 minute and on whatever time period you want to monitor and trade. Although the SMA is the most widley used there is also the exponential moving average or EMA. This is a weighted version of the formula using the mathematical exponent function to give more weight to the more recent values, this has the effect of making it a slightly faster average that many traders prefer.

The reality is that it probably does not matter if you used the SMA or the EMA, what does matter however is that you use one or the other and then be very consistent with it. Do not switch between them, it is more important that you trust your chosen indicator then a slight difference in its value.

The simple moving average is primarily used to determine what the current trend of the stock is, depending on the value used it could be a short term, medium term or long term trend. An important point to note is that moving averages are really only useful when the stock is trending, if the moving average is flat, i.e. horizontal on your chart it can become very choppy, this is a good time to not trade.

The general rule is that if the current price is above the SMA the trend is up, if below the trend is down. This is very important to know because it forms the basics of trend trading and trading with the trend.

For the short term trend many traders like using a 5-8 SMA or EMA, here is a trading secret, never trade again the direction of the short term tend, this is really just common sense when you think about it.

Moving averages can often act as support or resistance, many traders use the 15, 21 or 30 SMA for this purpose.

There are a number of other very important moving averages that you need to know about, these are the 50, 100 and 200 SMA, and this mostly applies to the daily and weekly charts. A lot of big players in the markets, like the the mutual funds, investment banks etc use the 50 and 200 SMA as support and resistance, if they decide to buy or sell based on these you need to follow suite, the 100 to a lesser extent. These are very useful averages to watch if you trade EFT’s like an Oil ETF.

A useful tip is that when a stock breaks through one moving average it will often move all the way to the next, for example, if a stock breaks the 30 SMA it may move to the 50 before finding some support or resistance.

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Learn To Trade Options Correctly

There is a lot of hype surrounding options trading, and for good reason, it’s a good way make a lot of cash fast, or can be used to grow your capital consistently month after month.

There’s also a lot of hype about how complicated it is and why you need to spend thousands of dollars on options trading education before you get started. Needless to say this last statement usually comes from trading seminar companies trying to sell your their trading course on options.

Lets cover a few of the basics about options trading and set you straight about a few important points. Firstly yes it is true that you can make a lot of money trading options, but of course you can also lose money just as fast.

When trading stocks your leverage is 1:1, if you go full out on margin you get get 1:2 leverage, but thats about it. With options it is not as straight forward to calculate the leverage but generally speaking you can get between 1:5 and 1:10 when you buy an option on a stock, or ETF.

So with 1:10 leverage, when the stock increases by 5% your option can increase by approx 50%, and this can happen in just a few days, this is why swing trading strategies using options on stocks is so popular.

However the downside is that the reverse can happen, if the stock drops by 5% your option can also drop by 50%, at which point you may want to close the trade and save some of your option value, it really depends on what your stop loss and risk management plan is.

What I’ve described above is called directional option trading where you are betting on the getting the direction of the stock movement correct, this is highly speculative. Options can also be used in option strategies which are much more non-directional, such as covered call trades, credit spreads and Iron Condors. In these trades there is much lower dependance on getting the stock direction correct, but it still matters.

So should you learn to trade options?, in my opinion you should not do directional option trades until you become very good at trading stocks. This is because you really need to be very precise with your entry and exit strategy and trading plan, and be very good at technical analysis.

Whereas if you want to do non directional option trades you don’t need to be such an experianced stock trader to be successful, but of course it does not hurt either.

Learning how to trade options is a very good skill to have, but don’t rush into it and blow out your account. Make sure that you get a good options trading education before you start, and also make sure that you have a very solid stock trading education as well, such one from Top Dog Trading Review.

Become Successful At Day Trading

So many people tend to ask whether or not it’s really possible to make money with day trading for a living, but you need to bear in mind that this is quite a difficult question to answer. Remember, there are many people who have become incredibly wealthy with day trading, and they make no secret that trading is their only means of income. On the opposite end of the scale you have those who have lost huge amounts of money.

