Friday, January 12, 2007
This is not trading
I had a frustrating trading experience today. I started of with a loss of $160. I was able to bring it back down to -$35. I just kept losing a little here and there and ended up with a $275 loss. On my last trade I lost $50. I basically gambled with a 1000 share trade. What ticks me off even more was right after I got out the stock goes up 20 cents. That tells me I have to stop trading for the day. My loss today wipes out two days of gains. I probably made all the mistakes you can think of which includes revenge trading, fearful trading, trading without a plan etc.
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6 comments:
I had the worse day I have had in a long long time. It was just a crap day for some reason. I was able to get a bit back in the afternoon but they were not pretty.
I suggest you get a book on trading psychology and have a trading plan setup. Either focus on a set of stocks daily in one sector, or scan for stocks with specific criteria. I can tell by reading that your problems right now are psychological and you sound like you don't have strong confidence in your trades.
Lifepost,
You are right. I have no setups which I am confident on taking. Everyday I tell myself to be disciplined and focus but I usually end up looking all over the place. Then I noticed how I missed so many moves and I end up taking trades when nothing is going on.
I need to find a good setup that I can take with confidence. The main thing I need to do right now is come up with a plan and list out strict criteria for a specific setup that I need to look for. Have the discipline to take only that setup.
Let's see what next week brings. Good trading.
OneBad,
I started reading http://www.amazon.com/Enhancing-Trader-Performance-Strategies-Psychology/dp/0470038667/sr=8-1/qid=1168750956/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-3145167-9584026?ie=UTF8&s=books I strongly suggest you start reading it. There's a lot in this book I wish I knew before I started trading. This book is meant for every young trader like myself or struggling traders. Your problems will not be solved overnight but it will help you with a plan. Just a suggestion.
My copy of Enhancing Trader performance came last week and I have finished reading the book. It was inspiring. I just have to take action and apply what I learned from the book.
Well you are clearly ahead of the game and proactively seeking change. This is awesome. I hope to learn from your experiences. While I haven't finished it (only on page 119), I am already jotting down ideas on what I need to do to create a professional mindset. Anyway, hope you will share with us some of your thoughts on your plan going forward. Good luck!
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