Part 1: Envying Other Day TradersProvided By Ultimate Trading Systems Day Traders Are Victims Of SuccessSome day traders spend a lot of energy focusing on what other day traders do. They become concerned that everyone else is making 30% a week on their portfolio, that everybody else finds great trades that they miss, and that other day traders know what they're doing while they don't. This leads day traders to try to copy what other day traders are doing, making those trades too late, and making trades that aren't good ideas in the first place. They get so confused trying to keep track of so many stocks that they don't understand what's going on with any of them. Many day traders don't realize that a lot of what people say is at the very least an exaggeration. Similar to envy is competitiveness. Some day traders want to show everyone that they're the best, the smartest, the most successful. The goal of trading isnt to play a competitive game its to make money. Your focus should be on making money. If you're in it for the competition, you should play some other game. The only reason to trade is to make money, and if your mind is on other day traders, you'll never make money. Successful day traders ignore hype, rumors, and boasting, and use their own knowledge and judgment to find trades that make sense and that they have confidence in. This doesn't ignoring the current public sentiment, because that sentiment can sometimes lead day traders to good trading opportunities. Successful day traders know what is reasonable to expect from trading, and how to achieve it without worrying about what everyone else is doing. Some day traders become victims of their own successes. They have good luck with a certain type of commodity, for instance, that they overexpose their portfolio to one sector. Sectors tend to move together, and often one sector will move down as another one moves up. Sectors are cyclical, which means that they go through hot and cold phases. No one commodity or type of commodity is hot all the time, and when a leading commodity in a sector gets into trouble, it tends to bring all the rest down with it. Heres an example: Lets say some day traders bought gold futures just as a huge metals sector run was beginning. They bought silver and platinum as well, and to do so closed out all of his other positions, which had been in stocks and currencies. The trouble was that, two days later, concerns about global terrorism lessened, and the metals sector fell sharply. Diversification is important even for short-term day traders. Some market moves can't be protected against, and if all your holdings are in one or a few sectors, you become vulnerable and exposed to excessive risk.
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