fear of loss is what keeps me humble; it's when i don't have the fear of loss that i lose the most
Over-trading versus Fear of Loss
- Thread starter SimpleMeLike
- Start date
Your "system" doesn't work. You have to accept the fact that it isn't working. You say "I have a system that I have been trading with decent (slightly over break-even) profits. "Slightly over break even" isn't worth it.
Your system doesn't seem to have a contingency plan for when trades go against you. When you give back 3 to 400 dollars it tells me part of your system is based on "hope".
I always trade with a stop in the 6E market. I can't remember the last time I let my stop get hit. If a trade starts going against me I am out. If a trade stalls near my entry I am ready to close.
Do you look at the tape and order book while trading? Given enough experience it is easy to see when it's a good idea to get out.
Just try to see the big picture of things, (and logic behind it too)
Perspective can make a world of difference
Perspective can make a world of difference
Right. That's why I always laugh when I hear things like "Bet big when the odds are in your favor" or "Take only high probability trades". Looking microscopically at my last 1000 trades, I couldn't tell you which ones had the highest odds. I'm skeptical of anyone who claims success in isolating these high probability setups within a series.
No offense, but I'm not buying into this. I have a hard time believing that all your winning trades are only the ones where the trade doesn't stall, or move against you, with stops rarely getting hit. You can't eat the meat without eating the shit.
Why would anyone trade a system like that? It does not sound like a viable plan. By "you" I mean you, me, every trader.
It now makes sense to me why you were quoting gambling sayings. However the market is significantly different from a casino in that casino games are random and there's no volatility at all, a market is completely different because it's not just random numbers on your screen but psychology of market participants.
I take no offense. Remember that there are many different trading styles. I trade the 6E futures contract short term based primarily on the depth of market and time & sales. That's the way I see the market best. It may or may not work for others and by no means am I suggesting it is "the only way to trade".
My "safety stop" is set at 10 ticks. I should have said my INITIAL stop rarely gets hit. I move the stop down as the trade matures and often it will get hit on my "runner" contract.
There is no reason for me to stay in a trade if the reason I entered is no longer present. I enter based on the Depth of market and tape primarily. There are other things I look at but the final trigger is what I am seeing in the orders.
Stalling right after entry - If I enter and it just ticks around the entry point for too long why stay in it? This is indicating to me that there isn't a clear direction and I misread the order flow. I would rather take a scratch than give up 4 or five ticks. If the trade stalls after it has moved in my favor I will stay in but tighten up the stop.
Not taking my full stop - I enter a trade and it starts ticking against me. I misread the order flow. Say I enter and it ticks against me and back towards my trade. It keeps ticking against me but each time it does it ticks back less towards my entry and then goes a little further away. This will be clear on the depth of market and tape. Instead of seeing orders pulling in my favor I see orders stacking. Should I wait until it goes all the way to my stop? Each tick I lose is 6.25 and my trading costs are 4.28 for a round trip. I can always get back in later.
I use Jigsaw trading tools. They had an interesting presentation recently called "kill it or keep it" that explains the concept better than I can.
I used to use "hope" as a money management strategy until I realized it doesn't work. I am looking at every trade while I am in a position.
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Over-trading is one prevalent trading mistake that Forex traders make. What happens when you over-trade, is that when you win those trades that you have entered you are reinforcing bad trading behavior, and bad trading behavior only has one eventuality; losing money, usually a lot of money, or all of your account. Hence, over-trading should be avoided.