Advice on regaining trading confidence

[Handle123]

Just remember, it is strictly a numbers game, NO TRADE has better than 50/50 when initially getting in, where the difference are your rules for getting out. Too often we trick ourselves into thinking one trade has better chance than another-cherry pickings, but if you backtested well enough to include it as an entry, just do it and put it on. Too often many will have set rules and get nervous trying to get in even better, but this is altering your system during office hours, changing anything always be done after trading.

Good trading !

 

[ChinggChilla]

I have seen traders go through this same problem, from my observation, the issue usually is due to the leverage change when you start trading at a prop firm. Having the extra buying power usually affects a traders entries and exits compared to a retail account. If I was you, I would compare your trading from your retail vs your prop and see if there are differences in those two areas, if so, then you know what to fix.

 

[HKVP9]

Just hoping some experienced traders can give some advice on getting back on track and regaining confidence. Thanks in advance!

Hello Bray0817,

Been there and done that before.

Four (4) is considerably amount of time, but it took my ten (10) good years before I was supremely confident in growing capital long-term without a massive swings in account balance that saw me making and losing large sums of capital in very short periods of time - over and over and over again - producing a really whacky looking equity curve.

Whether you consider yourself a technical trader or fundamentalist it really does not matter - simply go back to a time in your mind when you were trading with confidence and a fair amount of accuracy. It might not have been perfect, but you were at least able to rely on it month to month to generate positive results in your bottom line. No, it was not the holy grail of solutions, but it produced profits, regardless of how small they might have been. Now, return to that place not only in your mind but in your active daily trading and do some simulated trading to get that "feel" back.

The psychology of a trader is (believe it or not) the most important element of long-term success. You can have the greatest trading "system," "method," or "strategy" ever devised and it will amount to a hill of beans if you do not harness the power of your own Thoughts and your own Emotions. I used to have this video plastered on the front of my trading research laboratory (website). I no longer run the site and I do not intend to restart one, but I want you to watch this video and give it your undivided attention:

I have no business ties to Rande Howell. I stumbled upon this video a long time ago, watched it and saw myself making some of the exact same mistakes he talks about in this video. It is one (1) hour well worth the time and effort to view it. If you have been trading for four years and you are presently stuck, then viewing this video should help to begin the process that will unlock what you have subconsciously locked-up in your own mind about your performance as a trader.

You have to free yourself to be wrong while having sufficient awareness when and where to make corrections and how to continue despite what you may "feel" in the moment. It is not that you are going to learn how to abandon your emotions - that's a fools game. But, you will learn how to establish appropriate expectations for yourself as a Trader that are commensurate with your level of skill. This will enable you to focus on Skills Development, even when you are experiencing losing trades. This is something that many Traders never fully understand and thus, they never fully reach their fullest potential as a Trader.

It is all in your Mind, Bray. And, it always has been.

 

[Turveyd]

When you see a setup which you know in general is profitable over all, then just force yourself to take it, if you don't you'll end up revenge trading losers!!

 

[Bray0817]

Thanks for all the great advice. I will watch the video later tonight, thanks for sharing it HKVP9! This week I have just been making myself pull the trigger on favorable setups. Have reduced my volume some as well. I have been doing better this week. But still not where I'd like to be. Hopefully I will get through my "trading funk" sooner than later. Thanks again everyone!

 

[EON Kid]

Bray try mental visualization, look at some sports psychology books like 'In Pursuit of Excellence by Terry Orlick' There is a section on positive imagery & performance. You must visualize in vivid detail. Be seated comfortably, in a quiet area, go through a relaxation and breathing routine, 4s in, hold, 4s out etc, then go through the positive mental imagery. You must spend 10 to 15 minutes evey day on this, if you don't then you are not serious.


Gary Leffew Bull Riding Champ interview

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4605045

Gary Leffew Bull Riding Champ Visualization is a very important concept. What you repeat in your mind becomes reality in your mind, worry in and that outcome will eventuate. Positive visualization in & thats what you will get out, the mind cannot tell the difference between imagined scenarios and real ones, so keep running and believing the positive scenarios. You must visualize in vivid detail. Our thoughts become reality.

