Yeah I can set the daily loss limit. But I do not like the way I am trading. I am trying something else. This is what I am supposed to be doing while practicing ...no problem. ES
%% David 200 I used to gamble in pool halls; but trading is not gambling @ all.I dont consider moving a stop a problem @ all+ i've traded- invested for over 20 years. BUT i pray + plan before i get in+ stpts are NEVER moved to justify a loss; a 200 day ma moves in your favor , 20 dma or 89 dma is much less accurate, too many comissions.And market makers dont like 80 dma much. SPY pays dividends, so compare with that, wisely..............................[Edit ;sounds like your win ratio is way too high-most likely a small sample-trouble every time.Fat fingers dont matter on my spelling; wrong move on stops can kill/ES]
Thanks for the input. I do exactly the same thing you do in my trade execution except that I move my stop loss. It's not my ego, or my need to be right, but I've determined that it's my fear that the market will reverse once I offset my losing position.
No. I am not scalping. I checked the long trades for this month and I'm averaging a little under 2 points per trade. At these prices, 4 points is not a wide stop. It is where my historical analysis has shown that if I get the timing off, it can still be a good trade without getting stopped out. As for why I feel something someone else says will get me to change, I was just hoping other traders have gone through this and could provide input as to how they changed. You're right that moving stops can take you out of the game.
You're right, discipline cannot be gifted to you on an internet forum. I was just hoping other traders have gone through this and could provide input as to how they fixed it. I experience a large loss 5-6 times a year from moving my stops. I still haven't learned my lesson.
I know its horrible when the market reverses down just when you've gone long. But which is worse, market dropping like a stone and your red numbers getting bigger and bigger or market dropping like a stone and you're in cash, waiting for the bounce?
Thanks for the input. You went into the psychology part of my problem which is what I wanted. Another member, Illini Trader, wrote to another member who had my same problem. He identified a book called "The Investment Secrets of the Swiss Bankers" and they talked about this problem and how there are 3 reasons why traders do not take a loss when they should. 1) Ego - they don't want to be wrong 2) They don't want to lose money 3) They fear the market turning and making their original position profitable after having already taken the loss. I've had a futures account since 1985. I know I'm going to make mistakes and I know I'm going to loss money. The fear that once I offset my position the market will reverse is what causes me to move my stops. All least now I have identified my problem and now I have to fix it.
That's not what's happening. Every time a position has moved against me 4 points, I have always taken a loss on the trade. Losses are part of the game. I want to learn from the loss. I just don't want to be killed from the loss. Your example is what I did many years ago. I researched a volume divergence pattern on low tick bar charts that always "seemed" to work for 1 point. I would make 3 trades in a day for 3 points and then the 4th trade I would lose 4 points. I was right 75% of the time, but I was losing money. I never trade low tick bar charts again. You will eventually get burned.
You're right. Moving stops is a result of lack of discipline. I have such excellent discipline when it comes to trade entry, but poor discipline when it comes to offsetting a losing position. I always feel that after I offset the losing position, the market will reverse and go in the direction I wanted it to in the first place.