Failure to understand risk/reward and why you're losing as a trader.

Discussion in 'Trading' started by Laissez Faire, Jan 9, 2025.

  1. volpri

    volpri

    Thanks. Very good trade!
     
    #271     Jan 14, 2025
    Laissez Faire likes this.
  2. ironchef

    ironchef

    That is why I could follow you.
     
    #272     Jan 14, 2025
  3. volpri

    volpri

    ok LOL
     
    #273     Jan 14, 2025
  4. Van Tharp, for anyone wondering, wrote "Trade your way to financial freedom" and "super trader", which cover the basics of trading systems and getting the human factors under control. Reading his books really burst my bubble of expecting I could predict the future and bet the farm, every trade. I had absoutely no clue about expectancy, max drawdown, position size, or even basic risk management before reading the first one. Highly recommended!
     
    #274     Jan 14, 2025
  5. ironchef

    ironchef

    I agree.
     
    #275     Jan 14, 2025
  6. Buy1Sell2

    Buy1Sell2

    Scalping is for the minimum tick size. No one effectively scalps from the outside. Rather, I think what you mean is very short term trading and are using the term "scalping" incorrectly.
     
    #276     Jan 14, 2025
    ironchef and Picaso like this.
  7. Picaso

    Picaso

    I count break even (+/-1 tick plus commission) trades separately from losing trades (up to 1R plus a bit of slippage plus commission) and fuck-up trades (considerably higher than 1R due to whatever - years ago moving the stop, etc., in the last few years usually from slippage due to putting on trades right before news/reports that I should have been aware of). Last year I had over 50% BE trades - and doubled my trading account (which is great but kind of sucks vs. say just buying and holding Nvidia or Tesla or Palantir or whatever with way less work) with a ridiculous low amount of risk and drawdown (which probably means I'm a pussy and I'm way under-leveraged :D).

    Personally, I don't care about % of winners or losers or be's as long as my expectancy is positive.

    But then again my approach is life-changing growth, however irregular, not steady income.

    But hey, to each his own according to their personality, etc.
     
    #277     Jan 15, 2025
    ironchef likes this.
  8. Picaso

    Picaso

    I did this years ago, it was recommended by Dr. Steenberger in The Daily trading Coach if I recall correctly. Lots of work. Useful for some aspects, but also easy to miss the forest for the trees.

    You don have much to lose except time and effort, so I'd give it a try for a couple of weeks and see if it's useful *to you*.
     
    #278     Jan 15, 2025
    ironchef likes this.
  9. Picaso

    Picaso

    I've travelled on all budgets, from backpacker's dorms to Maldives villas, and I've always seen the same set of people everywhere: the happy, the angry, the sad, the bickering, the lovely... No relation to their budget or profession or studies... It was always about the company (the people ) they kept. Kind of obvious, yet not so obvious to many it seems.
     
    #279     Jan 15, 2025
    ironchef likes this.
  10. ironchef

    ironchef

    Thank you. I will give it a try.
     
    #280     Jan 15, 2025
    Picaso likes this.