Flashboy, No matter what anyone in here tells you this is what every trader faces day in day out. I always say that we are ALL just ONE trade away from being bankrupt. Many men much smarter then you and I have made Millions only to give it all back EVEN the greatest traders of all time. Livermore/Dennis/Schwartz Answers to this part of the business will not be found easily here in ET trust me. A lot of the traders in here think they are superstars because they've been around for 2-7 years but the ones that i pay most attention to are the ones with over 20 years experience and still trading for a living. That's about 5 people that qualify in ET. Look for them and ask their opinions.
You have to have the psychological makeup to follow it though and if not doesn't matter how good the system is you will lose money..
It sounds like you have a lot of built up emotions & frustrations regarding the roller coaster ride you've apparently been on. I'd guess that after you hit a losing streak you have negative emotions that may be adversely influencing your trading. Perhaps you're forcing trades and trying to make back the lost money too quickly. What do you do DIFFERENTLY when you have winning weeks (days) versus the losing weeks? Have you sat down and reviewed your trades, both the profitable weeks and the losing weeks? What has been the market behavior in those weeks? Do you make more money on the long side or short side? When I started full time 10 years ago I kept a journal of my trades so that I could do some analysis when things went bad. I don't think one can trade well when they have distractions (i.e. frustration) floating around in their mind. You can't be focused 100% with such distractions. When I hit losing streaks I continue to trade but reduce my size until I'm feeling the confidence return.
STOP! You just answered your question as to why you lose right here. Read it again. Then fix it. You can do it - good luck.
I do have a lot of emotions floating around right now.. I live near New Orleans and we lost everything in the hurricane.. Had water into the attic for 5 days and everything we owned is ruined.. Had to move in with my parents temporarily cause waiting on insurance money and the housing market around here is in very high demand.. But I've been through this same scenario of giving it all back at least 20 times over the last 3 years so I can't blame it on my current situation.. although I"m sure it doesn't help..
That's where you are wrong. Winning has NOTHING to do with what you are feeling. It is all about KNOWING. It might take you another 5 to 10 years. (No kidding).
Flash..... I believe you posted this same type thread about a year ago. This may sound hard, but it just may be time for you to move on with your life.
Have you analyzed what's happening in the 20 times you've given it all back? We all make mistakes in trading ... but learning from them is what gets you to the next level.
I feel ya man we all encounter frustration and a guy could make a mint and still feel it when the environment changes. Context is always the problem whether intraday or year to year. Today is different from yesterday and yesterday was different from all the rest, and tomorrow and the next. Method doesn't mean mechanical and the words "rules or code" or whatever tend to imply that the market has finite structure but if it did there would be no market. So discretionary trading anyway must be about perception within soft guidelines and the discipline to trade in context. Not the other way around.