Archives of “few days” tag

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Accepting Loss

  
  Education
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One of the fundamental principals of trading stocks, or anything for that matter, is; you never play with money you cannot afford to lose. You should not be trading money needed for car payments, rent, food, diapers etc. The reason for this is, no matter how sound a system or piece of advice may sound, trades often go against you. Trading money you can afford to lose means that you have money to live, some money saved for a rainy day, and some for trading.

Now, by trading money you can afford to, or are willing to lose means just that. Even a successful trader’s account may experience dips or losses at many points. In fact, being willing to lose, or admit loss is essential to trading. (more…)

Know Yourself & Educate Yourself

  
  Education
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Know yourself– Understand what style fits your personality.  Can you hold a position for a few days or only a few hours?  Are you okay with larger draw downs or can you only take small ones? Are you more comfortable trading pullbacks or breakouts? Most importantly, don’t try to use a style that doesn’t “fit” your personality.

Educate yourself – But don’t over educate yourself or fall into the trap of reading to many biographical trading books.  They may be entertaining, but you will learn little about the current state of trading.  Stick to my  ”Holy Trinity” of books “How To Make Money In Stocks” by O’Neil, “The Disciplined Trader” by Mark Douglas, and “The StockTwits Edge” by Howard Lindzon.  The rest you can learn from online trading communities and blogs.

The Best Rupee You Can Spend

  
Education, Uncategorized
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A few days ago, I printed myself a little label and adhered it to the base of my monitor:
print-
 

Now, before I close a position, I glance at it. If necessary, I will say the phrase out loud (I stop at nothing to enforce discipline). That little sticker has already made me a lot of money. I suggest you consider one for yourself.

 

Overconfidence

  
  Education
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The perfectionist may never be really convinced that a certain market setup is right to enter into a position and the overconfident trader may neglect certain signals that the setup is not worth trading on.

A trader may become overconfident after a few successful trades. It’s very hard to fight the ‘I am the market God’-emotion. Making a number of consecutive successful trades is not necessarily a sign you have figured out how the markets work, the same way a losing streak is not a sign you’re a bad trader.

After a huge success it’s tempting to trade a larger size or accept more risk. The general idea is that simply because of the huge profit in the previous trade, more size and/or risk is acceptable in the next. But when you think about it, a realized profit is part of your account now, it’s no different than money made on earlier trades, it is money you worked hard for. There can be good reasons to increase trading size or risk, but that should be part of a plan, not just an impulsive decision based on a feeling of being ‘invulnerable’.

Ask yourself, which feeling is worse: losing yesterday’s profit, or losing the profit made 10 days ago? If that feels different, the first one being less worse, then it may be wise to stop trading for a few days after a good trade. During those days, the profit will slowly change from being ‘an extra’ to being ‘part of your trading account’. In other words, you get used to it and handle it with more care.

Overconfidence can also come from a (strong) conviction that the market has to go a certain direction based on a personal opinion about the economy, politics, the FED, interest rate, unemployment numbers etc etc. This kind of confidence has been discussed before. The remedy is simple: don’t trade the news.

Evaluating Yourself as a Trader

  
  Education
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Here I’ve shortened and republished ten items for self-evaluation:

1) What is the quality of your self-talk while trading?

2) What work do you do on yourself and your trading while the market is closed?

3) How would your trading profit/loss profile change if you eliminated a few days where you lacked proper risk control?

4) Does the size of your positions reflect the opportunity you see in the market?

5) Are trading losses often followed by further trading losses due to frustration?

6) Do you cut winning trades short because, deep inside, you don’t think you’ll be able to achieve large profits?

7) Is trading making you happy, proud, fulfilled, and content, or does it more often leave you feeling unhappy, guilty, frustrated, and dissatisfied?

8) Are you making trades because the market is giving you opportunity, or are you placing trades to fulfill needs–for excitement, self-esteem, recognition–that aren’t being met in the rest of your life?

9) Are you seeking returns that are realistic given your level of experience and development?

10) Can you identify the specific edges you possess over the many other motivated, interested traders that fail to achieve success in the markets?

Many answers to trading problems begin by asking the right questions.

European Debt And Credit Crisis Video Explanation

  
Education, Video
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Have come across this video on Europe and the Euro problems quite a few times during the last few days: ‘Clarke and Dawe ask the million dollar question’. For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, enjoy. The video speaks for itself. No further comment needed.



Evaluating Yourself as a Trader

  
  Education
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1) What is the quality of your self-talk while trading?

2) What work do you do on yourself and your trading while the market is closed?

3) How would your trading profit/loss profile change if you eliminated a few days where you lacked proper risk control?

4) Does the size of your positions reflect the opportunity you see in the market?

5) Are trading losses often followed by further trading losses due to frustration?

6) Do you cut winning trades short because, deep inside, you don’t think you’ll be able to achieve large profits?

7) Is trading making you happy, proud, fulfilled, and content, or does it more often leave you feeling unhappy, guilty, frustrated, and dissatisfied?

8) Are you making trades because the market is giving you opportunity, or are you placing trades to fulfill needs–for excitement, self-esteem, recognition–that aren’t being met in the rest of your life?

9) Are you seeking returns that are realistic given your level of experience and development?

10) Can you identify the specific edges you possess over the many other motivated, interested traders that fail to achieve success in the markets?

Many answers to trading problems begin by asking the right questions.

The Difficulty In Trading Lies Not In The Concepts But In Their Application

  
  Education
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Human emotion is both the source of opportunity in trading and the greatest challenge. Master it and you will succeed. Ignore it t your peril. – in Way Of The Turtle
If you want to learn a thing or two about trading or how to be a trader this is a book for you. I will be exploring and discussing it here over the next few days. The difficulty in trading lies not in the concepts but in their application. It is not too difficult to learn what to do when trading. The hard part is to really apply those lessons in actual trading while dollars are coming in and out of your trading account. 

Respect the Trend

  
  Education
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respect-21One of my favorite trading tales involves a very wise, veteran trader who, when asked his thoughts on the market, would simply respond by saying “It’s a bull market,” or “It’s a bear market.” Younger traders simply seeking out a hot tip from the seasoned pro would often leave discouraged – or even annoyed, believing they were being fed a line. JL himself didn’t understand until years later the wisdom that was actually being dispensed with those words: The veteran was simply relaying the path of least resistance, or the trend for the general market, and therefore giving the trader an incredible edge in determining one of the many variables that makes up stock trading. (more…)

Traders' Resolutions for the New Year-2013

  
  Education
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What are our top trading resolutions for 2013?

D  iscipline
R  esults
I  ntegrity
V  ictory (Over Emotions)
E  ducation

Discipline

Most traders could benefit from being more disciplined with their trading. Discipline in trading takes many forms. But it can be summarized as just doing what we know needs to be done.
For example, a common New Year’s resolution is to lose weight. Losing weight is simple in theory—we just need to eat healthy foods and exercise more. Just say no to the doughnut and yes to the salad—simple! Of course, sticking to your plan is anything but easy, which is where discipline comes into play. Just do what we know needs to be done.
If I could target only two things to be more disciplined in next year’s trading they would be:

  1. Cut losing trades: Do everything to keep losses small.
  2. Let profits run: Don’t fall prey to the fear of a small profit slipping away. (more…)
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