I am not sure if everyone has experienced dumb trading mistakes. I have to admit I have many times. When it happens every time I swear I will not make the same mistakes again. But sonner or later, the dumb strikes back on me and pisses me off. Here are few examples. 1. sell when actually wanting to buy, or vice versa 2. place wrong decimal point in price 3. trade one ticker while thinking another 4. forget PDT rules and use up three day trades Do you make dumb mistakes? How about share them with me so that I can feel better. Is is possible for you to avoid them ever? How? Thanks.
Mistakes 1. not trading with an obvious trend and trying to scalp against it. 2. violating my trading rules.
Well, thanks bobcathy for your input. The two mistakes you gave are not dumb enough to me. In fact they sound smart. Now I feel more lousy.
So what else is new? I guess, I have made them all, except those involving the PDT rules. If you use entry apps (Auto Trader, Bracket Trader), you will discover a whole new universe of mistakes, partially caused by the apps that do not always perform as expected... They alone cost me some $500 (ouch!)
Dumbest trading mistake? Well, I didn't want to leave my screen, even for a moment. So I pissed into an empty apple juice bottle that I had just finished drinking. A half hour later, I was thirsty and grabed the apple juice bottle full of piss by mistake and took a big swig. Man, that was messed up.
Oh, I was just adding to the list. Of course I have entered buy when I meant sell. I forget I have an order in from 1/2 hour ago and it triggers in the wrong direction. I used to get more fouled up until I moved to Trade Station and a lot of that stuff is computerized now so I don't. See, I make dumb mistakes too
Don't feel so bad. These so called smart mistakes are easier to avoid than the so called dumb mistakes, it's just a matter of discipline, whereas the dumb mistakes simply cannot be avoided. But, on the other hand, since we are human, we are also bound to make mistakes related to the discipline. That's why mechanical trading systems are not that bad after all, except that, again, you have to be disciplined enough to take every signal, but that's probably easier than having to make decisions within a discretionary system. So a lot boils down to the discipline of trading. Nothing new, actually.