To be a successful trader, you must have good judgment and a solid trading system. Follow the steps in the following list to develop a system that works for you and that reflects your priorities and tolerances.
Select system development tools.
Gather historical data to test your system.
Develop and test your system design.
Identify system optimization pitfalls.
Test with blind simulation.
Account for slippage.
Keep a trading journal.
Frequently evaluate your trades.
Lita Epstein, MBA, is the author of more than 35 books, including Bookkeeping For Dummies and Reading Financial Reports For Dummies. Grayson D. Roze has worked in the financial services industry for StockCharts.com since 2012. He now serves as a business manager at the company. He is the author of Tensile Trading: The 10 Essential Stages of Stock Market Mastery.
Jane Kelly, a Chartered Management Accountant and author of Bookkeeping & Accounting All-In-One For Dummies, teaches bookkeeping courses for small businesses. Paul Barrow is a Chartered Accountant with more than 20 years' consulting, training and writing experience. Lita Epstein designs and teaches online investing, finance and tax courses.
