- Never, NEVER cancel a stop loss. I know, I know, every time you have a stop loss in the market, the market moves just enough to stop you out, right? Well it might mean that you should evaluate where you place your stops (this is where good trading journals come in handy), but once you’ve done your analysis and placed the trade, you need to be committed to the trade and your plan. The only adjusting you should do is to lock in your profits.
. - Always have your broker or your trading desk number handy, even if you trade electronically. This is really important for the day trader who is trading leveraged markets. It is easy to get a little too comfortable when your trading platform and internet connection are running smoothly, but once you drop your guard that inevitable lost connection will happen…a lost minute, even seconds could be an expensive lesson!
. - Always check your open orders. This can be done a few different ways depending on your trading platform, but if your intention is to be flat in the market, always double check! (more…)
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rssTwo Emotions
Two emotions that plague the inexperienced trader are Anticipated Loss and Buyers Remorse.
Does your trading life go something like this? You see a trade line up, and suddenly a cramp in your solar plexus appears as you anticipate a possible loss. You put this down to simple fear and make an effort to mentally overcome this internal barricade so as to enter the trade. Acting quickly so as not to miss out, you swiftly enter the position and your trading platform indicates that you are filled. Now you are gripped by the sensation of buyers remorse – too late to back out now… A small voice in the back of your subconscious says “what have I done?”
To your great delight and surprise, the trade soon goes in your favour, and for a while you feel a warm fuzzy glow and give yourself a little compliment, but soon the old feeling returns in the form of a hot flush. Anticipated loss is back again as you worry about the market turning against you and taking away the profit you now have. (more…)
Rules for Bear Market
1. Good news in a bear market is like smoke in the breeze (i.e., soon dispersed). Don’t buy into upgrades or analyst recommendations. Analyst “upgrades” or recommendations can kill you.Every person reading this has access to some kind of trading platform, trading tools or systems that afford instant access to the financial markets. Good news like upgrades in bear markets typically has about five minutes of fame.
2. Bear markets are not a time to learn how to “day trade” in an effort to recoup losses (no matter how many times you hear that “this is a traders’ market”).
3. Accumulation days (there may be three or more in a row) are shorting opportunities, but resist being aggressive until the S&P 500 shows a 3- and 5-day moving average bearish cross. (Remember that it’s 50% market, 25% sector and 25% stock as far as direction, but some could argue in markets it’s 75% index, 15% sector and 10% stock.)
4. Chart patterns (unlike ice cream) come in just two flavors: continuations and reversals. Reversal patterns mostly form in weak trends. If the trend that the market or stock you are watching has been strong, then chances are that any pause is just a consolidation before the next leg down.
5. There is no such thing as “safe sectors.” Sure, each bear market brings sector rotation. But make sure if you are playing this game that you don’t have the flexibility of wood. And when the music stops, quickly find a chair!
That is, you must keep a flexible mindset so that you are able to change with the markets. The best traders are those who are nimble and approach the markets without bias.
6. Your stop-losses are YOUR stop-losses. The pain of being down 8% in a bull market is no different than being 8% wrong in a bear. If your risk tolerance requires you stopping out at 8%, then be consistent in any market you trade, but trade “with the primary trend.”
It takes greater emotional balance to trade a bear than a bull. So, always manage your risk — just remember that, in the markets, your money is always at risk.
Great traders manage emotions and risk. This makes them great. YOU know your risk tolerance and YOU control what happens between the “keyboard and chair.”
7. Bear markets are generally slow-moving affairs. However, stocks in bear markets can move much faster than you think (hence the reason that volatility rises drastically). But the “time” we spend in a bear is what everyone needs to keep in perspective. Bear markets last much longer than most are willing to wait. (more…)
Trading Discipline
You need emotional discipline or your trading will become erratic. The worst thing that can happen to a trader is that they experience a dose of ‘beginner’s luck’. An enhanced sense of confidence as the result of a few good trades (probably flukes) is a huge threat to your working capital. If you make a good trade – don’t let the adrenaline rush send you headlong into another attempt. Instead, analyse your trade – do you really understand why is went well for you ? If you do – great ! Use this knowledge towards the development of a controlled trading method. If you don’t understand why this trade was a good trade -heave a sigh of relief at your good luck – and recognise it as such.
You need discipline to develope your trading method, to stick to your trading method, to follow the rules of that method and to close down your trading platform if you cannot see a trade.
It bears repeating – if you cannot see a trade close down the trading platform and don’t open it again until the next day’s session.
