... and that type of reasoning right there is the main reason 95% of futures traders blow their account. Be careful about "fixing what isn't broken" NoDoji. :eek:
Be careful about "fixing what isn't broken" NoDoji. i agree with the above statement. the thing with progress is that it has its own pace and cannot be forced. u can lift weights a lot one day and be so sore butt the next day to do anything at all. change is supposed be a consequence not a result. dont change anything. when its time to change an inner voice will make that announcement. nice trading and great journal NoD.
You guys did not grasp what Nod just said about her paper trading SPY. She sees potential and thats the important message. No one is suggesting for her to "CHANGE" for the sake of change itself. What you guys miss is she has the ability to IMPROVE. Do not try to keep her down with defeatist subliminal messages about where you yourself failed. When i switched from stock trading to futures i heard all the same bs from the same people that knew i was no quitter but yet they insisted on telling me about their misconceptions based on nothing but loser talk. Times have changed, mkts have changed. Back before lets say 1980's when the Chicago merc introduced currency futures and morphed into all the financial derivitives we have today the only trading game in town was the stock exchanges or farm futures. My, my that seems like a couple hundred years ago rather than just a couple decades. Stock trading these days play second fiddle to the futures mkts, face it or wither on the vine. Nod is no fool, she will do what is best for her family and will come out the other end just fine, be it trading or not. She is under pressure as we speak because she still has bills to pay and the income is not guaranted with a 9 to 5 working jobber. Thats a heavy burden and with that in mind she is doing good, can you imagine her potential later on? PS: yeah, RIGHT!!!! To the guy that said " thats why 95% of futures traders lose" HA, so i take it 95% of stock traders are winners. I think not. PSS: here in Michigan we have been written off as dead and buried many times over. But we use the Wolverine as a symbol for sports teams etc. The saying goes............never back a wolverine into a corner. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VoKioxH-5Q&feature=fvw .............................. elit5314 Registered: Feb 2009 Posts: 22 06-09-09 02:24 AM Be careful about "fixing what isn't broken" NoDoji. i agree with the above statement. the thing with progress is that it has its own pace and cannot be forced. u can lift weights a lot one day and be so sore butt the next day to do anything at all. ..................END...................... I hate to tell you but weight lifting requires you to NOT lift everyday, muscles will build up when worked and rested up to build, NOT by abusing muscles. hahaha
- $454 Spent much of the day dealing with tax stuff and near the later part of the day I went to trade. STEC had run up earlier and looked like a possible short. Imagine my surprise to find I had 200 shares short STEC from yesterdayâs trade. Somehow I shorted more than I covered. Anyhow to make a long story âshortâ, upon discovering this, it was near my drop dead loss limit of $500, so I put in a stop and it rallied to take me out. Scalped some URS after that for about $56. And called it a day. I implemented a pilot's cross-check plan for IB. Too many times I've let something slip.
I just realized something. When I found my rogue STEC position, the VERY FIRST THING I did was place a stop at the $500 line. I didn't stop to think about it. I didn't consider holding the position if it ran further against me. I didn't start looking up analysts' opinions. I didn't visit the Yahoo message board. I followed my rule and that was that. This is a major step forward for me
Hey nod. I agree, that was a nice display of discipline, but are you not a little upset that you set an arbitrary dollar amount stop as opposed to a stop above strong resistance? Would the trade have worked out differently if you had?
Hermit, when I found the trade I had on, I was planning to short the stock with a specific stop loss in place. That same stop loss happened to be my $500 line in the sand. That $500 is actually what I call a disaster stop. I use it when a stock gaps against me. For my regular planned trades my max loss is $250, so you can see why I did not want to allow any additional room. Now, once STEC broke through, took out my position and moved up, I then thought about shorting it again at the higher price, but decided not to because it hadn't yet tested the day's high, so I waited and it immediately pulled back and would've been an excellent short trade. But I think it's most important to honor such things as max loss per trade, and patience in waiting for the best setups. Looking back after the fact, everything always seems clear and simple (shoulda woulda coulda), but it's critical to follow your rules when facing the hard right edge of a trade.
Thanks, Boosh! I can't believe how long it takes to get to this point psychologically. I envision Cesar Milan the dog whisperer standing over my shoulder zapping me whenever I have a "wrong thought" and it's finally working me toward absolute discipline.