1) pick a market segment/stock etc. and watch it for 3 months 2) analize what entry point would be profitable. 3) judge your market within larger geo-political, seasonal, and macro-economic facors. 4) define an exit point/strategy...stop if necessary...depends on if this is position trade or day-trade.....but if position trade.....if you pick the correct entry point.....you really shouldn`t need a stop.....for example, even though pundits like kramer sai intc is a dog and going down more......i knew when it was at 16.00 a share I didn`t need a stop to buy that stock for a position trade b/c that was close enough to the bottom. 5) use limit orders for position trade and implement the trade. 6) monitor your trade while looking for future setups. 7) basically, know what moves your segment...and make sure you are on the right side of that market segment. 8) there are many more things but it is 3:30 am and i am going to bed....can`t find a chess game on yahoo at this time of night/morning