1. Chasinfla is dead on. Accustom yourself in the harshest terms possible to the impact that commissions have to your bottom line. For me, it's a detailed running Excel report that I put together when I get home (independent of the statements I receive) to reinforce the point. 2. Develop a ratio of trade volume versus P&L. Keep it low. Even if you lose a little money in the P&L, if your volume was light it should be easier to recover from and you can take comfort in that. Also, when your ratios are low, it forces you to make fewer and better decisions.
I'm amazed that no one has mentioned this yet. I sincerely hope you guys are using one though. I'm referring to a trading plan. This is a business. You should treat it like a business. My trading plan is over 30 pages long, and dictates exactly what I can do and when I can do it. When I go back and analyze my trades (I do this on a weekly basis) I have found that, if I'm truly honest with myself, virtually all the losing trades are those in which I havn't followed my plan. The plan, contains, among others: max loss per day, per week, and per trade. Times I will and won't trade. Trading tactics based on time of day and where we are in the market cycle. What to do when the wheels fall off the train. Etc etc. And yes, it was hard to do the plan (I like my freedom) and it's hard to follow it to the letter. But I'm getting better, and my account shows it.
Something bizarre happened - I replied to this thread, and somehow it ended up in another thread? Moderators? Here is what I meant to say here (LOL) To be honest, I have no idea what it means to overtrade. To me, there are as many setups as there are, no more or no less. There are days when I work for IB - not doubt, but I do not know which days those are before hand? A different argument is whether the particular style of trading you are doing suits your personality - if it doesn't, I can see why one would complain that it is comission intensive. Trading styles are like the ocean and not like a pond - in the pond there are 1 or 2 fish. In the ocean however, there are thousands of different fish thriving, and each is food in one way or the other for the one up the food chain...I think trading styles, even successful ones, live in the ocean... nitro
wan2B, Remembering it is the easy part, following it is quite another. For a long time I've heard that trading is like 85% pyschology, but never quite understood what that meant. Having the discipline and emotional fortitude to do what your plan tells you to, even when your fears tell you otherwise, that IS the holy grail. Simple yes, easy no.
You should have one. If it won't fit onto a 5"X8" card, trim until it does. (Both sides may be necessary for the verbose.)