How do you know when to stop trading for the day??

with the spus having 30 point ranges,its easy to lose,so i trade smaller and use stops,i can always get back in and be wrong again but if im stopped out ill think about it, if im riding a loser ill say im not buyin em back up here and they.ll run 4 points and ill being calling myself a stubborn fool, i still lost just not as much,and mentally im not so frustrated,i.ve had days where i was wrong after 11 am,most days,but if i use stops i can sort of put my discipline on autopilot
 
Quote from gimp570:

great advise...this will also help with the brutal swings that come with trading...its better to just nickel and dime em everyday then to have big up and BIG down days...makes it much easier to sleep at night also......slow and steady wins the race...who needs the stress of going for homeruns when one can make just as much money with MUCH less stress just keeping it simple and making money slow and steady
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This quote proves one thing and one thing only...... you are not properly managing your money in accordance with your risk tolerance/account size.

It is obvious that the basics is where you need to start. The first thing you need to identify past what approach to the actual trades you're going to make is what the appropriate size of those trades should be.

Sounds to me that you have more of a gambler profile right now than trader. Anytime your default mechanisms become your emotions and not the plan or reason.... you are not trading.

Do you know the risk/reward profile for your trades? What is your expectancy for each trade? Are you entering each and every trade with an exit strategy (both positive and negative)? DO YOU KNOW HOW TO TAKE A LOSS? DO YOU KNOW HOW TO KEEP THOSE LOSSES SMALL?

Work on these simple things that you CAN CONTROL first before entering the arena where just about everything is out of your control.

Most people worry about the 75% of stuff they can't control rather than the 25% of things they can. Successful traders know this and spend most of their time concentrating on this.

Good Luck!
 
Quote from Algorithm:

This quote proves one thing and one thing only...... you are not properly managing your money in accordance with your risk tolerance/account size.

It is obvious that the basics is where you need to start. The first thing you need to identify past what approach to the actual trades you're going to make is what the appropriate size of those trades should be.

Sounds to me that you have more of a gambler profile right now than trader. Anytime your default mechanisms become your emotions and not the plan or reason.... you are not trading.

Do you know the risk/reward profile for your trades? What is your expectancy for each trade? Are you entering each and every trade with an exit strategy (both positive and negative)? DO YOU KNOW HOW TO TAKE A LOSS? DO YOU KNOW HOW TO KEEP THOSE LOSSES SMALL?

Work on these simple things that you CAN CONTROL first before entering the arena where just about everything is out of your control.

Most people worry about the 75% of stuff they can't control rather than the 25% of things they can. Successful traders know this and spend most of their time concentrating on this.

Good Luck!
More...

thanks....i guess i have alot to learn
 
Everyday is a day to learn and become better. It's knowing where you are and where you're going that's important.

It's hard to move forward on the path to success until you identify the path.

Discipline, basics, foundation.....


Good Luck!
 
Quote from Algorithm:


Most people worry about the 75% of stuff they can't control rather than the 25% of things they can. Successful traders know this and spend most of their time concentrating on this.
More...

This is so true.
 
Quote from gimp570:

great advise...this will also help with the brutal swings that come with trading...its better to just nickel and dime em everyday then to have big up and BIG down days...makes it much easier to sleep at night also......slow and steady wins the race...who needs the stress of going for homeruns when one can make just as much money with MUCH less stress just keeping it simple and making money slow and steady
More...

Think of it this way, if the nickel and dime approach could avg over time maybe 1/2 to 1% of you account a day, how would that look at the end of the year. Also, don't forget there is absolutely nothing wrong with a brutal up swing, (they're great), it is only the down you need to protect yourself from.
 
Quote from target0:

Think of it this way, if the nickel and dime approach could avg over time maybe 1/2 to 1% of you account a day, how would that look at the end of the year. Also, don't forget there is absolutely nothing wrong with a brutal up swing, (they're great), it is only the down you need to protect yourself from.
More...
Good stuff....and this has been demonstrated on the Trader P&L 2007 forum....with one trader doing about +$30k for several months, and then completely blowing up with a $-100k month.
I think the profile of your trading is important to evaluate:
% wins/losses; avg $ win/loss and % of large winners and losers relative to the average winner/loser. A good profile IMHO would be: 40% small winners 50% small losers 10% large winners. I've seen several traders blow-up with : 30% small winners, 30% small losers, 20% large winners, 20% large losers.
 
I do 1 trade per day. Daytrading index options using a cash account. I can't put on another trade because my funds are then unsettled until the next morning. This mean that I try to find the best setup and I can't get into a loosing streak, for the day.
 
Q. How do you know when to stop trading for the day?


A. When the market feels the way it feels now. Very little fear, panic, or greed. Instead, we have unsure, non-aggressive, anticipatory automated accumulation. Right now, I'm only up $220, and while I would very much like to be up 2-10 times that, I will accept that that is all the easy money I found today and the probability of finding easy money with my methadology is much lower than the probability of me giving my small gains away or even turning them into a loss.

Besides, that's still over $140/hour. I don't know of any other jobs I'm qualified for where I can get paid above 10% of that, and where I can take off after 90 minutes.
 
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