eh, just remember 348 bucks is absolutely nothing in the grand scheme. Keep trading and don't dwell (not that you are dwelling, just sayin).
took that first initial loss and judgement became cloudy in the next trades...p&l got larger and tried to get 'it back' ...abandonded strict specs to enter trades and ...well here is where we are at
no, believe it or not I actually went long YM on the run up before lunch but...'got nervous' when it re-traced fot 15 ticks and bailed...I think for me a key is, if I loss to say $100 in the first day...I should be DONE for the day...I am way too competitive which has not helped being down $100...I usually 'battle' trade to get it back and wind up $300 plus down or so.
I am actually going to agree with you...but...I am getting there and LEARNING a lot even with my losses...
To be honest, I don't think that after 3 years you can learn enough to make this work for you. I think you're infatuated with the idea of trading, but your actions are completely inconsistent with success.
That's what I thought. I've been there several times. It's like some other personality takes control of your body. I learned that the less I trade, the better I do, and so I now wait very patiently for setups that make sense. Was your initial loss a result of trading a mediocre setup, mismanaging a good trade, or price hitting a well-placed stop loss? If you traded a mediocre setup, you just need to be more patient for strong setups to form. If you mismanaged a good trade, say, placed a stop in an unreasonable zone, then after taking the loss the trade moves your way and then you chase it at the worst possible price, or keep jumping on every move and getting whipsawed to death (I've absolutely been there), then you need to evaluate your mistakes and write down your trade entry and management rules and repeat out loud every morning. If your loss was the result of price hitting a well-placed stop, well many trades will turn out that way, and don't worry about "geting it back", because if you have an edge the profits will take care of the small losses. One really strong trade can give you a good day's pay. Be patient - there are many many hours of market action to choose from each day. Good trading tomorrow!