Two Emotions
Two emotions that plague the inexperienced trader are Anticipated Loss and Buyers Remorse.
Does your trading life go something like this? You see a trade line up, and suddenly a cramp in your solar plexus appears as you anticipate a possible loss. You put this down to simple fear and make an effort to mentally overcome this internal barricade so as to enter the trade. Acting quickly so as not to miss out, you swiftly enter the position and your trading platform indicates that you are filled. Now you are gripped by the sensation of buyers remorse – too late to back out now… A small voice in the back of your subconscious says “what have I done?”
To your great delight and surprise, the trade soon goes in your favour, and for a while you feel a warm fuzzy glow and give yourself a little compliment, but soon the old feeling returns in the form of a hot flush. Anticipated loss is back again as you worry about the market turning against you and taking away the profit you now have. You watch the current candle as it bobs up and down… You stare at it in a trance as the feeling of being gripped by a giant hand increases. You struggle for a moment against this sensation, but then it overcomes you and you exit the position. Price moves on without you, and you are filled with buyers remorse again! On and on it goes, slowly eating away at your confidence and sanity.
Here’s what it feels like once you overcome this hump :
Having been watching a dull market for several days from the sideline you suddenly see a trade shining out on your chart. You have an initial “ah ha!” sensation, but you let that go so as to think carefully and not do anything rash or impulsive. You decide to take the trade, and spend some time calculating the correct entry and stop position; you know your standard 1R risk value already. Having checked and double checked that everything is ok, you enter the orders into the market and fill out the necessaries in your trading log, including entry time, size, reason for entry etc… Then you switch off to go read your favourite novel or walk the dog.
The next day, you check the market to see that your order has been filled and the market has moved in your favour. You think “good…” and examine the chart for the correct new stop placement, and you adjust your order in the market. You switch off and go do something else.
3 more days of these quick adjustments follow, and your profit increases with each surge, but on the forth day you check to find that you have been stopped out during a sudden reversal for a profit of 2.6R… Nice trade. You fill out the rest of the entry in your log, and then assume the attitude of sitting on the sidelines again for the next trade.
Now – the thing to bare in mind in the above examples as that both people might be TRADING THE SAME MOVE…
Deadly Emotions
REVENGE, we all know it and have done it. It happens when you are tricked by the market and decide to take another trade before looking at the big picture, then BAM you are on the wrong side of the trade again. Pissed off and refusing to move while your money is going further down the drain. Scared to let go for fear that you are going to get tricked again.
PANIC, that is when you lack the confidence to enter or ride a profitable trade. This happens when you have taken some hits and now you lack the confidence to trade profitably.
IMPATIENCE, this happens when you can’t wait for a proper trade set-up and jump on a price hiccup/retracement, often finding yourself on the wrong side of the trade.
ANGER, you know that feeling that comes over you when you have taken a hit or two and you want to kill your computer.
SELF PITY, when you come to the market hoping for crumbs and get none, and can’t see why THEY won’t let you have just a little bit.
DEPRESSION, something perhaps outside of the market has you at an extreme low point.
INDIFFERENCE, it happens when you have gotten hit so many times that you just don’t care any more because no matter what you can win any way.
All of these emotions work hard against you clouding your clarity and give other traders the advantage over you.
If you are experiencing any of these emotions when you enter your platform; abandon your trading until you have yourself under control and have the clarity of mind to trade. Not doing so greatly increases your chances of handing your money over to a trader who is more emotionally fit and controlled than you are.
We are all human and it happens to us all, but what weighs heavy in your mind will often weigh heavily in your pocket.
Come to your trading platform, well rested, focused and ready to trade. You may take an occasional hit so what it is a LESSON. We all get them and if we learn the lesson that the loss has taught us; it will make us much better traders.
DO NOT TRADE YOUR EMOTIONS!!!!!—-
8 MISTAKES GREAT TRADERS NEVER MAKE
- Try to close a position but accidentally DOUBLE it instead.
- Put a swing trade on and realize AFTER the close that earnings are coming soon. Like the next morning. Before the market opens.
- Buy the CALLS in a stock that is breaking out at what they think is a bargain price, only to find out later that they actually bought the PUTS.
- Constantly drive by their ex girlfriend’s house to see if she is dating that idiot biker guy with the tats who will never love her the way they would….
- Knock off early for the day to go rollerblading, sure that they put a hard stop in on their position before they left (but didn’t).
