“Your job as a Day Trader is to identify the times in the market that offers us the highest percentage of winning opportunities; technical indicators identify these times, and our simple rules allow us to capitalize on them consistently.” Used primarily by short-term day traders, technical indicators apply a specific formula to the price of a security. These ‘indicators’ look to predict future market direction by using previous price patterns. Discretionary trading rules are one of the most important aspects of consistently profitable day trading. Just like any business, you must have a business plan or a set of specific instructions on how to run your business.

What are technical indicators?

Used primarily by short-term day traders, technical indicators apply a specific formula to the price of a security. These ‘indicators’ look to predict future market direction by using previous price patterns.

Example of the most common technical indicators includes Moving Averages, Relative Strength Index, Stochastic, MACD and Bollinger Bands.

Day Traders use these ‘indicators’ to identify specific times in the market when the opportunity for winning trades is the greatest.

What are Discretionary Trading Rules?

Discretionary trading rules are one of the most important aspects of consistently profitable day trading. Just like any business, you must have a business plan or a set of specific instructions on how to run your business.

Everything from start-up capital, research and development, operational expenses and even the re-investment of your profits or the management of losses are included in this plan.

Professional day traders use their rules like a roadmap to success, just like a small business owner uses the business plan they wrote. A disciplined use of this set of ‘rules’ results in a day trader taking only the trades that meet his/her specific trading criteria, and nothing else.

Just like a small business owner would never buy inventory for a product they don’t sell, a day trader must practice discipline to avoid the trades that do not meet his/her criteria, and to only take the trades that have demonstrated the highest percentage of winning results.