How to change mindset to let profits run?

Quote from jsmith:


Looking at your trades, I see you had an unrealized loss of about 12k before your 16 contracts bounced back. What would you have done if it went even further down without retracing? Do you have any absolute stop loss point?

Thanks!

Possibly bankruptcy, this kind of trading is flawed too bad people don't realize it before they blow up.

TV
 
Quote from sumosam:

i'm not sure this is related, but i do find that the more effort/hours i put into my trading day, paradoxically, the less profit i make.

its like i/ve got it in my head, i have to work hard for this money.....i do my due diligence, etc. but am flabbergasted at how fast you can be up in your account.

i find studying the night before, looking for support/resistance is best. as i trade off one minute charts, it often gives me a good idea when the end is near...ie. lower volume, lower ranges....but is only a rough guide

am learning that i will have to settle for a rough estimate only when extracting profits. i

ideally, a trailing stop also helps, but then you have to understand the range of your underlying.

i also liked what some one said about expecting a larger return....i did that to-day as i gave back about 3/4 of my earnings...so when my last trade was on, i was determined to make as much as i could.

also, if you've had a winning streak/loosing streak matters. :cool:

as a student of sports psychology (which works very well for trading btw) i would say it is related. i heard about an NBA coach that hired a sports psychology consultant.....for one of the exercises the cons. told the team to run 40 yards at 100% speed and timed it, then told them to run the same 40 at 90%....guess which time was faster?

when we tighen up our muscles (or anything for that matter), we usually don't perform at our best. some sports coaches use a concept know as "white moments", roughly equivalent to "being in the zone". the primary characteristc and most common thing heard from high performing athletes is that they 'were not thinking' when they were doing. i've heard of a batting coach tell the players, "a full head gives you an empty bat".

i don't mean to turn this into a psych. thread, but i believe the biggest obstacle to consistent profits exists right between our ears.

PM me if you want some specific things to read about sports psych. that applies to trading.
 
Quote from jsmith:

Hi saxon22,

I have to admit I have a similar trading style to you. The problem I have is when I get caught in a runner that never retraces, consolidates instead and I take a huge loss.

Looking at your trades, I see you had an unrealized loss of about 12k before your 16 contracts bounced back. What would you have done if it went even further down without retracing? Do you have any absolute stop loss point?

Thanks!

well, I stop at 16 and the double the distance before i go in again with another 16 and that is it. However,I never go over the margin in my account (overnight that is). Stop point loss ....... have not gotten there yet on this account.
 
Quote from The Voyager:

Possibly bankruptcy, this kind of trading is flawed too bad people don't realize it before they blow up.

TV


Trading is about probabilities. In order to do what i do you need to have a fat account. 150K is absolute min. 500K being right on target. Just follow your plan and trade accordingly. Many a time i wanted to put 80 contracts instead of required 8 to bring in the profits but I did not. DISCIPLINE is the KEY (and that 500K if market really tumbles). :D
 
Quote from saxon22:

Trading is about probabilities. In order to do what i do you need to have a fat account. 150K is absolute min. 500K being right on target. Just follow your plan and trade accordingly. Many a time i wanted to put 80 contracts instead of required 8 to bring in the profits but I did not. DISCIPLINE is the KEY (and that 500K if market really tumbles). :D

What if you downsize to an ETF ?

TV
 
Quote from Eazy E:

Hi all,

I'm seeking some advice/opinions on how to best change my mindset into letting my profits run and limiting my losses?

I've been OK at eeking out small profits in this volatile market but have been consistently leaving much larger profits on the table.

Any thoughts and suggestions are appreciated!

Eazy
===================
EaE;
Planning ,analyzing longer time frames may help;
that is, in a nicely trending market.

Didnt trade on 10-28.mainly because i didnt have much conviction on it downtrending.[the long & medium trend]So if you like to trend trade;
you would be right to take smaller profits then, counter trend , or trend that day.

I still look @ monthly candles, but seldom keep that time-frame;
& to put it simple,
you can be early, or late on your profits.
:cool:
 
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