Several aspects are paramount for anyone considering a day trading career: First off – it’s stressful and requires total concentration for extended periods of time. If you’re placing huge amounts on tiny fluctuations, like in forex, you can’t afford to miss a single pip. Learn your body signals. If your palms are sweaty, you’re getting tunnel vision, thinking of anything but the trade, close down, get up, and take a break.

Second, it takes money. Like any other profession or even HOBBY, there’s a learning curve, and with finance you can expect anything up to two years until you begin making money on a regular basis. Make sure you’re covered for all living expenses for that kind of period. Decide how much money you’re willing to lose over that period and divide it into 520 working days, more or less. If you make a profit, decide if you want to withdraw it or add it to your equity; but do NOT, under any circumstances, cross that 520-day daily limit. You might want to start off as a 2-hour-a-day hobby until you quit your day-job. But whatever your do, do NOT refund your account until either the 2-year period is up or you’re making a steady income.

Risk management is critical. Decide on your risk-reward ratio and stick with it. Your 1:20 – 5:100 rule of thumb, and so forth. Never open a trade without a stop loss, and NEVER try to outsmart the market. Obviously, the more technically adept you become, the better you’ll be able to READ that market, so that what may SEEM like going against a market is actually nothing of the sort.

Remember – money is serious business. It’s YOUR money, you should be SERIOUS about it!