Temptation to force trades (holding 100% cash now)

[a529612]

What's the longest streak you have for sitting on the sideline, holding cash and patiently waiting for the right setup to emerge? I haven't made a trade for the last 2 weeks as I don't see any proper setup with the right risk / reward. The temptation to force a trade is rising. What's the best way to fight that urge? I'm feeling like a moron watching the screen all day and don't get paid.

 

[showyouwang]

go fishing!

lol take up video games? thats what i do

 

[JimmyJam]

If you haven't seen a decent trade in two weeks, you need to get a new trading system.

JJ

 

[murray t turtle]

Quote from a529612:

What's the longest streak you have for sitting on the sideline, holding cash and patiently waiting for the right setup to emerge? I haven't made a trade for the last 2 weeks as I don't see any proper setup with the right risk / reward. The temptation to force a trade is rising.

What's the best way to fight that urge? I'm feeling like a moron watching the screen all day and don't get paid.

============
Did something else[not trade],
all Sept,tends to be flat, it wasnt ;
still thats where probibilities were.

You must do short only, plenty of high probilities on long side[many time frames];
SMH sector/stocks have plenty of short opportunities.Maybe a bit late now but that weakness most likely will show again

Paper trading helps.

 

[brownsfan019]

Quote from JimmyJam:

If you haven't seen a decent trade in two weeks, you need to get a new trading system.

JJ

I agree... 2 weeks and NOTHING has shown up on your trading system? Nothing at all? Hard to understand how 2 weeks goes by and nothing is showing up on your system.

I guess to each his own, but 2 weeks seems like a long time to be waiting for ONE trade.

 

[murray t turtle]

While some derivatives like ES, have had some reasonable moves both up & down;
2-3 things things are a bit unusual with SPY,DIA,QQQ
1]Sept wasnt flat, usually is.

2]Depth & duration of pullbacks has been VERY shallow for sure, since Sept.Even weaker NasdaQQQ is uptrending for now, may hit $46;its pulled back more than SPY,DIA

3]Makes it tricky, cause many stocks move with the above etfs;
not many down moves, or many like to buy uptrends on nice deep pullbacks.Not many of those.

If i hadnt gotten my hands dirty with a large number of uptrends/downtrends which was years well spent,, probaby wouldnt buy high. Scaling in helps also

 

[giles117]

Way too many markets to just sit out. Yes we all need days off.

So again I ask, are you ONLY trading one market??? and if so, has fear cloude your judgment.

2 weeks??? Thats not forcing a trade. thats being scared to trade/ or limiting your options of where to trade.

But then those are just my opinions. I take a day off here and there and even on my day off, I study my watchlist and other indicators and see a couple fo profitable trades.

I have to force myself to "Take a day off" and breath.

Play with my wife and kids or watch movies (veg out!!!)


Just went through that this week. had to froce myself to relax and do NOTHING.

 

[lindq]

Quote from a529612:

What's the longest streak you have for sitting on the sideline, holding cash and patiently waiting for the right setup to emerge? I haven't made a trade for the last 2 weeks as I don't see any proper setup with the right risk / reward. The temptation to force a trade is rising. What's the best way to fight that urge? I'm feeling like a moron watching the screen all day and don't get paid.

Cash is a position. Nothing wrong with cash.

If you have a system you believe in...and you haven't had setups in two weeks...then don't worry about it. Very low volatility and a slowly rising market have put some good systems on the sidelines the past couple weeks.

While it's as exciting as watching paint dry, it's much preferred to losing money in emotional trades that serve no purpose other than entertainment.