How I stopped making the same mistakes in 2010 and started to make more money

T

thinkfirst

Today is the perfect day to start this journal. I made the same mistakes again: I moved my stop to break even only to get stopped out and miss on a big move, talking about TM stock. Instead of having $1K+ day I ended up losing money.

I seem to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. Those are:

1. Exiting before target is hit ( luckily I have no problems exiting when stop is hit)
2. Moving stop to break even
3. Not reentering after getting stopped out and new entry is there
4. After making above mistakes, I hesitate when I see new signal.

I've read Douglas book "Trading in the Zone" and I think it's time to try his suggestions. Starting tomorrow for next 30 days I will NOT make these mistakes again. I thought writing about it in this journal will keep me focused.

Mistakes I made today:
long TM: moved stop to b/e too soon
long PSSI: didn't re-enter
short BDK: none

So tomorrow is Day 1 of no making these same mistakes.

I'm fading stocks most of the time by the way.

-$325 today
 
Quote from thinkfirst:

Today is the perfect day to start this journal. I made the same mistakes again: I moved my stop to break even only to get stopped out and miss on a big move, talking about TM stock. Instead of having $1K+ day I ended up losing money.

I seem to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. Those are:

1. Exiting before target is hit ( luckily I have no problems exiting when stop is hit)
2. Moving stop to break even
3. Not reentering after getting stopped out and new entry is there
4. After making above mistakes, I hesitate when I see new signal.

I've read Douglas book "Trading in the Zone" and I think it's time to try his suggestions. Starting tomorrow for next 30 days I will NOT make these mistakes again. I thought writing about it in this journal will keep me focused.

Mistakes I made today:
long TM: moved stop to b/e too soon
long PSSI: didn't re-enter
short BDK: none

So tomorrow is Day 1 of no making these same mistakes.

I'm fading stocks most of the time by the way.
More...

you will always make mistakes. the market has a way of tricking you into making new mistakes all the time.
 
Are you really fading or shorting – there is a difference


And what do you plan to do "specifically” to change – curious is all

Please feel free to tell me it’s none of my damn business



Success to you

RN
 
Quote from Redneck trader:

Are you really fading or shorting – there is a difference


And what do you plan to do "specifically” to change – curious is all

Please feel free to tell me it’s none of my damn business



Success to you

RN
More...

I'm just going to go cold turkey and stop making mistakes and start following my rules.
 
Quote from thinkfirst:

1. Exiting before target is hit ( luckily I have no problems exiting when stop is hit)
2. Moving stop to break even
3. Not reentering after getting stopped out and new entry is there
4. After making above mistakes, I hesitate when I see new signal.
[/B]
More...

1. Exiting before target is hit is only a mistake if you get out due to getting anxious - not if market is reversing/exhausting.
2. Moving stop to break even seems a mistake when you get stopped out of a good move - but looks like a great idea when the market turns hard against you!
3. Mostly agree.
4. Who wouldn't? :)

Have you tried cutting down your trading size for a while, so that you trade your market signals, not your anxiety, which seems to be the underlying problem? (I could be wrong, of course, just my humble opinion from the outside).

Best trading,

Jorge
 
Quote from vhehn:

you will always make mistakes. the market has a way of tricking you into making new mistakes all the time.
More...

Some mistakes are fine, I'm trying to stop bad habbits that eat up my profits. I should not be making as many mistakes as I do now after 5 years of trading.
 
Quote from Sarvise:

1. Exiting before target is hit is only a mistake if you get out due to getting anxious - not if market is reversing/exhausting.
2. Moving stop to break even seems a mistake when you get stopped out of a good move - but looks like a great idea when the market turns hard against you!
3. Mostly agree.
4. Who wouldn't? :)

Have you tried cutting down your trading size for a while, so that you trade your market signals, not your anxiety, which seems to be the underlying problem? (I could be wrong, of course, just my humble opinion from the outside).

Best trading,

Jorge
More...

Good points Jorge, you are right it's coming from getting anxious a lot of times. And I get anxious because as I get stopped out I increase my size. I don't know how to trade any other way, if I keep my position size the same and get stopped out 3-4 times then I won't make enough to cover my losses, plus odds are getting better as stock moves further.

I think spending more time staring at charts and verifying my rules should help which I intend on keep doing.
 
Profit targets are essentially quite arbitrary, regardless of your Ss and your Rs and so-called "measured moves." That's why at least partial profit taking (scaling out) makes sense in an environment of uncertainty when the price action gets wobbly.

As vhehn said:
Quote from vhehn:

you will always make mistakes. the market has a way of tricking you into making new mistakes all the time.
More...
So the idea is to smooth out the potential effects of inevitable mistakes. Unless, of course, you prefer the drama of all or nothing.
 
Quote from Gabfly1:

Profit targets are essentially quite arbitrary, regardless of your Ss and your Rs and so-called "measured moves." That's why at least partial profit taking (scaling out) makes sense in an environment of uncertainty when the price action gets wobbly.

As vhehn said:
So the idea is to smooth out the potential effects of inevitable mistakes.
More...

Thank you for your comments. For better or worse I don't believe in scaling out. In my opinion this is how I can end up making the most money on the smallest position size. I do scale out within the level and couple cents but not on different levels. I'll keep an eye on it and when market will keep telling me that scaling out is more profitable for my style I'll change.
 
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