After 15 years of actively trading the stock market, here are 6 things I’ve learned that will help you become a much more consistent and profitable trader.

1. Trade only fast moving trends.

Our ability to profit from the stock market depends more on this decision than any other: ONLY trade long-term, fast-moving trends.

Your trading results depend less on the stocks you trade and more on how quickly those stocks move from one price level to another.

Fast moving trends allow us to rack up profits quickly. It’s as simple as that.

2. Only buy stocks that are promised.

The second most important decision is this: you must ONLY buy fundamentally sound stocks that are also trending upbecause they present you with the safest buying opportunities.

Buying a stock just because it is going up may work well for you. For a moment.

However, by limiting your purchases to stocks that are fundamentally sound AND rising in value, your potential to build a profitable long-term trading business is multiplied many times over.

3. Use a proven input trigger.

Regardless of a stock’s fundamental outlook, or whether it is trending up, always wait for a proven entry signal before committing your funds.

A candlestick chart signal like a Bullish Engulfing pattern is a classic entry trigger, and is something you can often rely on to enter uptrends.

4. Confirm the uptrend.

By drawing a 20-period simple moving average on your charts, you have a simple method of determining the trend.

Never buy or hold a stock that is trading below a simple 20-period MA. For clarity, I color mine GREEN on an uptrend and RED on a downtrend.

5. Take profit.

Trading profitably means that we must take profits. However, taking them too soon means that we can leave a significant amount of money on the table unnecessarily. To lock in profits, use what I call the “Thin Blue Line” indicator.

The thin blue line indicator is created by drawing a blue 8-period exponential moving average on your charts.

SELL on a close below the 8-period exponential MA, even if your 20-period MA is still green and rising.

6. Buy high, sell high.

After selling on a close below its 8-period moving average, BUY again on a close above its 8-period moving average, PROVIDED the stock remains above a RISING 20-period moving average, indicating that the trend continues to rise.

This means that you can enter and exit a long-term trend multiple times, but you will be out of the market when that trend inevitably comes to an end.