Running a marathon isn’t easy. And neither is trading. It is important to start patiently and carefully. Use these steps as a guide:
1. Follow the most interesting events
Choose significant events that have a high correlation with the market - not only events that inject volatility. Volatility is not enough - even high volatility at a pre-scheduled time is not enough. First we need the event and the specific market to have a strong correlation. Then we need to pick a direction, and determine our stop loss and profit target.
2. Pick 2-3 markets
S&P 500, Oil, and USDCAD each have their own behavior. You cannot master all the markets and you do not need to. Achieving a slight edge in just two or three markets is enough to be a successful trader. I do not say only one market is enough because you would like to develop a skill that holds for a long time, and sometimes markets change, but you want your skills as a trader to stay relevant. If you can trade two or three markets, you can be more successful. The other reason to pick more than one market is that there are correlations between markets - many times one market is a leading indicator for the other. Once you will get the screen time with these markets, you will start to develop your own idea of correlations between them - which will give you more insights.
3. Start Small
After you get a sense for about 5-6 events and 2-3 markets that are correlated, you can start working on a demo account after releases, to get closer to the real experience. Only then should you start jumping into the water carefully after you develop your own personal system, with a strong grasp of the markets and the particular event you are trading. And when you begin, start by trading with a single contract and always be careful not to overuse your margin relative to your account balance.
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