(excperpt from log)
putting some thought into why and how i have been handling losers and tough situations so well, trading out of them for flat or profit and avoiding the fiasco. what am i doing differently? for example today i felt in control for the most part up until the end where i was feeling it slip, although i was not going to let it get any further out of hand, i was at my limits.
a lot of what i do different now when, i.e. i get stuck in a squeeze or a rough spot, i dont add right away, i used to be tempted to add the first move against and every 10 cents after that, instead i show patinece, see wht its goign to do, read teh tape, loof at its group, what are the spoos doing, etc.. then strategically add when appropriate.
however i was reminded of a pertinent instinct i feel i developed. when i started trading, countless times i paniced and sold or bought the top/bottom... like a lab rat getting electrocuted enough times, the relevation came... one day i sold a long for a big loss and recognized my panic and it clicked that i paniced and the light went on, and i thought, i have seen and felt this enought times this HAS to be close to the bottom if not the bottom, i immediately boughth back 2x as much and it was the dead bottom of the day, made a nice trade...
i now listen to my gut and instead of a panic, i "feel" its close to a bottom/top along with the other signals and how the tape looks of course... this has even turned into a trade signal for me, when i get that feeling, i double up and it works more often thatn not. its also a good "safety device" saving me form panics, but i dont know if this is a posiitve traders instinct helping me or am i playing with fire here and subjecting myself to risk, i'd liek to think it s the former because in retro its always easy to look at the trade and say why didnt i get out, and thats the first line of defense to cut that loser immediately and even on the best day ideally that cuts 90% of losers, but b/c nobody is perfect, how i deal with that remaing 10% can make the difference on the day...
or maybe this is just my personal head game, but would love to know a seasoned succesful trader's perspective on this if i am developing into a trader or playing mind games with myself.... bottom line is i am making more money and avoided more losses b/c of this and i think that bottom line is true test.
putting some thought into why and how i have been handling losers and tough situations so well, trading out of them for flat or profit and avoiding the fiasco. what am i doing differently? for example today i felt in control for the most part up until the end where i was feeling it slip, although i was not going to let it get any further out of hand, i was at my limits.
a lot of what i do different now when, i.e. i get stuck in a squeeze or a rough spot, i dont add right away, i used to be tempted to add the first move against and every 10 cents after that, instead i show patinece, see wht its goign to do, read teh tape, loof at its group, what are the spoos doing, etc.. then strategically add when appropriate.
however i was reminded of a pertinent instinct i feel i developed. when i started trading, countless times i paniced and sold or bought the top/bottom... like a lab rat getting electrocuted enough times, the relevation came... one day i sold a long for a big loss and recognized my panic and it clicked that i paniced and the light went on, and i thought, i have seen and felt this enought times this HAS to be close to the bottom if not the bottom, i immediately boughth back 2x as much and it was the dead bottom of the day, made a nice trade...
i now listen to my gut and instead of a panic, i "feel" its close to a bottom/top along with the other signals and how the tape looks of course... this has even turned into a trade signal for me, when i get that feeling, i double up and it works more often thatn not. its also a good "safety device" saving me form panics, but i dont know if this is a posiitve traders instinct helping me or am i playing with fire here and subjecting myself to risk, i'd liek to think it s the former because in retro its always easy to look at the trade and say why didnt i get out, and thats the first line of defense to cut that loser immediately and even on the best day ideally that cuts 90% of losers, but b/c nobody is perfect, how i deal with that remaing 10% can make the difference on the day...
or maybe this is just my personal head game, but would love to know a seasoned succesful trader's perspective on this if i am developing into a trader or playing mind games with myself.... bottom line is i am making more money and avoided more losses b/c of this and i think that bottom line is true test.
The real point is that the trade is out of control and your trying to regain control of a trade you should no longer be in. Always be in control.