Trader Tips
Dec. 14, 202014 min read

15 Stock Tips to Become a Trading Pro

Tim BohenAvatar
Written by Tim Bohen

Finding the right stock tips to follow on your way to becoming a trading pro isn’t easy.

There’s a lot of great info you can find online these days … and a lot of junk. So it can be difficult to know which stock tips to take seriously and which to avoid. 

As a trader, it could take years of practice and patience before you find success. But if you study the charts and put in the work, it’s possible.

There are no shortcuts, but you can use the smartest tips and tricks to help ramp up the speed of your learning curve.

So what are the best trading tips to follow? To break it down, I have a list of my top stock tips for you.

I’ll go over my top 15 stock tips to become a trading pro, which could help you improve your skills and become a smarter trader.

If you don’t want to dive in alone, come join the SteadyTrade Team. Every day we provide you with mentorship, education, and community to help you find your own trading path.

Let’s begin!

Stock Tips: Why Learn More About Trading?

Learning more about trading and using the right stock tips can help you in the markets and improve your financial knowledge for a lifetime.

You could become a whole lot smarter with your money — and learn when to make the right moves for your account. Imagine being able to recognize when a hot sector is about to break out … or when to get out of a position trade.

When you learn to trade, you could.

Stock Tips: How to Get Better at Trading

To get better at anything, you need practice. Getting better at trading requires studying, patience, and, of course, practice. So at first, consider trying paper trading or starting small.

Remember, you’ll probably fail a few times before you succeed. It’s inevitable, and no trader wins every single trade. Along the way, you’ll make many mistakes and lose out on opportunities. 

That’s OK. The key is to study and to learn from your mistakes. That’s how you avoid making them again.

Be patient and understand that when it comes to trading, whether it’s growing a small account or building long-term positions, it takes time.

Try using the stock tips below in your daily strategies to improve your skills as a trader.

So with that being said, let’s jump in…

Hot Stock Tips to Become Better at Trading

#1: Use Top Trading Tools

Technology is amazing. I’m kinda jealous newer traders get to take advantage of what’s available to us today. 

Using the right trading tools could help improve your skills.

I think you can’t do better than the StocksToTrade platform. It offers some of the best trading tools available now. It’s loaded with streamlined charts, scanners, watchlists, indicators, and more. Plus it’s got a Twitter feed!

These tools are incredible and built in to help make the trading day easier. Take them for a spin — start your 14-day trial of StocksToTrade for just $7 today!

#2: Don’t Fight the Market

In our SteadyTrade Team mentorship program, we talk about this a lot … Trade with the flow of the market trend.

Trading with the market trend basically means you play to the strength of a stock’s momentum.

For example, if a stock’s sinking, don’t try to buy the dip until you’re confident the stock will reverse course or it’s reached its bottom.

And if a stock’s trending up for a while, don’t try to short it. 

Trading with the trend can be a great way to help lower your risk.

#3: Stick to What You Know

In every trade, there’s a winner and a loser. You want to do everything you can to come out on top.

So if you have a setup or a strategy that’s working — stick with it. Refine it.

It may not be perfect, and you may have to adjust your strategy as this crazy market continues to run wild, but that’s OK!

Don’t go blowing up your account trying to work out a new strategy. Always try to stay focused and adjust to the growing trends in this volatile market. 

There may be new opportunities that pique your interest. And you may be forced to adjust your game plan and create a new strategy as the market shifts.

So start small or paper trade new setups or strategies to get into gear.

4 Top Stock Market Tips

#1: Understand “Bullish” vs. “Bearish” Markets

What does a bullish or bearish market mean to traders?

Simply put, a bullish market is market traders believe will climb higher. A bearish market is one that traders believe will trend downward. You can apply this same logic to individual stocks or sectors, too. 

It’s important to understand these concepts. They’re used often in the trading world and could drastically alter the way you should adjust your trading strategy

Trading in a bullish market is much different than trading in a bearish market.  

#2: Be Willing to Adapt

Markets are cyclical and can be quite volatile at times — so you need to be prepared!

No one wants the market to go down. But when it does happen, there’s no need to panic. Like most things in life, markets move in cycles. There are good times and bad times. 

What you need to know, as a trader, is how to adapt to any change in the economy. You need to be aware of what the market is offering. 

When facing adversity in the market, try to change your trading strategy or use different trading tactics. 

Don’t panic and never trade for the sake of trading. The key to being a smart trader is patience. Wait for the right opportunities that fit your criteria.

Remember, sometimes the best trade is no trade at all!

# 3: Read the News

As I mentioned above, stock markets can be incredibly volatile.

In the 2020 market, we’ve had to deal with a global pandemic, a hotly contested presidential election, and so much more…

Events like these can drastically affect markets. So as a trader, you should always be prepared. I get up at 4:30 a.m. every morning to read the news and prepare for the day!

Every smart trader should be on the lookout for world events, business news, hot sectors, emerging trends, and more. 

Want to know the “secret” traders use to find stocks that are about to EXPLODE? It’s our brand-new Breaking News Chat feature! Get breaking news early to help you find the hottest stocks to trade.

# 4: Avoid Extended Hours Trading

If you’re a new trader, I’d avoid trading in premarket or after hours. Heck, I’d avoid it altogether.

