Four things to check before you press buy on a gold trade

Four checks: right market, right direction, stop-loss set, lot size right

Still unsure? Send us a screenshot before you confirm

Most costly beginner errors are not bad analysis. They are slips made at the moment of pressing the button: wrong market, wrong direction, no stop. This ten second check catches them. Run it before every trade until it becomes automatic. It takes less time than reading this paragraph.

Right market, right direction

First, check the market. You are trading XAUUSD, gold against the US dollar, not a similarly named instrument sitting next to it in the list. Second, check the direction. Buy or sell, exactly as the trade idea says. Pressing sell when the idea said buy puts you on the wrong side of the move from the first second, and it is one of the most common slips we see.

Stop-loss set, lot size right

Third, confirm the stop-loss is set. Never skip it, not even for a quick trade. Every idea we send includes one, so the number is already there for you. Fourth, check the lot size. It should be the one we agreed for your account, not a bigger one because the idea looks good. Lot size is where excitement quietly turns into oversized risk.

Still unsure? Send a screenshot

If anything looks off, do not press it. Take a screenshot of the order window and send it to us before you confirm. We will check the market, direction, stop and lot size with you and tell you if something needs changing. New members do this all the time and nobody minds. A ten second check and a quick message beat a loss you did not need.

Key takeaways

Check the market is XAUUSD and the direction matches the idea.
Never skip the stop-loss.
Lot size should be the one agreed for your account.

Common questions

What should you check before placing a trade?

The market (XAUUSD), the direction (buy or sell as the idea says), that the stop-loss is set, and that the lot size matches your account.

What is the most common beginner trading mistake?

Slips at the point of entry: wrong direction, no stop-loss or an oversized lot. A short pre-trade checklist prevents most of them.

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Risk warning: This article is educational content, not personal investment advice. Gold is a leveraged, volatile instrument and you can lose some or all of your capital. Gold Trade Signals is not FCA regulated. Read the full risk warning.