0-100mph - Trying to go from newbie to a pro ...

Z

zanek

I'm creating this journal to track my progress. I traded my first stock in Jan 2009 and made $10k in the first month months then lost $25k in Feb 2009. I had no idea what I was doing at that time and was just buying on hunches.

I stopped trading from March to Sept and decided to learn TA and get a better footing on how the market works.

I've just started trading again in mid September. I have a great system, but now my problem is myself and my lack of discipline.

My biggest problems so far are:

<font color='red'><b>Trying to pick bottoms and tops</b></font>: Instead of waiting for a clear signal from my system, I constantly get greedy and try to capture the entire trend. I never realized I was a perfectionist until I started trading. Good lord, it feels like a horrible trait to have

<font color='red'><b>Lack of patience</b></font>: I jump into a trade when I start to see a signal forming (before getting confirmation from another signal like my system calls for)

Sometimes I also hesitate to pull the trigger when my system says I should, and then when the price goes up, I start chasing.

I shall be posting my daily profit/loss and problems/solutions encountered
 
Thanks Fast Trader.

I trade stocks only now (about to start trading options).

I mostly do either swing trades or 5-15min day trades.

I risk at most 1% on each trade.

I mainly use S/R , pivots, volume and price channels to trade
 
Bought FAZ this morning (before creating this journal). Tried to pick the bottom twice to early instead of waiting for a clear signal.

The funny part is, had I waited like system told me to, I would have bought at 19.51 and made up to $2k.

I'm about to start trading smaller sizes ($10k at a time) until I can be more disciplined, then move back up to $70K per trades

-$800 :mad:

Account value: $99,817
 
Quote from zanek:

My biggest problems so far are:

<font color='red'><b>Trying to pick bottoms and tops</b></font>: Instead of waiting for a clear signal from my system, I constantly get greedy and try to capture the entire trend. I never realized I was a perfectionist until I started trading. Good lord, it feels like a horrible trait to have

<font color='red'><b>Lack of patience</b></font>: I jump into a trade when I start to see a signal forming (before getting confirmation from another signal like my system calls for)

Sometimes I also hesitate to pull the trigger when my system says I should, and then when the price goes up, I start chasing.

I shall be posting my daily profit/loss and problems/solutions encountered
More...
What steps are you taking to over come these problems?
 
Quote from increasenow:

do you, or have you, or will you trade the ES (mini SP500) futures?...what are you 'stuck' trading?...stocks?...yawn
More...

Do you know only the very best of the best can trade futures consistently profitable and with good size?

It is a fact.
 
Quote from zanek:

I stopped trading from March to Sept and decided to learn TA and get a better footing on how the market works.

This will only make things worse. There is little evidence that the TA traders try to use (especially a newbie) has any value. Think about this:

a) It is estimated that 90-95% of traders lose their money

b) Probably 90% of traders use TA, Gann, Fib, Elliott Wave, etc. etc.

It is not hard to realize the relationship. Look up the book "Evidence-Based Technical Analysis: Applying the Scientific Method and Statistical Inference to Trading Signals" on Amazon.com or elsewhere. That and a number of institutional studies find little hope for TA methods.

I have a great system, but now my problem is myself and my lack of discipline.

You do not have a great system, this is a complete delusion. Paper trading, sim trading, good backtests, etc. are useless for having a "great system." Until you find a real edge or two, we will not be hearing from you within a few weeks to months.

Be very wary of people on here patting you on the back or urging you on. They are mostly newbies or paper traders themselves.
 
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