If its giving you the fear, then its likely giving others the fear, and you want to be on the otherside of the weak fearful herd. So use your emotion as your own market indicator. Conversely if you find your selve euphoric and start basking in your chair admiring your PnL its time to get flat.
Let's cut to the chase here: 1. Take some shares off the table with a small profit (since you state that most of your trades show a quick profit). 2. Set your stop loss, then stick with it! 3. When Jack Hershey baits you with a question, don't respond. 4. You state that you know it is fear that causes your problems and that you want to know how to fight it. (By following steps 1, 2, 3 above.) Remember, only you can prevent forest fires; and only you can prevent burning up your account. There. Now, send a check to Baron, made out to BSAM. I'm sure he'll forward it to me.
I second every point of this advice. Regarding scaling out, if you close part of the position at a profit and move stop-loss to break-even or very small profit, you have effectively a "free" trade. There no downside any more, only upside. Remember that watching substantial profit evaporate or even turn into a small loss is a part of trend-following. That's the cost of staying in a trade. I understand you do it because because you are afraid to miss a good trade. The next time you feel tempted to do this think of the potential downside. If you go long at a new high, the price may go all the way to the previous low before the trend continues. Are you prepared to have stop-loss this wide? Are you happy to take a loss if the trend happens to be over? If the answer to any of these questions is "no", it's better to wait till the next time the right set-up comes into play.
OP, A colleague asked me essentially the same question a week or so ago â Iâll tell you the same I told themâ¦. Nut Up Now I suppose you want more insight to what I meanâ¦.. Do you log your trades⦠Does the analysis of your log show your entries to be correct â meaning⦠You enter, price retraces (where youâve said you get scared and exit) then price returns in the direction you entered â more times than it doesnât â and obviously within the time frame you are trading If it does your entries (direction wise) are correct and only timing is off a bit ⦠If it does not â you have every right to be nervous and exit â and obviously it is time to reevaluate the when, why, and direction â of the trades youâre placing. In your original post youâve basically said it doesâ¦, that your entries are solid, but your timing is off a bit â and now what you need an easy answer to the mental (emotional) road block you are having Well there isnât oneâ¦. Either believe the conclusions youâve drawn from your log analysis (the facts), which also means you believe in yourself, and in your actions / the trades youâre entering (after all arenât you the one who placed the trades in your log that show your actions (trades) to be correct) â or you donât Whevever faced with the facts - our only choice is to nut upâ¦. Or not Now trade the facts â or ignore the facts and trade your emotion â your choice Trading perfection is not the goal, trading excellence (which includes emotional control) is btw I told my colleague to nut up because I know their entries are correct more times than not â by a huge factor RN
This is very good avice but I'd like to reenforce the only if you have solid structure. Trading is about solid structure and big balls.
Read Trading in the Zone. It will help you realize and hopefully conquer your fears. It helped me. You need to find your market's noise, or typical range of movement given your time frame. If it is 5-6 tics, then if it moves that distance, think about exiting or scaling back...but it is time to manage your trade at that point. Always have an exit point in mind, and when you get there, determine your actions.
"What happens when the market starts to hesitate and comes back a bit and stalls for a period I jump out only to see the market continue to go a lot further in my direction." = fear , emotions distracting you from following your trading plan You need to learn yourself of good ol' iron-fist discipline my young man.