I have been in the market long enough to say that I have my shares of learning experiences. Wins and losses all can be summed up as meaningful lifelong trading experiences. I doubt if anyone can start off as a trader and be consistent all along without some hiccups unless of course he/she comes from a very strict disciplinary mentor. Those cases are really rare.

Successful traders all share some indisputable common traits. They anticipate nothing from the market, to them, the market is a place of opportunities. They don't expect the market to go a certain direction with certainty. Stubbornness is deadly for traders. Traders are bounded by very few rules. No one tells you where you must enter or exit your trade unlike being in a casino, you put your money on the table and when the game is over, it's over! That being said, as a trader, you have to use extra caution and discipline not to let these freedom get over your head. Rules are necessary to stay in the game and to be consistent! Your own set of rules to keep you afloat. Discipline is worth a lot more than all the TA (technical analysis) you can ever learn.

So you want to be a trader? Like an engineer or a graphic designer: the usual question would be: are you cut to be one? Well, I tell you something - you can learn to be one - whether you are going to end up being a good trader or not takes a lot more than just a paragraph or two. Being a consistent trader is probably one of the HARDEST THING you have or will ever endeavored. It's unlike our daily norm, where everything is played by rules. For example, you drive a car, you have driving rules, parking rules and what not rules. You go to school, you have to be there at a certain time and study well enough to pass..blah, blah, blah. Being a trader, the degree of freedom that you have is immense! Wow! Isn't that great? Freedom! Yes and No. It works better with the ones who have absolute discipline but the ones who don't, they are usually out of the game in no time! Imagine free flowing your losses..scary! Have you ever heard of a stock price dropping to zero? Well.. worse if you were shorting a stock, your loss can be unlimited. Not to induce fear in you all but just a reality check that ANYTHING can happen to the market so set your stop loss to limit your risk. Good money management is very important!

Anyone can be a trader meaning you can place trades and there we go.. but the ultimate goal of any trader forget about the ones who are just thrill seekers or compulsive gamblers, the ultimate goal of any discipline trader is to make MONEY! Consistency is the key to success! Anyone can throw in a profitable trade randomly but what we are seeking as traders is: Consistency! As a trader, emotions are one of your worst enemies. Some periods you'll have more drawdown, some periods you'll think you are Gordon Gekko. We all have watched the movie Wall Street with Michael Douglas playing Gekko, right? I think as a trader, you have to control your emotions! Don't jump out of your skin when you are having a great week and don't be too hard on yourself when the going gets tough. A professional trader is one that really takes trading to another level. Understands that trading is a zero sum game: when one wins another loses. It's an odds game and the best you can do as a trader is to have the odds on your side. Use your edge to assess a trading opportunity, when the odds are good, place the trade. Remember that anything can happen in the market so place your stop loss! That's all! Every trade is an independent event of its own, it doesn't depend on your last trade so don't freak out about it! Assess your odds!

Take the emotions out of the game and you will execute a lot more objectively. Never have a fixation of thinking you know what the market will do. There is absolute no Holy Grail out there. No one knows for sure where the market is heading especially short term. If you are sure about the fact that anything can happen in the market and you don't know what it will do next but using your edge, you have higher odds of winning! That's enough! In the long run, your odds will add up. Your aim is not to have a perfect sore, it never happens. Just like the casino, the owner knows over time, his casino makes good money, he doesn't plan to win all bets, it's impossible!

Don't trade for the sake of trading. It's best to sit through periods of making no trades than to rush into the market - that's pure gambling and being very irresponsible. Trading for the sake of trading is something a good disciplined trader who's seeking consistency must avoid.

They say the Trend is your friend! And I say likewise. It's much easier to go with the flow than going against the grain. Then you would ask.. what is the trend? For me, the most basic way to answer this question is: Is the index or the chosen market above its 200 day moving average? What separates the bullish trend and the bearish trend, it is its 200 day MA. Of course, one also must use the good old eyeball as well. If you aren't familiar with moving averages. There are tons of materials online. I love stockcharts.com and I personally subscribe to their services for charting. There is a free chart school which gives one a basic overview of different commonly used technical indicators. You can also use their basic charting for free if you don't need too much data but it's worth subscribing if you're serious about trading.http://stockcharts.com/education/IndicatorAnalysis/indic_movingAvg.html But you can't just use one indicator and buy or sell blindly. A lot is depending on your time frame & flexibility. The 200 day would be completely meaningless if you were day trading.

I use MAs (moving averages) a lot! I use the 20 day EMA and MA, 50 day MA, 200 day. It would take pages and pages to write and elaborate everything down but I think we will take it slow and do it one day at a time! Assess the trend, you can also use supports and resistances to assess your entries and exits including stop losses. That way, you stop loss is never a million mile away. :-p Remember the risk and reward ratio should make sense, never assume more risk than the potential gain.

To summarize: in order to achieve consistency as a trader - consistency in making money. There are a few essentials that one must work at. Traders have to accept the fact that anything can happen in the market therefore set stop losses! We have to have the discipline to abide by our own rules. Set your own rules of trading. Stick to them. As traders, we have to cut out our emotions. Trade only when the odds are on our side. Money management is definitely very important! Listen to the market, don't assume and don't have a conviction. Remember, the market is always right!

Cheers! Happy Trading!