Flashboy,
Don't put on another trade... I mean it. Just stop for second and call a time out.
You have a couple of things you need to do before you start up again:
1. Figure out what your objective is. Are you trading to make money? If so, don't. Are you trading to be good at it? Find a reason. Most traders, in my experience, give back a lot during the day because they are too attached to money. They start taking trade after trade "just to get back to where they were". This is an illusion. You have to just take a break when you experience a loss that rattles you. When you sit back down, your focus MUST be to trade like you did earlier when you were consistent.
2. Give yourself a definite amount of time and money to get this done. This is where you must have a plan. I followed the thread with DBPhoenix and I really thought that you could do it. You seemed to have a hard time sticking to the plan you had for the day, so one of your problems is discipline.
3. Pull out the detailed record of your trades and the corresponding charts. Figure out why you give 20 ticks back in the ER2. What prompted you to take the losing trade? Was your stop defined and did you stick with it? If so, why did you bet your whole day on it? You must figure out what is wrong and pinpoint it. You must know if it is discipline, fear, your plan is unrealistic, your goals, etc.
4. Most of all, you suffered some losses from a major hurricane. This is not the best backdrop for a trader. You need to stop and get yourself together and start again. The market is always here and you will have your day if you are committed.
Trading is tricky because it doesn't work with brute force. It is a delicate balance of several important eliminates. I don't know if you golf, but I like to use it as an analogy. It is very similar. If you hack at the ball to get more distance than you are accustomed to, then you will likely leave huge holes where the ball was. You must focus on all parts of your swing and make it smooth. Trading is no different. If you decide to just force a trade like you decide to hit the ball hard between the trees, then duck because you might get it in between the eyes. It is better to use a softer swing for a while and play the safer bets back on the fairway.
As far as trading plans, I have been doing a lot of studying myself to determine what I want to overcome next in my career. I am slowly moving into more of a swing in addition to scalping and I'm trying manage my own investment funds. I have a strong suspicion that ALL trading plans work as long as they are reasonable. You can take anyone's methodology in detail and pass it along and many won't make money, but a few will kill it and succeed. It is in how you implement it, how you manage your position size, your stop and your state of mind while trading.
Take my advice, Flash, you are only going to frustrate yourself more if you continue to trade without taking a break. The drawback here is that the more you get hit, the worse your confidence will be and the more damage (fear) you will have. A break will help you forget some of the things you fear and will give you a fresh start with no pressure to put on trades just to be in it.
Good luck and keep us posted. ET is a community where you can definitely get some guidance even though we are competitors. Take care.
