Golden rules of trading (2024)

Traders should take steps, prior to embarking on every trade, to limit the impact that an unprofitable trade could have on their capital.

Protect your capital

Traders should take steps, prior to embarking on every trade, to limit the impact that an unprofitable trade could have on their capital. For any trader their capital is their life blood and therefore should be protected as a priority. Without it they are not only unable to make money but are unable to trade. Therefore limiting risk, even if this means elongating the time taken to achieve ones targets, is a must. The key tools that can be used to do this are Stop Losses and Limiting Exposure.

Stop losses should always be used and never moved away from the market A stop loss should always be used and just as importantly should be used correctly. The golden rule of Stop Losses is that they should never be moved away from the market once the trade is opened. If a trader feels that their stop loss is incorrectly placed, they are recognising that the foundations of their trade are incorrect and therefore they should close out. The best way to place a stop loss is to take the mindset of ‘If this stop loss is touched, I have judged the market wrongly and I should close out’. Once closed out, the trader can always re-evaluate the situation and go back into the market if the market conditions are favourable.

Limit exposure

Limiting exposure simply means limit the percentage of your capital that is exposed both to one sector and to the market as a whole at any one time. This will usually mean limiting your exposure to approximately 5% of capital. The theory behind this is that, should the market go against you in all your positions on the same day, you will still be able to trade in the same manner as before.

Never average down

Every trade should have a well thought out structure in regards to entry and exit. A trader should never average down. Averaging down is a method used to try and double up on a losing position in an effort to lower the average entry price obtained during a losing move.

This is not the same as averaging in, which involves entering the market slightly early with half of the position size in order to take ensure that ,should the market bounce prematurely, the trading opportunity is not lost.

Let profits run and cut losses short Stop losses should never be moved away from the market. Be disciplined with yourself, when your stop loss level is touched, get out. If a trade is proving profitable, don’t be afraid to track the market. Theoretically a trade should never be simply closed out manually; it should always be closed out by a stop loss. This allows the trader to lock in profit but never prevent further profit from being made.

Employ a risk reward ratio

The use of a minimum risk: reward ratio when planning a trade is imperative. The actual ratio that traders use will vary depending on their experience. A typical Risk: Reward ratio that a trader might look for when assessing a trade is 1:3 or £/$ 1 of potential loss in the trade for every £/$ 3 of potential profit. Even if you are trading on a moving average crossover or another imprecise method, you should still be aware of what your potential losses are and what your potential reward could be.

Never stop learning

A trader should never stop learning. As the markets are dynamic and are constantly evolving, any trader that becomes stagnant will eventually start to lose money.

Never trade scared

Trading scared or undercapitalised is one of the leading causes of unnecessary losses. Emotions such as greed and fear often cause errors in judgement and are always present however they are heightened when trading under pressure.

Don’t be afraid to go home

No trader should ever be hesitant to stop trading and if necessary walk away for the day. A morning losing streak is more often than not compounded by the trader that continues to trade. By walking away, you are not being lazy, but being mindful of the fact that something is wrong that day and that you are not in tune with the markets. Walking away is nothing to be ashamed of. Come back fresh the next day.

Plan your trade and trade your plan

All trades should be planned with risk, reward and capital allowances taken into account. Any trade that is taken on the fly is nothing more than a gamble.

Don’t look too hard for your trades, wait for the good ones to come to you

There are so many markets to trade that there are endless supplies of really good quality high probability trades. If you are looking too hard for trades, you will end up moving into positions which you have falsely convinced yourself are high probability trades. The better a trade, the more it will jump out of the charts at you.

Every loss is a learning opportunity, take time out to take advantage of it

Every loss making trade is a learning opportunity. By definition, if you have made a loss, you have misjudged the market. Therefore to move on to the next trade without fully reviewing the last will only increase the likelihood that you will repeat the mistake.

Don’t trade blindly from others trade ideas

Traders new to the markets frequently place trades based on others recommendations. Any trading activity should always be researched in depth. Not doing so will prevent the trader from being able to react to any changes in the market during the life of a trade. Remember positive information being released about the market can still have a detrimental effect on price and anything that you read in the papers is old news, as professional traders will have heard about it and reacted accordingly the previous day.

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Golden rules of trading (2024)

FAQs

Golden rules of trading? ›

Key Rules from Iconic Traders

What are the 7 golden rules of trading? ›

Successful day traders follow key principles of understanding the market, setting realistic goals, managing risk, having a trading plan, monitoring their performance, staying disciplined, and taking breaks. By following these rules, you can maximize your profits while minimizing losses in day trading.

