Obstacles to Trading for Beginners: Lessons from ITPM and Anton Kreil

Most beginners fail at trading—discover how ITPM’s top-down, bottom-up long/short approach can help you avoid the traps and build real, risk-adjusted returns.

Why Most Beginner Traders Fail (and How ITPM Can Change Your Approach)

If you’ve just dipped your toes into trading, chances are you’re both excited and overwhelmed. One day, the charts look like opportunities waiting to happen; the next, you’re staring at losses wondering if this game is even winnable. And if you’ve stumbled upon ITPM (Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management) or watched Anton Kreil’s trading lectures, you’ve probably heard a blunt truth: most beginners fail.

Why? Because they fall into the same traps over and over again. From chasing tips on Twitter to betting too big on one trade, beginner traders often sabotage themselves before they ever get a chance to build real consistency. The good news? Once you understand these obstacles—and learn how to overcome them—you can move from gambling on trades to thinking like a professional portfolio manager.

In this post, we’ll break down the biggest obstacles to trading for beginners, highlight how Anton Kreil and ITPM emphasize avoiding them, and give you practical steps to sidestep these pitfalls.

1. Information Overload: Too Much, Too Soon

One of the first walls beginners hit is information overload. YouTube is packed with gurus, Discord groups promise “secret setups,” and Twitter (or X) throws endless market predictions at you. Before long, your screen is covered in 10 different indicators and your head is spinning.

Anton Kreil often highlights this problem: beginners confuse knowing more with trading better. In reality, drowning yourself in information rarely translates into profits.

The smarter approach? Keep it simple. Choose a few reliable sources, focus on structured frameworks like those taught at ITPM, and spend more time applying knowledge in real trades rather than endlessly consuming content.

2. Strategy Hopping: The Shiny Object Trap

Ever heard of FOMO in trading? There’s also “FOMO learning.” Beginners jump from scalping to swing trading to options because every new strategy looks like the golden ticket. The result? They become a “jack of all trades, master of none.”

ITPM’s framework stresses the opposite: specialization. Professionals don’t chase every shiny strategy—they build a systematic approach. At ITPM, students are taught to combine top-down macro analysis (looking at global markets, economies, and sectors) with bottom-up stock selection (choosing individual names with strong fundamentals or catalysts). This creates a structured view of where opportunities really lie, rather than just reacting to noise.

On top of that, ITPM emphasizes constructing a long/short options portfolio designed to deliver risk-adjusted returns. Instead of going “all in” on one stock or one trade idea, the goal is to balance longs and shorts, hedge intelligently with options, and generate consistent performance across different market conditions.

This type of structured portfolio thinking is miles away from the random “strategy hopping” most beginners fall into—and it’s exactly why professionals stay consistent when retail traders often burn out.

3. Poor Risk Management

Here’s a tough pill to swallow: most beginners lose not because their ideas are bad, but because their risk management is terrible. Putting 50% of your account into one “hot stock” or trading without stop losses is a fast track to blowing up.

Anton Kreil has been outspoken about this—he teaches that capital preservation is priority number one.

Professionals think in terms of portfolio-level risk, not just individual trades. ITPM reinforces this by showing traders how to construct portfolios that can survive multiple bad trades without catastrophic damage.

Managing risk isn’t just about setting stop losses—it’s about ensuring the whole portfolio is balanced, hedged, and positioned for risk-adjusted returns.

I manage my delta - adjusted exposure constantly. Making sure that I understand where my portfolio sits at any one time

4. Emotional Trading

Fear, greed, and overconfidence are silent killers in trading. A beginner might cut winners too early out of fear, chase losses out of frustration, or go all-in after a few good trades.

ITPM stresses treating trading like a business, not a casino. And in business, emotions don’t dictate decisions—data and process do. Journaling trades, sticking to a structured portfolio, and focusing on probabilities instead of gut feelings help remove the emotional rollercoaster from trading.

5. Over-Leverage and Gambling Mentality

Leverage can be a powerful tool, but in beginner hands it’s a weapon of mass destruction. Many new traders, especially in forex or crypto, blow up accounts because they’re trading with borrowed money.

Anton Kreil famously said: “Retail traders gamble. Professionals manage portfolios.” Leverage should only come into play once you’ve built a proven system and can handle the added risk. Professionals at ITPM learn to deploy leverage within the context of a balanced long/short portfolio, not on wild one-way bets.

6. Unrealistic Expectations

Hollywood movies and social media paint trading as a fast way to get rich. The reality? Trading is a skill that takes years to master. Beginners who expect to double their account in a month usually burn out or quit.

ITPM and Anton Kreil often stress long-term consistency. The goal isn’t to “get rich quick” but to build a sustainable approach where your equity curve grows steadily over time. Aiming for risk-adjusted returns is far more realistic—and powerful—than chasing lottery-style payoffs.

7. Lack of Structured Learning

The internet makes trading knowledge accessible, but scattered. Beginners piece together random advice and hope it clicks. Contrast this with professionals trained at places like ITPM, where Anton Kreil emphasizes a structured curriculum, portfolio construction, and accountability.

This structured environment forces traders to think like professionals: analyzing markets top-down, selecting stocks bottom-up, and balancing risk across a long/short portfolio. Without that structure, most beginners drift aimlessly from video to video, never building a real edge.

Wrapping It Up

Trading isn’t easy—but it also isn’t impossible. The obstacles beginners face—information overload, strategy hopping, poor risk management, emotional trading, over-leverage, and unrealistic expectations—are all avoidable if you approach the markets with discipline.

Names like ITPM and Anton Kreil remind us that trading should be treated like a business, not a gamble. By focusing on structured learning, risk management, and risk-adjusted portfolio construction, you can move from being another statistic of failure to building real, sustainable success.

So, next time you’re tempted by the latest “secret strategy” on Twitter, take a breath, go back to your plan, and remember: trading is about discipline, not shortcuts.

My Review of The Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management (ITPM)

I’ll wrap this up with something personal. I’ve been through the ITPM education myself, and it completely changed how I approach the markets. Before ITPM, I was guilty of all the beginner mistakes—over-trading, chasing random setups, and risking too much on single ideas.

This is my review of

By adopting the long/short portfolio mandate taught at ITPM—built on top-down macro analysis, bottom-up stock selection, and intelligent use of options—I was able to transform my results. Starting with $25,000, I grew my account to over $400,000, not by gambling, but by applying disciplined portfolio management.

ITPM doesn’t just teach you how to find trades—it shows you how to think like a portfolio manager, balancing risk and reward across your book. That’s the difference between surviving in the markets and thriving long-term.

👉 Discounts & Access: If you’re serious about trading, check out my discount links with ITPM.

FAQs

1. Why do most beginner traders fail?

Because they focus on chasing tips, over-leverage, and lack risk management. Professionals, like those trained at ITPM, focus on process and consistency.

2. Is Anton Kreil’s ITPM good for beginners?

Yes, but it’s intense. ITPM emphasizes professional-level portfolio management, which can be overwhelming at first. Beginners should start with the basics, then consider structured programs like ITPM once they’re ready.

3. Can I learn trading from YouTube alone?

You can learn concepts, but without structured practice and risk management, it’s easy to get lost. Structured programs like ITPM provide a clearer roadmap.