Seeems like you are repeating the same mistakes over and over, you think you are learning but you are still doing same shit repeatedly thinking its going to work one day. Go back to SIM mode, and get consistent over there at least man, stop trying to be a hero, keep refunding your account just to be blown up in 2-3 days again, lol. You arent going to get anywhere like this. Wake up bro.
jinxu, Can you clarify what you meant by saying "but hesitated to pull the trigger at my stop". That statement implies you're not using hard stops. Instead, you're using mental stops in which you manually exit a losing position when a particular price target is reached. Mark
This guy is a great example of why the statistics are so heavily favored toward traders failing as a career choice.
kass, didn't we all start this way, lack of insight on market, mental hurdles, he's learning cheap at only 500 per lesson
Ammo, money-wise yes, and nobody is saying that he's being irresponsible by losing a fortune. However, look at the emotional damage he is unnecessarily doing to himself... Many times is not the dollars and cents that traumatize you. [A week after I started trading I lost 10% of my probe account in one minute because of a technical mistake trading crude on inventories (Ninja stops were then stop-limits and the market blew past my stop leaving me with an open position without me realizing what was going on), but I brushed off that loss easily because it only cost me $$$, knowing it was a one-time mistake due to lack of knowledge, experience, etc. That's the kind of mistakes that you learn from. On the other hand later on I had days in which I did some revenge trading that cost me maybe just a couple of hundreds, but that left me devastated and doubting myself.] The problem is not the several thousand dollars that Jinxu has blown, but that he is reinforcing destructive behaviors and proving to himself that he has no control over his trading.
when people don't listen, they need to find out the hard way,he keeps bashing his head into the brick wall enough times, he 'll stop doing it, better at $2-500 than several 5k acct,no matter how long it takes or how much dough ,he will eventually come to the same conclusion as all traders,call it mental conditioning
Of course we all started out not knowing what the fuck we were doing. But the difference is, I learned from my mistakes. He doesn't seem to be learning, which is recipe for disaster. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the guy succeed in his trading. But ignoring good advice and not learning from mistakes will not help him succeed.
jinxu, A lot of posters here can feel your pain and have provided good advice. I love the honesty of ammo's comment - many good traders started the same way - head strong - small account - blow up's etc. It takes time to move from.... beginner mistakes to more advanced mistakes (lol). I'm working to re-engage trading, I have a modestly funded account (15K) but will not trade until I've validated my old (or built a new) approach to today's markets. You have placed yourself under the gun in what seems like too many ways. School loans, Job Market Challenge, Finances, etc... Clearly these stresses may be part of your sleep issues. Trading can be hard with a clear head never mind all of these overhanging issues. I've only run across one trading educator who was willing to be honest about what it really takes. Many years ago, I attended "Futures South" in Orlando. Joe DiNapoli (a fib based trader) was brutally honest about the business of being a small spec trader. Joe said success more or less required a 5 / 50 commitment. 5 years time trading and learning; 50K capital to tie up (not blow up). Most of the literature marketed to noobs doesn't advertise this reality. This is why noobs with small accounts have a half life of 6 - 9 months. Perhaps this is just where you are at in the learning curve. It's painful to watch / read about, which is why so many with skills have taken time to provide advice. Perhaps some of the pro's here can share a bit of their own experiences when they started out - to better help you realize the scale associated with building expertise / skills. I started with a $5K account. In 6 months I was at 30% draw down. I stopped trading completely knowing that my knowledge and techniques were just not up to it. I spent ~ $1500 on a carefully selected collection books over about a year and a half before restarting trading. Before restarting, I raised my capital to ~ 15K which I consider a minimum for trading commodities. I traded my account from ~ 15K to 50K over about 3 years. I drew cash out for other purposes and stopped trading when I didn't have the time to devote to it. You have a chance to make it. The good advice in this thread will help you improve your odds. I think your best chance is tied to finding a way to let yourself out of the current "must win" meat grinder you are up against. One of the least useful aspects of writing a journal on ET is it's potential impacts to ego (+ or -). Giving advice can also rile up the ego monster. I've written way more than I should. I read ET to learn, not to give advice. Don't give up. But please consider taking a break from this journal and trading until you are better capitalized, and have had more time to examine your approach. Please don't be offended but consistent losers without gains more or less validates the approach you are using isn't working. Your ideas may be correct, but you are not executing them effectively. You have to figure out what is going wrong. Trust me it ain't "bots" looking to scalp you. If you are going to trade and post - put up some graphics so you can at least get some feedback on methods / approach rather than just advice about money management. Best of Luck - Good Trading FMR
What has changed in your trading after Aug 11? Before that you tripled your account in two week, then everything goes downhill for you. I wonder that is because 1) Market changes (it is getting tough and more volatile, different patterns and behavior) ; 2) your system changed (you modified it); 3) you changed (mentality, physical, execution style)? Just curious. there may be some other reasons too.