No Dave, I was talking to the author of the post, so calm down, unclinch your fist there big guy. You're right our styles are different in someways, but I agree with much of what you said. ...Rennick
why dont you chalk this day up as one full of lessons that you should learn from. you completely disregarded discipline. didnt take small losers because you were HOPING for someone to save you. put on way bigger size than you probably should have. lost way more than you should have. how about you initiate a max pnl loss of around $400 or so from now on, as well as max position size of around 300 shares? think about it: how stupid was it to lose 4 times as much money in 1 day as you made in total the previous 4 days??? a good trader will learn from a day like that, a future ex-trader won't.
Dave, This is a great time to TAKE A WEEK OFF!!!! dont try to fight the market on monday and make it back...you will lose again. Take this week, go back over ALL your trades, revamp you plan and money management, CLEAR YOU HEAD...dont watch the market this week (becuse you will be thinking man, i could have made a lot of $$), and come back fresh next week, trade smaller, and have a good strategy. I am doing this right now as a matter of fact....going through my P&L to figure out what I have done wrong..and fixing it! We have all at one time or another had a day (or week) like yours. I have $7000 in loses since last may. $5000 of that was in one week! it was becuse i lost a little, then fought to make it back! I lost a bit friday also, about $250... nothing earth shattering. but, i am not mentally screwed up over it because i can figure out the problem. My position size and stop loss % were not calculated very well....so i am confident i can fix the problem. when you know were your faults lie and how to fix them....i think you will feel better.
Always keep bets small; always trade the same size consistently, move up slow and steady. There will be a time when you will know when to break these rules in your favor; your experience friday should clue you in on when those occasions arise.
That's good advice. The only thing I would add to it is to know when to sit out. Everybody has lost money. Learn from it and move on.
first, i'm not a fan of being lucky in this business. how reliable will luck be next time you're in the same situation? what if the system had allowed you to average down? what if it does allow it next time? don't let luck be what keeps you from blowing up. next, no need for self-recrimination. don't let it be a 'stupid mistake'. you've identified partial cause for your decision - stubbornness. you had a choice of fight or flight. you chose fight and lost. had you chosen flight, you would stand a better chance of survivability. you traded your thoughts, not the market. you aren't the first to do it and won't be the last. some technical concerns: 1. not sure what you were trading, but it sounds like your position sizing was very disproportionate to normal trading levels. again, luck can make this seem very attractive or very unattractive. you go so far as to say you were 'playing with' a 1000-share position. it may seem harmless, but how you write/think/speak of your trading can be very indiative of how you truly perceive trading. is this a business? hobby? gambling? action fix? ego stroke? entertainment? 2. in a single session you were willing to risk 12 times your reward ($500/3 = $166 reward per session; $2000/$166 = 12 risk to 1 reward ratio). even your normal risk is nearly 2 risk to 1 reward (max dd so far $300 / $166). 3. where was your risk management? opinions on stops are as numerous as there are instruments to trade. it sounds like you didn't have a plan for risk management. further, you need to really examine why this behavior was okay with you. it sounds obvious, but if you want to be a successful trader, be a successful trader. would a successful trader trade the same way you did today? if not, why did you? if he wouldn't trade as you did today, how would he have traded? why did you elect not to be the successful trader today? you have several crucial steps. stop doing what you did. discover what you need to do. do that. be conscious of some common side effects from days like today: desire to win it back, to revenge trade; trading scared; repeating your actions (a habit in motion can be very relentless; let your habit be successful trading). as steve pointed out, it's not the end of the world. it sucks. it may not be over. and it shouldn't feel comfortable. but there is much more in life. make sure the rest of your life is in check and that you're not trying to trade to compensate for things that aren't in line. hth take care omni
Wow.. you're just like how I was a year or so ago. -$ 8,000 on one trade etc etc... crazy... Lesson 1) Oscillators do not work. Lesson 2) must have a stop at all times. One book that will help you out enormously, whereby you would've been able to predict it was going to be a huge down day with 75% of accuracy is: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...f=pd_bbs_1/002-7740994-7956866?_encoding=UTF8
ksonsinc Actually Friday was a winning day for your progress in becoming a winning trader. The main gist of your post was you recognized something was wrong and you yelled out for HELP. that shows you are willing to get past the ego, very necessary to see the light. You recognized a mistake and are looking for an answer, GREAT, there is hope for you. Here is a couple of suggestions: trade small to learn, forget about making the million, that will not happen unless you learn to trade small in getting the necessary experience. RIGHT? Stocks trading is yesterdays game, sure some love them and are good at it, but stock futures are the new kid on the block. Daddies game is for investing and/or swing trading. Daytrading is with the SP, ES etc. TAX advantages, trading with the sharpest minds in the world, volume, strategies etc all..... YELL LOUD AND CLEAR TO TRADE THE INDEX. Good luck, nice to see someone be honest and willing to face up to mistakes. That kind of character is what is needed in this tough but easy/simple game. The psych is where the answers are hidden..... :eek: