Why is it that whenever I make a mistake trading, it always ends up being costly? I made a mistake this morning where I went long on a stock that I wasn't supposed to, and by the time I realized my error, I'd already lost over $6k on it. Why couldn't I have been $6k in the black by mistake instead? Fortunately I'm still up for the day, but I was ready to bang my head on the table when I originally noticed my error. Does this happen to anyone else? Is it just selective memory on my part? I would expect that all trading errors would eventually net out to zero, but it doesn't look to be that way at all.
For all the losing traders- have a friend sit next to you and do the opposite of what you doing 10x more! ;-))
I guess it would depend on what kind of errors you make. If you are a good trader and meant to sell but bought instead, then I would assume you'd be a net loser on your trading errors. If your errors are random, I would expect you to net out even but down with commish.
Just like in poker, as per Rounders... "In Confessions of a Winning Poker Player, Jack King said, "Few players recall big pots they have won -- strange as it seems -- but every player can remember with remarkable accuracy the outstanding tough beats of his career." It's not abnormal, but you need to rid yourself of the emotion.. YES, errors happen...but when they do, the best thing you can do is GET OUT IMMEDIATELY.... Trading is psychological...it's a mental sport...
It's true. I can't remember a single instance where I made money on a mistake, but I can pretty much remember every single mistake that cost me money,