Pre-market occurs from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and after-hours takes place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. (all times Eastern).

There could be big breakouts in the premarket, but it’s a lot harder to navigate. Stocks become much more volatile — and, with less volume, much harder to trade.

Stay away from extended-hours trading. I think it’s an unnecessary risk. Use that time to see what’s moving and build your plans instead.

4 Stock-Buying Tips

#1: Look for Hot Sectors

No doubt 2020 has been a crazy year for trading. So many stocks in so many different industries entered the spotlight this year.

Pandemic plays, electric vehicle plays, and so much more … we watched so many hot sectors run. And stocks in these sectors saw incredible gains.

With so much volatility and potential, why look elsewhere?

Avoid playing guessing games. Focus on the hot sectors. This is where you’ll find the stocks with the most volume, the biggest news, and the most potential to take off. Plus, you can always look for sympathy plays.

#2: Lock in Your Strategy

When preparing to buy a stock to trade, first make sure you have your strategy down. You should know what your game plan is before making any moves. 

What kind of trade are you executing? Is it a day trade, swing trade, or position trade?

Ask yourself what your goal is with this trade and what your entry/exit strategy is. Be sure to study the patterns so you know when to make your move.

The last thing you want to do is buy a stock without a plan or preparing and make a last-minute panic move. You might as well flush your money down the toilet.

#3: Watch the Stock

When you’ve found a stock you’d like to trade, study it. Research the company and learn everything you can.

Study the chart, find its Twitter page — heck, google the office address! It may seem crazy, but do you really want to trade the stock of a company working out of the middle of nowhere or a storage unit? Probably not.

Don’t rely on Twitter or Reddit chat rooms to make your picks for you! Do your own research, use your own strategy. Don’t be a follower.

# 4: Execute Your Plan

Once you’ve done your homework and recognize an entry point, remember to stay focused and stick to your guns. 

To be a smarter trader, you need to follow a strategy and execute. Know when to get in and when to get out. Don’t hesitate or make a last-minute change on emotion.

A good rule to follow is to take the emotion out of a trade. More on that a bit later…

If you’ve put in the time, studied the charts, and prepared your trading strategy, you’re on the right track. 

4 Trading Tips for Beginners

#1: You Can’t Trade ‘em All!

It’s true … When you see so many big stock moves like in this wild market, it’s hard to know where to focus on and what to avoid.

The market in 2020 has been the hottest I’ve ever seen. It could continue trending into 2021

If you miss out on a big play, another is right around the corner. So be selective. Pick the stocks that best fit your trading strategy and your account. Don’t be greedy.

The more opportunities you have to succeed will also mean the more opportunities you will have to fail. If you’re not careful, you could easily blow up your account.

Focus on a select few stocks to get yourself started.

If you need help choosing which big gainers of the day to focus on, come hang with me in my live premarket sessions at 8:30 a.m. Eastern — here’s how.

#2: Log Your Progress

If you’ve been reading these blog posts or watching any of the hundreds of free videos on our YouTube Channel, you’ve probably heard me mention the importance of tracking your trades.

Keeping a trading journal is key to growing and developing your skills. 

This is how you track your progress. You have to constantly view your past trades, wins/losses, and strategies. Then you can adjust your new and existing trading strategies accordingly. 

It’s especially critical for you to track your trades in a hot market when stocks are flying everywhere.

#3: Take Your Profits

Never be afraid to take profits too early. This is perhaps the most important stock tip I can offer new traders.

When it comes to trading, It’s always better to get out early … than never getting out at all. You don’t want to get stuck in a trade and hold for too long — that’s what we call bag holding.

When the market’s volatile and moving fast, you could lose your gains fast. Sometimes too much patience can hurt you. 

Remember, it’s a trader’s market right now. If things are going well, set reasonable profit targets and remember to take profits!

#4: Control Your Emotions

Trading stocks can be quite an emotional rollercoaster. I should know — I’ve been doing this for 15 years. This year is no exception… 

In fact, it’s been the craziest so far!

To last in the markets, you should try to keep your emotions out of your trades. Avoid buying or selling on impulse.

If you take a loss on a stock, walk away. Only look back to find out what went wrong. Everyone loses. It happens, even to the best of us. Try to avoid looking at what you could have made. That can have an impact on future trades and your mindset.

Instead, develop a solid trading plan with rules, guidelines, and entry and exit points. Trade with discipline. 

Don’t panic and don’t get caught up in the hype.

Conclusion

Well … that’s a wrap on my 15 stock tips to help you become a trading pro. Follow these tips as you grow and develop your trading skills. But remember, your education in the market never ends.

You have to continue to build skills and adapt to what the market gives you. 

Understand you’re going to make mistakes, so don’t shy away from them. Learn from them! Be ready to do the hard work and stay consistent. 

If you’re looking for more stock tips, check out our free blog posts right here on the StocksToTrade website and the free videos we post to YouTube

Also, be sure to check out episodes of our SteadyTrade podcast. We dive deeper into trading tips, chart patterns, market concepts, and more every week!

And of course, give yourself the biggest advantage by using the StocksToTrade platform every single day. I could list every feature, but I think you should see it for yourself. Find out how our platform can help you — get your 14-day trial of StocksToTrade for just $7 today!

What stock tips are you following to become a trading pro? Leave a comment!