To me psychology is the key to trading. Many trades on hunches about economic or political trends, while others use "insider information" or simply hope. Do you remember how you felt the last time you placed an order? Were you anxious to jump in or afraid of losing it all? When you closed a trade did you feel humiliated or embarrassed and started to second guess yourself? These feeling evolve among thousands of traders which merge ultimately into a huge psychological wave that moves the markets trend.

The majority of traders spend most of their free time looking for good trades. Once they enter a trade they desired to be in, they start to squirm and lose all self control over themselves. They ride an emotional train and miss the element of winning - which is the management of their emotions. Their inability to manage their emotions leads to a downfall in their stock trades.

All losing amateurs ignore the importance of psychology. If you are not up to date with the market, or you ignore mass psychology of crowds, then you have no chance of succeeding in the market. The importance of psychology is that it focuses on reality, which is you have to live with your eyes open. To be a good trader, you have to invest with your eyes open and make neutral decisions. You need to recognize real trends and not waste time on regrets or hopes that the stock will turn around from a downfall.

Trading is similar to sky diving, rock climbing, and street racing because they all share a common risk involved. These sports involve a considerable amount of risk/pleasure. Many participants in these sports ignore the risks and take thoughtless chances. A person who wants to enjoy the risk and excitement of sports must follow the rules. When he/she reduces the risk of a sport, they get a sense of accomplishment knowing they have control over that particular sport. This same criteria involves trading. You can succeed in trading only if you handle it as a intellectual pursuit to overcome the risks. To help ensure enjoyment/success, a good trader must watch his capital funds as close as a sky diver knows the exact time to release his parachute.