does anyone else make trades that aren't quite in the game plan... it seems that every now and then i make a trade that is more of a shot than anything else... if i would have done nothing i would have been much better off... it like giving the keys to the car to a kid who then rams into the nearest tree.. as i write this i think about what i am saying and something inside is screaming...you know better you putz... how long does it take before you finally quit giving the kid the car keys and listen to the guy in your head that makes sense...
I have done this plenty of times, especially when the day is hella boring. Trendy days, for example are the days I hate most. So I usually just put on a trade in the direction of the trend for the hell of it and see what it does. I seem to always pick a location where a pullback is going to occur and get out with a loss. Kinda frustrating, because I know I could have just not traded, but luckily, I don't let it get out of control. But I used to do this a whole lot more. I found that when the market is looking crappy, ESPN can always keep my attention, but it sometimes takes too much of my attention
I found myself doing that.. and then getting fearful of losses.. but Dave Landry had a great webcast the other week about just getting small.. so I've been trading with extremely small positions to get my groove back. I think it helps... the trades are almost not even worth making so I don't get too concerned over any specific trade.
Yep.. it happens when I get excited. Today was a perfect example. I'm watching the ER2 climb all morning, I *know* its going to finish strong, I can feel it - I get anxious - trigger happy, I make an impulsive entry rather than wait for the market to trade into my entry price.. I don't want to miss the move!, I NEED to do something!... All those wonderful amateur emotions ... well, the market stops me out 2 times in a row. I always cut my loss, no matter what I *know* is going to happen, so I'm down 1.5k at 1:30pm. Then the ER2 gets huge volume, the price spikes and this is signal I was waiting for, I take it for 7 points and make about 2k net on the day. Well, I still feel like an idiot, instead of waiting for that signal I became impatient AGAIN , for what seems like the 1000th time, I couldn't just sit on my hands, my impatience cost me 1.5k... and again I'm saying to myself "you know better you putz"
If I may engage in some amateur psychology. Your a bit of a gambler. You like to engage in challenges. Trading is no different. So, you take a shot just for the satisfaction of competing against the market.
mike 805...i think you nailed it as well as can be...i will never do it again...until next time... wareco...as far as gambling is concerned i really don't gamble...i think what happens is that you hear all these wizards ride the move like a master... you say i can do that...well you get stopped out and give it another go...finally you say...what the hell am i doing...
I actually tried to short the market when it was on a momentary upswing. Keep telling me myself, hold for only a few minutes. Held too long... But I caught the strong rush at the end. Still as a trader, the quest is for perfection.
i no longer make intraday trades. but worked in the pits for years. the amazing thing to me was that 99/100 when i took those type of trades i got punished immediately. almost like the world knew i was misbehaving. i guess it was a blessing. worse thing thast can happen is when bad habits get positive reinforcement....