It is fairly obvious to say that such people are not making a living at what they are doing. And there are those that have their minimal ups and downs through the years. Ultimately, the ability to day trading for a living will often be based on your success at the process. Some people are better at it than others and they can most definitely deliver the trades that make them a success.

A trader who trades with ten thousand dollars per week and yields an average profit of one thousand dollars per week, will end up with a little more than fifty thousand dollars of profit each year. You can be rest assured that there are many people living on far less money, so yes, you certainly can earn enough money to live on. Also, nothing stops you from using some of your profits in order to increase your portfolio.

Ideally, you should not view trading simply as a way to make huge amounts of money. Bear in mind that the vast majority of people never end up making millions, and those that do, know what needs to be done when an opportunity comes knocking.

What they did not do was gamble the proverbial farm hoping to make a killing. This is a common error made by those that rush into trading. Avoiding this common (and dreadful) mistake can often translate into greater success at other points in one’s trading career.

Providing you take your time you’ll inevitably end up discovering that being a successful trader is not nearly as elusive as what some would have you believe.

You may also want to consider having a day trading robot in place if you’re serious about day trading for a living, in that such software is capable of picking up on upticks and downticks in the market. Obviously, armed with this sort of program you’ll have even more chance of being successful. Additionally, robots are nowadays able to provide you with some invaluable information so that you in turn can make responsible trading decisions.

Over and above the regular day trading robots, you can also find robots capable of trading automatically on behalf of the trader. Admittedly, some traders feel that this is a little too risky, while others have found such robots to be indispensable with regards to day trading for a living. The bottom line is however, you should only ever use the most reliable trading robot you can find.

At the core of any strategy to earn money day trading for a living is understanding the fact that trading is not investing. It is not a long term strategy. It is designed to buy and sell on the same day. This means day trading is not a venture for those that are conservative.

Trading is for those that wish to engage in risky strategies. The rewards make the risks worthwhile for them. If you fall into this category, day trading for a living may be a wise plan for you.

Are you sick and tired of scraping by at your day job? Why not get into the stock market and make some money the easy way… with the guidance of artificial intelligence! More info about trading for a living… You should also check the very best stock picking software.

How To Trade For A Living

If there is so much money to be made with day trading for a living, why don’t more people invest in the strategy? This is a common question many people on the proverbial fence about day trading will ask.

For the most part, this question is asked simply because it’s a convenient and easy way out of having to make a decision as to whether or not you should start day trading for a living. If on the other hand you do indeed want to find a proper answer, then you need to know that there is a massive flaw present when it comes to day trading for a living. Believe it or not, but that huge flaw is none other than the misuse of the word “invest”.

Right off the bat, it is critical that those interested in this type of revenue generating understand that day trading is most definitely not a form of investing. It is trading. There is a huge difference between the two. Investing is all about the value of money over time.

While there are certainly high risk and aggressive investments one can make, they all deal with the notion of holding onto the investment for at least a short while. (Conservative, long term investments will be held for significantly lengthy periods of time.)

Unlike investing, day trading for a living doesn’t involve trying to hold onto your cash. In fact, if you’re day trading for a living you need to be buying and selling on the same day, and no matter what anyone has told you, it’s not an easy process. Of course there is plenty of money to be made with day trading, but there’s also a chance that you could end up losing a great deal of money.

Okay, so why don’t more people become involved with day trading for a living? The simple answer is that not everyone is cut out for it. Remember, everyone is different, and while some people may be highly successful when it comes to day trading for a living, others simply fail to grasp the concept altogether.

Considering the large amount of money that is on the line when day trading as well as the amount of effort involved with being successful, it is no secret that some individuals would be better off not trying to do this for a living.

