Five things to improve your trading

[Bad_Badness]

My ideas re trading plan

www.trademastery.com/flowchart.pdf

No offense intended here, but this is more a trade tactics than a trading plan. There are a lot of elements to a plan. An overall strategy, trade tactics, execution strategy, money management, risk management, office management, funding, scaling, hardware solutions, software solutions, UI considerations, drawdowns for example.

Then for ALL OF THESE, there is the testing of those premises. Then there is the limits and stress of those assumptions too. These all wrap up into validating the plan. A plan is not much use unless you test it and validate it. This goes way beyond "back testing" a tactical method or execution strategy. There are a ton of metrics you can use. But it might be best to choose the most relevant once first.

Lastly, you want a way to improve your plan. To optimize it. It is in the optimizations that profits soar, imo. You can't improve your plan unless you measure it first (process improvement 101).

The ET archives has discussion that might be useful.

 

[MrRenev]

I only do number 5.


1) Get someone to watch you to make sure you're following your plan
That's pathetic. You got no business being a money manager.

2) Ignore the noise
That's the most fun part and tells you what dum dums are thinking.
If you mean ignore 5 minute candles: well if you have to remind yourself of it best you quit now.

3) Demo trade until you are profitable
No

4) Clear your mind
??? What's this? You're not trying to join a sect.
If you make dumb decisions you're not supposed to make and you need to "clear your mind" you are bad. Just quit.

Bonus
If me being direct offends you, you need sugar coating, then this business is not for you. Quit.

 

[SunTrader]

LOL Money Manager. Who dat?

 

[deaddog]

I only do number 5.

If me being direct offends you, you need sugar coating, then this business is not for you. Quit.

Choosing to be offended by some one on the internet is like choosing to step in dog shit instead of walking around it. No offence taken.

1) Get someone to watch you to make sure you're following your plan
That's pathetic. You got no business being a money manager.

I don't know, If you are struggling with discipline then being responsible to someone else, even anonymous posters on an internet forum, might help.
You are more than likely going to do what you said you would do if someone else is aware of your plans.

2) Ignore the noise
That's the most fun part and tells you what dum dums are thinking.

As long as you don't act on it then you are ignoring it.

3) Demo trade until you are profitable
No

Why not.

4) Clear your mind
??? What's this? You're not trying to join a sect.
If you make dumb decisions you're not supposed to make and you need to "clear your mind" you are bad. Just quit.

You should try it. It might improve your trading.
Hope you are not offended.

 

[Same Lazy Element]

1) Get someone to watch you to make sure you're following your plan

Do they spank you if you deviate from the plan?

 

[SunTrader]

Do they spank you if you deviate from the plan?

 

[deaddog]

Do they spank you if you deviate from the plan?

Only if you ask them nicely.

 

[comagnum]

What has helped me the most - my 5 pointers learned over the years.

* don't take any trades which were not planned out in advance & use a bracketed order with a stop loss & profit target.
* do add on to winners if a lower risk entry can be found, never add to losers!
* only take trades with a R:R > 3:1, the larger winners should be > 10+:1.
* reduce size & activity during losing periods & take only the best setups, keep reducing until winning again before slowly reverting back to normal size & activity. You never want to be more than a few good trades from a new NAV high.
* play very defensively after a unusually large winning period, realize this is most dangerous time for a trader.

 

[maxinger]

6. decontaminate your mind from all the wrong teachings
which you have learned from the professional talkers and professional writers.

Then start with a clear uncontaminated mind, and develop your own holy grail.

______________

 

[Heydrrich]

6) BLSH