Four Pillars to a Successful Trading Plan

The Four Pillars to any Successful Trading Plan are:

1. Trade with the trend
   One of the most useful skills that any trader can develop is the ability to identify a trend. If you can identify a market in an uptrend and enter a long position or identify a market in a downtrend and enter a short position, you have the potential to make a great deal of money. Unfortunately traders spend a lot of their time trying to “predict” what will happen next, rather than simply focusing on answering the question “what is the trend right now?”
2. Cut losses short
   This is the primary reason why most individuals cannot become successful traders. Taking a loss is against the human nature. Taking a loss goes against the very grain of our upbringing.  To become a successful trader you need to learn how, when and where to take a loss. Professional traders accept that losses are part of the game.
3. Let profits run
   To become a successful trader you need to stay with your profitable trades as long as possible because the trend is likely to continue and make your profits even larger. Most traders are inclined to take their profits too soon. This can be fatal to long-term success because big profits are necessary to overcome the inevitable collection of small losses. As long as the trend keeps moving in your favor, you stay in the trade. If the market reverses direction by the amount of your trailing stop, you exit the trade.
4. Manage risk
   It is by managing risk that you limit losses and preserve your capital. The most important element of managing risk is keeping losses to a small percentage of your trading capital.

Your trading plan will serve as your roadmap to help you through the twists and turns that the markets will throw at you. It should also serve as a constant frame of reference. Thus forming a comprehensive trading plan is your first step toward trading success.