If you feel you have a knack for the markets and you’re confident enough to begin trading, then of course it is possible for you to make a huge amount of money. You can be rest assured that there are some people who have begun day trading with virtually no money at all, only to end up making millions of dollars. Admittedly, this is certain not the case for everybody, but at least you can look to these people for inspiration if you’re currently sitting on the fence with regards to becoming involved with day trading.

Contrary to what you may have heard, you can start day trading with a very small amount of money, and in fact, this is actually advisable, irrespective of how wealthy you are, so that you can first gain some experience.

By no means is day trading for a living for everyone, but for those with find it to be a rewarding adventure, there’s a lot of money to be made. The bottom line is; if in your heart you don’t believe that day trading for a living is for you, then you should walk away. On the other hand, if you have a feeling that might enjoy it, then by all means go ahead and give it a go.

Are you tired of scraping by at your job? Why not get into the stock trading and make some money the easy way… with the guidance of artificial intelligence! Get more info about trading for a living… You should also check the very best stock picking software.

Sure Fire Trading Reviewed

If a product has moved up by about 20 places in under a week in the ClickBank top product list, it actually is good – that’s a fact.

Sure Fire Trading has done precisely that, and is now said to be among the most promising trading systems available on the internet now.  One bizarre thing about Sure Fire Trading is that the ideas and elements aren’t restricted to any one mode of trading – they’re equally useful in foreign exchange, Stocks, Commodities, and Futures trading.  Nice, right?

The system looks highly easy, but be assured that there was a large amount of tough work which has gone into making the system so good.  From Fibonacci to trading samples from different states and time-zones, they have all been researched for a period of virtually 5 years, and that it probably why the system is sheer genius.

Though there are separate chapters for futures, stocks, currency exchange, and commodities, the essential guidelines are the same.  And the beauty is that you don’t need to buy the program in order to benefit from their data.  There is a column that pops up ( and is really extraordinarily persistent ) asking for your name and e-mail id ; or at the end of each page you have a place to leave your e-mail id and name to add on to the Sure Fire Trading mail list.  Doing so will put a newsletter in your mailbox at regular intervals, and the tips mentioned in them are quite enough to get you off the ground as a trader.  When you start believing in the middle, you can take up the premium membership and buy the e-book.

If you check the Page Rank of Sure Fire Trading, you may notice the PR is 3.  That implies the site has been around for quite a while now, and is also reasonably popular.  If you’re significant about trading online, this is a program that might come in very handy.  Try it.

 

Stock Trading Truths

There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the field of stock trading that trigger new trader’s fears and keep others from trying the profession at all. As a successful trader for over 15 years, I prefer to take a more positive approach and deal with the prevailing truths that exist in the field of stock trading.  Here are just a few.

1.Stock trading success will come when you keep your trades low risk on a consistent basis over time. Yes, this approach will cause you to miss out on one or two bonanza jackpot trades that the media portrays to be every day opportunities.  However, you will find that, over time, searching for those dream come true trades more often than not results in a fantastic loss that ends up deteriorating the portfolio you worked so hard to accumulate.Better to stay lower risk with steady profits over time if you are looking to make stock trading more than a hobby.

2.You don’t have to spend the whole day trading to thrive at stock trading.It does not have to be a nine to five job.Now, don’t misunderstand.I’m not implying that stock trading is another make money while you sleep angle.You must put in the time and the commitment to master the processes needed to be successful. But, by using GAP trading capably, I trade for two to four hours per day, plus one more hour of prep time.And, I earn a great living.  With the right system, you can too.

3.Building on the knowledge and the experiences of other profitable traders can greatly accelerate your learning cycle.Don’t start from the drawing board because it will cost you a lot of money and ten or more years to make all the mistakes others have already made.It is just resourceful business sense to build on the knowledge of others.Didn’t your parents tell you “don’t reinvent the wheel”, but don’t we just turn around and do just that?Read books and articles by successful traders, take courses or seminars, find counselors or coaches to guide your progress.

