Sep 28, 2026 · 5 min · 3 segments
Most people spend more time thinking about what they hope to make in a trade than what they could lose. That's one of the biggest differences between beginners and experienced traders. In this…
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What are some of the things I should be thinking of before I get into a trade? You know, most people out there with a brokerage account, they're not thinking about what they should be thinking about before they trade.
What are we thinking about? What are some things we need to be watching? Well, the first thing we need to be watching is, am I more fixated on what I'm trying to make Or am I more fixated on the risk I'm about to take? You cannot make unless you take risk, but how much risk are you taking? Are you okay with that? Amateurs chase the profits, okay? Of course we want to make profits, but we do that by learning to manage the risk, okay? The second thing is to say, are we thinking about the size of our positions? This goes right back to profits.
But we don't understand the risk we're taking, taking such a large position.
The second thing is, is how are you going to manage you while you're in the trade? okay this is where a trader has a system they have a systematic this isn't a crystal ball okay this is a system that they implement every time there are rules they implement consistently so that they know that they're exposing capital to the market in a high probability environment and if it doesn't work they know exactly what they are gonna do because they've planned it ahead of time.
This is something that we need to think about before we ever get in the trade.
I always ask people, are you more objective before you get in a trade or after your money is in the market? Well, of course you're more objective before the risk is on the table.
Now, eventually traders, can get to a point, it's not that they're so zen, but they have been experienced enough over time that they're able to stay much more objective even after they get in the trade, but that's because they've learned to implement and trust the plan that they've made.
The plan is like the bumper rails that help us as we are actually in the trade to keep us where we're supposed to be.
That's something a lot of people do not think about before they get in a trade.
Did you set a target before you ever even got in? It wasn't because you had a crystal ball, but it was because you had a skill set, okay, that gave you a way to measure probabilities.
Guys, you'll see technical patterns all over the place, okay? Technical patterns alone.
Notice how I keep saying that, okay? Because a lot of people try to poke holes in technical trading by saying, well, they tell you that it's gonna tell you the future.
No, it's not about knowing the future, okay? The only thing you can control in the future is you.
What are some of the things I should be thinking of before I get into a trade? You know, most people out there with a brokerage account, they're not thinking about what they should be thinking about before they trade.
What are we thinking about? What are some things we need to be watching? Well, the first thing we need to be watching is, am I more fixated on what I'm trying to make Or am I more fixated on the risk I'm about to take? You cannot make unless you take risk, but how much risk are you taking? Are you okay with that? Amateurs chase the profits, okay? Of course we want to make profits, but we do that by learning to manage the risk, okay? The second thing is to say, are we thinking about the size of our positions? This goes right back to profits.
But we don't understand the risk we're taking, taking such a large position.
The second thing is, is how are you going to manage you while you're in the trade? okay this is where a trader has a system they have a systematic this isn't a crystal ball okay this is a system that they implement every time there are rules they implement consistently so that they know that they're exposing capital to the market in a high probability environment and if it doesn't work they know exactly what they are gonna do because they've planned it ahead of time.
This is something that we need to think about before we ever get in the trade.
I always ask people, are you more objective before you get in a trade or after your money is in the market? Well, of course you're more objective before the risk is on the table.
Now, eventually traders, can get to a point, it's not that they're so zen, but they have been experienced enough over time that they're able to stay much more objective even after they get in the trade, but that's because they've learned to implement and trust the plan that they've made.
The plan is like the bumper rails that help us as we are actually in the trade to keep us where we're supposed to be.
That's something a lot of people do not think about before they get in a trade.
Did you set a target before you ever even got in? It wasn't because you had a crystal ball, but it was because you had a skill set, okay, that gave you a way to measure probabilities.
Guys, you'll see technical patterns all over the place, okay? Technical patterns alone.
Notice how I keep saying that, okay? Because a lot of people try to poke holes in technical trading by saying, well, they tell you that it's gonna tell you the future.
No, it's not about knowing the future, okay? The only thing you can control in the future is you.
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