Ok guys i know what my problem is, the question i have is how i fix it. Now the problem. Ok, in the past two weeks i have been eyeing a beautiful set up, short emlx, jnpr and qlgc. the problem i ran into was, i was watching it intraday for the most perfect entry, i had the resistance levels picked out and a high probability trade setup was at hand, but as i was watching the stock go to the resistance level i just kept watching, it went a bit further and i was glad i dint short, but then i realized (after fact of course) it was just a few prints and the thing reversed! and i just sat there and watched the perfect play happen right in front of my eyes without my participation, and then of course i tried to chase it, waiting for it to pull up some so that i can still get in but it never retraced what i wanted it to, and eventually 3 points and 2 days later i got in. I just dont get it, i cant explain it why i just sat there and did nothing, its weird but i almost felt sick to my stomach - you know like when you take one of those hefty loses, but in this case there was no money on the line, i guess it was missed money and all the time i was wathing it for the perfect entry and then i just watched blow right in front of my eyes- i guess thats why i was so ticked off. So any words of advice on something like this, i guess when you chicken out on the plan, and cant pull the trigger?!?!?!?! It happenes quite often. thnx guys.
janko- I used to do that all the time...now I do it once in a while...I think its about confidence, having the ability to pull the trigger etc...I'm sure Tony has great advice for you...maybe he can share it here because I'm sure it would help many people, including myself. Take it easy. There is no spoon.
possible reasons for hesitating to pull the trigger: position size too large and causing emotion to enter the picture past trades were losers and making you doubt your system these have been my experiences:as long as you have a sound system and you are following it, your last trade has nothing to do with the present one & if you are constantly thinking about the money and not the setup the position size is too large. just my opinion
When I had this problem I found that lowering my position size way down really helped. After several successful trades I started easing the size up a little at a time. Pretty soon, the bigger size is just as comfortable as the smaller size was. Good luck.
janko =) the answer to your problem is very simple as is the solution.. but implementing the solution takes time and persistence.. first.. why did you not take the setup? there you were.. watching the stocks.. they hit your price level.. what happened next? they started upticking right? what did you do when they started going up instead of down as you expected? you associated that trade with a previous trade or trades that stopped you out.. =).. that is the source of your fear.. the solution is to adopt and cultivate a set of attitudes that remove your ego from the trading equation.. one of the most liberating beliefs a trader can have is that the market itself is random.. you cannot know the future direction of the market.. and if you cant know the outcome, then there is nothing to be "right" about.. also, there is a need to realize that its not necessary to know what the market will do in order to make money as a trader.. lets look at your setup.. what is the expectancy of that setup? lets use 60% as an example.. that means out of 100 times that you take this setup, 60 will produce a profit, and 40 will eventually stop you out.. so how can you know the outcome of the next trade? you cannot.. you just accept it for what it is.. a setup that over time will win more than it loses.. and it is vital to properly associate the times that the setup produces a loss.. you need to let go of the belief that losing makes you a loser.. its important to believe that if your system has a 60% expectancy then the 40% losses are not losses, but rather they are stepping stones to the 60% wins.. a book that i would highly recommend is "Trading in the Zone" by Mark Douglas.. it really helped me learn to approach the market in a more constructive way.. i dont pretend to have it all together.. in fact, just this afternoon i was talking with my buddy Commisso and he was pointing out some areas that i need to improve my thinking as well.. good luck and i hope this is helpful =) -qwik