Stock trading is often portrayed as mysterious and hard for “regular guys” to understand.  Take it from a “regular guy”, that perception is not right.  With the right systems in place and a working knowledge of the basic truths of stock trading, anyone can be successful.

To read about other lessons I learned in my fifteen years as a day trader and coach, as well as tips and techniques for becoming successful at stock trading, read my free report “From Video Junkie to Day Trader,” and learn more about how you could be trading stocks profitably in as little as two weeks.

Trade Goes Against You

Expecting a miracle? It probably will not happen. This article is written to deal with trying to trade out of a losing position, NOT to ignore stop losses. Ignoring stops is the surest way in the world to take all the money in your account and just flush it down the toilet. I am serious. While that might help you in the short run eventually there is a 100% chance you will have a massive loss, like 50% or more on your money lost that is invested in the trade if you don’t use a stop. In addition, you will accumulate a portfolio of losing positions and have no more money to trade with. Every huge loss starts with the trader refusing to take a small loss – often times as a result of taking a loss or a stopout and then watching the stock turn in their favor. So the thinking is “They are not gonna get me this time”.  This is how traders learn to trade with bad habits.

The first thing to realize, there are 4 reasons losses that can happen when you are in a day trading or swing trading.

1. Timing is off on the entry
2. The direction you think the stock will move is just wrong
3. News items come out and move stock or index against you
4. Your price target to exit is too far away

We will address these one by one.

1. Timing is off on the entry

If your entry timing is off, this usualy means the price will move a bit in your favor, then against you within the first 5 to 10 minutes. The amount the price moves against you will be way more than any profit so far, but it does not go to the stop area either. This can be identified by the price hesitating and moving up and down, just below your price for long or just above for short. It should not make a beeline against you and it should not go right near your stop in the first few minutes.

The easiest way to deal with this happening is to assume that your timing is going to be off. Enter long or short only one half to two-thirds the actual size you want in a position where you think the timing is right. To make sure this never happens, do not use market orders. Place a limit slightly below the current market quote, most of the time you will have no trouble getting filled. Obviously you need to be aware of the trade type – if it’s a breakout and you don’t think you will get filled if you don’t use market, then for sure just go in. Most trades will not just run immediate, including breakouts. Once you receive a fill back, make sure you place an initial stop loss for that position. Wait a few minutes and see what the stock price does. If it runs in your favor immediately, well then your timing was perfect – trade what you have OR look for the remainder on a small dip.

Most of the time the best deal is to stick with day trading what you have. If the stock moves against you more than for you in the first 5 minutes, but is not a beeline against you (meaning it looks like the trade will stop out etc), then put in an order to add at the low of this 5 minutes (for long) or the high (for shorts). If you are an aggressive trader, you can put in some additional orders and press bets above the high for longs or below the low for shorts. If you are not able to get filled on your better price add shares, the press bets additional shares will usually work out because this means there is not much selling. If the price moves so that you can add at a better price, then make sure you cancel the press bets add shares. If you get filled on your additional shares, you can move your stop down slightly but increase to include all shares OR just place a separate stop on teh add. If you get the press bets add, move your initial stop up to just below that low of the 5 minutes, and make sure you increase the shares.

2. You are dead wrong on the direction

This often happens to even the most seasoned traders. You try a breakout that fails, you try to catch a turn at the bottom of a downtrend, you think a stock will follow another stock with bad news down … the common element is you are dead wrong. Usually these types of trades will be self evident from the get go – meaning within a few minutes its already far further against you than it ever went for you AND it does not oscillate. By this I mean the upside is severely limited (for longs) or downside limited (for shorts). This means it can move easily one direction, but really, really struggles in the direction you bet.

Usually if you see this happening, the only chance you have is to try to double down near your stop. You are looking to risk another 15c to 20c on double size, betting it will turn in your favor before you stop out. If you want to attempt this, care must be taken to use discipline. Do not try to force making money on the trade. The thinking is to try to minimize the loss by catching a turn near the stop area, with minimal risk on the add. If you can cut the loss in half or even get to even, get out. Move on to the next trade.