What is the 1 rule in trading? ›

The 1% risk rule means not risking more than 1% of account capital on a single trade. It doesn't mean only putting 1% of your capital into a trade. Put as much capital as you wish, but if the trade is losing more than 1% of your total capital, close the position.

What is 90% rule in trading? ›

Understanding the Rule of 90

According to this rule, 90% of novice traders will experience significant losses within their first 90 days of trading, ultimately wiping out 90% of their initial capital.

What is the 3-5-7 rule in trading strategy? ›

The 3–5–7 rule in trading is a risk management principle that suggests allocating a certain percentage of your trading capital to different trades based on their risk levels. Here's how it typically works: 3% Rule: This suggests risking no more than 3% of your trading capital on any single trade.

What is the 5 rule in trading? ›

It dates back to 1943 and states that commissions, markups, and markdowns of more than 5% are prohibited on standard trades, including over-the-counter and stock exchange listings, cash sales, and riskless transactions. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

What is the 7% rule in stocks? ›

However, if the stock falls 7% or more below the entry, it triggers the 7% sell rule. It is time to exit the position before it does further damage. That way, investors can still be in the game for future opportunities by preserving capital. The deeper a stock falls, the harder it is to get back to break-even.

What is the 80% rule in day trading? ›

Definition of '80% Rule'

The 80% Rule is a Market Profile concept and strategy. If the market opens (or moves outside of the value area ) and then moves back into the value area for two consecutive 30-min-bars, then the 80% rule states that there is a high probability of completely filling the value area.

What is the 5-3-1 rule in trading? ›

The 5-3-1 rule in Forex is a trading strategy based on three key principles: choosing five currency pairs to trade, developing three trading strategies, and choosing one time of day to trade.

What is the 3% rule in trading? ›

The 3% rule states that you should never risk more than 3% of your whole trading capital on a single deal. In order to safeguard themselves against big losses, traders attempt to restrict exposures on a single deal.

What is the 70/20/10 rule for trading? ›

Part one of the rule said that in the next 12 months, the return you got on a stock was 70% determined by what the U.S. stock market did, 20% was determined by how the industry group did and 10% was based on how undervalued and successful the individual company was.

What is the 3 trade rule? ›

Essentially, if you have a $5,000 account, you can only make three-day trades in any rolling five-day period. Once your account value is above $25,000, the restriction no longer applies to you. You usually don't have to worry about violating this rule by mistake because your broker will notify you.

What is the 2 rule in trading? ›

One popular method is the 2% Rule, which means you never put more than 2% of your account equity at risk (Table 1). For example, if you are trading a $50,000 account, and you choose a risk management stop loss of 2%, you could risk up to $1,000 on any given trade.

What is the 11am rule in trading? ›

It is not a hard and fast rule, but rather a guideline that has been observed by many traders over the years. The logic behind this rule is that if the market has not reversed by 11 am EST, it is less likely to experience a significant trend reversal during the remainder of the trading day.

What is the best time to trade? ›

The ideal time for intraday trading, according to stock market analysts, is between 10.15 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. This is because by 10.00 a.m. to 10.15 a.m., morning stock volatility has subsided. As a result, it is the ideal opportunity to place an intraday transaction.

How to hold a winning trade? ›

Holding Winners: 8 Ideas for a Successful Trade Strategy
  1. Find Solutions. ...
  2. Develop your trading PlayBook. ...
  3. Write down your target. ...
  4. Practice holding a core to target. ...
  5. Visualize holding to target. ...
  6. Tag and measure your trading results. ...
  7. Start with the low hanging fruit. ...
  8. You are not specially screwed up.
Jan 16, 2022

What is the 6 rule in trading? ›

Rule 6: Risk Only What You Can Afford to Lose

Traders must never allow themselves to think they are simply borrowing money from these other important obligations. Losing money is traumatic enough. It is even more so if it is capital that should have never been risked in the first place.

What are the three C's in trading? ›

The 3Cs are Company, Customer and Competitor. The intersection of the three is a good strategy with the idea that the company's strength, the needs of the customer and the offerings of the competitors lies the opportunity. Use the same databases suggested in other pages under this tab to find the desired information.

What are the 5 golden rules of investing? ›

The golden rules of investing
  • If you can't afford to invest yet, don't. It's true that starting to invest early can give your investments more time to grow over the long term. ...
  • Set your investment expectations. ...
  • Understand your investment. ...
  • Diversify. ...
  • Take a long-term view. ...
  • Keep on top of your investments.

What is the 1 3 rule in trading? ›

Risk-Reward Ratio (1:3): For every trade you take, you are willing to risk 1 unit of your capital (e.g., $100) to potentially gain 3 units (e.g., $300) if the trade goes in your favor. Now, let's consider the win rate: 2. Win Rate: This represents the percentage of your trades that are profitable.

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