You can't build a house without having the right tools. At the very least you will need a hammer and some nails, a saw, a drill, some screwdrivers. The same idea applies to anyone seeking to drill for profits in the stock market. You will need tools to help you along the way to make better trades.

The starting point is a great stock market education system. There's nothing better available than BetterTrades, which teaches its students how to be smart, safe and solvent while trying to profit from the stock market. BetterTrades stresses education and goes to great lengths to teach strategies to compete in the market. Plus, under the BetterTrades program, a student has a mentor to walk them through the process. Students are afforded an endless number of chances to learn and practice the material.

The education will put the trader in position to know which stock to buy, but the purchase can't be executed without a broker. There are traditional brokers who offer a laundry list of services and there are online brokers who charge fall less, but don't offer much advice or guidance.

The other aspect of making better trades is to have a quality charting program. BetterTrades students are taught that competing in the stock market without a charting program is the same as putting on a blindfold before getting behind a car's steering wheel.