reminiscence of(yet) a (novice)trader

[barjon]

aag

seems to me that you might be placing too much importance to each individual trade.

It's not a very good analogy, but the race your are in is a 10,000 metre one. Each lap is not the be all and end all and you are not bothered about falling off the pace now and then as long as you ensure that you don't fall too far behind. There is no certainty that winning laps will bring you a medal, but there is near certainty that if you fall half a lap behind then your chances of a podium finish are remote.

 

[aag100]

aag

seems to me that you might be placing too much importance to each individual trade.

It's not a very good analogy, but the race your are in is a 10,000 metre one. Each lap is not the be all and end all and you are not bothered about falling off the pace now and then as long as you ensure that you don't fall too far behind. There is no certainty that winning laps will bring you a medal, but there is near certainty that if you fall half a lap behind then your chances of a podium finish are remote.

your right,i am placing too much importance to every individual trade.
i want to win every single one of them even for a point or two or at the very least get out break even which i know is crazy as no one can win them all.
i am trying to break out of this mentality.
now i do think about where i would get out if i was wrong(giving it 15-20 points) but when that point is reached i cant bring myself to get out which is what i must start to do.
you might say i should place a hard stop when i enter the trade but from earlier experience of spikes which seemed to come out from no where hitting my stop and fading added to the anxiety.however i now know spikes are caused around news/market open/events which i try not to trade around(obviously events can occur at anytime without notice and some damn agency might upgrade/downgrade without prior notice of even mentioning they will be holding a conference)
point taken,i need to close out especially when i know im wrong and get back in at a better price.

 

[Shakone]

when i first started trading i had a stop of 20 but after seeing them spiked out repeatedly (sometimes even for more 30,40 as not guaranteed unless you pay extra spread),and then to see that spike fade really used to **** me off.so i stopped using them and cut them manually when the pain got intolerable.
but that was back then when i had less of a clue.now with a bit of a strategy(i think) i need to stick with it and bring myself to cut a loss once the bias has changed.
just need my fickle mind to remember the pain/stress/anxiety caused by holding on to a loser especially when the bias has changed and to cut it.
will see how it works out next week.

Yeah it's quite common. The stop is never the problem though. The stop placement might be, or the timing or direction might be.

It's hard to learn properly if you're sometimes being rewarded for doing the wrong thing. Use a tight stop.

 

[rsh01]

your right,i am placing too much importance to every individual trade.

doesnt this all come down to confidence in your system? that you can achieve x % winning trades at a profitable r:r?

p.s. similar to what barjon says.... have you journalled all your trades? if you do this, then you log TP as well as SL & then go through every trade & see how much DD you had & how much of the move you caught & thus can make amendments. is your entry crap? can you optimise the entry ie by drilling down a t/f? etc etc

 

[aag100]

all valid points.
i was using the 10min time frame which meant i could be waiting an hour or two or even longer looking for an entry and not having mastered patience and discipline,just entering for the simple reason for not wanting to wait(a deserved reason for getting screwed!).Even when i was right and up 10-20 points after an hour or two into a trade,the next minute i could be down again.Simply because 10min patterns can take hours to complete.I do not have the patience/discipline/temperment for this yet.
So next week i will be taking entries and exits based around patterns on the 3min time frame.This should mean i get more action,stop me from getting bored.And also cut losses earlier when bias changes because i havent waited hours for a trade,feeling less married to it.

 

[Liquid validity]

This should mean i get more action,stop me from getting bored.

That bit made the alarm bells start ringing.
Don't ever trade out of boredom or for the action.
Even people who generally take quite a few trades per day, won't just trade
at anytime out of boredom.

If you sit through a whole session and its quiet, in a tight range,
better to sit there bored and do nothing or switch off rather than trade
for its own sake.
Even better to understand why its quiet - not always a reason,
but sometimes there is.
You'll then know to avoid those days / times in future.

 

[aag100]

That bit made the alarm bells start ringing.
Don't ever trade out of boredom or for the action.
Even people who generally take quite a few trades per day, won't just trade
at anytime out of boredom.

If you sit through a whole session and its quiet, in a tight range,
better to sit there bored and do nothing or switch off rather than trade
for its own sake.
Even better to understand why its quiet - not always a reason,
but sometimes there is.
You'll then know to avoid those days / times in future.

your absolutely right about it being better to sit out bored but it is one of the hardest things to do.
by action,now i mean more actionable trades to act upon because of the smaller time frame and even then there could be days when it is best to sit out bored.

 

[Shakone]

your absolutely right about it being better to sit out bored but it is one of the hardest things to do.
by action,now i mean more actionable trades to act upon because of the smaller time frame and even then there could be days when it is best to sit out bored.

Decide what you want out of this. If it's excitement, then fine, carry on taking 'exciting' trades.

 

[aag100]

Decide what you want out of this. If it's excitement, then fine, carry on taking 'exciting' trades.

its definetly not excitement anymore and too much is bad for the old heart anyway.
nearly bored myself to death today instead.

