What is the worst thing you do when you get mad at a bad trade?
- Thread starter bungrider
- Start date
i wish it were that simple. i have a bad temper to begin with, so i don't think i'll be able to suddenly change that very easily.
what i'm looking for is a way to say
"relax -- i got a loss because shit (the unexpected -- like a big buyer going against the market trend) happened," or
"relax -- i got a loss because i was wrong and i need to reverse" or
"relax -- i got a loss and i need to figure out what i did wrong because i have no idea what just happened"
...if someone has a little trick or a system to snap out of being annoyed and re-evaluate the situation, and make one of the decisions i quoted above, that would be a big step in the right direction for me...
sometimes it's the most unexpected losses that give you the juiciest pieces of information (on the intraday timeframe)...
almost fell outta the chair on that one. have you been spying on me?
Or you can say:
"relax-- getting a loss is part of this business, in order to get some wins i must encounter some losses"....
What exactly is a loss to you Bung??...hitting your stop or blowing thru it??? I dont consider it a loss when a trade hits my stop and Im out....Think about it, thats just the way the cookie crumbles.....peace
Why get upset by losses? They are part of the game. It's NORMAL! Do you think a major league baseball teams expects to win ALL their games? Hell no! Those that CAN deal with emotions without losing their cool I think transition into their next trade more effectively. Do I get all giddy when I make money? No ... and by the same token I don't get all depressed when I lose $$$. It has nothing to do with anything read in a trading psychology book ...
I don't react at all to single bad trades. However, I will get down after a day when everything goes wrong (it does happen).
When this is the case, my only solace is to remember the other disastrous days, and how, in the long run, they were just bumps in the road.
I have had some huge losing days. I try to think about the huge winning days to even out my head. But for whatever reason, thinking of my previous big losses seems to work better for me. I guess it's because I know I always came back.
But to bum after one bad trade? A waste of energy and time.
I do keep a grip exerciser on my desk...maybe that helps relieve tension. Broke my wrist a long time ago, and it just became a habit to keep it around.
I now know I will never let myself have another huge losing day. Of course part of it is I no longer have the kind of buying power my firm used to give me (nor does virtually anyone else....the market is just too tough now for the kind of big momentum plays we used to make). The other reason is I have an "uncle point". I lose $XX and I just take off. I know it's not my day. And I also know that "revenge trading" was the cause of all my worst days.
Someone suggested a punching bag. Not a bad idea. Me, I either go to the gym, or to the driving range. In the daylight savings days, I may play 9 or 18 holes of golf. Even in December I might if I am out of day early enough to still have enough daylight. Which at 10 am is easy.
Peace,
Rs8.5
When this is the case, my only solace is to remember the other disastrous days, and how, in the long run, they were just bumps in the road.
I have had some huge losing days. I try to think about the huge winning days to even out my head. But for whatever reason, thinking of my previous big losses seems to work better for me. I guess it's because I know I always came back.
But to bum after one bad trade? A waste of energy and time.
I do keep a grip exerciser on my desk...maybe that helps relieve tension. Broke my wrist a long time ago, and it just became a habit to keep it around.
I now know I will never let myself have another huge losing day. Of course part of it is I no longer have the kind of buying power my firm used to give me (nor does virtually anyone else....the market is just too tough now for the kind of big momentum plays we used to make). The other reason is I have an "uncle point". I lose $XX and I just take off. I know it's not my day. And I also know that "revenge trading" was the cause of all my worst days.
Someone suggested a punching bag. Not a bad idea. Me, I either go to the gym, or to the driving range. In the daylight savings days, I may play 9 or 18 holes of golf. Even in December I might if I am out of day early enough to still have enough daylight. Which at 10 am is easy.
Peace,
Rs8.5