I've got to stop trading.. I've been bleeding since July and can't get it to stop.. I keep making the same mistakes day in and day out and I can't figure out why.. I tell myself every morning today is going to be different.. going to be patient.. wait for my trades to set up.. only to lose control as the day goes by.. I am not disciplined enough to trade.. and I'm just about out of capital.. This is the 4th time I've blown my account.. I've managed to lose $4,500 since the 18th of July.. one month basically My problems are psychological.. I think I feel deep inside that I can never be successful at anything.. that I'm destined to be a failure.. I've never been self confident with anything I've done I'm tired of whining about my problems here too.. so.. sorry to keep making these pathetic posts.. Hope everyone else is trading well.. Jeff
Why dont u stop daytrading and consider other types of trading. Maybe you would be a better position trader or swing trader. Daytrading is not the only way to trade and make money. Also try staying away from highly leveraged instruments. --MIKE
I used to trade commodities and basically did the same thing.. I just started daytrading in April of this year.. before that.. swing trading in just about everything..
What think? Are you or are you not. That is all, for as the wise men have said, "know thyself." Your problem is a common one though and not one to be taken lightly. It is not a trading problem it is a problem of life. That is all, for as the wise men have said, "Our lives are our great depression." The difficulty with trading failure is the intangible nature of the pain you experience. When you lose it is a blip on a screen - it isn't real, it isn't money leaving your pocket, it isn't falling down a flight of stairs. This too is the problem with our lives - there is much pain but none that we face. And so our minds weaken and deteriorate into a non-commital jelly - unable to risk and unable to face suffering. Wake up and smell the Starbucks - and then throw your latte into the trash. Do your homework. That is all, for as the wise men have said, "pick a fight with a complete stranger, and lose."
I posted this elsewhere a day or so ago. It may be helpful, particularly if you remember that even though you may have experience trading, switching to a different type of trading, while not the same as starting from scratch, still presents many of the pitfalls that the usual newbie will encounter: If you're still trying to "find your way", I suggest you forget about discretionary trading for the time being as it requires a certain subjectivity that new and newish traders just aren't capable of indulging in. First, find a profitable strategy that has tolerable risks and drawdowns. If you find a great ES strategy that requires 10pt stops and potential 50pt drawdowns and the thought of that makes you sick, then you need to keep looking for a more compatible strategy. Second, once you've found that strategy, test it yourself, not by "backtesting", but by going over old charts using the bar interval you plan to trade, bar by bar, maintaining a log of your "hard right edge" trades and noting any problems. Third, if everything still looks good, paper-trade it until you show consistency in trading. Don't worry about the money. If the strategy is right and you're consistent in trading it, the money will be there. If you end up trying to second-guess the strategy or "feel" the trades, go back to step one. Fourth, trade it for real. Here's where the discipline issues will come up, either because you get bored or because you haven't nailed down the rules or because you think you're better than the system. Work them out. Go back to three if you have to. Only when you've achieved complete discipline, are able to execute your system flawlessly, are completely consistent in your trading, and can be objective about what you're doing will you be ready to introduce subjectivity into your trading. But, even then, if you get into trouble, you need only back up a step and return to your "comfort zone". You can force discretion into your trading, of course, but you will most likely just postpone that day when you will be completely at ease with your trading. Take the time to build a foundation of discipline and confidence and you'll leave most of your peers in the dust.
DB said it all. I am glad that nobody is flaming the hell out of flashboy for this. A person that can take a step outside of themselves and see the actual problem can fix it. DISCIPLINE!
I agree. FlashBoy is hardly the first. But just about everybody else rationalizes their way out of taking the responsibility. They blame the market, they blame other traders, they blame the Fates, they blame any and everything else but their own failure to accept responsibility. FB seems to know what the problem is, but he doesn't know what to do about it. Doing something about it is easy compared to acknowledging the problem.
Flashboy, You seem to be a nice person. That's an important thing to be. You should try to work on the self-confidence issue. That should be one of you primary things to work on. In all parts of life, it's important to have confidence. Remember, trading isn't the only way to have a successful life. There are so many other things that are much more important. Having a truly successful life, has nothing to do with money. Be a good, honest, genuine, and sincere person. That's the way you want to be. Doors will open up for you. But you have to work on the confidence thing. Wish you the best, gotta_trade
Trading is hard on anyone's confidence, even during the good times. When things get rough, it's very destructive. So don't feel alone. Although it doesn't seem like it right now, you've probably learned some very valuable lessons that you can put to work later. So don't throw all that away. Nothing you can do but take a break, get away from it, and take a fresh look when your head is clear.
What % of your total loss were commission costs? My advice: 1) don't overtrade, use 30-min or 1-hour bars 2) trade smaller size