I really dont even care about winners anymore, they are always there. I'm more happy when I minimize a loss. That is something non traders dont understand. Why are you so happy, you are in the red. The priniciple of containing a loss makes me happier at the end of the day more than anything. Others may disagree just my opinion.
Because I am a system trader...and my penis is way larger than yours... plus! I drive a 1990 Plymouth Voyager with simulated wood grain siding... Why are you so happy, you are in the red.
Minimizing loss was the first trading concept I could never get right. Actually most leveraged traders I suspect. Your "system" oh brother..... Get a better catch phrase. If you are still trading in 2028, you will have made it.
I got a Schwinn 10-speed right now, but soon I may have the down payment for an astro-van minus the wood dash. The wood is too much bling.
I hate losing....always have. In the past, I was happiest when I was green, when I was red, I felt like they got the best of me. I have always thought that there is no reason to be red on ANY day, and that really helped me take my trading to the next level. Afterall, my smaller size makes me more like a guerillia action force. Get in, strike hard, get out....move on. That served me well. Especially in the high VOL markets of 5 years ago. Low vol markets require a little different strategy. Getting a little older now, and there is a limit to the number of trades I can do on any given day, 3 years ago I began the transformation process and have since recreated myself as a highly automated trader, BP is a big edge, so is getting off lots of trades which reduces my risk and increases my returns. Have you ever noticed that the best trades in all markets tend to cluster? That's when professional traders have the biggest edge. Today, I have systems that trade equities, and a few systems/strategies for futures. I am really stretching the realm of possiblity when it comes to my trading, and I can see trading as many systems as I can create, across a broad spectrum of markets. (The technology back bone is there, now it's just a matter of implementation) This wouldn't be possible without a few good fiends, some of which I have met here on ET. For their help and friendship, I am really grateful. Multiple systems represent a challenge in risk management. The challenge, is that when things go to hell, all correlations go to 1. To meet the challenges of this percieved risk, I am looking to match up systems, so that each reversion type strategy has it's counterpart in a momentum based strategy with correlations that are near zero, and if i'm really lucky, negative. The former has been achieved, the later is still a dream. The money managment strategy I use is a combination between the fixed ratio approach and the williams formula. I Risk a % of the account on every trade, but I set equity targets for raising size. I trade the same size until I make x dollars of profits, then I increase the size and stick at that level until I make X dollars again. If you ever spend time studying systems on a trade by trade basis, you'll likely see that your worst trade is yet to come. So I put in a hard stop on all positions, an uncle point that I bail if all goes wrong. If I know I made a mistake, system error, bad data, etc. Exiting the positions immediately is my strategy there. Here is another key point, I am watching and monitoring trades through out the day. If news breaks on a stock, I immediately abandon the strategy and start trading the stock in line with the newly released news. I have plans in place to deal with both of the worse case scenarios as I see them today, and update my strategy if I come up with other possibilities. UBL capture or death, short stocks and long oil will be very painful. A major terrorist attack on a US city, a nuclear detonation, or chemical attack are other threats and I need to anticipate and have a plan for managing if it happens. A lengthy post, but there you have my history as a trader, how I developed my trading philosphy, my trading plan, my risk managment plan, and my money management plan. Good luck and good trading!