If you struggle with stock trading, or someone you care about
does, then this may be the most important article you’ve ever
read…

The stock brokers, financial media outlets, and other loudmouth
"gurus" are playing a dangerous game with your portfolio.

Let me explain…

When it comes to trading, if you want to truly maximize your
odds of ongoing success in the markets, you need to be doing 1
thing over & over again:

* Placing lower-risk, high-probability trades that give you an
edge over other traders.

That may sound obvious, but here are some key points to
consider:

1. You should only place trades that meet a strict set of
criteria… and if no stocks happen to meet these criteria, then
you DON’T TRADE.

You end up sabotaging your portfolio when you "trade just to trade", thinking that you’re missing out on some market action. On the contrary, you should only trade when the odds are in your favor. PERIOD.

It’s kind of like sailing. If there’s a clear chance of a hurricane, only a fool would take their sailboat out into the ocean. Well, the sad thing is… that’s EXACTLY how most people trade - they ignore all the warning signs and just jump in the market, feeling good about "doing something"…

The stock brokers aren’t really helping out at all here, because, of course, they get a commission every time you trade — so the more you trade, the more your broker makes, and, the LESS you trade… well, you get the picture.

So, why would your broker want you to trade less? Exactly.

2. Upon entering a trade, you should manage risk FIRST, and then
look for profit.

Unfortunately, this is the complete opposite of how most people trade the stock market.

Most people are thinking about all the money they’re going to make after they enter a trade, and pay little attention to how
many shares to trade based on their total account size, or don’t place a smart "stop loss" order because they’re afraid they’ll get "stopped out" too soon.

In a nutshell, they’re blinded by the upside potential in a trade, and BLIND to how to manage risk.

And the sad thing is, there’s no need to trade this way. It’s
very simple to manage risk properly, and when you "flip" your
mindset around and learn how to manage risk FIRST and THEN look
for profit potential, everything changes.

Now, this is where I have a bone to pick with the financial
media outlets & the loudmouth "gurus" (you know who I’m talking
about)…

Anyone can roll up their sleeves & scream out stock
recommendations. It’s entertaining. Amusing, even.

But should you trust your hard-earned money on what amounts to a
circus act?

I sure wouldn’t… but a lot of people do.

Do you ever hear the "experts" talk about managing risk first?
From everything I’ve seen, they just blabber on and on about
what stocks to get in on.

Blah blah blah.

Whatever.

Go ahead and watch these guys for the entertainment value (or go
watch the monkeys in their cages at the zoo - it’s all the same
to me)… but be careful if you decide to follow their supposed
advice.

3. IGNORE THE MEDIA. TURN OFF YOUR TV. DO IT NOW.

Sorry for "shouting", but this is a real problem that’s doing
more harm than good.

You’re intelligent. You know, like I do, that all the media
focuses on is BAD NEWS.

"If it bleeds, it leads," is the old saying in media.

I’m an engineer by trade, so I don’t want to get all mystical on
you, but I really believe that all this focus on negative stuff
just creates more negativity, and squashes any positive
potential. And that goes for non-trading stuff, too.

OK, don’t believe me? That’s OK. Let’s just look at it from a
pure numbers, left-brain standpoint.

When the media bemoans another huge market drop, what you DON’T
hear is how much profit potential there was in that big market
drop. All you hear is:

"THE SKY IS FALLING! EEEEK!"

Smart traders, however, know that, in fact, it’s often EASIER to
make money in a down trend and in an up trend. And you can do it
more QUICKLY.

(That’s because when a down trend starts to gain momentum, it
often moves a lot more quickly than a "chug-chug-chug" pokey up
trend.)

So, turn off your TV and follow your trusted, proven trading
methods. Your portfolio will thank you for it later. ;-)

4. You absolutely need multiple ways to "attack" the various
market moves than can happen on almost ANY stock chart.

I’ve been trading the markets since 1974, and if there’s one
thing I’ve learned, it’s that there’s no ONE trading method that
can act like a "monkeywrench" to go after ALL market conditions.

It just doesn’t work.

However, there ARE some very common market conditions that you
can learn to anticipate with enough practice, testing, and
application.

So if you don’t have ANY trading method that you’re using, well,
at least get ONE.

But then, you really need to be on the lookout for other trading
methods that help you spot the ideal entry points so you’re not
missing out on any profit potential.

You need to be able to spot trend reversals, retracements,
consolidations, momentum moves, and more.

Further, your multiple methods need to work together so they
don’t "step on each others’ toes" so to speak, thereby further
maximizing your effectiveness in the markets.

You may have heard my golf analogy before. I think it’s worth
repeating.

You could certainly play 18 holes of a golf with just a putter,
but you wouldn’t do very well. That’s why most golfers use a
full set of clubs - it gives them a different tool to "attack"
the differing conditions of the course they’re playing.

Or, consider medicine. If you went to the drugstore looking for
relief from a head cold, would you choose a generic bottle of
pills labeled MEDICINE, or one labeled COLD RELIEF?

I think you get my point.

The bottom line is — without multiple methods in your trading
"toolkit", you’ll be left wondering about all the profit
potential you COULD have enjoyed, while other traders who have
multiple methods in place will already be enjoying it.

(To be continued… )