Can't stay to be in profit

P

PsychoTrader

Hi
I'm a profitable trader in Forex Market but I have a big problem that don't let me take good profits.

I have a very good back tested strategy but in real trading when my positions go to profit I can't stay to let them hit the target and my emotions make me go out very soon.

In most of my trades If I had stayed a little bit more I could take good profits.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Hey Pyscho-

Put Stop and Target in with OCO order and walk away.

Or trade with mini lots and get confidence up. As confidence grows - grow size of trade.

You won't have a good result trading scared.

Good luck to you.

:cool:
 
Hi, PsychoTrader

> I'm a profitable trader in Forex Market

Good for you. Perhaps other people may envy you...

> but I have a big problem that don't let me take good profits.

There must be many possible ways to solve this kind of problem.

From my experience, I can tell you two solutions, which at least worked with me.

First of all, time solves it. If you continue to trade, you will be accustomed to what you are doing and everything will become businesslike.

I guess you do not trade so often. If you have many systems or things you trade, you will become too busy to use your own judgment. You will leave your system(s) to all your trading.

Anyway, I hope you will be fine.
 
Quote from dugan:

Hey Pyscho-

Put Stop and Target in with OCO order and walk away.

Or trade with mini lots and get confidence up. As confidence grows - grow size of trade.

You won't have a good result trading scared.

Good luck to you.

:cool:
More...

Great suggestion by Dugan.....

Anek
 
Quote from PsychoTrader:

Hi
I'm a profitable trader in Forex Market but I have a big problem that don't let me take good profits.

I have a very good back tested strategy but in real trading when my positions go to profit I can't stay to let them hit the target and my emotions make me go out very soon.

In most of my trades If I had stayed a little bit more I could take good profits.

Thanks in advance for your help.
More...
<p> I trade equities but this is my advice. Time of day is very important in deciding to expose yourself a little longer to both risk and gain. I am more apt to stay on trades early in the day.As the day goes on and I am accumulating profits and I have less tolerance for exposure and I am concerned about defending my days profits. Another point in applying this strategy is that later in the day, I am not as mentally sharp and do not make as good of decisions as when the day is fresh. Losing traders have a tendency to reverse this, if they are losing or down as the day goes on they take more risk to get even. If they are ahead they apply bad gambling psychology which causes them to take more risk because they think they are playing with the house's money because they are ahead. You stated that you are a profitable trader so you understand how to defend your profits. Your next step should be to carefully pick your spots to increase your exposure and time on trade. My trading is based on a high percentage of winning trades and not so much at hitting optimum targets. There are traders who have relatively low winning percentages but pick there spots to scale into size. But I am assuming that you consistently trade the same size which makes winning percentage very important.
 
Thanks for all advices
I investigated in my behaviour and find out I am not enough patient as my strategy requires.

There are two solutions:

- to change a little bit my strategy (which cuts a part of my profits)

- to change my patience ( I have no idea about that )
 
Quote from Ticketwatcher:

<p> I trade equities but this is my advice. Time of day is very important in deciding to expose yourself a little longer to both risk and gain. I am more apt to stay on trades early in the day.As the day goes on and I am accumulating profits and I have less tolerance for exposure and I am concerned about defending my days profits. Another point in applying this strategy is that later in the day, I am not as mentally sharp and do not make as good of decisions as when the day is fresh. Losing traders have a tendency to reverse this, if they are losing or down as the day goes on they take more risk to get even. If they are ahead they apply bad gambling psychology which causes them to take more risk because they think they are playing with the house's money because they are ahead. You stated that you are a profitable trader so you understand how to defend your profits. Your next step should be to carefully pick your spots to increase your exposure and time on trade. My trading is based on a high percentage of winning trades and not so much at hitting optimum targets. There are traders who have relatively low winning percentages but pick there spots to scale into size. But I am assuming that you consistently trade the same size which makes winning percentage very important.
More...

Wow, this is so much like me as well. I trade equities too. :)
 
To change your patience


ANNA

Anticipate when you will feel impatience
Notice it when it happens
Name it .. fear? boredom?
Address it ... have a plan for when it happens like walk away and do 40 pushups


Just feel it and keep naming it. This will move ur mental processing to ur frontal lobes and over time the emotion will lose impact. Sit on ur hands (literally if needed) and keep naming what you feel.

Make a project of naming the feeling until you just can't sit on your hands any longer. Sit a little longer every day.
 
Take partial profits at your emotional breaking point and hold the rest with a stop at break even.

Perhaps you want to add a lot or two as your "money lot" so your take profit point is the same as it is now. Or you stick to your same lot size and just accept that some trades will give you more and some less on that remaining open position.
 
look at some of your past trades, and see if there are a couple of stop losses and profit targets that would get you out without impacting performance too much, on average
 
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