Many new traders start trading with real trading capital (i.e. making trades that place real money at risk, as opposed to make trades in simulation) before they are ready to do so (e.g. before they have learned trading correctly, using an incorrect trading technique or trading system, etc.), and by the time that they realize their mistake, it is too late for them to do anything about it.
Knowing whether you are ready to start trading with real trading capital or not is extremely difficult (and almost impossible for new traders) because of the psychology and emtional aspects that are involved (e.g. being under pressure to make money, needing to bolster a lagging self-esteem, etc.), but there is a rather odd method of determining whether you are ready to make trades with real capital or not that uses the psychology of the days of the week.
Monday Morning
How you feel when you wake up Monday morning is an excellent indicator (no, not a technical indicator) of whether you are ready to make trades with real trading capital or not.
If you wake up feeling content, perhaps somewhat excited, and looking forward to the day (particularly to when your markets will open for the day), then you could very well be ready to make trades with real trading capital. If on the other hand, you wake up feeling nervous, trying to think of an excuse for not getting out of bed, perhaps with a feeling of dread for what the day holds, then you are very likely not ready to make trades with real trading capital.
Your emotional condition on Monday morning is a very reliable indicator of how you really feel about your trading, not how you think you feel about your trading, and not how you want to feel about your trading. New traders often wake up on Monday morning with negative emotions (even if they do not directly attribute the emotions to their trading), whereas professional traders usually wake up feeling calm, and with a sense of pleasant anticipation for the day's trading.
Friday Evening
How you feel on Friday evening (particularly at the moment when your markets are closing for the week) is equally as useful as how you feel on Monday morning, but usually in the opposite direction.
If on Friday evening, you feel the stress lifting off of your shoulders, and you breathe a large sigh of relief, you have probably not really enjoyed the previous week, and are most likely not ready to be making trades using real trading capital. If on the other hand, you wonder what you are going to do over the weekend, and breathe a sigh of relief that Monday morning is only two days away, then you are most likely ready to make trades using real trading capital.
Your emotional condition on Friday evening is an equally reliable indicator of how you really feel about your trading, not how you think you feel about your trading, and not how you want to feel about your trading. New traders often feel a sense of relief that they have two whole days without any trading, and try to convince themselves that they will spend the entire weekend analysing their charts to determine what went wrong the previous week. Professional traders usually smile, and then either check the timetables for their weekend skiiing trip, or (if they more philosophically inclined) wonder if their charting software is sad that it won't be used for the next two days.
The Exception to the Above
While the psychology of Monday morning and Friday evening is extremely reliable, there is an exception that could negate the entire idea. If there is something else in your life that is more significant than your trading, and that could cause more pronounced emotions (such as your best friend having being run over by a bus yesterday afternoon), then your emotional condition at any given time may not be related to your trading at all. If on the other hand, the only other emotionally significant event that is occurring in your life is that you forgot to program your coffee maker the night before, then your emotional condition on Monday morning and Friday evening is most likely related to your trading.
The Solution
If you are one of the new traders who is on the wrong side of the psychology of the days of the week, the solution is very very simple, and is to learn trading correctly. Learning trading correctly will provide the knowledge, and allow you to gain the experience, that will enable you to move to the correct side of the psychology of the days of the week.
