There are a number of reasons Younger Traders lose, not a well backtested method, lack of faith in your backtested method, no idea how markets react, and boredom. I know in my own experiences, boredom has created much more losses than I care to admit. It is tough to sit here in front of screens and wait for entry signals. Last Friday, I had one signal, was a small profitable trade, and that's it. I had to sit on my hands and just wait. But I do recall in my youth, I would do "extra" trades that were not part of my methods. Those were the days trading the markets were exciting, not profitable, but very exciting. Now the days are not exciting but much more profitable, it is a job like almost anything else. You confine to your rules and just patiently wait. Play another game of solitaire.
Boredom is my biggest issue right now, and it costs me a bundle. I was burnt too many times not to rush in trades, so this is not an issue at all. Sometimes, I can get 5 or more signals an hour and it is easy, but when i have to wait for an hour or few hours for a trade, I just loose concentration and miss trades. Any tips on how to deal with this would be highly appreciated. Without significant development, not sure if it possible at all (I have solid coding experience), I can not produce alert sounds, so this also is not an option unfortunately. The only thing that help a bit is listening to music, but still not exactly. Thanks, redduke
Open a simu account side by side with a real one, trade simu to satisfy trading urge, and experiment, and iffy setups.
If I have new ideas, I do not test them during market hours because I trade. Looking at something else will definitely make me missing even more trades. I need to figure out how to not loose concentration while waiting for a long time (1 hour or more) for a trade.
It depends on personality. Someone may have short attention span, can not watch charts for more than an hour unless he/she is in the market.
Wait until you are an old dog like me. I recently suffered the shock of severely impaired mobility. Now I find that the pain and exertion of simply moving my old ass keeps me glued to the tube with a high level of interest.
Boredom is just an excuse for when you lose.. I have learned from the best and they will all tell you excuses can never solve problems.. If you have a problem then you can't solve that problem at the same level of thinking when the problem was created ... Meaning you have to think harder to solve the problem.. For example you might have to ask questions such as what cause boredom? What things can I do to not feel bored anymore.? This kind of thinking helped me out a lot..
Handle123, You nailed it. That's exactly the point. And I see there are 2 approachs here... It depends of your ultimate goal. I strongly agree with you that profitability can be achieved much more easier trough patience... However, as you said, it's not exciting. A lot of people come to the market for excitment... not for a stupid low skill activity... I am sorry to say it as hard, but it's the way I see it. The word that you miss is farming. It's come from the video game world. Farming is the reptition of the same activity definied by this : few risks, very repetitive, profitable... However there is a last word... it's automation. Farming can always be automated ( it's called HFT )... However, as you know, if it's possible to automate a process it's mean that you are living on a Edge, who will sooner or latter be destroyed. However there is an another way.... the one that only free human can see. The exciting way, the one that makes the market this place. To use an other world from the Gaming world, it's called raiding ! There are a lot of different raiders... However, you need the smartness of the farmer, and the freedom of the artist ! This is definition of the market for me. And furthermore, if you can reach this level, beating hft is so easy... they are farmer, okay quantum physics farmer using the latest probalities law and co... but still farmers. The problem is that the farmer are feeding on the raiders until... the raiders grow up and become a farmer or defeat the farmer. However the farmer is playing on his ground so it's easier for him to defend... Until the raider become water rhhaaa ... average life expectancy 66.12, number of sunrise 24150... do something else ahhah... you are a raider, right ? Always we are all differents ! Fleming Snopes, I really hope that you will be able to recover the mobility that you need. ( in today world we don't use the world tube... it's a screen. ) the way of the wise...
- Let's say you trade from a chart with N-minute bars. Set a pleasant audio "ding" to look at the chart every N mins or N/2 mins. In between, do something else such as listen to music, watch a movie, tune into espn, play guitar. - Inadequate sleep contributes to perceived 'boredom.' College students need around 9 hours per night. Younger people need more. Older a little less. - There is lots of research on certain foods that boost (and impede) alertness.