Thanks, I have personally found that trusting my system and method, was (and is) my biggest obstacle. I truly feel like when I am past this point, it will be a matter of "grab a bat, wait for a good pitch, swing". I am hoping all the demons of sweating out every tick will be gone. A big part of it for me was to see the big picture and trade within that. Pete
Post #327: I don't think it's us that we are newbies, it's ore the stock market, thec hart... ttrader
I found the best thing for me to do is GET AWAY from the screen after I place my stop and exit. Then use alert settings and a timer to get me back in time to tighten my stop or review my target. My system is based solely on the 5 min chart and decisions are based on the close of the bar only- so I only need to look at the chart for 30 sec out of every 5 mins while in a trade, and after tightening to -1.50 or sometimes breakeven there is nothing to do until target or stop is hit. The less I "watch" each tick the better I do, and the greater the level of ease and confidence I experience. Try some stretching exercises or something productive in your "down" time. You did your work in developing a winning system, now let it work for you! Good luck
Yes - I often go in the kitchen once a trade is on and do some cooking or make tea or do the washing up or whatever, and just let it run and look in every now and then just to find out what happened. Best Natalie
It took me many years to figure out my current trading strategy. I think the most valuable lesson that I have applied to trading that I got from another source was..."no matter how many books you've read, no matter how much thought you put into something, unless you are doing it, you don't really know it." I read tons of books but wasn't applying what I knew. The books don't mean anything unless you use them. I use to read Reminscinses of a Stock Operator just to brush up on key points, then forget half of them. Now, I take out the key quotes and review them on a regular basis. Your trading improves the moment you decide you want to become a great trader. You make a real decision. Tony Robbins was a big influence in this area for me. For years I had not done this. So, in my mind, I pictured what this great trader would be doing. Not only would he have a bookshelf full of classics, but he would go over the classics a few times a week if needed. He would have a list of trading rules, and he'd follow them to a tee. He would have a trading journal and write down his observations. He would constantly improve. He developed a passion for the game. His office would inspire him with stock memorabilia, classic newspaper headlines etc. Take it the nth degree. This vision gave me something to strive for. Above all, you've got to be really interested in this stuff. That's essential.
The biggest problem most traders have is not lack of plan or techniques (after all it is a no brainer to look at the charts and see when is a good time to enter), the biggest problem is fear of a loss, lack of trust in what one sees.