One of the most important things a new trader should learn has nothing to do with selecting a tradable candidate or purchasing an option at the right strike price with the right expiration date. It's all about learning to exit a trade the at the right time, even when it's going the wrong way.

Face it: Sooner or later (probably sooner) a trader is going to embark on a losing trade. They will either buy a call option and watch the stock begin to decrease in value or they'll purchase a put option and watch the stock's price begin to rise. Anyone who has ever traded the market has suffered through losing trades, even greats like Warren Buffet or Peter Lynch have suffered through their share of stinkers. If someone tries to claim they have a 100 percent success ratio, they've either never traded the market or are simply a liar.

The key is to have a plan when things don't go exactly the way you wanted. Before getting into a trade, an individual should have two prices in mind: where they want to exit a trade on the upside and where they want to exit a trade if it goes the wrong way. The unwillingness to set targets will likely doom a trader to absorb more substantial losses.

Just as important as setting a target in case the trade goes the wrong way is the willingness of the trader to stick with it. Too many times individuals set those targets, but change them as they get closer and closer. Much of the problem involves pride; no one likes to admit they were wrong about picking a stock (or about anything else, actually) and believes the stock will reverse and go in the desired direction if only it had a little more wiggle room. But veteran instructors can cite chapter and verse about the infrequency with which trades reverse and go the way they wanted.

The best advice may be to set the exit order to stop a trade within your electronic brokerage account. That will make it easier to sit back and take a loss rather than be tempted to change the order because of some emotional charge that runs through your body.