If the market is sending you a mixed message, it might behoove you to step back until the message congeals. Market conditions often fail to provide a propitious trading environment. Sometimes the best trades are those that aren't executed. It's been my experience that the lesson that those who have worked for me had the most difficult time learning was to act only on the top 5-10% of the opportunities that presented themselves. To paraphrase Jimmy Rogers, a good trade should be like spotting money in the corner of the room, walking over and picking it up.
Need help breaking a disasterous habit
- Thread starter sputdr
- Start date
Good post.
I have been trading ES since its inception in 1997. This has been one of the main lessons that I have had to learn (again & again
). 90% of the battle (especially in day-trading) is to keep yourself in check until a very high-probability setup presents itself. It does not take much experience at all to recognize such setups - even most 1st year rookies can identify them. It DOES take a saint's patience and many years of experience to keep your gears in neutral in between such setups.On one hand, the trader's mind keeps getting bored or anxious and is continually looking for a way to get away from the discomfort of such mental states. On the other hand, the markets price action is 'designed' in such a way that it gives a trader a very convenient way of escaping from the internal promptings of his mind. It is truly a match made in hell. Most traders are not trying to beat the market. They are clicking that mouse all day long to beat the uncomfortable feelings that price action evokes in them. Most of the time they are not even aware of this process. Hence, it is quite common for inexperienced traders to suddenly find themselves in trades that they had no intention of taking. Many times they do not even know when or how that mouse got clicked.
Quote from ForrestGump:
Good post.
I have been trading ES since its inception in 1997. This has been one of the main lessons that I have had to learn (again & again
On one hand, the trader's mind keeps getting bored or anxious and is continually looking for a way to get away from the discomfort of such mental states. On the other hand, the markets price action is 'designed' in such a way that it gives a trader a very convenient way of escaping from the internal promptings of his mind. It is truly a match made in hell. Most traders are not trying to beat the market. They are clicking that mouse all day long to beat the uncomfortable feelings that price action evokes in them. Most of the time they are not even aware of this process. Hence, it is quite common for inexperienced traders to suddenly find themselves in trades that they had no intention of taking. Many times they do not even know when or how that mouse got clicked.
Great post. I now remind myself everyday that just by sitting there and doing nothing the whole day I end up way ahead of most guys and institutions out there that try to trade all day. There no point an making any trades 90% of the time.