Articles by Bill McCready on ArticleSnatch.com

Trading Success Shortcuts

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

When you're climbing the learning ladder to success (see my article called "The Futures Trading Success Ladder"), that last step is a huge leap! You may find yourself at the "conscious competence" level for a very long time before everything becomes so practiced and so ingrained that you reach "unconscious competence" and start trading in the zone as a master trader. Even when you're in the groove and really working it, it takes time and practice, practice, practice before your routine and technique click to autopilot and using your system becomes automatic and effortless. Here are some shortcuts you can use to make that last step up the ladder of success more quickly. 1. Hard wire your response Through constant, consistent repetition, you can hard wire action patterns in your brain. If you always follow the same pre-trade checklist; if you always use the same colors, same indicators and same set up in your charts; if you always follow the same post-trade checklist; you program your brain to elicit the same response every time. 2. Don't get discouraged Automating a response may take 10,000 or 30,000 or even 50,000 repetitions. Don't give up. **End Summary** Topics: articles about trading]]> futures trading]]> day trading]]> commodity trading]]> bill mccready]]> emini trading]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Bill McCready is a futures trader. His trading course, Futures Trading Secrets, has helped students all over the world improve their trading. To get 11 FREE futures trading lessons, a video, and free ebook, "The Truth About Day Tradingâ, visit ==>> Futures Trading Secrets .

The Futures Trading Success Ladder

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

First Rung: The Education Of A Trader Becoming a successful futures trader doesn't happen overnight. You don't read a book and Voila! another successful futures trader dazzles Wall Street. It would be nice, but it's just not going to happen. Once you decide to become a futures trader there's a lot of hard work ahead. You may already be reading and visiting internet sites or participating in a local traders club. These are great places to start your education. You'll gain ideas and theories from which you can start to build your system. But they can't deliver a fully realized system, ready to use and proven to perform. As in many fields, education is only the first step to success. You have to learn by doing. You can't really learn how to trade without actually trading. You can save yourself years of lost time and money by following in the footsteps of a master trader. Futures trading is a complex profession. It is often easier to learn successful trading techniques (including what and how to chart, indicators to watch for, and how everything comes together) by looking over the shoulder of a successful professional trader. **End Summary** Topics: trading articles]]> articles about trading]]> futures trading]]> trading psychology]]> trading stress]]> trading performance]]> money management]]> futures trading]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Bill McCready teaches people to make money trading. For 11 FREE futures trading lessons and a free ebook, visit http://www.FuturesTradingSecrets.com

Futures Traders Practicing For Success

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

"Practice makes perfect," my mother used to say. It's as true of futures trading as of anything else. Before you put your hard-earned cash on the line, you need to practice trading if you want to succeed as a futures trader. Making practice trades allows you to: 1. Test and fine-tune your trading system. 2. Learn to successfully pull the trigger. 3. Perfect your charting system. 4. Develop productive trading habits. 5. Practice self-discipline. See if you have what it takes to be a futures trader. That last item is very important. You can have the best system in the world but if you don't believe in yourself, if you don't believe in your system, if you don't have the passion to trade, no system in the world will make you a successful futures trader. Like I tell my students, successful futures trading is 90% attitude. Not everyone has the skill, passion, ability or discipline to succeed. Better to find out before you lose your money. In my Futures Trading Secrets course, I recommend that students practice trading on the e-Mini with Sims Broker until they achieve a certain level of confidence and consistency in their trades. **End Summary** Topics: trading articles]]> articles about trading]]> futures trading]]> trading psychology]]> trading stress]]> trading performance]]> money management]]> futures trading]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Bill McCready teaches people to make money trading. For 11 FREE futures trading lessons and a free ebook, visit http://www.FuturesTradingSecrets.com

Successful Futures Traders Hone Mind, Body

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL Just as a craftsman keeps his tools sharp, clean and well organized, so must a futures trader keep his "tools" in peak operating condition. A futures trader's ultimate tools are his mind and his body. Yes, we use systems, triggers, indicators, charts and other tools and tactics -- all important. But without the human trigger they are useless. If you do not take care of your physical and mental self and keep yourself in peak trading condition, you will not be able to maintain the level of concentration, stamina, quick reflexes and clear thinking necessary to succeed as a futures trader. The goal of the futures trader is to achieve the total synergy of mind and body called the Alpha Zone. You have entered the Alpha Zone when your mental, physical and emotional control is at its peak. When this happens, you are trading "in the zone." While some traders utilize biofeedback techniques to help them learn to achieve this state, there are a number of common sense things you can do to get yourself in the zone. **End Summary** Topics: trading articles]]> articles about trading]]> futures trading]]> trading psychology]]> trading stress]]> trading performance]]> money management]]> futures trading]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Bill McCready teaches people to make money trading. For 11 FREE futures trading lessons and a free ebook, visit http://www.FuturesTradingSecrets.com

