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I didn't want to post this but I guess it is time for me to reach out for help. I am going down hill in my trading and can't stop. Meaning on my way to going broke and getting a job again.... I have enought to live for another few months before the job hunt.
My backstory. I have traded the markets for years. Good years and some bad years. In the last 3 years during my working hours I was able to make some good money. Then I had a system making me $300 a day avg for 5 months. So I decided to quit my job, taking a pay cut, to follow my dream as a trader. For the past 3 months I have been living from just the markets. Yes I had some good trades but the bad ones were there too. I was trading just futures and lost $8,000 in two weeks. (One contract each usually ES,CL,NQ,ZB) I had taken a break for two weeks came back and still fell like I can't master it. I am thankful that I bought some options and trade those daily to make some income.
I think my biggest problem is to find an indicator or system to follow my rules. I have one indicator I always use on a 5 min chart and it has made me some good money but then there is that one trade that takes out my stop loss right away and shoot me back down. my profit target is trailing stop, go for $100 profit then move stop to break even and move stop ever $100 profit. Now I love crude..... 10 cent move is nothing in crude so I usually put my initail stop loss at $200. This worked out great at times. Walked away with $200, $300, and max $1,000 trades. But then loss, loss, and loss.
I meditate ever day and try to learn more about the markets every day.
It might just be so stressed out from trying to learning every indicator out there that has me lost but then again the two week break would of help me with that... nope.
Over the years of trading I have foung out there is no holy grain indicator or system. There will be losing trades and just avoid the big ones. Don't over trade.
Taking al that in account with my years of learning and try and error. I can not crack the code.
I am asking for some help with anything.
I have faith in myself that this will work out and I will not stop till I make it. Will to try anuthing now.
Took $400 profiit in gold today then gave it away in crude's rally down.
Wow. That's brave of you to post this and I'm sure you will get some positive, helpful responses. Though some of it you may not want to hear. Like probably what I'm about to say: get a job. A steady income. You can do that and trade part time and work your way back up. Trading is stressful enough, but having to worry about paying the bills on top of it I think is just too much pressure. The markets aren't going away. They will always be there.
If you can get it to where you work to at least cover the bills and can still make a couple hundred a day trading, that's great. $200 a day is like 50k a year. And it sounds also like you need to work on your edge. The hard truth here is that it sounds like you just don't have what it takes to trade full time, but that is not an insult. I don't either! But I know I've got the potential, and you do too.
It's a tough business. You get humbled quick. So I'd say get a steady income to take off the stress of having to pay all your bills from trading, then take a look at your trading process and what you're doing wrong. Maybe trade micro contracts for less risk. Really, just forget about making lots of money trading right now. Focus on trading well and establishing a winning track record.
This speaks to me because I have been in this spot too. My solution was that I had to get a job again. This may sound rough and I know it's not what you want, but I didn't either. I hope someone else can give you a better answer, but this was how it worked out for me.
At this point I don't need to work for anyone else to live, but I can't live on trading either. Going back to work was what eventually worked for me, and made it possible to keep trying to learn the craft of trading without worrying. Trading never had to be something that I had to succeed at in order to eat. This is real important.
So I think you were over-leveraged when you moved from the steady job income in favor of trading income. Too much leverage can be a big problem, and, to keep the analogy going, you're getting close to your stop-loss.
So the first thing I would say is that, if you're willing to do anything, getting that job may be what you have to do. Think about this intelligently and carefully, and decide what your decision-point will be (x amount of money left or whatever.)
Don't despair. Working is a pain in the ass, but there are worse things, like starving.
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Now, as to your trading. If you're asking for trading help, no one can help you unless they know something about your trading. Try opening a public trading journal here on this forum and letting people see how you trade. The feedback can help you, and so will the fact that you will have to be really honest with yourself about each trade. This is a good thing.
There is no guarantee a journal will get you anything at all, but what do you have to lose?
As to indicators and systems, well, there are a lot of them, and I'm pretty sure that they are seldom or never the way to trading success. They can be useful, but it's what you do with them that makes them work, if they do. I absolutely would not ever spend any money, especially right now, where you are financially, on anything that anyone wants to sell you.
So these are my only suggestions. I have done every one of them, and, on the whole, they have worked for me. It did take time, but everything does. The most important thing is to accept where you are, and don't struggle with what you can't change. Work on what you can. There is certainly a pathway out, you just have to find it. If it goes through a job, well, OK then. If there are some other steps, OK too. Just don't run out of money while you're deciding.
I hope any of this helps you. You are not alone, and it is smart to ask for help. But you have some choices ahead and you need to make them as well as you can. Remember your stop-loss is getting real close now.
Why stress yourself out unnecessarily? There is no need to rush into a lifetime career of successful trading. Even if you're only working part time somewhere you can hedge you bet and give yourself more time to get consistent and weather the ups and downs.
Check out PATs Trading on YouTube. He uses no indicators, all pure price action. I am not affiliated with him in any way but I have been following him for a while and it's starting to make sense.
I don't post here that often, but I've been where you've been.
I now have a big poster above my station that says, 'Jon' - I use my first name on it because my wife (who is a psychologist), said if you put your name on something you'll always take note of it. Anyway, it says, 'Jon - do you feel great about a big win or a series of wins? You're done for a week. Walk away.'
Every single significant major loss I can remember has ALWAYS been preceded by a big win or a series of wins. I know they say to 'quit when you're ahead' - but it's hard to do when you feel like you are 'in the zone'. I have to walk away for a week if I do well.
have done what you have done but went back to work. still trading but only going for 2 points at a time. every time i get 2 thousand built up in profit i add another contract and only go for 2 points and call it a day.less trades less stress. just a part time trader in es and cl
You're either force yourself into a trade, and/or you are forced to exit a losing position.
This is how the big guys win and the small guys always lose.