Hello all, I have a problem for some reason I do good trades with good set ups but when the time comes to sell I freeze up! and can't hit the sell buttom I've lost alot of money with this problem..I love daytrading however if you can't sell for a profit I think I better stop before my margin calls really put me under I don't know if it's greed or fear of taxes or fear of winning... could you fear being a winner? Thanks for any help. Eddie
I do not day trade but have suffered the consequences of my profits turning into losses. Putting a stop and limit might help but it depends on how long you hold the trade for. I always immediately put a stop and limit after each trade.
Agree with SD. Personally I daytrade and each trade is executed with a stop automatically done by the software (original setup by me of course) In addition, I practise moving a trailing stop manually. Once placed the trailing stop, I dont remove it. Every now and then, I get stopped prematurely but I always have the option to reenter should the condition fit to my entry criteria.
Eddie, You should admit that at the moment YOU ARE A GAMBLER - period. You are in it for the rush and excitement, thats why you love it - and that makes you a loser. Quit pretending and develop a system to manage you positions and risk: then become a trader. No apologies for being blunt.
Use bracket orders: entry with stop or stop limit, target and stoploss are executed automatically. With stop or stop limit orders you will quickly find out if you are at the right side of the market in the majority of your trades as you get flushed in with momentum. According to your description I assume that you dont have a profitable set up or system and are gambling more than trading like another poster said. Target, timing and size according to your risk/reward level are the points you need to focus on.
===================== Mr Ed; 1b]Amazing pattern in any time frame trading, with learners[did it also MYSELF]. They call it gamblers ruin.I dont call it gamblers ruin, cause i dont think it is possible to gamble with stocks, call it too big a position size. Or call IT TRADING TOO BIG FOR BANKROLL!!!!!!!!! Or frequent margin calls is simply foolish/too big for bankroll; what some call gamblers ruin. Also Ed, the way it works, even possibly with a super unusual 90% hit rate; easy to wipe out, with 10 %risk per trade, easy to be wrong 10 times in a row,/not leveraged .LOL Christians call that a personal testimony.LOL 3c]Also was in military also, discipline was easy for me; but actually had trouble honoring my well planned stops , in heat of market battle.Fog of war they call it No, it is not fear of taxes,you have to have certain amount of profits to pay tax.Laziness is a lack of application of work. ========================================= Entering [not simply thinking about entering],entering early well researched sell stops, like $100 sell limit order................. Wisdom is profitable to direct.
Bat, I have read the responds, and I have to tell you the truth...none of them will help you until you help yourself. No stops, no signals, no money mang.., the reason for it is beacuse you can't follow what you see. I don't belive that you are a gambler, I don't belive that you are trying to lose. There are more books out there about trading, buying and selling, signal entries...but very little about your emotions in trading. Even if you went to see a psychologist, he/she will tell you to stop trading. If you find a good coach, a psychologist to assit you then that is a start...good luck with that. There are many things that you can do and that is to start training your mind. If you have a plan (not one in your mind) but an actual written plan that you can see next to you beacuse you have written on paper and the scenerios and outcomes that will be a start. The goal here is for you to follow your plan that is written on paper and not deviate from it. If the trade turns into a loss right from the beginning, check your written plan, if you have change nothing then IT WAS A GOOD TRADE! And when the trade turns into a winner, again check your written plan, if you have change nothing, then again, it was a GOOD trade. The goal of trading psychology is to build consciousness, not reduce emotion. If you can excerise your mind for 30 minutes before the start of trading and after the trading day...you will see some valuable results. If you have no outline in how to do this, there are a few authors that can help you: http://www.markdouglas.com/ http://www.brettsteenbarger.com Audio stuff http://www.directyourmind.com/tradingmind.html http://www.selfhelpexpress.com/public/93.cfm http://www.upnaway.com/~srusli/Trading_Mind.htm
bat1, Maybe you should try EFT (emotional freedom techniques), it will help with your mental block(s). Anyway goodluck www.EFTmanuel.pdf