If you doubled down and actually caught the turn, you would want to move the stop up on all to just below the turn. When the price moves halfway back from your secondary add position to the price of your first entry, sell the additional shares so you are left with only your original position. On the additional shares you want to keep you stop to just below that entry. The theory is the side that was pushing the price so far against you finally got washed out, so give the rest a shot. Because you made a bunch back with the added shares, if you get stopped you will lose less than if you did not do that. It is your call to decide if that is the best thing or to just exit all of the position with a minor loss and move on.

3. News events happen in real time and can cause the stock or index to move against you sharply

This is arguably a tough situation. Not only do you have to be able to read and analyze the news very quickly, you must decide what impact it will have on the stock price. The call is would this type of news cause the stock price to go far enough to hit the stop level? If the answer is probably yes, exiting at market before the stop will save you money. If you think there is a chance the news would not stop you out, the plan is to exit the position on a counter move the other way. Most of the time there is no good way to add shares to trade out of a news play where you get caught. Occasionally the market will react in way A, but a few minutes later they realize they are wrong (or someone made a bad assessment, and the market is changing its mind) and react in way B. If you can uncover and notice that this will probably happen, the add point is the high of the bar where the news came out. Most of the time that will run any stops and trap traders playing the news as a quick trade, forcing them out.

4. Your price target to exit is too far away

This is common to. You have to kind of guess based on how the stock has been trading, localized volatility, and support resistance points where a price move might go to. It is very common to think it can move to A, but it struggles to get to even half of A. Usually these types if you don’t monitor them real close will turn into losing trades. The main reason is a scale up seller (for long bets) or scale down buyer (for short bets) is betting the other direction and absorbing a lot of the volume.

Most chart setups will attract trader attention and the more obvious a trade looks but does not work or really struggles, the bigger th indication is to get out immediately. Some of these can result in a huge move the other way because they trap lots of short term money in the stock trying to trade whatever setup happened. There is no real method to add to work your way out of it, you really just need to pay attention. If the stock appear
s weak (meaning it should be going up but its not) and you think you should exit – usually this is the right thing to do. Your instincts are telling you something important – for the trade setup, the stock is not trading like it. Getting out is the best solution because you are looking to avoid your stop getting hit and saving a bigger loss. Also realize if you exit early, and then see it was a mistake, you can always get back in with a click of the button.

Do not expect to make money on every trade, its simply not possible – you have to pick your battles. If you sense something is off or wrong and you are at a loss, take the loss and move on. Sticking around and trying to always make money will actually result in bigger losses eventually. You can think of the God rule (just a catchphrase) – When a trade goes wrong, (God) gives you one chance to get out – it’s up to you to realize the chance and take it.

Real Time Data

In order to effectively day trade one should possess access to real-time marketplace data. Relying on stale information will almost certainly result in mediocre trades.

Day trading is the routine of buying or selling throughout the day, but being completely not in of the marketplace by the conclusion of the trading day.

Skills and Training

As a career, day trading attracts individuals from countless walks of life. Since it is stressful, day traders have got to be self-disciplined, poised, and serene; they must also have the capability to endure losses, learn from their mistakes and swiftly progress forward.

Seminars, books, university courses and Internet-based tutorials all present the opportunity to learn what you have to be aware of to become a winning day trader – for a price. And the education never stops. You have to remain up to date on market trends, emerging technologies and study new methodologies continually to stay at the forefront of the game.

Getting Started

As a beginner online trader, as a minimum, you will need a PC, a dependable and swift Internet connection, access to real-time data, an account with a brokerage service, and money to start a broker account. In no way should you trade with cash you cannot afford to drop. Prior to jumping into the day trading environment it is advisable to rehearse by paper trading. Paper trading simply means virtual or simulated trading. One can find paper trading facilities on the Internet that will let you practice your trading skills and acquire a feel for the tools and methods used by day traders before you invest your hard cash.

