You'll first need to have a reliable trading plan before you can trade profitably. Almost everyone knows that. After all, your job as a trader is to follow your trading plan, isn't it?

While this is a shamefully obvious fact, you'd be surprised to know that many Forex traders don't follow this simple piece of advice! Not surprisingly, these are the same traders that usually wipe out their trading accounts in a short period of time.

Never forget: Your job as a trader is to follow a trading plan!

...guess who's going to write all this trading plan stuff?

You've guessed it... You!

Don't consider this a simple figure of speech... you'll actually need to WRITE your trading plan down, black on white, pen and paper. Always keep a copy of your trading plan in front of you (at the desktop) when you trade.

The trading plan is for a very good reason: it keeps you disciplined in your trades. There will definitely be times when your emotions will get the better of you... and it's your trading plan that's going to save your from entering into any "emotionally-charged" trades.

Don't worry, it's easy to have a trading plan; the difficult part is when you have to obey its rules (yes, always). Having your trading plan in front of you at all times will constantly remind you not to trade against its rules.

Every good trading plans must have at least these 3 aspects:

1) Entry criteria (trade setup criteria)

2) Exit criteria (trade exit criteria)

3) Money Management (maximum allowable open trade positions)

These aspects are absolutely crucial in having success as a trader. Please don't take them lightly.

Always keep a copy of your trading plan right in front of your eyes. Even though it may sound silly to you now, trust me: you'll start taking it seriously when it saves you from making a potentially emotional (and largely unprofitable) trade!