How to know when youre not cut out for this?

janko,

you need to get over the scared money attitude. You need to be comfortable with the fact that you may lose everything. However, losing everything doesn't mean you are a "loser". Remember that! How many great people have gone bust before they rolled in the green? Too many to count!

Stick with it...
 
Originally posted by Newatthis
On second thought, give it up..If you have to question it, then you don't have it.

Qwik,
Disagree, some people are naturally inclined to be traders and are cut out for it.
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Newatthis, you never questioned yourself? I find that hard to believe.

Sure, some people may have what you call a "natural inclination" to being traders, but this does NOT mean a person cannot overcome whatever difficulties/problems they are facing and become successful traders. For every "natural born" trader, I'll show you 100 "made traders".
 
to go along with what dotslash just said...

I'm new to the market as well, however before I began trading I read some books. I knew I needed to learn how to avoid losing it all and what it would take to make money.

I have done both. I know what's needed to make money and I have not lost it all. That being said I am still down 20% (my trading cutoff point.) meaning i'm not taking trades now at all. I'm watching, waiting and re-evaluating my approach on a daily basis.

Sure I am dissapointed by my losses so far but that has not "got me down". I am still confident I can achieve my goals. Every loss I incur is a mistake, and every mistake is a teaching device...a learning tool.

The most important thing new traders like me need to realize is that your first few years are tuition paid to the school of trading. You don't get something for nothing unless you're reckless stupid and lucky...and then smart enough to wake up from that condition.

Look, for having traded 1 year and still have profits (heck to even still be above break even) means you're doing a lot more right than you are wrong.

But again if you're miserable about your performance, then maybe trading isn't for you. Because then you will be miserable no matter how much money you make. You need to get to know yourself better and figure out what you are trying to achieve through trading.

Yes it's something that you love, but if you don't have clear goals about where you want it to ultimately take you then it's just a hobby.
 
Have you ever tried trading deeper time frames? It sounds like you are victim of “infowash”. Too much information washing through your brain. You’re a step behind, and this leads to the anxiety and chasing, missing etc... If you back off a bit, then you have time to observe, formulate your opinion, stalk your entry, and this will all happen with plenty of time to think. You don’t get caught up in the rush to get filled, and then live or die by each tick.

Look at 15 or 30 minute charts and see if that doesn’t help you! :)

Good Luck and Good Trading,

-Bo Yoder
 
i do trade off the 5 min charts and keep the 30 min charts there as well, i think i am ok with picking setups, for example i was just waiting for the ES today to hit 800or so and initiate a long since it has been stretched on the 5min and the 15min chart, expecting some sort of a snap back, i was going to wait a bit if it got to 800 as most likely there were a lot of stops below it and would most likely get hit, i think i would ahve pulled the triger maybe several minutes into the break of 800 and go long maybe around 798 but still that would require some wiggle room to let the trade work out, a revert to the median in the bolingers. but again i sat there because i couldnt stomach 3+ points of wiggle room.I can call the set ups, of course not perfectly, and of course they do fail on me and i realize that and close the posn, the problem is i dont act on them, because obviously i dont want to loose money. and thats where the problem is, i need to re read trading in the zone and get into a different state of mind.
Ok back to the books.
 
Daniel M,

I question myself everytime I push the damn button. I question myself when I buy groceries. I never doubted i would make it as a trader. I knew I had it inside of me; I just had to let it out. I learned more about me than trading while trying to become a good trader. I think Dirty Harry said it best, "A man has got to know his limitations."

I agree that many great traders are made not born. Looking back on my short life, I see that most of what I did growing up was trader like and entrepreneurial. I scalped tickets at Cub games...I found a cheap supplier of T-shirts and middled them to a local head shop selling tie dyes, etc. The instrument you trade is not relevant. My trading skills are transferable to other markets. I don't have a system so to speak. I read the tape (Not a Bright trader!! Don't do opening only orders.) and anticipate supply and demand.
 
I think all undercapitalized traders face this problem sometime.Try entering positions with stops and limit orders it will get you in the market without you doing anything. Or try to pull the trigger when a certain price is hit no matter what. Trading eminis intraday requires razorsharp precision and 15 seconds of unattention or hesitation can cause you to miss a setup, no big deal wait for the next entry and try to take whatever you can get.
 
Originally posted by LouiseJefferson


You think its stressful losing your OWN money! Try losing someone elses money...now thats stress.
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it's stressful if it's family money
 
I spent the first 5 years as a breakeven trader. During this time I was developing my skills and trying lots of different trading strategies. I used a small amount of capital so I could build my experience without risking too much. The aim wasn't to make money but to get to a point where I had a solid edge.

During this time I found trading quite stressful, because I wasn't confident in my strategies. Eventually, I found my niche and became consistently profitable. The stress went away completely and the profits started rolling in because I had reached a level where I was supremely confident in my ability.

So my advice would be to trade a small account so the wins and losses don't really have an impact on you. Then you can focus on proper form and finding your niche. When you become consistently profitable, gradually increase your position size.

Don't give up!
 
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