Three rules for position sizing: 1. Bet high enough to make meaningful profits when you win. 2. Bet low enough so you are ok financially and psychologically when you lose. 3. If (1) and (2) don’t overlap, don’t trade. |
Archives of “profits” tag
rssPsychological
.
The goal of any trader is to turn profits on a regular basis, yet so few people ever really make consistent money as traders. What accounts for the small percentage of traders who are consistently successful is psychological—the consistent winners think differently from everyone else.
The defining characteristic that separates the consistent winners from everyone else is this: The winners have attained a mind-set—aunique set of attitudes—that allows them to remain disciplined, focused,and, above all, confident in spite of the adverse conditions.
Those traders who have confidence in their own trades, who trust themselves to do what needs to be done without hesitation, are the ones who become successful.They
no longer fear the erratic behavior of the market. They learn to focus on the information that helps them spot opportunities to make a profit, rather than focusing on the information that reinforces their fears.
You don’t need to know what’s going to happen next to make money; anything can happen, and every moment is unique, meaning every edge and outcome is truly a unique experience.
The trader that it’s his attitude and “state of mind” that determine his results.
Think About It
Winners are those with the best ideas. Small ideas are worth a small sum, and big ideas are priceless. Ideas that make money cost money and the most valuable rewards go to ideas with the most value. The age of the big thinker is now. It is an era where profits go to the prophets:
• Big thinkers are on fire.
• Big thinkers never lose in their imaginations.
• Big thinkers bet the farm.
• Big thinkers marinate in thought.
• Big thinkers think better together.
• Big thinkers don’t take no for an answer.
• Big thinkers turn reality into fantasy.
• Big thinkers live their lives with purpose.
• Big thinkers think with their hearts.
Risk Management Game
A random person is pulled off the street and given $10,000 to trade. They have no prior experience which, on the bright side, means they have no bad habits, emotional baggage, or preconceived notions. Before trading they go through a five day crash course on market basics (order entry process, chart reading, pattern recognition, etc…). Suppose you are tasked with the responsibility of drafting a set of risk management rules which they are required to abide by. The objective is to make them survive as long as possible in the trading arena so they can learn as much as possible through first-hand experience.
What types of rules would you set?
The ideal approach of course is to structure a set of rules which makes it as difficult as possible to blow up the account while still leaving them open to accumulating profits. The goal isn’t so much helping them capture large gains as much as it is helping them survive. After learning how to survive, then they can modify their approach to being more aggressive and seeking larger gains.
Here are two of my top rules: (more…)
25 Trading Mantras
Seeing an opportunity and acting upon it are two different things.
• Price has memory. Odds are what price did the last time it hit a certain level will be repeated . . . (BR: Until support or resistance fails).
• Pay attention to price action, regardless of what the charts are saying.
• Look for a reversal at the same place you’re expecting a breakout or breakdown.
• Price action sets up against the majority; the best profits are often in the opposite direction of the way you’re planning to go.
• Add to your winners and cut your losers. ’nuff said.
• Opportunities come along all of the time. Wait for the best ones.
• Don’t overly anticipate or see things that aren’t there. Wait for your signals. (more…)
Trading Wisdom
|
Livermores Seven Trading Lessons
Lesson Number One: Cut your losses quickly.
As soon as a trade is contemplated, a trader must know at what point in time he’ll be proven wrong and exit a position. If a trader doesn’t know his exit before he takes the entry, he might as well go to the racetrack or casino where at least the odds can be quantified.
Lesson Number Two: Confirm your judgment before going all in.
Livermore was famous for throwing out a small position and waiting for his thesis to be confirmed. Once the stock was traveling in the direction he desired, Livermore would pile on rapidly to maximize the returns.
There are several ways to buy more in a winning position — pyramiding up, buying in thirds at predetermined prices, being 100% in no more than 5% above the initial entry — but the take home is to buy in the direction of your winning trade – never when it goes against you.
Lesson Number Three: Watch leading stocks for the best action.
Livermore knew that trending issues were where the big money would be made, and to fight this reality was a loser’s game.
Lesson Number Four: Let profits ride until price action dictates otherwise.
“It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting.”
One method that satisfies the desire for profit and subdues the fear of a losing trade is to take one half of your profit off at a predetermined level, put a stop at breakeven on the rest, and let it play out without micromanaging the position. (more…)
The Ten Things Profitable Traders Do Differently
The following 10 reasons may be why the 10% of long term profitable traders take the money from the 90% that are unprofitable. I see these differences in real life all the time. There is a big difference between profitable and unprofitable traders that usually comes down to homework, mental discipline, and risk management.
- Winning traders let winning trades get as big as possible before exiting. They have the really big winners to pay for all the losers.
- Winning traders have no patience for losing trades, they keep losses small. They know how not to give back their profits with big losing trades.
- They are focusing on trading actual price action not their own opinions or beliefs.
- They are experts on the trading vehicles that they trade.
- The trade with the trend in their time frame.
- Good traders know that their trailing stops are smarter than they are.
- Profitable traders know that it is their robust methodology that makes them profitable not any one trade.
- Winning traders are great risk managers. Their #1 concern is how much they can lose, their #2 concern is how much they can make.
- Profitable traders have put in the time, usually years and thousands of hours to learn what really makes money in the markets.
Profitably traders have studied historical price data, chart patterns, trends, and price action.
7 Things You Must Do to Win at Trading.
| 1. Managing the risk of ruin. Do not risk so much on any one trade that 10 losing trades in a row will destroy your account. risking 1% to 2% of your trading capital per trade is a great baseline for eliminating the risk of ruin. 2. Only trade with a positive risk/reward ratio. Only take trades where your possible reward is at least two or three times the amount of capital you are risking in the trade. 3. Always trade in the direction of the prevailing trend. Always trade in the direction of the flow of capital for your specific time frame. Shorting rockets and catching falling knives is not profitable in the long run. 4. Trade a robust system. Back test and study your trading method, system, or style to ensure it is a winning system historically. The key is that it had bigger winners than losers over the long run in the past. 5. You must have the discipline to take your entries and exits as they are triggered. You must take your entries when they trigger, your losses when they are hit, and your profits when a run is over to be a successful trader. 6. You must persevere through losing periods. All successful traders were able to overcome their losing periods to come back and make the big money. If you quit you will not be around for the opportunity to win big. 7. If you want to be a winning trader you must follow your trading plan not your fear and greed. Emotions will undo a trader more than anything else. Trading too big is due to greed, missing a winning trade due to no entry is a sign of fear, traders must trade the math and probabilities not their own opinions or emotions. |
Art of Trading-10 Rules
1. Always wait for the setup: No Setup-No Trade.
2. THE BEST trades work almost right away.
3. Never take a big loss. If it doesn’t ‘feel’ right. Remove it!
4. Always perfect your craft and sharpen your skills(good traders are constantly learning)
5. Be patient with winning trades: Impatient with trades that fight back.
6. DISCIPLINE is the key to winning at everything!
7. Never get emotionally attached to trades, trading, losses or profits.
8. Always trade with the size that makes you unemotional(emotional trading is the quickest way out of this game).
9. Keeps things simple and do not over-think or over-complicate your trading. LESS IS ALWAYS MORE.
10. Stay humble at all times.