The Road to Successful Trading

Chapter 6: Establishing a Trading Schedule 45 
U.S. National Exchanges 45 
Regional U.S. Exchanges 46 
Canada 46 
Europe 46 
U.K. 47 
Japan 47 
Chapter 7: Setting up a Trading Journal 49 
The Trading Journal-your best friend 50 
Key Questions to ask yourself 50 
When to make Journal entries 51 
Example of a Trading Journal 52 
Chapter 8: Testing your Trading System 53 
Pros and Cons of Paper Trading 54 
Chapter 9: The Emotional Aspects of Trading 55 
Holistic Trading 56 
Characteristics of a Successful Trader 58 
Chapter 10: The Power of Objectivity 62 
Give and receive 64 
Chapter 11: Putting it all Together-a Sample Trading Plan 65 
In Closing 71 
 
 
 
How to Design and Construct An Effective Trading Plan 
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Chapter 1: Introduction 
 
You haven’t thought much about it other than you want to take a vacation. You grab the keys to 
your car and head out on the highway. Hours pass and you watch the scenery change from 
metropolitan landscape to bucolic greenery. You feel the tension leave your body. Darkness falls 
and you pull into a motel for the night. After getting settled in you room, you turn on the television, 
kick off your shoes and flop on the bed. You reach for the phone to call a friend to tell them about 
your trip. 
Your friend picks up the phone and hears the excitement in your voice. But then he asks a question 
that shocks you and you sit up straight in your bed. “Where are you headed”, your friend asks. This 
seemingly innocuous question hits you like a slap across the face. It’s hard to believe but you have 
no idea. You look around the room and realize that you haven’t packed any clothes. No tooth-
brush….nothing. You suddenly feel disoriented and can’t believe what you have done. You feel so 
stupid that you blurt out, “the Keys”. You slowly replace the receiver while you friend is still 
talking on the other end. Are you in the Twilight Zone? 
Needless to say, this absurd scenario is highly unlikely because nobody would ever take a trip 
without planning first. You know, decide the destination, check the route, make advanced 
reservations and that sort of stuff. Nobody would just takeoff without planning. 
But that’s exactly what takes place with most new traders. No defined destination, no road map, no 
idea of how to get there; “there” meaning making money by trading. What are the chances of being 
successful in your journey if you don’t even know such basic things as where you are going? It is 
truly unbelievable how many traders bite the dust (it’s estimated that about 90% of all beginning 
traders are out of trading within several months) mainly because they lack the proper preparation.
Apparently, to most new traders success appears as just a simple matter of choosing the proper 
direction of movement. That’s like believing that a band aide will cure any disease. Indeed, trading 
is a much more complicated undertaking and requires extensive preparation. If it were so easy to 
make money, everybody would be doing it. Being a successful trader is not a matter of luck or even 
skill, it is a matter of proper preparation. 
And that is what this book is all about. 
How to Design and Construct An Effective Trading Plan 
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If you read this book and follow its advice, your chances of becoming a successful trader will be 
greatly improved. 
Why is that so? 
Because successful traders say so.
None of the ideas put forth in this book are revolutionary or “leading edge”. What will be presented 
is a proven formula used by most professional traders. The methods are based upon the mentoring-
guided training format that most professional trading companies and departments use to train their 
new traders. The reader will be led step-by-step through the same type of training program that
most pros went through and use to this day. It’s not brain surgery or rocket science. But it’s one 
thing is to read about it and another to live it. That, dear reader is up to you.