Powerful Tips from 5 Successful Day Traders

Successful day traders do exist. Some of them are even world-famous for what they're capable of making. Here are some powerful trading tips from 5 renowned day traders.

Day trading is a high-risk, high-reward investment strategy that involves buying and selling assets within the same day. It can be a very profitable way to make money, but it also carries a great deal of risk. If you're considering day trading, it's important to learn from the experts. 

Here are five exemplary of expert traders and their tips that we can look up to:

• Ross Cameron: Enter only when you are 99% sure
• Rayner Teo: Not an ultra-rich person
• Nick Leeson: Don't follow what I did
• Mark Douglas: Mindset is the most important secret of trading
• Jack Schwager: Let go of your loss and move on

Every professional trader surely has their own methods. Below, we will discuss in more detail the tips and strategies mentioned above.

1. Ross Cameron: Enter Only When You Are 99% Sure

In 2016, Cameron made $222,24,91 and is one of the most famous day traders. Cameron is also the founder of Warrior Trading who likes to share his strategy on several platforms including YouTube. Here are four of advice for you day traders:

1. Keep your trading simple
   To Cameron, day trading is something that you practice over and over again. He thinks that day trading must be easily applicable to minimize the chance of loss and optimize profit.
   
   
2. Know your market
   Knowing your market means more than just knowing what is written on the screen; it means knowing how it would behave. Cameron would look for a market that moves around 20 to 30 percent a day. Before the opening session is about to begin, he will research the previous price movement and make a few comparisons. So when the market opens, he is ready to put his plan in motion.
   
   
3. Strengthen your understanding of risk management
   Day traders must know how many losses they can tolerate. For Ross Cameron, he will only execute the trades if he is 99% sure of his strategy and has a tight stop loss setup. This should be basic knowledge that every trader knows.
   
   
4. Day traders must know their limits
   He encourages traders to take a break out of their trading activity if they feel mentally fatigued to avoid unnecessary losses. Cameron's productive time is between 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM. Therefore, he only trades during those two hours.

2. Rayner Teo: Not An Ultra-Rich Person

Aside from profitable trading, he is widely known for his personal brand. He runs a YouTube channel with more than 727,000 subscribers. He honestly admits that he is no super-wealthy guy, but he does have a few things to share with his fellow traders:

1. Do not put a stop loss right on the support level.
2. Rather than focusing on big profits, it would be better to focus on managing your capital. You can make use of a mini account for that purpose.
3. A simple trading strategy with a low risk-to-reward ratio often provides good results.
4. Day traders must gain a good understanding of price action.

3. Nick Leeson: Don't Follow What I Did

Leeson was once a notorious man for causing insolvency of one of the greatest banks in the UK, the second oldest merchant bank in the world, Barings Bank. He was supposed to profit from the difference in the price of Nikkei 225 futures contract listed on the Osaka Securities Exchange in Japan and on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange, by buying from one market and selling it on the other.

Instead of executing said plan, he held on to the contract and expected its price to rise further. Barings Bank just went downhill from that point. In the end, he was arrested in Frankfurt, Germany, and extradited to Singapore on 20 November 1995. In Changi Prison, he served six years and six months and was released in 1999.

Here are a few things that we can learn from Leeson's experience:

1. The system will change perpetually
   Leeson told a story about trading that was unknown to many banks at that time. His actions had become a warning to all banks around the world and so they have been reforming their system ever since. Therefore, all traders should always update their knowledge about the latest dynamics in the market.
   
   
2. Admit your loss
   Leeson applied a doubling strategy, he put twice the amount that he had lost into the market to cover said loss. He did manage to pull it off several times but luck is not a factor one can rely on every single time. Had he admitted his losses and reflected solemnly upon them, he may not have to serve behind bars.
   
   
3. Trading in general is a business with a strategy in mind, not a simple gamble
   Young Leeson saw trading as a huge gambling table and that vision had led him to disastrous consequences. Even a trader with a sound strategy might still suffer some losses, let alone people who jump right in without a second thought.
   
   
4. Do not break the law
   Most of his actions were considered to be illegal and it brought him nowhere but a cell in the slammer. At the end of the day, we all covet a prosperous life, not a miserable one in prison.

4. Mark Douglas: Mindset Is the Most Important Secret of Trading

We believe that this is not the first time that you hear or read about the importance of mindset and that is because of how veracious it is. Technical analysis may be difficult to learn but it often follows the same principle that everyone can follow. On the other hand, psychological control over yourself is something that nobody knows but yourself. Once you have the right mindset in your grasp, you will be able to trade much more consistently.

Mark Douglas (on the right) with his colleague

5. Jack Schwager: Let Go of Your Loss and Move On

Have you ever heard of a book called "The Market Wizard"? Is the book of interviews with world-class traders already in your collection? Jack Schwager has written so many books about strategy and inspiration from trading and investment experts all around the globe. "The Market Wizard" is one of them.

Traders often cease trading after suffering losses, but instead of working on a new strategy, they lament their losses for an extended period of time. That is what Schwager wants everyone to avoid. Other than that, he also recommended:

1. There has to be a balance between technical and fundamental analysis, he encouraged both methods so traders can find the right strategy for themselves.
2. Do not let yourself halt your progress. No trader makes the right decision every single time. Loss is a normal occurrence.

Drawing inspiration from well-known traders is an effective way of learning to be a better trader. If you are in search of more inspirations, let's visit these 7 top price action traders.