20 Most Common Trading Mistakes: And How You Can Avoid Them

Of course, that's until you discover that trading can be brutally difficult. If you play the trading game, you are going to make mistakes -- maybe even some like these:

• agonising endlessly over when to enter or exit a trade
• trading like a maverick, risking too much of your capital
• beating yourself up when a trade goes against you
• losing $1 million in a single trade
• clicking 'buy' instead of 'sell'
• buying 10 000 units when you only meant to purchase 1000.

20 Most Common Trading Mistakes reveals market mishaps from some of the biggest names in trading. Everyone - from stellar traders to complete novices -- can use help learning how to trade in the black. Why not learn from the masters how to turn blunders into profit?

Mistake 1: defining a trading mistake (with Dr Van Tharp).

2 The horse goes in front of the cart.

Mistake 2: jumping into the market before having learned the required skills (with David Hunt).

3 Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Mistake 3: not having a clearly defined and documented trading plan (with Justine Pollard).

4 Get that monkey off my back.

Mistake 4: not trusting your own ability (with Louise Bedford).

5 Nice knowing me.

Mistake 5: not aligning your trading strengths (with Brett Steenbarger).

6 Easy come, easy go.

Mistake 6: overcomplicating the entry process (with Russell Sands).

7 Complex complexity.

Mistake 7: making trading too complicated (with Davin Clarke).

8 Too many contracts, not enough shares.

Mistake 8: not understanding money management (with Ryan Jones).

9 1000 per cent return in three days — sure, it happens all the time.

Mistake 9: paying good money for a dodgy trading ‘system’ (with Wayne McDonell).

10 Heads, I win; tails, you lose!

Mistake 10: failing to understand the numbers (with Gary Stone).

11 Bet big to lose big.

Mistake 11: misusing leverage and margin (with Christopher Tate).

12 What’s the time, Mr Wolf?

Mistake 12: confusing time frames and trading strategies (with Jake Bernstein).

13 Where the ^!*# is the exit?

Mistake 13: not having a clearly defined exit strategy (with Larry Williams).

14 But the guy on TV said it would go up tomorrow!

Mistake 14: listening to the advice of media and others (with Glen Larson).

15 Half price and still too expensive.

Mistake 15: averaging down (with Tom Scollon).

16 I’m right! The market’s wrong.

Mistake 16: lacking discipline (with Dr Harry Stanton).

17 The emotions of a robot.

Mistake 17: emotive and subjective trading (Kel Butcher).

18 Overworked and underpaid.

Mistake 18: overtrading (various).

19 Fat fingers, 10 000 too many, and busting trades.

Mistake 19: operational errors (with John Robertson).

20 I’m sure I filed that somewhere …

Mistake 20: avoiding the paperwork (with Jason Cunningham).

Glossary.

Index.