Some of these options are obvious, some you may know already, but take a few moments to take into account why these tips are so important and above all else, always remember T.R.A.D.E.

The top 5 tips for smarter trading when using CFDs & Spread betting

1. Trade with Confidence: Anyone can go into a casino and put £100 on red 12, but deep down they know it is unlikely to land on that number. However it takes a smarter person to be patient and consider a trade before making it. If you plan to put money down on a trade you are unsure of, expect to lose that money as well, on the other hand there is no shame in biding your time, doing your research and waiting for a trade you feel confident about to come along.

2. Run Profits, Not Losses: Be sensible when trading. Remember that when you trade stocks you are taking a gamble, so if the stock is going up, don’t jump ship too quickly, let it be. Saying that, if your stock drops and you begin losing money, don’t continue to watch it drop expecting it to suddenly spike. It can be hard to recover from a loss both financially and mentally, so don’t make it harder for yourself than it needs to be. Also, where possible, use stops in order to control your profits and losses.

3. Always Review Your Position: Although you should be confident going into every trade, don’t get complacent, review your trade regularly and ask yourself if it is where you would like it to be? If it’s going where you want it to go? And if it would be in your best interest to accept whatever profit, or losses, you have accumulated and move on.

4. Don’t Risk Too Much: One mistake bad traders make is that they think every call they make, on every trade, will be correct, this is not true. As mentioned in tip 1, you wouldn’t put all your chips on one spin of the roulette wheel would you? The same can be said in investing; if you set aside £500 to trade with, don’t risk all your money on one trade or you could be out of the market quicker than you entered it.

5. Expect the Market to Rise AND Dive: Remembering what was said in tips 2 and 3, don’t kid yourself into believing that the market will always go up, if that was the case everyone would be a trader and everyone would be very wealthy. Don’t forget, you can actually make money from the market going down as well, and the best example of this is when using spread betting.

Respect the trend a stock is taking, if a stock has risen slowly but suddenly plummets, don’t expect that it will rise again. Stocks can go down as easily as they can go up.