1.) Take a break from the markets. Whenever i have a bad streak I step away and get a grip. I come back when I'm ready and usually do much better. 2.) Trade smaller lots. That always helps reduce risk. 3.) Paper trade. Call out trades, write them down, set your stops and follow it. This way, you don't lose any money but get the feel for it. In fact, this method helped me really learn how to trade after I grinded my first account down from $30K to parking meter money. 4.) Find a mentor. There are people out there who are good traders.....go find one that is successful and ask them to help you out. 5.) Find a trading room. With today's technology and the internet, you can hang out in a trading room during the day. I am a moderator of a chat room myself, and it is great. The more eyes on the markets the better. ( I am not posting a link here to my room because I'm not here to sell anything.....if you anyone is interested then send me an email to bbraunstein@att.net and I'll send you the link). 6.) Save your money and build your account up to 25k. Even 30k so you can have a cushion. With those new stupid SEC rules, it is almost impossible to trade without at least 25k. Good luck to everyone and happy trading! BB
Janko: Just a couple of points and suggestions: -> At the CME I observed many people start their trading carrer and a nontrivial number of them took more than a year to hit their stride: that is devise a trading strategy that works for them. Thus, a year without tremendous success is not necessarily a problem. The fact that you haven't washed out in a year is actually a positive. -> In my experience you cant be scared to take a loss: one of the first excercises a new CME member typically encountered was this: A mentor vertran broker took them out on the trading floor and had them execute a losing trade. The point was, take you losses with grace when they need to be taken and set up for the next winning trade. Get over taking losses: they happen. Just dont wash your self out by taking large poor risks relative to your capital. -> The idea that others suggested regarding finding a mentor is important: you need to talk with successful traders. I learned from experts at the CME but I was on the trading floor. Of the floor I am not sure what the best route to finding a mentor would be ....
I am a Christian, so I ask the Lord for guidance and then go forward. If you have sought His gudanse, He will close the door if He doesn't want you in the room. After the above, you must ask yourself if you are happy trading. Everyone goes thru the learning curve. As long as you don't have a problem cutting your losses quickly relative to the time frame you trade, go for it. If you're happy.