Personal trading weaknesses and how to cure them ?

[CityTrader]

Kevin546- excellent post
Alanb - remmeber, you always have to leave something for the next guy - don't expect to hit the top...

 

[smileypete]

alanb41252,

Do you set targets for your trades?

Pete.

 

[alanb41252]

Yes I do set targets but I have this great ability to pull the trigger before I get there.

 

[kevin546]

Alan

One must ask if you have set targets to help why do you close before reaching them. Is it something to do with the price action, if so does it repeat itself each time you have felt the need to pull the trigger.

If this is the case then start (if you have not already done so) to keep copies of the charts when you were forced to close early. Look at the action that followed and see if any comparisons can be found for you to look for in the future to help you.

Do the same for all cases where the price has turned against you so that you will have specific signals to look for. If you do not see the same or similar set-up before a target is reached then it may help you to reach your target before pulling the plug.

Of course there could be another problem, are your targets realistic.

Kevin

 

[china white]

alan

my remedy if i may. i trade mostly ES and on regular trades i just punch in a 0.3% = 3.25 pts trailing stop which pretty much covers all big moves even without me watching it

i jump out of a winning position only when i c evidence to do so which in my system is either 1st hour pivot argument or tick divergence sequence.

now - yes i do scalps on tick divergencies. on scalps i am rigidly 1.5 pts stop-loss, 1.5 pts target. since tick skews odds in your favour the expected payout of such a scalp is i'd say 0.75 - 1 pt.

try this: when u jump out too early - reenter along your initial trade. even w/o scalping u may get a better entry and stay in the trade.