 

[ammo]

Bray try mental visualization, look at some sports psychology books like 'In Pursuit of Excellence by Terry Orlick' There is a section on positive imagery & performance. You must visualize in vivid detail. Be seated comfortably, in a quiet area, go through a relaxation and breathing routine, 4s in, hold, 4s out etc, then go through the positive mental imagery. You must spend 10 to 15 minutes evey day on this, if you don't then you are not serious.


Gary Leffew Bull Riding Champ interview

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4605045

Gary Leffew Bull Riding Champ Visualization is a very important concept. What you repeat in your mind becomes reality in your mind, worry in and that outcome will eventuate. Positive visualization in & thats what you will get out, the mind cannot tell the difference between imagined scenarios and real ones, so keep running and believing the positive scenarios. You must visualize in vivid detail. Our thoughts become reality.

Dad used to say "gargage in, garbage out" avoid the garbage thoughts

 

[Alpha Trader]

Since I began two months ago I haven't traded well, made a few rookie mistakes and haven't been profitable.

I guess you've identified your problem in your own words. Now you have to investigate and dissect what has changed. The possibilities are plenty, so make a list and spend some quality time examining how you react to each item on that list. Start writing and as the words flow, you may be amazed to what more may come out.

I haven't had two losing months back to back since the first few months I started trading a few years ago.

This once again goes to reaffirm that you are losing your consistency.

I haven't felt a slump like this before. I'm starting to doubt myself way too much and passing up on potentially profitable trades.

This statement here shows that the change in environment may not be your only problem.

You are passing up on trades because you are doubting yourself. Do you trade on gut or do you have a system? If you have a system, this should NOT be an issue and if it is, then you lack conviction in it. You know your set up, you know your entry point, you have your exit strategy before placing your trade and you have your target determined. There is no guess work here; all these parameters are very defined. Solving this alone can help with some consistency and bring a lot of confidence back.

Once you have identified all the issues, correct them!. Then start trading as small as possible to where a "big" loss won't sting. Print out each chart traded and pay attention to the details of where you went wrong (losing trades) and where you could have done even better (winning trades). This is probably the most important step and can not be skipped.

As your results start improving, your confidence will follow. You can then start trading bigger again.

Sometimes the issue may not be you, but your environment. If the traders presence at the firm is disruptive, it may be okay to just go back to trading from home. If you need some productive breaks at slow times, there's plenty to keep you occupied. Reading, you can never do too many crunches (gets the blood flowing), you have a decent amount of members on ET that have their PhD in Trolling (it can get interesting when they gain some momentum ) and at last resort, you can invite your partner to come and "try out" your trading chair (make this "trial" a quick one; we wouldn't want to miss out on some good setups right?).

Be persistent and all shall settle.

Best of luck,

Alpha.

 

[AnnaG]

Find a strategy that can at least outperform the inde benchmark in the first instance. Steady your ship, then plot a new course from there.

 

[wrbtrader]

I don't think the problems he's having are strategy specific which is why he started this thread in the psychology section. Yet, he didn't provide much information about the "psychological" aspect and he didn't answer some of the important psychological questions.

Anyways, something dramatically change for him when he switched from one environment (community) to a new one...whatever it is...its impacting his trading, prompt him to start a thread here in the psychology section. Thus, there's a good chance its not trading related.

For example, I have a friend that's a very profitable trader. Yet, some years back he had the worst drawdown in his career as a trader. The drawdown started a few days after he got served with divorce papers and the wife was taking the small kids with her. Anyways, nasty divorce ensued for about a year, trading in shambles and it took another year for things to settle and for him to get relax in his new environment (new residence, new family situation, new relationship and so on). Now he's consistently profitable again with 50% shared custody of the kids, new relationship with someone that's faithful, lost some weight...all while using the exact same strategy.

Most traders underestimate how changes in their environment impact their trading results. Simply, successful trading involves a lot more than just trade strategies.