Mistakes are a natural part of any learning process. They say that if you don’t make any mistakes, you are not really trying. It is true, especially in such a complicated endeavor like trading. But there are several mistakes that novice traders make that can be managed. They are mistakes caused not by lack of knowledge, but rather lack of attention.
Many traders give up trading immediately after making these 3 mistakes in a row. They are led to believe that trading doesn’t work for them, when in reality, they are just sabotaging themselves unknowingly. Read the top trading mistakes described below and let us know if you made any of them before in the comments below. Let’s improve our trading skills!
Mistake #1 — skipping education
Often traders register an account with a broker and go straight to the deposit page, ready to start trading immediately. They have the basic idea that trading should be easy and profitable, and they approach the market with this conviction.
Why is it a mistake?
Trading is different from other ways of dealing the market like investing or gambling. So approaching it and expecting it to work the way, for instance, long-term investing works, might be short-sighted.
It is a common mistake that traders make when they start trading without really understanding how it works or what to do. This leads to disappointment, losses and makes traders believe that trading is simply not meant for them. While it might be true — trading is definitely not for everyone since it entails many risks, however, it might be too soon to judge without giving yourself a proper chance to educate yourself.
How to fix it?
Сheck the video tutorials section, read the IQ Option Blog and don’t hesitate to ask questions. The sooner you nail the basics, the smoother your introduction to trading will be. If you’re still unsure about where to start, check the guide on trading basics: How to Trade? The Basic Concepts.
Mistake #2 — going all in
Traders often decide to test out the system and invest the whole amount of their balance in one or two deals. They spend their whole capital in less than an hour and come to the conclusion that trading is too hard and only leads to losses.
Why is it a mistake?
This approach is ineffective for two reasons. Firstly, it completely ignores the available practice balance which allows you to test out the platform and any strategy before spending real money. Secondly, it doesn’t offer any space for good risk management practices.
How to fix it?
In order to make the most out of your trading capital, don’t forget to try out your approach on the demo balance. But even when it comes to investing real money, using a small percentage of the overall capital might be a wise decision. The 2% rule is one of the options of spreading your trading capital among several deals equally in order to manage risk and losses.
Mistake #3 — hoping for help
The third mistake that traders make, especially after losing in a deal, is hoping that someone else will trade for them or provide them with signals or investment advice.
Why is it a mistake?
Hoping for external help is unproductive and dangerous. Besides the fact that third party trading is forbidden on the IQ Option platform and signals and/or investment advice are not offered either, often traders that seek help from third parties become fraud victims. Moreover, there is no source that could provide you with 100% correct predictions about the market.
Shifting the responsibility for trading leaves a trader uneducated about the market at best and a fraud victim at worst.
How to fix it?
Trading requires patience and often offers slow progress. It is important that you commit to the long-term plan and avoid those who promise you high returns quickly. Spending time on learning how to trade is much more rewarding and satisfying and it is the only way to approach trading consistently.
To get more information on how to avoid getting scammed, check our material Safety First: Avoid Being Scammed.
The bottom line
Many traders sabotage their results by making these three mistakes at the very beginning of their trading journey. They skip any education and rush right into trading on the real balance, and when the deals turn unprofitable, they immediately conclude that trading is not for them and seek help from third parties.
Instead of repeating these top trading mistakes, it might be a good idea to turn things around and deal with each of them even before they occur.