- Continuously hit the “submit” button on their trading platform when their order “hangs up” only to find out that they bought their position eight times.
- Listen to the whole “Best of WHAM” album online, unaware that Spotify is auto-posting that info to their Facebook timeline.
- Think they have a “one cancels other” limit and stop in place and take a long lunch after their position hits it’s profit target. Then come back later in the day only to learn that price reversed, hit their stop (making them net short), and then rallied.
Market Wizard’s 25 Trading Clichés and Axioms to Follow, Memorize and Practice
- THE MARKET ITSELF IS THE ULTIMATE WEILDER OF JUSTICE. JUDGE, JURY AND PROSECUTOR.
- RECIPE TO LOSE FOR SURE: OVER-ANALYZE, PROCRASTINATE, HESITATE.
- LEARN TO SWEAT OUT, HANG ON TO AND SCALE OUT OF YOUR WINNERS.
- HIT SINGLES AND DOUBLES, NOT HOMERUNS. THE HOMERUNS ARE USUALLY THE RESULT OF GOOD TRADING AFTER A PROFITABLE TRADE HAS STARTED TO MAKE ITS MOVE
- A BIG LOSS CAN DESTROY YOU. IS RISK WORTH TOTAL DESTRUCTION?
- LOVE TO LOSE MONEY. NOT BECAUSE YOU’RE AN IDIOT, BUT BECAUSE LOSING MONEY IS AN IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK MECHANISM. EMBRACE THE SIGNAL AND DITCH THE TRADE.
- NEWS IS HISTORY. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND LEAST OBSERVED RULE. DAYTRADING ARCADES UP AND DOWN WALL STREET HAVE DOZENS AND DOZENS OF LCD’S TUNED TO ONE STATION, CNBC. BY THE TIME THEY PUKE IT OUT, IT’S ABOUT 7 TO 12 HOURS OLD. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS “BREAKING NEWS” ANYMORE. SOME TRADERS TELL ME THEY TUNE IT OUT. YOU CAN’T. IT GETS INTO YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS AND AFFECTS YOUR TRADING. PUT YOURSELF ON A TOTAL NEWS BLACKOUT FOR A WHILE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR RESULTS. LOSE TOUCH WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD. ISOLATE YOURSELF TO YOUR ALGORITHMS, DATA, CHARTS AND MASTERING YOUR TRADING PLATFORM. AND IF YOU WORK FOR A FIRM WITH DOZENS OF LCD’S TUNED TO CNBC, MAINLY SO THAT THEIR “GUY” WHO IS ON ONCE A WEEK IS SEEN AND HEARD BY EVERYONE AT THE FIRM. THIS PERSON RARELY KNOWS HOW TO TRADE. I KNOW OF A FEW FIRMS OUT THERE LIKE THIS.
- THE FIRST LOSS IS THE BEST LOSS BECAUSE IT HURTS THE MOST. LEARNING TO LOSE IS IMPORTANT. LEARNING TO LOSE AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE IS THE MARKET’S PAVLOVIAN WAY OF TEACHING YOU HOW TO TRADE PROFESSIONALLY AND PROFITABLY
- EARN THE RIGHT TO TRADE BIGGER. YOU’LL KNOW WHEN YOU’RE READY. DON’T RUSH IT. THE BIGGER YOU GET, THE MORE IMPORTANT EXECUTION STRATEGY BECOMES. YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SLOPPY, LIKE MOST PEOPLE I’VE MET, EVEN THOSE THAT WERE SO CALLED MENTORS TO ME, OR WHO I CALLED “MAESTRO”. SLOPPIEST TRADER IN THE WORLD. TINY ORDERS LEAVING ELEPHANT FOOTPRINTS WHILE SMART TRADERS TAKE MAMMOTH ORDERS AND DON’T MAKE A RIPPLE
- BE YOURSELF. DON’T TRY TO BE SOMEONE ELSE. FIND THE STRATEGY THAT WORKS FOR YOUR PSYCHE. IT TAKES WORK, READING, TESTING, AND INNER-REFLECTION. YOUR CHARACTER HAS THE CORRECT STRATEGY OUT THERE. YOU HAVE TO FIND IT. DON’T TRADE WHAT SOME SCHMUCK WANNABE HEAD TRADER AT A SHADY FIRM TELLS YOU TO TRADE, OR USE A STRATEGY TAUGHT BY A FIRM THAT LETS YOU ONLY TRADE THAT STRATEGY. GET OUT OF THESE FIRMS. (more…)