Introduction

Tipsters are everywhere nowadays.

There is no shortage of these “nice people” who want to help you. You don’t even have to go hunting for them; they will call, email, text or even  WhatsApp you – over and over until they get your attention. If you ever opened a trading account, you would be one of the fortunate ones to get calls from them.

In case you haven’t figured it out, I am being sarcastic. I think tipsters are the bottom feeders of the stock market. They thrive on the ignorant and the weak.

#1 Nobody can predict the market

If you are a beginner, you might be wondering: How the heck can anyone make money without prediction?

Here’s a little secret: Successful traders don’t predict, they react.

Successful traders develop views based on many factors (such as Technical Analysis, News flow, global environment etc.) but never speculate that this is how the market or stock will move. They wait for the market to signal whether the view is right or not and only when they get a confirmation, they trade.

Now, these tipsters are not in the business of trading, they are in the business of fooling people. I would be surprised if any tipster opens up his ledger to the public.  I would be surprised if they even had a ledger to show. Their entire business model is based on selling the comfort of certainty that we all so desperately seek in life and dupe people out of their money.

They are no different than a snake oil salesman who promises to cure the impossible but has nothing to back the claim.

#2 If their tips make money, why are they sharing with you?

If someone’s trading accuracy in the stock markets is 99%, shouldn’t they be millionaires and billionaires by now? Why are they bothering themselves with calling and texting you repeatedly?

Isn’t it obvious?

As obvious as it may sound, a lot of newcomers fall into the trap because of lack of knowledge and to a large extend, greed. Why work hard and learn the skill to trade when you can get 99% reliable tips for some ₹2000 or ₹3000?

Remember that if it is too good to be true, it probably is.

#3 Trading is about independent, critical thinking

Trading is the highest level of mental sport and it’s not teamwork either.

You have to be able to think on your feet and decide which trading opportunities are worth pursuing and reject the ones that are not. In one word, trading is all about decisions. The moment you start relying on thinking for yourself, the game is over. Pack up the bag and go home (as hundreds and thousands of traders do).

However, if you are here to stay, start with being honest with yourself and put in the time and effort it needs to be a successful trader.