Impatience

sharktooth · Jun 28, 2006

Quote from Joe Ross:

<b><i>This question was sent to me from one of our students: </i></b><color=blue>"Hey Joe! My problem is impatience. I may have the worst case of it of anyone I know. What can I do?"</color>

In trading, timing is everything. If you are going to be a winning trader you have to be patient. You must control your impulses so that you can act appropriately at when it is the right time for a trade.

Experienced traders avoid acting on an impulse. Winning traders carefully develop a detailed trading plan. The trading plan must state entry and exit points and tactics as to how to manage the trade once entered. Successful traders have learned to follow it the plans they make. That means they are disciplined. Discipline is an essential key to successful trading.

A cold, rational approach to trading, along with a detailed trading plan, is the best defense against impulsive trading decisions.

It has been proven that discipline can be learned. I verify that from my own experience. When I began trading discipline was my biggest problem. Some people are more disciplined and self-controlled than others. I was not one of the disciplined ones. You really need to determine where you stand in the matter of discipline. If you're impulsive, developing mental strategies to compensate for it will allow you to trade profitably.

If you are one of those people who have difficulty delaying gratification, you have a serious problem if your trading style demands that you stay in a trade for a long timeâi.e., you are a position trader.

If you are a person who is extremely impatient, as you say you are, it may be wise for you to become a scalper. Contrary to the conventional wisdom put forth by people who have never succeeded in trading, scalping can be very profitable. Taking bite size pieces of profit while the money is on the table has worked for me and for many of the traders I have trained.

Patience is a virtue when attempting to trade profitably. Keep in mind that humans have a strong, natural tendency to avoid risk and loss at all costs. This tendency often protects us from harm, but there are times when it can compel us to act impulsively.

for those hoping scalping is a quick fix,
scalping demands the highest quality of patience, timing and discipline

cashmoney69 · Jun 28, 2006

Quote from sharktooth:

for those hoping scalping is a quick fix,
scalping demands the highest quality of patience, timing and discipline

I disagree. Investing requires a lot of patience. Holding for a few seconds to a few minutes is hardly being patient.

- nathan

StoragePro · Jun 28, 2006

Quote from cashmoney69:

I disagree. Investing requires a lot of patience. Holding for a few seconds to a few minutes is hardly being patient.

- nathan

Think about it this way -

In order to have success in scalping, it is not the scalp that takes patience - it is the waiting for the right setup to occur. THEN, you can take the trade.

Ted Williams once commented that his success came not from being able to hit all kinds of pitches, but in waiting patiently for HIS pitch.

Then again, Ted's head is now frozen in a block of ice - what the heck does he know?

cashmoney69 · Jun 28, 2006

Quote from StoragePro:

Think about it this way -

In order to have success in scalping, it is not the scalp that takes patience - it is the waiting for the right setup to occur. THEN, you can take the trade.

Yea, that makes sense. I never really saw it that way.

nononsense · Jun 29, 2006

Quote from TSGannGalt:

I'll bite...

So you don't teach a Carefully developed detailed trading plan.

??????

You should really think about what you write... There's a few more ironies...

You hit the nail on the head TS.
If you are a habitual loser, i.e. trading without a carefully developed AND TESTED trading strategy, it is only normal that you get impatient waiting for wins.

This thread is once more indicative of the naivete of hordes of people paying and running behind self appointed teachers whose only business it is to collect fees. Many posts here are only "teachers" ploys to attract some fresh tuition paying dudes.

zdreg · Jun 30, 2006

Quote from qxr1011:

===Everything is in our control. ===

Well, IMHO within certain limitations...And different people have different limitations...

==Nothing is fate.===

I personally would not be so maximalistic.

For example: I ,unfortunately, was not born in USA - that's fate... Each and every time when it is not a matter of choice it is fate...

The problem is sometimes we think that certain things are a matter of choice... sometimes we are correct in that sometimes we are incorrect.

In many aspects our choices are a matter of our personal genetics: certain people are wired certain way, and not much can be really done about that...

it is not unfortunate that you were not born in USA.
it is your attitude that may prove to be unfortunate.

if you have an overwhelming desire to live in the US you will find a way.

If you come from a "miserable " place
you have an advantage.
remember: hard people do well in soft countries.

WmWaster · Jul 1, 2006

Quote from cashmoney69:

I disagree. Investing requires a lot of patience. Holding for a few seconds to a few minutes is hardly being patient.

- nathan

I become impatient only if the P/L of my positions is getting stuck, going no where or start to reverse.

As long as the positions keep generating money, I'm more than happy to hold them, even for days.

However I won't hold for longer than months.

scriabinop23 · Jul 11, 2006

Just thought I'd make a contribution from a recently learned lesson.

If you're impatient, it may mean you are trading too large a position. If an unreasonable fear of loss is driving your impatience to hold, then it may be wise to reduce your position size to the point where you can *afford* to be patient.

For example, I can easily afford to trade mini future contracts, but I am not comfortable with holding these positions for long due to the amount of possible downside from the smallest price movements. I think this comes from my sense of what a dollar is worth.

Same holds true when trading stocks in 1000-4000 share lots. I can afford to, but I get nervous and tend to pull the plug at the most inopportune times. 100-300 share lots are more appropriate for me, at least for now. I feel I can afford to let things blossom in smaller positions and exert a little less impulsivity.