blowout? i was mostly trading paper and small lots. i don't understand how you can blowout. once you are profitable on paper or simulator, you switch to 100 share lots. profitable on that 2 weeks, then 200...and so on. nothing personal but blowing out seems irresponsible to me. if you know your system or trading isn't profitable, then STOP trading real money.....geeezzzz.....fyi...i initially started out trading paper and then went to real $$$...and then quickly switched back to paper when i 'admitted' to myself that i wasn't profitable yet. i think this might be some sort of problem with many traders when they start out....somehow thinking that without trading real $$ they are wasting their time. my paper trades are as real as they can get. and you cannot lie to yourself. i could have easily gave myself the benefit of the doubt on many trades, or reniged on some bad trades, but i wouldn't have ever known when i finally became profitable. in a sense, being honest with myself allowed me to learn what my weaknesses were and correct it.
awesome that is what i found....keep it simple, find a way to extract $$ out everyday...don't go for every move and just find where you can get high risk/reward trades here and there. try to get your charts setup so you feel comfortable with the indicators you have, and then see why these are just lagging price tools. after a while you will start to understand why price moves the way it does, and the tricks that smart money uses. good luck and NEVER give up.
Dude I wasn't refering to you, you sound like you at least know what you're doing. I'm refering to guys trading real money for years and still not profitable. Its not the loss of money that hurts, its the waste of time. All of that effort, what does it add up to - less wealth.
Looking at your thread, I now see I was right. Congrats Funky. You are now starting to realize, that you must BE A MACHINE CONNECTED TO A MACHINE. I've always said that if Mr.Spock were real, he would be the richest trader in the world. Why? No EMOTION. Believe me, I am the furthest thing from a "Trekkie", but when I catch some of the old episodes, I imagine him looking for good setups and trading while Ohura is looking for the right frequency. I and many good traders that I know, know when they have passed the point of no return. When you're trading all day, and you are in such a zone, that you forget what time it is. You're in complete sync with the market. It can get quite scary, you'll find yourself subsconsciously predicting what's going to happen next, and more importantly responding with "reflexive action". Some traders call this an "instinct". The trader's instinct is not inherent, it's cultivated. That cultivation is a process of fortitude and putting your emotions in check. I don't want to rain on your parade. I just want you to really absorb what has happened to you, and as you have done keep an inventory of your weaknesses and fix them. I get excited when trades work out well for me, and almost as excited when I'm stopped out on a loser. Why the losers? I may not have conquered the trade, but I conquered myself. Conquering yourself is what will make you a succuessful trader. Try this: 1) Make a list of your weaknesses. 2) After each trade, regardless of the result, write down what you attribute to the result. i.e. let's say the top 3 weaknesses are: not sticking to the stop, changing timeframes, and rationalizing (BSing yourself to stay in). 3) Work on one weakness at a time. After each trade you may find the number one weakness. Start with that one, by tackling it everyday. Once you have gone 5 trades without doing it again, the chances are...it's beaten. Then keep repeating the steps. I have tried this myself, and it's helped many traders. The whole key to making this work is to be honest with yourself. With that said, I'm back to trading. Be well.
Congratulations...I wish I had progressed as quickly as you, my path had a lot more blood down it.......and some hard lessons, but their have been some excellent suggestions here. I'll just wish you continued learning and keep an open mind, do not have an opinion, and "trade what you see" Good luck rttrader -
Believe me, if you have read everything at Barnes & Noble, IMO you have read all you need. The rest all comes from experience and taking your licks. Good trading is simple, clear and logical, and once you "get that" you'll wonder why it all seemed so hard in the beginning.
jai...thanks, this is EXACTLY what i have been doing for the past 4 months. i see patterns in my losing trades, things that i repeat without even knowing it. luckily by writing my thoughts in a log after every trade it just consciously makes me think about it later on. eventually i have gotten rid of alot of big mistakes i make in my trading. i still make so many! but it seems like they are getting fewer and far in between. thanks for the star trek reference ... not a trekkie here either but it made me laugh!!
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=278214#post278214 do a search on my posts and you should be able to understand my approach. if not, pm me and we can talk good trading!