It could be that spread trading, also known as spread betting, is one of the most important inventions ever for small traders seeking to multiply their money on the financial markets. To spread trade reliably and increase your chances of being profitable requires a certain amount of study and ongoing research, but the rewards can be substantial. But is it really possible to become a spread betting millionaire or is it far more likely that you will lose your money trading the financial markets? As you can find out from any amount of online resources, spread betting has several cost advantages, but principally it involves leveraging your trading capital, making significant profits possible even when you do not start with a large amount of wealth.
It is not possible to provide a full spread trading course in an article, but it is possible to enumerate some of the ways that the most successful spread traders operate to consistently achieve profits, and maximise their gains.
First, take advantage of spread trading and your ability to bet in many different financial markets. It is true that if you are unprepared you can be caught out by betting in a market with which you are not familiar. You need to research the underlying volatility and other factors before going ahead. However, any particular market will not always be presenting you with trading opportunities, so if you can move over to currencies for a while when stocks are in the doldrums you will continue to have worthwhile trades to make.
Secondly, never be afraid to take a loss when the bet has gone wrong. Traders who fail tend to hang on to their losers, hoping for a turnaround, and exit their winners too quickly when there is still some additional profit to be made. These things are the human nature, but antithetical to your purpose of making money.
Do not over trade. It is almost guaranteed that beginners and losers make more bets than winners. This is another case of going against your instincts. If you are not in a trade, or you have loose capital around not being used, it is tempting to think that you are not working, and place a bet on the first likely prospect, whether or not it comes up to the standards you have set out in your trading plan. Only place your bets when the conditions are right.
Which leads to the next principle, you should always have a trading plan. It takes many years of practice to be able to trade with your gut, and most traders never get to that point. There are many reasons for using a trading system, and as long as you have tested it to the point of proving it, and stick with it, then you must inevitably make a profit.
Schedule yourself periodic checks on how you’re doing. A trading diary is essential, and it should include many items other than the facts of the trade – things such as how you felt, why you make the trade, etc. That way you can look at and improve your performance.
Finally, remember that your primary goal is to preserve your capital, and not to make a profit. If you concentrate on keeping your money, you will find that profit will come along as a by-product of following your trading plan.
The rant below is dedicated to long-term Game Group (GMG) sufferers and is a sober read for anything thinking of buying stocks in hopes of a multi-bagger:
What amazes me, is that so many punters are still in the Game.
Look, the Game is that you have a bit of success and get overconfident, and go for the Full Millionaire Thing, fully leveraged to the eyeballs.
And someone changes the Game.
In a Second.
You get the phone call.
You then have to tell your wife, who after the shock leaves you with the kids to stay at her sisters.
You then realise, you can’t actually get a job, and are homeless.
You discover the delights of growing a beard and going to McDonalds to use their toilet, as you rough it with your fellow ex millionaires in the gutter.
I have no idea, with regards to retail, even of games.
I bought Woolworths!