Winning At Trading Do you want to win? This may seem like a strange question to ask, so let me illustrate it with a story. Tiger Woods was at the driving range one day, practicing for an upcoming tournament. One of the regulars of the Club apporoached him and said, "Tiger I would kill to have your swing." You know what Tiger said? "No, you don't" The man was surprised, to say the least and replied "Of course I do! If had your swing… Man, I could drive the ball 300 yards!" Tiger said, "To get this swing, I've practiced every day since I was four years old, I hit over 1,000 balls each day, I watch hours of film to get ready for a single round of golf and I have three personal coaches to help me stay on track." He let that sink and added, "When was the last time your coach helped you hit 1,000 balls, each one to perfection?" Of course the answer was – NEVER! The story may (or may not) be true, I've heard it in several versions over the years – but the principle holds true. Winning takes work, discipline and effort. I can give you shortcuts that will slash years off the learning curve for you, but you still need to "buy in" and do the work – for a few very important reasons. Reason #1 Drawdowns… losing money. Money management is the #1 key to success, in fact several university studies have shown that picking a symbol at random, a trade direction at random (long or short) but keeping money management rules to a strict plan results in success. Richard Dennis proved that he could train "non professionals" to be highly successful trading superstars. Reason #2 Psychology. Losing money is hard – we've got car payments, house payments… we've turned into a payment based society. And when we lose money in the markets, we tend to immediately think of it in terms of how much of a payment we just lost. Keeping a working money management plan in place is going to be the decding factor in the success – or failure – of your trades… even with my help. …Because the amount of risk you take decides how you deal with the loss! For example, if you're trading a $3,000 account and you win $300 on a trade – that is a huge percentage gain… 10% on a single trade! Lose that $300 and you've not only got the 10% loss, you have to deal with the idea that you've just flushed your car payment down the drain. The solution? I'll give you two Solution #1 Never, never, never risk more than 5% of your account – better yet never risk more than 2%. That means on a $3,000 account, you can risk $150 (at 5%) or $60 (at 2%). Which also means you should be trading a mini lot – not a regular lot! Solution #2 Give the system time! Most traders are like a heroin junky – running from one "fix" to another. Your trading goals should be based on a minimum of 12 months. Here's how: Figure on a number of trades you'll take each month, let's say 20. Assume a percentage of winners, let's say 30% or 14 losers, 6 winners Next, assume a risk/reward ratio. (that means for each pip you risk, how many you expect to gain) Let's assume a 3:1 ratio – for each pip we risk, we expect to win three. So, for the year, we expect: 12 (months) X 6 (winners) = 72 winning trades 12 (months) X 14 (losses) = 168 winning trades 72 (winning trades) X 3 (winning pips) = 216 pips won 168 (losing trades) X 1 (losing pips) = 168 pips lost Which means after the year, you're UP 48 pips. Now, this may not sound like a lot – in fact you may be thinking "Maceo, you're an idiot! I see dozens of systems that make a ton more money than that!" Listen, I'm not here to just take your money. I'm here to coach, prod and push you to think and act like a professional trader. That's not to say I'm trying to make you into a pro – most of you don't want that (just like in the Tiger woods story above). What you do want is the cash – what the cash will help you to achieve… financial freedom (control), a car payment, a house payment (debt relief). And you had better get clear on what you do want, by the way – which is why this work is important. Now, let's take the same system above that makes us 48 pips every year and look at a very simple – and unsophisticated – hypothetical example: You paper trade this system for 6 months and get good at sticking to it. Every time you need to get out, you do – you take the loss. And, every time you have a winner, you stick in there and take the full win – without jumping out too early! Now, instead of trading a one lot, you trade two. You're making 96 Pips. The next year you trade three lots – now (hypothetically) you're making 144 pips. The next, is a four lot which means 192 pips, a five lot means 240, six is 288, seven is 336 eight is 384, nine is 432 and ten 480. Don't miss the lesson here! The key is you are able to stick with the system. Even though I am using a very profitable system, your ability to stick with it will determine your success. So, please use the resources I've given you – the alerts, the home study videos, the coaching sessions, etc. Develop your confidence in the plan, then stick with it – for the long haul. Don't let a week (or a day) influence you to run for another "fix." Yours for Massive Profits, Maceo Jourdan