I'mhaving a serious problem keeping my profits

perhaps his problem is being able to make a profitable trade but not having the discipline to call it a day. in other words over trading. i had a similar problem where i would be up 500 before 10:00 a.m. and give it all back by 12. i realized that my strength was the first hour of trading and then the last 2 hours so i now limit my trading.
enforcer
 
Quote from enforcer99:

perhaps his problem is being able to make a profitable trade but not having the discipline to call it a day. in other words over trading. i had a similar problem where i would be up 500 before 10:00 a.m. and give it all back by 12. i realized that my strength was the first hour of trading and then the last 2 hours so i now limit my trading.
enforcer
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Agree. The time of day that you trade makes a difference. I have a hard time the first 1hr - 1hr 1/2, but once a trend developes, I do well.

Like douglas says, "its not ones intelligence that seperate good traders from bad..its how they think". I almost hate to say this, but your gut feeling will help a lot (in time).
 
what helps is having RULES

a trading plan. everybody i train MUST have a trading plan. MUST have rules.

because if you make decisions about trading size, about when to stop trading, etc. when you are already emotionally involved in a trading day (which you will be. because you are a human being), you will NOT make a rational, dispassionate decision.

professional traders have rules. they define their risk. risk, like charts (price action) is fractal. you need to define risk on ALL time frames. iow, what is your DAILY risk. what is your per trade risk, etc.

these are very basic things that most traders do not pay attention to. every trade is a business decision. you need to have a ruleset that works within the expectancy of your methodology, while minimizing the tendency to make emotional decisions.
 
Quote from Kovacs:

Now that I know how to make money, keeping it has become the central problem.

I'm not just talking about losing a big chunk of it. I mean going all the way deep into the negative(for my level).


Do you have any suggestions?
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The Market is too volatile to make consistent money. Why don't you take a month off, get some fresh air, drink few cold ones, come back in September/ early October and plow down some good numbers.

Trading is not like a job, you trade when its good to trade. Some days I never place single order, I only trade when the odds are in my favor.


Good Luck.
 
Quote from day7793:

The Market is too volatile to make consistent money. Why don't you take a month off, get some fresh air, drink few cold ones, come back in September/ early October and plow down some good numbers.

Trading is not like a job, you trade when its good to trade. Few days in row I never place a single order, I only trade when the odds are in my favor and I feel confident.


Good Luck.
More...
 
Quote from Kovacs:

Now that I know how to make money, keeping it has become the central problem.

I'm not just talking about losing a big chunk of it. I mean going all the way deep into the negative(for my level).

Do you have any suggestions?
More...

How can anybody possibly say anthing that's useful when you have not provided one specific detail (examples) about your trading problem of keeping profits?

I probably can make about a dozen or so suggestions but its too time consuming when if I knew what exactly was the problem I could make about 1 - 2 suggestions that would be useful.

Anyways, your statement seems like your saying your profitable in the morning but as the trading day progresses you lose your morning profits and close the trading day at a loss.

If that's correct...there are some excellent threads here at ET on that specific topic you can use ET search to find your answer or I can give you a basic summary for helpful tips involving that particular problem.

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/search.php?s=

Mark
 
Quote from Kovacs:

Do you have any suggestions?
More...

this is a classic problem of overtrading.

most probably due to an addition to trading aka gambling problem.

a gambling problem is when you go to the casino and no matter how much money you have and how much you've won, you dont leave until you've depleted your entire bankroll. since the casino has an edge and you have a limited bankroll (certainly inferior to the house), chances are that no matter how lucky you get, you end up bust.

think of the market as a giant casino alluring to gamblers and making them stay there until they have gone bust. winning at the market is pretty much about having a plan and no attachment to trading whatsoever. yes, in trading less is more.
 
imho .... rule #1 when trading..never use money you cant afford to lose. if you are having a bad day ,set a maximum daily loss limit for yourself for the day . if that limit is hit ,you are done for the day .
 
. . . . . Here are my favorite quotes from "Market Wizards"...Maybe they will be helpful to you.


--Undertrade, undertrade, undertrade! --Bruce Kovner

--Whatever you think your position ought to be, cut it at least in half. --Bruce Kovner

--The most important rule in trading is: Play great defense, not great offense. --Paul Tudor Jones

--Longevity is the key to success. --Ed Seykota

--I became successful when my desire to win took precedence over my desire to be right. --Marty Schwartz

--The moment one commits oneself, Providence moves too. --Dr. Van K. Tharp, quoting a poem by W. N. Murray

--You can't sustain trading if you don't have some other focus. Have fun outside of trading. --Michael Marcus


+-*/ Math_Wiz
 
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