Bon Voyage....the journey begins by taking the first steps.. Good Luck.
ducados said:
Well that’s what I like. Go out on a high note for my last trading day for a while.
I had a confirmed sell signal at 16:00 GMT on the DOW. I waited until it pulled back to the 34 EMA on the 30 min chart and shorted at 12219. I have just taken the exit at 12115 because it is a strong support level from 3 days ago. +104 points.
Finally a bit of discipline after all of this time. I must have been a complete idiot before. But also there was no real emotion on this trade as I new I am getting out for a while.
Good luck to all of you. Speak again when I come back.
Regards
Ducados
I had a similar experience to you about 11 years ago. After a great run trading equities I quit the job and bought a seat to trade futures and blew myself up within a few months.
I have been trading since I was 22 years old when I bought my first option.
17 years now down the track and I recently took a £130 K out of a single trade after a years worth of escalating positive results, it suddenly has clicked. I don't tell you this to impress, many will have done heaps better and for longer, I mention it to encourage you, that the rewards can be won, trading is one of the most compelling and tricky things to do well, and my journey has been one of personal self discovery.
It has truly taken me this long to feel comfortable with my plan. Despite a number of good spells in the black, I realistically have only become significantly in the black on my entire trading history in the last 2 years, and have written net cheques to SB companies & stock brokers in disgust at myself for 15 years out of the total 17years.
Smarter people have reached success a lot sooner. Don't recoil at your own failings and conclude the Holy Grail is automated systems, it wasn't for me.
In the end what works with me is very specific set ups with built in money management levels which confirm when wrong, I also exit if expected behaviour does not occur in a short timeframe, It suits my mental posture as drawdown physcology is a know weakness of my own, even relative to that of other traders. Despite this there are still countless other things I feel I need to refine and learn, the journey never ends.
Incidentally, the minute I left the day to day screens, I started making money again more regularly, till I once again blew it as I got more 'reckless confidence'.
It doesn't feel like work to do nothing when a full time screen jockey, but most of what is going on intraday is not easily tradeable. I could not help but get involved, intra-day did not suit me and I expect it suits alot less people than most people realise.
I would suggest you take a step back and look at weekly and monthly charts and trade specific set ups with predetemined entry levels, targets and stops that you write down before entering and adhere to regardless to regain your confidence in your ability to
'adhere'. Enter them all when placing the trade and forget about it, go to work, you are most emotionally balanced when square in the markets, after entering you attain an immediate physcholigical bias and look for affirmations for your position and procrastinate on warning signs.
The suggestion to Blog what you are doing or keep a trading diary is very useful for self discovery, negative patterns will be easier to discover and recognise.
Trade very small and try build a run of winners. When you are in the zone and back as a trader you will get the opportunity to increase scale, for now you just have to develop form, no hitting the ball 'out of the park'.
Something I also feel the need to do to counteract the 'limits of self ' is to withdraw large parts of big winnings as I have regularly run up to a certain account size before feeling I could become more 'active and flexible' about criteria and getting involved with more intraday type trades.
This keeps the concept value of the money, instead of just pips on the screen, many will have a certain level that they find as an equity ceiling they do not exceed, including Schwager of market wizards fame, while the level varies the net result is usually the same.
I trade best when I have to be frugal with account equity, especially as I will never fund an account again as part of my personal contract to myself as a trader.
Good Luck, your post shows humility and a desire to learn, like the church, your best 'development work' is done when in the gutter.
PS. as an aside one of the most dangerous things is positive enforcement for negative behaviour.
It is best in the long run that you did not make losses back when you doubled up.
