Day trading is a viable career as it offers a lot of opportunities to earn in the financial market. Day traders don’t work for anyone but for themselves which gives them the freedom to do things according to their will. Once you become a successful day trader, you will live a comfortable life, where you can follow your preferred lifestyle. But trading isn’t for everyone even if you use a powerful trading platform like MetaTrader 5. You need certain skills to become a successful day trader. If you are planning to pursue this path, you might want to know more about key characteristics and traits that you need to develop or enhance to become a successful day trader.
Decisiveness
Changes in the market happen in a matter of seconds. Every good day trader must cope with these quick changes and be decisive with their moves. You need to be vigilant and quick-witted all the time. A profitable day trader should also be quick in reading new situations and acting on them appropriately. You don’t have time to second-guess.
Strategic
If you have seen successful traders, you will know that being strategic is such an important trait. Make a realistic decision after you consider the bigger picture. For instance, if you want to short crude oil, you must find reasons why you should do so. Placing a trade without the right reasons is totally wrong and the reason why most traders fail.
Inquisitive
There’s nothing wrong if you ask questions. Being inquisitive will help you make better trading decisions. Knowing the different scenarios before you trade will benefit you in the long run. For instance, you are predicting that the dollar will rise. Before you make a trade, ask questions about the issues that may lead to dollars going up. Understanding the different scenarios will give you the answers you are longing to have.
Discipline and Persistence
Although you don’t have a boss to tell you what to do and not to do, you are still obliged to sit on the desk during active trading hours to watch the movement of the market. You will still need to commit several hours a day to the research and trading preparations. Once you find the best trading strategy, you have to stick to it no matter the situation in the market. Being disciplined is abiding by the rules of trading and using the tools and strategies that you originally plan to use.
Patience
This trait is very important because, without patience, there is no way you would succeed. Success in trading takes time to materialize. If you don’t have the patience as a trader, you will simply give up and lose everything that you currently have.
Experience
Experience is the best teacher. You cannot base all the information on books and other sources. For starters, you can use demo accounts in MetaTrader 5 to test the tides and use your trading strategy. This is the best place to learn because it is risk-free. Trading in the live market, although there are risks to consider, offers a good amount of experience that will teach you a whole bunch of valuable lessons. Do not be afraid to take on risks. If there are no risks, there are no wins.
