1. One of the biggest errors I see from new traders is that they aren't good synthesizers of information. What do I mean by this? They often have a bunch of long and short term charts with POC, VAL, VAH, VWAP, LVN, HVN, MACD crosses, stochastics, RSI, moving averages, etc. etc.,

2. and their analysis well just point out everything but not give them a particular game plan or edge. They end up not having very much conviction for any one trade, and mostly if they get into a trade, they're out for a few points or even less. If they get into a trade...

3. ... and it's a loser, they often will abandon their stop loss because one of their analyses offers near term support, so they hold out hope (all the while they're letting their loser turn into a bigger loser...).

4. Most new traders are better off using just a few tools to find a confluence of supporting evidence, then making a statement on what they expect from the trade, with well predefined HARD stop losses. This is important, because the only way we're able to...

5. ...test our trading successes/failures accurately is if we have a clear statement to test them against (think scientific method on this). I think you are MUCH better off stating your plan, then trading it, and if you fail, you will learn much faster and more deeply. Too...

6. ...many traders are like students in a peanut gallery, or backseat drivers (pick your analogy, lol) who have a lot to say, but don't have a testable hypothesis because they have no clear trade plan to test results against, so they wander from trade to trade hoping to find...

7. ...the secret sauce. Another reason why having too many indicators, or ways to measure the market at one time is prohibitive (again, especially for newer traders), is because the market often moves too fast for them to synthesize all of the information quickly and come up...

8. ...with a working, POINTED thesis, which again, provides conviction to be able to test your assumption about market direction. A lot of college basketball players who make it to the NBA often say the same thing: the game moves much faster at the professional level, and...

9. ...they struggle to keep up. The solution is usually DIRECTED practice. If these guys aimlessly wander (no coaching, whether it be self or other directed), they usually just cannot adapt to the speed of the game. Trading is no different. If you're struggling with...

10. ...synthesizing information, don't continue trying to evaluate the market using a multitude of methods. Stick with one or two, and when you find they give you the same signal, take the bet with defined risk. Don't be the person in the backseat of a car who can tell others...

11. ...how to drive, but doesn't actually drive. We humans learn best by DOING. So, get skin in the game, play small, but make sure when you play wrong, you get stung a little bit, and at the same time, have a working hypothesis that allows you to test against. #my2cents

12. Comments are, as usual, very welcomed!! :)

13. To add to this, I've had traders who've asked me to "teach me everything you know, Mike!"

I've indulged some of them. Usually about 2-3 weeks in, with honestly, about 3-5 months of non-stop information left, they exclaim, "I'm overwhelmed, it's too much information!"

14. I've said the same things to people over the years; there are no short cuts with trading. You have to layer your knowledge and be able to synthesize it quickly. One of the ways you do this is by repeatedly making your brain hurt while you try to learn things that you...

15. ...aren't understanding well. There's no shortcut. If you don't understand why deltas work well, then read something technical on it. If it goes over your head, read it again more slowly until your brain wants to explode, then sleep on it and try again. Rinse repeat.