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Good job on the post details. I think you can see correlation between your life and your trading. This demonstrates clearly the focus should not be solely on the method (entry or even exit) but on the psychological component. That component is what helps keep you sharp, minimizes errors, and determines how well you execute your method.
I think you are on the right path, just remember to focus on execution which should lead you to focusing on psychology, the methodology part is far easier in comparison so don't get consumed by indicators or trade signals.
I do not come away from my trading efforts with all of the great feelings I have had so far on this run. Today I tried something new to me. I traded until I made what I considered my profit for the day. Then I drew a line on my log sheet and began ‘sim’ trading. I am already sim trading, so this may seem like an oxymoron [simulated sim trading???]. What I was doing was practicing after the practice. This is not a good concept for me. Turns out all I do is push the button and make bad decisions and just throw away money. I can’t play sim. Either I am trading, or I am not trading. For me, I have to either trade, or walk away and say I am not trading. Were they good trades? Some were, some weren’t. Overall though, I just threw away money. So I am going to log my profit, and mark my log sheet with a colored square. What does it mean? This is the day I learned a lesson. Oh yeah, I ended up $1,200 in the hole after my ‘excursion’. I was down as much as $1,660 and brought it back up a bit. My heart just wasn’t in the hunt.
So a very valuable lesson for me today. Either trade, or don’t but don’t allow myself to just push buttons and hope things work out. They won’t!
Great journal. I have the same problem. Once I hit my target for the day, I change from live to sim and "practice". Generally, I find that I take a few winners in sim but then end up losing all theoretical gains made and even giving back all the profits for the day (sim only). I end up at the same or worse place.... however for some stupid reason, I still practice and sim. It does not make sense! I think the reason I tend to do worse once I'm in sim, is because psychologically I get careless and reckless and think that I'm a hot shot trader etc. Once the mindset changes, all skills and discipline go out the window. I just end up over trading. This is why I set a target and ensure I do not over trade with live funds.
In future, I shall try to cease sim trading once all targets have been hit. Bad habbits are quite hard to break!
I theory it sounds good, but in practice I don't think it works too well.
One question comes to mind is "why". Why are you seeking out new methods? Do you believe that your biggest weakness is the method itself? I think that for the most part, sim is all about method and very little about execution and psychology (beyond the first few days, weeks, etc of sim).
To really practice execution and psychology, you have to actually trade. Sim is simply not enough.
So, if you believe that your weakness is method, sim can help. If you believe your weakness is execution or psychological, sim isn't going to really help you. Instead, a detailed journal (good job) and a good plan that holds you accountable will. Find a way to measure, adapt, change -- avoid repeating the same mistakes over and over again. New mistakes are fine, it's called learning -- aka experience.
A master trader is just someone who has already made all the mistakes.
Still learning about myself. Still learning. I jumped into a trade right off the bat. I was using a friend’s ATM strategy yesterday and was going to go back to my set up today. [Trade what you know, trade what makes sense to you, trade your strategy.] I did not make the change, got into a trade that I did not have a good reason to be in and viola… a 30 tick looser! Right out of the gate!!! Now in days gone by, I would have immediately gone into panic mode and started trading like a wild animal. The end result would be a bad day. A very bad day. I went back and looked at that trade and I can not for the life of me figure out what I was looking at. And this is just moments after losing in the trade. What was I doing? More bad habits from yesterday creeping in? Am I doomed to yet another bad day???
NOT SO YOUNG JEDI!
I reset my ATM. I focused on my trades and made two good trades. Then I had a loser. Oh my, down again. Stay on task, focus, three trades later, I’m done. I traded more than I would LIKE to have traded, but I traded smartly. I noticed that I am starting to look at trades wrong and I know where this is heading. It is heading down the path of bad trading. The right thing to do is hang up my mouse for the day, update my journal and be ready for a great day tomorrow. I am not at my target for the day, but I traded well…hmmm??? Quit? Yes! And that’s what I did.
Congratulation Gordon for doing it right! Congratulations! I must remember, it is not a money battle that I am in, it is a mental battle. The money is good. After all, if I worked all day as a substitute teacher today, I would only have made $80. I did a whole lot better than that today. A whole lot better!
I want to thank Mike and Alan for their encouraging words. They are very welcome. I have five more days of sim and then I am going back live. That will give me the feel good confidence I wanted to get when I left live over a year ago. I think my method is solid and I feel like I am finally seeing the price action. Yes I have indicators, but I am not being robotic about the indicators. They just help confirm what I already see in price action.
I will be gone next Monday and Tuesday to get a 54 Ford Pickup with my son-in-law. We always need another project to work on around here. It's about 600 miles one way, so I will definately be 'getting away. That will give me a chance to see my oldest son [the Suit] and his family too.
Having a pretty down week. Spent two days getting my son-in-law's new truck from Kentucky (49 Dodge]. Stopped to see my son, the suit. Made a cake for two ladies. Traded like crap and am now in the dumps.
Time to get my head screwed on for next week. Time to really understand what I am doing.
I am not out looking for new indicators, I have good stuff. But I am going to really look at what I am working with and how I am or am not using those indicators. I know this works, and Friday last week was a good example of just walking away from a dead day, so I feel pretty good about that. I lost my commission, but my commission was so high, I am just making my broker happy.
This week however, I have not been focused.
Next week is going to be a good week. I just know I can do this. I am starting to feel the need to get a regular job breathing down my neck. When we were on the road, I looked at an application for Wendy’s Restaurant…sigh… I DO NOT want to go back into corporate America, but I keep sabotaging myself. That is what I need to work on. How to keep focused, trade smart and not sabotage myself.
Now who wouldn’t give this cute thing Halloween candy? Isn’t she just cute as a bug??? [HA HA HA HA HA…I just kill myself sometimes!] Good thing she doesn’t look like her grandfather.
Nice day in the market. I did pretty well. I had one omission when I tried to trade when I should have been sitting on the sidelines. I forced the trade to make it look like something I wanted to have happen. Maybe a wee bit of boredom? Anyway, here are a couple of my trades and my stats. Winning always feels better than losing!
As I focus on my trading, my kids and grandkids are on my mind. I am constantly parying for my son still fighting the war. This picture is what happens when a military vehicle hits a 40# IED. This was in the middle of the 'road'. You can see the town in the distance. I take a look at the country side and strife there and remind myself what a blessed life I live in America. I thank God for my life and for the protection he provides my family!
Thanks for reminding us some real life while we are glued here to the screen. I say thank you G-d every day for what I have and for the things I don't have. I wish your son a safe return home.
You are blessed because you appreciate what you have.
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