People say trading is risky. In my view that depends almost entirely on you, not the market.
There are three aspects that raise or lower the risk in trading. Handle all three and the question of whether it is risky mostly answers itself.
Key takeaways
Cover risk management, technical and fundamental analysis, leverage and position sizing before you touch a real account.
Use a demo account or back test on past data so that when you lose, nothing actually happens to you.
Trade only what you tested, keep your risk fixed, and follow your plan so the statistics stay in your favour.
Count the days you go without breaking your rules, because once the momentum is strong enough you will not want to break it.
Impulsive decisions lead to bad outcomes, and mindfulness through meditation is a very good way to reduce them.
Use a stop loss, cap your losses per day, and lock the app so it is hard to break your own plan.
The learning phase lowers your risk
Do not skip this part. Take your time and learn the principles before you start trading on a real account.
After you read about them, trade in a simulated environment first. A demo account is not real money, and back testing lets you trade on previous data with nothing to lose.
Think of driving. Getting on a highway with no training is very risky, but once you have learned and practised, the risk drops. Trading is the same.
Self-control keeps your statistics intact
Trading is about statistics and probabilities. If you go against the plan you tested, the entire statistics of your account change and you may not get the result you want.
Say you decide to risk 1% per trade. You have to actually do that. Say you want to trade a certain pattern. You take that one and you do not quickly jump to something else.
I have kept streaks like this for three years. Once you have done something for that long, no impulse is going to break it.
“Once you’re 15 days in, that momentum is so strong that you wouldn’t want to break it.”
Restrictions plan ahead for your worst moments
A stop loss is a restriction. It closes your trade automatically at the level your analysis decided, so you do not have to fight yourself in the moment.
You can also cap the number of losses you take in a day. Decide on two, and when you hit them you stop. Some platforms do this for you, or you just lock the app.
Even successful traders make impulsive decisions, and in that moment you are not thinking logically. So plan ahead and make the bad decision hard to make.
So how can trading be risky?
If you manage risk, learn, train, know what you are doing, and set restrictions for when things go wrong, the risk is low.
Almost everything carries some risk, and you reduce it with the right actions. A surgeon is risky untrained, and safer after years of study, though never risk free.
If someone tells you trading is risky, they are usually picturing opening a chart and pressing random buttons. That is risky, because it does not work that way.
Once your process is solid, compare firms on Propvator and pick one that fits how you actually trade.