Paper trading is futile if you are not simulating real-life day trading as greatly as possible. For this reason you should attempt to tackle paper trading as if you were committing real cash. This involves setting up a plan dealing with such items as:

– entry & exit points
– stop loss limits
– profit targets
– your desired risk/reward profile
– total of money to be committed to trades

How long should you paper trade ahead of beginning to “real-life” day trade? There is no hard rule in this respect. You ought to persist with paper trading until you grow to be entirely comfortable with the trading system and self-confident in your capacity to use such techniques as “buy/sell orders” and “stops.

It is vital to understand that achievement in paper trading does not ensure success when trading in the actual market. Countless have observed that it is usually easier to profit in a paper trading setting than in the actual markets – mostly because emotions tend to cloud trading judgments when real money is at risk. Nevertheless, the correct use of paper trading can be a very worthwhile tool to build up your likelihood of success (or limit your losses) when you begin trading for real.

For the most part winning day traders are those that have a system or method and stick to it over and over and over. There is no “magic formula” that will result in fantastic results. Most day traders that I know set up their trades around a system or procedure they have belief in and maintain this method over and over. As a beginner day online trader, you will need to use a really uncomplicated approach or method to trade. Matching a process of trading with your personality is the best way you will ever feel comfortable in the markets.

How vital is it to engage in a day trading plan?

Why do you need a trading plan?

This commentary will explore numerous significant aspects of why you ought to have a trading plan, as well as the vital rudiments of your trading plan.

A trading plan is of high-level importance to your trading success. Trading is a business, and the majority of businesses need a plan. Cautious planning is fundamental to your success. In fact, strategic planning will do you well in business as well as in trading.

If you don’t have a trading plan, your trading decisions would be usually based on hunches and emotions – and odds are you will not reach trading success, over the extended term.

By trying to trade without a trading plan – expensive mistakes are inevitable. Emotional decisions are the generally destructive factor for a trader. Do not allow your emotions to dictate your trading routine.
It is not necessary to have a complicated trading plan, keep your trading plan undemanding. Have a written trading plan, as the practice of writing things down can be vital to your achievement as a trader.

After spending many trading days paper trading your system, you are more easily able to set out and organize a trading plan.

A trading plan should take in not only your goals but ought to also specify how you propose to achieve them.

Steady procedures can only be achieved through a thorough written trading plan. Traders have got to have confidence in their trading plans, and remain true to their trading plan.

A day trading plan must cover a number of basic issues such as your trading goals and objectives. A trading plan should incorporate your entries, profit targets and stop loss.

Entering into a trade is one of the elementary decisions you make when trading. However, it is also one of the least important…….

A trading plan must also contain position size. How much are you prepared to suffer the loss of on one trade? The smaller the percentage of your trading balance committed to any one trade, the larger the likelihood of your being being profitable. You require to be aware of the greatest amount at risk for every trade. You additionally need to identify the ceiling amount you are prepared to suffer the loss of for the day before you stop trading. Protecting your wealth, or money management, is undoubtedly an really vital part of success.

The goal is not simply to bring in money, but also to be able to keep on making money consistently for an extensive period of time.

When in a profitable trade, be patient and wholly benefit from the victory. The well-known trading axiom is, “slash your losses short and let your profits run”.

A trading plan must define particular goals to accomplish inside a set time.

Having a written trading plan gives one an edge over most others and as the failure percentage of traders is so prohibitive, how can you afford not to come up with a written trading plan.

A written trading plan will not promise you success, but not having one will pretty much guarantee failure.

The key to any day trading plan is how well it works over time.

Have you paper traded your method for a decent period of time? This would bestow confidence to accept every distinct setup. If you have a few stopouts in a row, which is assured to transpire at some stage, you carry on taking each and every one of the trades. Will your system perform in the long term?

You have tried it and tested it and you are contented to go live with it. Now is the moment to write out your day trading plan.