What it takes to be a good trader:Characteristics of Markets

If one wants to be a trader then he should remember that market hates traders and by its very nature markets are designed to get rid of weak traders. By weak traders we mean who indulges in leverage trades and cant afford to bear loss beyond 2-3%. Market lure traders to get into wrong position and then triggers their SL that's the reason only 3-5% traders are able to make money in markets. There are few pointers which I have learnt (taught by markets actually) and would like to share 

• "Bulls make Money, Bears make money but pigs make nothing". This quote mean one should either be Bull or Bear but not a Pig. Pig is a confused trader, someone who is bullish in morning, bearish in afternoon and back to bullish by end of day. Of course one shouldnt be Just a Bear or Bull all the time and view should be changed based on market trend but it should not be changed very frequently.Identify the trend of the market and then stick with it dont be a confused traders. Trust your analysis and keep a view which is slightly longer ( 5-7 days atleast).

• Trade only on the right side of market: If the trend is up never short the markets, doesnt matter how convinced you are that its the top area. Let people on TV and youtube shout as much as they want to about market in overbought/overpriced territory. Keep a trailing SL book your profits (part or whole) but dont go against the trend. Similiary never buy when markets are in bearish trend (doesnt matter how lucrative the prices appears to be).

• Target never works: In market keeping a target never works, if Nifty is trading around 10000 and target area is 11K then rest assured Nifty will either touch 11500 or turn back from 10700 itself. Target is simply a myth and should be avoided, no one knows for how long markets will continue to move up. Keeping a target will always make you exit at wrong times. Instead keep trailing Stoplosses and continue to ride the trend for as long as it lasts. Dont be fixated on a number and be dynamic.

• No Intraday: Intraday forces a trader to take too many trading calls. One cannot time the market hence take a directional view and a positional trade only. More trading calls you take, more the chances of suffering losses ( don't be a Pig).

• Markets wont wait for you to enter: Trend reversal usually happens very sharply. If market drops to its support area and start hanging there consolidating then its very likely that the support area will be broken and trend will continue on the downside. Reversals are sharp  markets will just kiss the area and move back up. Its common sense, if market wants to move up why would it hang around at same spot for traders to enter into long position??. Remember- motive of the markets is to lure & suck traders into wrong trades.

• Avoid easy trades, leave gut feeling at home: Many times some trades seems 'easy' like for ex Nifty support area is 9500, market drops there and one feel its safe to go long here. Next thing you see market trading at 9200. Or Market opens with a gapup of 150 points. Easy trade will be to short market for 20-30 points ( Common thought: "after all its already up 150 points surely it will come down by 20-30 points its easy money isnt it"?). By the end of day Nifty is up by 250 points and instead of 20-30 points profit now one is sitting with a loss of 100 points.

• Be disciplined: Always stick to your rules ( if you don't have rules then make some), going against your own rules will occasionally earn you some profit but it will create a wrong habits and you would find that in long run your losses are far more than your profits. Markets will take everything in just one wrong trade.

These may sound simple, but will take you a lot of time to learn and implement. Even seasoned and experienced traders are not able to follow them all the time.Trading needs patience and give your self ateast 3-5 years ( in some cases even 10 years) to learn these simple traits and then apply in real life scenarios. If you want to make money then you have to do what 5% are doing and not what other 95%  are doing

Happy Trading!