If you want to make consistent money in the stock market, you can’t afford to play it by ear. You have to have a game plan, and you have to be in it for the long haul. If what you’re looking for is shortcuts to make a quick buck in the stock market, this is not the article you need to be reading. With this out of the way, let’s move on to the ten steps to consistently making money in the stock market.

1. Be specific what your goal is. Want to retire comfortably in your own small house, doing what you enjoy? Want to put your kids through college first and foremost? Want to buy a boat and sail around the world? Decide what your primary goal is and fit various investment opportunities according to how well they match it. Having a laid out plan diminishes the risk of you reacting to market fluctuations and making irrational decisions. They are usually costly.

2. Come up with a strategy. Stock market investing tactics and strategies are a dime a dozen. Any Google search or trip to your local library or bookstore will present you with a dizzying array of choices. Faced with such a wide range of options, you’re better off deciding on one strategy that you’re most comfortable with and that fits your style, and going with it. Leave yourself open to the possibility of making a minor change here and there but have those changes be the exception rather than the norm.

3. Weigh probable risks. It is absolutely essential that you highlight the risks your investment will bring up with a realistic view, not an overly optimistic one. The management system you choose must bring effectiveness and practicality to the table, so that you can bring the risk of losing money to a minimum, even if the investment turns out to be a dud. Also, it’s important to complete this step before looking into what kind of profit the planned investment can bring you. If you reverse the order, you run the risk of being so excited over the money you might be making that you could overlook some serious risks.

4. Measure profit potential. One way novice investors lose out when they pick stocks that are winners is that they want to make the most money possible by selling at the top of the market. The problem is, there’s no sure way to know when that time is. Your best bet is to have set profit thresholds where you sell to at least get your initial money back. You can then take more risks with the rest of the money. Knowing when to get out can avoid you huge losses.

5. Study possible alternatives. A little extra homework might unearth other investments that carry fewer risks or a better profit potential; or maybe there is another strategy that will make things simpler for you (and hopefully bring you a little more money in the process).

6. Scale the mountain. This step goes hand in hand with devising a strategy from the get-go. Every investment you make will have its unique challenges to optimize rewards and minimize losses. Anticipating them gives you a leg up that will allow you to achieve that exact goal.

7. Have your plan B ready. This one relates to point 4 and reinforces the need to have set thresholds, whether you’re riding a winner or have to get rid of an albatross loser. You absolutely need to set specific boundaries as to when you should get out of an investment, either to prevent you from losing on your returns or just to avoid losing more money than you already have.

8. Make the right choice. Investing is time-consuming, so before you jump in, take one good look at your overall investment plan. Hopefully, by then, you’ve been able to put together all the pieces of the puzzle and can see if the whole thing holds up and is worth pursuing. In case it isn’t, you can take solace in the fact that it’s easier drawing up a new plan than recouping thousands of dollars worth of losses in the stock market.

9. Aim high. So your mind is made up on an investment, right? Well then just go for it and stop over-thinking things. You’ve done all the thinking you needed to in the previous steps. As corny as it sounds, if you give everything you got, you’ll be a winner regardless of the monetary outcome. Even if you lost money, you won’t have lost that much because you’ve learned to hedge your bets. All you have to do is following through on your game plan and the long term benefits will follow.

10. Debrief. At least twice a year, take a look at your plan and how you’ve fared in your investments. If somehow you bombed and lost a lot of money, try to figure out what went wrong so that those mistakes don’t keep on dogging your investing efforts. Above all, don’t give up; if you do, then you won’t have any lessons to draw from those mistakes. Keep tweaking things until you find your personal success formula. Once you’ve cleared that hurdle, you’re set.