Sure-Fire Futures Trader Money Loser - Negative Personality Traits

Sat, 24 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

There are certain psychological characteristics that can negatively impact your ability to succeed as a futures trader. Learn to recognize these behaviors in yourself and guard against them. THE CHEAPSKATE TRADER Many people are foolishly cheap. They are so anxious to start trading on the futures markets that they ignore the necessity of first acquiring the proper education, tools and software to succeed. These people will lose more money in their first round of trades than they would have spent on the tools that would have allowed them to succeed. You can't be "penny wise but pound foolish," as my grandmother would say. Don't nickel and dime your training budget. If you truly want to succeed as a futures trader, spend the money to learn from the best and acquire the best tools available. THE IMPATIENT TRADER We lived in a society increasingly driven by instant gratification. We don't want to wait for it or earn it; we want it now! Futures trading is a fast-paced, risk-filled environment that seems to attract people who like to live in the fast lane. **End Summary** Topics: trading articles]]> trading psychology]]> day trading]]> day traders]]> futures traders]]> commodity traders]]> commodity trading]]> stochastics]]> stochastic charts]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Bill McCready teaches people to make money trading. For 11 FREE futures trading lessons, and a free ebook, visit http://www.FuturesTradingSecrets.com

Futures Trading Methods: Are You A Scalper Or A Swing Trader?

Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Futures traders come in all flavors but it's basically a Neapolitan world. You can be a scalper, swing trader or a combination trader. Mindset and methodology generally determine in which sector of the futures trading world you'll thrive. SCALPERS Scalpers seek immediate gratification. They look for short-term market movements seeking to shave money off the bid/ask price spread. Holding each position for only a very short period of time (often 5-30 minutes) to minimize risk, scalpers make small gains through rapid trading. Goals and factors scalpers seek to be most productive are: 1. Best money-making strategy: to realize a large gain by the end of the day from the accumulation of many small gains. 2. Most productive market environment: Wide-channel, heavy-volume, trending or oscillating markets. 3. In their trading tool box: 1- and 3-minute moving averages and oscillators such as stochastic charts. SWING TRADERS Swing traders are more dispassionate. Fundamentalists at heart, swing traders track price trends and patterns and other quantitative data looking for short-term price momentum. They act quickly to exploit such short-term price movements, looking for gains that can be made in one to four days. Swing traders sometimes mitigate risk by trading in smaller quantities. **End Summary** Topics: trading articles]]> swing traders]]> swing trading]]> scalpers]]> day traders]]> futures traders]]> commodity traders]]> commodity trading]]> stochastics]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Bill McCready teaches people to make money trading. For 11 FREE futures trading lessons, and a free ebook, visit http://www.FuturesTradingSecrets.com

The Four Key Elements of Futures Trading Success

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

There are four key elements to achieving success as a futures trader: 1. Self-confidence 2. Discipline 3. Ability to handle loss 4. Profitable trading system 1. Self-confidence If you aren't absolutely confident that you can become a successful futures trader, you might as well pack it in now and save yourself a lot of grief. Successful futures traders are bold, aggressive and self-assured. They do not lose faith in themselves when they lose. They have the courage and self-confidence to keep trading. Futures traders are risk takers. Successful futures traders are the Mario Andrettis of the Futures Exchange. 2. Discipline If you're going to be a successful futures trader, you have to learn to take emotion out of the equation. Learn to trade like a robot. There's no room for emotion in futures trading. Futures traders learn to trust themselves and their system. If you start letting emotion rule your decisions, fear, anger and greed will undermine your carefully planned and practiced strategies. It is by persistently following your system, by dispassionately relying on what your charts tell you, by religiously following your indicators that you will succeed as a futures trader. **End Summary** Topics: trading articles]]> online trading]]> futures trading]]> day trading]]> commodity trading]]> index trading]]> e-mini trading]]> stock trading]]> trading psychology]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Bill McCready teaches people to make money trading. For 11 FREE futures trading lessons, and a free ebook, visit http://www.FuturesTradingSecrets.com