This was the same guy I and a couple of other guys tried to help but, we got chewed up because he cannot handle the fact that we challenged his claim to being an expert trader. He said he is sure he is going to be a success if only he will get a break. Or if he only had more monies! I told him, he is not the great trader he thinks he is when he continues to blow up accounts. At the time, he has blown up 2 accounts atleast, with $500-$1000 a piece. I told him, how much will it take to convince him? After he has lost $100,000? He was too arrogant for his own good! A very good, expert trader yet, he cannot figure out his mistakes? Let that sink in. The market is the best teacher! If you are arrogant, it gives you a slap in the face as many times as it takes!
^^^^^ This , a man without a plan is emotional .. Read Thinking, Fast and Slow Book by Daniel Kahneman Thinking slow is having a plan , thinking fast is being emotional . People dont think rationally when emotionally under pressure . You need to know what you are going to do before 'x' , 'y' , 'z' happens ... in the moment pressure breaks down logical cognitive function .. Become SYSTEMATIC
LS1Z28 & smallfil r trying to help you. however, everyone is different. what works for A will likely not work for B. coming from another emotional person, you really need a big slap in your face. you cannot see for yourself, the basket case that you r. emotional wannabe traders like us, first need to see this, before we have any chance to survive trading. to cure this.. suggest you get a cam & record your facial expressions + screen when trading. b4 entering/exiting each position, explain in detail to the cam your reasons. watch the playbacks & journal method wise, not everyone is systematic. as you r emotional, guess is you may be NF (intuitive / feeler) type. these fare the worst in markets when untrained. m NF. fan27 & PistolPete r right. stick to your plan (m guessing you do not have one) & 1% risk per trade of account. you should not be trading & m definitely no expert if you trade only a 1k account. & risk way more than 1% of a/c per trade. you can also never make a living trading a 1k a/c. you need 100k. 50k minimum, if you r good therexs still a chance for emo xNFx types. have turned emo weakness into advantage by trading own stops, on failed breakouts. also know weakness, which is systematic thinking. foundation trading rules will keep an emo close to the ground
You have to have been in someone else's shoes to know how it feels and it does not feel good to keep losing monies! I have been there and done that. Also, learned that being arrogant in the stockmarket, guarantees your failure! Lose the attitude. Only, when you accept that you have to be a better trader and commit to doing what it takes will you find success. Lazy people will never succeed in life nor in trading! There is some work involved. Smarter and more capitalized traders are in the stockmarket and you are directly, competing with them. Hedge funds and big traders who actually, know how to trade! You think you have a chance against those guys? Your only chance in the stockmarket as a retail trader is to trade with the smart money. What does that mean? You trade with the trend and not against it! Trading against the trend will give you guaranteed losers.
First, start with money that you can afford to lose. The moment that you start to trade, treat the money in your trading account as the money that you cannot afford to lose. Capital preservation is the key and keep working on your edge. Capital is the only thing that keeps you in the game.
Don't get nervous. Get pumped when you trade. Mentally energise yourself to make a profit like when athletes start a game. Get a weightlifting set too. When you get kind of nervous step up to the set and do heavy deadlifts to blow off the jitters. On the other hand, it's pointless to be calm when your trades are losers. You should be worried when you are not profitable.
Wrong. The foundation of any beneficial simulation/practice, is taking it seriously. Try farting around as a pilot or LEO or Special Forces or ER care or ......, and see what happens: your ass will be fried, *because*, when others need to depend on you in real time, your training will be crap, and you perform as you train. End of story. If the OP paper-traded for the last 5 years, but never took it seriously, they will certainly perform like crap. End. Of. Story. Oh -- but blaming "Sim"???? Laughable. Jeeez. Just to chime in of what's above: PLAN THE TRADE. TRADE THE PLAN. (and) TRAIN AS YOU TRADE. TRADE AS YOU TRAIN.
... and as soon as possible sweep your profits periodically to get out your initial stake. By working primarily with profits at risk, a different state of mind is achieved.