Leaving Money On The Table

Originally posted by easyrider
Bachelier

I can relate to what your saying. I've been going through the same thing for a couple of days. Four winning weeks in a row then "pow" and you take one on the chin. You get mad, make a couple of stupid trades, digging yourself farther in the hole. Its hard to get back in the groove. I havent come up with an answer for it yet. The episodes have been getting shorter over time so, hopefully, we'll grow out of it.
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Easyrider,

My take is it's the same as with cutting losses, but then in a broader timeframe.

As a beginner, you think every trade has to be a winner and start messing things up when the trade happens to be a loser. You get more experienced and you find out losing trades are just part of the game and you cut them fast.

Now, in our level of experience we are finding we are able to cut our losses on a microlevel fast, but we still get agonized when things don't work out on a longer timeframe, like a string of losses, or one particular stupid trade. We have to step back and look at the longer timeframe with the same savviness as we do with the shorter timeframe.

On the other hand, maybe the answer is that after a streak of winning days, one starts to demand more and more of him/herself untill you can't hack it anymore..

Anyway, it's a good sign the episodes are getting shorter over time, so indeed let's hope for the best.

my two cents,

Bachelier
 
Magna said:
One of the best quotes on this subject was by our very own Qwiktrade when he said:

"If you exit when your system says to exit, then you didn't leave any money on the table..."
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Magna,

Question:

1. How do you learn to trust and be confident in the system to believe the system when it says exit, to exit? And not play the mental woulda-coulda-shoulda mind games with yourself.
 
The biggest problem faced with me (or maybe other traders), is gaining the confidence to pull the trigger each and every trade I think will be a winner. AND not having doubt in my abilities.

The solution to that problem, IMO, is constant study and constant practice all the time to increase skills over time to increase confidence and probabilities of making money when I pull buy or sell trigger.

I honestly do not think Psychology or any other mental game has anything to do with making money while trading in the beginning of trading journey. Maybe later.

Time + Quality Trading Skills = Making Money.

P.S. I am not a profitable trader, yet. What I wrote above could be bullshit. I have not confirmed it yet.
 
SimpleMeLike said:
Magna,

Question:

1. How do you learn to trust and be confident in the system to believe the system when it says exit, to exit? And not play the mental woulda-coulda-shoulda mind games with yourself.
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I know you directed to Magna, but Im chiming in.

Second guessing the system is rooted in feeling superior, which is an emotional thing.
Let's face it, we've all been brainwashed so to speak... making money, more specifically, trading successfully is "hard".

It, trading successfully, CAN NOT be as simple as buying when the blue dot crosses the green-line and selling when the blue dot crosses the red line. (or whatever your system uses as triggers). Damnit, I KNOW I am smarter than that! I've spent hundreds of man-hours studying this stuff... Trading successfully is not, can not, be that simple, day after day. Hence you attempt to "refine" the system by second guessing... To PROVE TO YOURSELF you KNOW there is "more" to it! You KNOW because you studied! You KNOW because everyone is not trading successfully. And they have a system and they studied too! Superiority... prove the brainwash is right.

You will NEVER attain the stats of your system by trying to prove superiority over the system.
 
tiddlywinks said:
I know you directed to Magna, but Im chiming in.

Second guessing the system is rooted in feeling superior, which is an emotional thing.
Let's face it, we've all been brainwashed so to speak... making money, more specifically, trading successfully is "hard".

It, trading successfully, CAN NOT be as simple as buying when the blue dot crosses the green-line and selling when the blue dot crosses the red line. (or whatever your system uses as triggers). Damnit, I KNOW I am smarter than that! I've spent hundreds of man-hours studying this stuff... Trading successfully is not, can not, be that simple, day after day. Hence you attempt to "refine" the system by second guessing... To PROVE TO YOURSELF you KNOW there is "more" to it! You KNOW because you studied! You KNOW because everyone is not trading successfully. And they have a system and they studied too! Superiority... prove the brainwash is right.

You will NEVER attain the stats of your system by trying to prove superiority over the system.
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Thanks for the response tiddlywinks,

Question please:

1. How do you learn to trust and be confident in the system to believe the system when it says exit, to exit? And not play the mental woulda-coulda-shoulda mind games with yourself.

How do you trust the trading system?

Thanks
 
SimpleMeLike said:
Thanks for the response tiddlywinks,

Question please:

1. How do you learn to trust and be confident in the system to believe the system when it says exit, to exit? And not play the mental woulda-coulda-shoulda mind games with yourself.

How do you trust the trading system?

Thanks
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When I get into my car there is gas in the tank, four inflated tires, and brakes that work. I trust that when I turn the key the engine and all it's components will operate in a manner for safe travel. If the engine doesn't start I have 3 choices... determine the problem and 1) get it fixed or fix it myself, 2) switch, borrow, rent, purchase, lease etc a different car, or 3) give up driving and use alternate modes of transport.

Your question isn't about gas, inflated tires, and brakes.
 
tiddlywinks said:
When I get into my car there is gas in the tank, four inflated tires, and brakes that work. I trust that when I turn the key the engine and all it's components will operate in a manner for safe travel. If the engine doesn't start I have 3 choices... determine the problem and 1) get it fixed or fix it myself, 2) switch, borrow, rent, purchase, lease etc a different car, or 3) give up driving and use alternate modes of transport.

Your question isn't about gas, inflated tires, and brakes.
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tiddlywinks,

Thanks for comments.
 
SimpleMeLike said:
1. How do you learn to trust and be confident in the system to believe the system when it says exit, to exit? And not play the mental woulda-coulda-shoulda mind games with yourself.

How do you trust the trading system?
More...


is it trustworthy?

evidence that it has demonstrated consistency in the past could be a place to start.

if you were to be forced to sell your system, period; selling it for a king's ransom, but to a violent criminal kingpin, infamous for prolonged terminal revenge - what features and benefits of your system would you establish firmly as reasons for the prospect to become happily involved with your proposal?

evidence. consistly. winning.

linked below are three lines from an unrelated et post and pack a good bit in a small space.

https://elitetrader.com/et/threads/...solid-trading-plan.340340/page-2#post-5014315
 
Focus should be on constraining the left tail.

Letting profit run means a longer right tail.
Longer but thinner than someone TPing.
In the end it’s the left tail that matters.
& The median of the distribution ...
Of course. Profitable or not.
Left tail is Risk mgmt.

Those letting profits runs are 95% in balance.
It’s the 5% remaining that makes the diff.
Assuming right tail is > than left one.
 
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