Futures day trading is a profession rooted in aptitude and discipline. The very best traders know what they’re doing and are unshakeable in their resolve. And, as the vast majority of winning traders will tell you, the road to success is filled with unexpected twists and turns. In this article, we’ll reveal four steps that can help boost your trading from average to exceptional.
1. Achieve a Positive Mindset
Active trading is a challenging endeavor that frequently runs counterintuitive to the human psyche. The act of buying and selling securities means placing your capital in harm’s way. By assuming this risk, most people will experience ingrained fight-or-flight mechanisms. To successfully manage these emotions, achieving a positive mindset is of paramount importance.
So how can you promote a positive mindset? The answer is different for everyone. However, here are a few useful tips:
- Don’t dwell on losses. No matter how good a trader is, losses happen. The key to dealing with periodic setbacks is to learn a lesson and quickly move on. Dwelling on a losing trade not only fosters negativity, but it can also lead to overtrading and missing potentially lucrative opportunities.
- Put in the work. Competent trading is a product of preparation, strategy execution, and performance evaluation. By committing to daily market prep, optimal execution, and performance recap, you can promote a sense of readiness and closure every single day.
- Trust your strategy. Once your strategy is built and a proven winner, trust it! This means applying the strategy consistently and sticking to it through the highs and lows. If it needs tweaking, make changes incrementally, not all at once.
In many ways, futures day trading is a confidence game―a self-confidence game. If you have a confident, positive mindset, then you have what it takes to weather tough periods and excel during opportune times.
2. Manage Risk Aggressively
One of the most important aspects of futures day trading is risk management. The use of stop losses and proper leveraging are two critical parts of any viable trading strategy. Accordingly, it is imperative that you use these devices to properly align risk to reward.
Ultimately, risk management boils down to cutting off losing trades as quickly as possible. Remember, it’s not just about how much money you make; it’s also about how much you don’t lose.
3. Always Be Learning
The futures markets are ever-evolving environments that can change at the drop of a hat. Subsequently, the education and development of successful traders never ends. To optimize performance in the contemporary marketplace, always keep a sharp eye on these trade-related areas:
- Market dynamic: What is the current state of the market? Do the levels of volatility and participation benefit or undermine my strategy?
- Strategy performance: How is my strategy performing? Are profits consistent and losses manageable? Is it time to revisit my strategic parameters and objectives?
- Decision-making: Is my decision-making consistent, sound, and timely? Or is emotion leading to overtrading and reckless risk management?
Futures day trading is a complex profession. It is simply not enough to clock in and clock out every day and expect success. It requires regular scrutiny of the prevailing market dynamic, strategic performance, and personal decision-making.
4. Select a Robust Futures Day Trading Platform
No matter what your profession is, being properly equipped is a big part of getting the job done right. For active futures traders, this means obtaining computing power, fast market connectivity, and a robust software trading platform.
The best futures platforms furnish the trader with advanced analytics and reliability via a user-friendly interface. Your software trading suite should be intuitive and capable of delivering the features you need. If not, it’s time to look for another platform.
Join the Ranks of Winning Traders with StoneX
In reality, there’s much more to futures day trading than the four steps above. However, by achieving a positive mindset, understanding risk management, committing to education, and selecting the right platform, you’ll be well on your way to succeeding in the marketplace.
Sometimes, the best way to boost your trading skills is to talk with a market veteran. For more information on what it takes to win in the futures markets, schedule your free consultation with a member of the StoneX team today.