 

[aag100]

week ending 6/9/13

trades points average
win 22 66 3
draw 2
loss 6 -65 -10.83
+1


old habits proving hard to kill.

 

[Shakone]

week ending 6/9/13

trades points average
win 22 66 3
draw 2
loss 6 -65 -10.83
+1


old habits proving hard to kill.

Roughly what was the largest you allowed a trade to go against you?

 

[aag100]

Roughly what was the largest you allowed a trade to go against you?

the largest loss i cut was -20.
however some trades went to -30 -50 which i doubled up on and managed to get out around break even.i can say that this was not just out of revenge but better entries around my strategy.
ive still taken trades when i shouldnt have thinking i would get out for about 10-20 points if they went against me and then not being able to cut them.
added another couple of ideas to my trading this week 1)trying not to take a trade when theres no clear direction 2)trying reversion to the mean-proving a bitch somewhat.sometimes it can revert from 10-20 points and sometimes it can go up to 100-150 points.
next week i'll be trying harder to sit out and do nothing until everything aligns with the strategy rather than entering thinking i'll be ok.

 

[Shakone]

Reversion to mean and adding to losers. I'm worried for you.

 

[aag100]

Reversion to mean and adding to losers. I'm worried for you.

awww thanks,I do too but less every day.

 

[aag100]

week ended 13/9/13


trades points avg
win 11 41 3.7
draw 3
loss 5 150(-30.-65,-46) -30
-109

sh**.still not cutting losses and doubling up on occasion.when will this sink in?????



week ending 20/9/13


trades points avg
win 23 71 3.08
draw 12
loss 7 -56 -8
+15

a little in the black atleast.didnt double up on losses and cut losses at 10/15 points only to watch them come back.it can be a real mind fk,cut them and you shouldnt have,dont cut them and you should have,they just keep going.but perhaps its for the better to get out,accept the loss,calm down and then get back in.
heard something interesting this week.a trader saying you are up against the smartest richest minds with the most advanced technology and trying to beat them.puts things into percpective.yet i still want to win every trade!

 

[Shakone]

its definetly not excitement anymore and too much is bad for the old heart anyway.
nearly bored myself to death today instead.

yet i still want to win every trade!

Ok, but now we've narrowed it down to being right based on your recent post.

So you want to be right. That's what you want from the market. The market can give you this, but it won't also give you money. It will take money to compensate for the cost of making you right. This is what you want, until you decide that's not what you want.

 

[aag100]

Ok, but now we've narrowed it down to being right based on your recent post.

So you want to be right. That's what you want from the market. The market can give you this, but it won't also give you money. It will take money to compensate for the cost of making you right. This is what you want, until you decide that's not what you want.

quite a conundrum.
now i have to bring myself to accept that i cant win them all and to cut losers early for a smaller loss, especially when i know ive gone wrong.

 

[aag100]

Ok, but now we've narrowed it down to being right based on your recent post.

So you want to be right. That's what you want from the market. The market can give you this, but it won't also give you money. It will take money to compensate for the cost of making you right. This is what you want, until you decide that's not what you want.

heres another conundrum i thought up while having my balls squeezed in a losing position - it waits for you to close out your trade before it continues to go in the direction you wanted.
just closed out -23.was up 19 having worked my ass off scalping 1s and 2s so ending the day -4,fk it for today.
anyhow,this -23 i had an opportunity to cut at +1 but having taken 1s and 2s all day i wanted more this time,even though the bias had changed.now looking back i understand why i did this.i was blinded by wanting more and stopped asking myself wheres support/resistence/energies etc etc.got to keep asking those questions,you cant get blinded with greed just wanting more.want more by all means but in the direction of the market,not against it.

 

[Shakone]

heres another conundrum i thought up while having my balls squeezed in a losing position - it waits for you to close out your trade before it continues to go in the direction you wanted.
just closed out -23.was up 19 having worked my ass off scalping 1s and 2s so ending the day -4,fk it for today.
anyhow,this -23 i had an opportunity to cut at +1 but having taken 1s and 2s all day i wanted more this time,even though the bias had changed.now looking back i understand why i did this.i was blinded by wanting more and stopped asking myself wheres support/resistence/energies etc etc.got to keep asking those questions,you cant get blinded with greed just wanting more.want more by all means but in the direction of the market,not against it.

You should try to forget these sorts of things. The market doesn't care who you are or where you got in or out. It didn't wait for you to close out your trade before moving.

The more emotional your decisions, the more you'll think the market is out to get you.

I also strongly recommend that you stop aiming for 1 or 2 pips as a profit.

 

[aag100]

You should try to forget these sorts of things. The market doesn't care who you are or where you got in or out. It didn't wait for you to close out your trade before moving.

The more emotional your decisions, the more you'll think the market is out to get you.

I also strongly recommend that you stop aiming for 1 or 2 pips as a profit.

im still on the road to enlightenment,havent attained zen yet.
believe me i dont intentionaly look for 1s and 2s.there was also a 3/4/5 and thats all it seemed to want to give me today.
i know the mistake i made with the -23.now its a case of trying to remember it and not to repeat it.one small step in the right direction - i didnt double up.