A loser hates to lose. He'll do anything he can do avoid losing. Which is why he holds on to losing positions (it's not a loss until you cover). Which is why he doubles-down on losing positions. Which is why he won't trigger his stops (assuming that he has them in the first place). Which is why he blames his losses on anything or anybody else (if they were his fault, he'd have to do something about them). A loser concentrates on avoiding losing trades rather than making the most out of winning trades. He will, in fact, turn a winning trade into a losing trade if at all possible. He cannot turn a losing trade into a winning trade because he doesn't know how to win. A rich source of material for the couch. --Db
I think a major problem with traders is being paranoid of being dubbed as 'losers.' Where do you draw the line between conviction and stupidity?? Many of the best traders constantly do things that are pegged by the trading press as being losing mentalities - including averaging down. Keeping a clear, objective head is the key. Even though the markets may do things that you view as being clearly stupid and wrong, the key is to see through the noise and stay smart, and use the stupidity to your advantage. Get bigger, or keep working the market, instead of freezing up. Just my take.
I never take losses personally and don't see them as a reflection of how good or bad of a trader I am. I do use them as an opportunity to review what happened. I think its more dangerous to let your wins get the better of you. To many traders get the big head after a few wins. And too many traders are also too willing to just accept losses. Either is dangerous to your bottom line. I always look a it this way. Since trading is a zero sum game and someone always has to lose for someone to win. I find it much more enjoyable to go out to eat, build my pool, take a vacation or buy a new DVD on your money than to know your doing something similar with my money. Nothing personal just business.
I don't even think about losing or winning. Your focus should be on your strategy and knowledge of how to win a trade, not the winning itself. Develop this attitude in mind: "move on to the next trade"...that is where the opportunity is at. I have developed a very stable and reliable, less stressful strategy on Realtick that allow me to win everyday. For those who lost a lot and want to get back and really want make a living in this business, drop me an email. I'll help you. post your email, I'll contact you.
right up there with taking losses is doing what I just did (or <i>didn't do</i>): Trying to buy, being traded through, and then watching the stock shoot up $1 in less than two minutes... or, coming in and saying, "I'm gonna do this" and forgetting to do it or getting sidetracked and realizing that the thing you were going to do was a home run. Alot of trading is how you handle disappointment, I think -- how you handle not getting your way, how you handle being screwed, or being temporarily stupid or inept (or more long-term)....or just plain wrong.
no; haven't been trading listed. just a wild guess. "it" used to happen to me constantly; that's why i haven't been trading listed...