Traders lose because the game is hard, or out of ignorance, or lack of discipline or because of both.

Amateurs look for challenges; professionals look for easy trades. Losers get high from the action; the pros look for the best odds.

Most private traders on a losing streak keep trying to trade their way out of a hole. A loser thinks a successful trade is just around the corner, and that his luck is about to turn. He keeps putting on more trades and increases his size, all the while digging himself a deeper hole in the ice. The sensible thing to do would be to reduce your trading size and then stop and review your system.

Many traders ride an emotional roller coaster and miss the essential element of winning: the management of their emotions.

Beginners focus on analysis, but professionals operate in a three dimensional space. They are aware of trading psychology their own feelings and the mass psychology of the markets.

The market does not know you exist. You can do nothing to influence it. You can only control your behavior.

Remember, your goal is to trade well, not to trade often.