Honestly, I dunno what I'm playing at lately.
After moving 100 pips south already, I decided it would be a good time to get in on a short trade. I guess there is one way I can look at it, i'm getting very good at picking bottoms. And trading in the wrong direction.
I had a losing (if you hadn't guessed) short on EU today.
I wanted to short around 1.3004/3007 in the yellow box marked on the chart but I didn't get an entry. There is a two bar reversal in the green oval that a friend took, which turned out to be a nice entry. I shorted the marked ND on my chart. I honestly thought this was an ok entry at the time, into the previous days 50% from the 15min chart. Looking at the 15min chart shows me what I did wrong, we were still within the range of a widespread down bar with huge volume. Buying. Or at least absorption/further selling hadn't really been confirmed.
EUR/USD 5min
3% loss on this trade, bringing yearly total to -1.65%. Not exactly the 3% per week that I was gunning for.
I know that i'm so close to this all falling into place. I don't know if that sounds clichéd but I've put a lot of time into this and i'm slowly starting to see myself making good calls. The flip side of that is i'm making silly mistakes and not paying proper attention and that's really costing me at the moment. It's really getting on my wick. The harder I am on my self the worse it seems to get. Should I just chill the fuck out?
sorry man...i am going to beat a dead horse here but the temptation is to spend more time on charts and thats what most traders do in your position...and maybe its a good indication of what NOT to do given that most traders fail.
ReplyDeleteit sounds like you need to spend less time on the charts, and more time on researching how to focus, how to deal with frustration, etc.
i think you know that you are better than these mistakes you are making. the question is how to deal with them and advance your progress.
just the way it looks from my point of view....
Joel
Thanks for the comment Joel, it is welcomed!
ReplyDeletePersonally I don't feel i'm spending too much time on the charts, but perhaps you are right. I certainly need to spend more time on the psychology side of things, that's for sure. Working my way through the books at the moment. So i'm on the right path.
Thanks again, keep em coming, resident psychologist :)
Liam
yeah i mean i could be totally wrong...i have just been so focused on psych as i have been reading these books.
ReplyDeletei think this applies to you from Daily Trading COach and maybe you would find this helpful:
Follow through on fixing one problem at a time with goals
When you recognize a problem pattern, it is not the same as establishing
a goal for self-work, though the former usually will guide the latter.
A problem pattern alerts you to what you’re doing wrong. Goal setting
requires an awareness of new patterns of thought, feeling, and/or action
that will replace the problem pattern. A goal states what you are going
to do or not do in specific situations.
The best goals are ones you
can work on every day for a number of weeks. If you do not work on a
goal day after day for at least several weeks, it’s unlikely that you will turn
your new patterns into positive habits.
looking over Daily Trading Coach and not sure but maybe this passage applies:
ReplyDeleteThe secret to rules based trading is whenever you write down the rule or mentally rehearse it, make
sure that you are emotionally connected to that rule. Make yourself relive
situations in which you’ve violated the rule. Focus your attention on
successful episodes of trading in which you followed the rule. Make the
rule more than a guideline; it should represent a belief and conviction. The
best rules feel like must, not just should.
The clearer the rules and the more you feel them, the
stronger they will serve as brakes to your impulses and guides to your best
behavior. Rules are not straightjackets; they free you up to be your best.
Think of professions in which consistency is a virtue: airline pilots landing
an aircraft, surgeons making incisions, racecar drivers maneuvering in
a pack. The best performers are rule governed: they are keenly aware of
the dangers of ignoring the rules of their profession. It is in the internalization
of their rules that they achieve flawless execution.
Hi Joel,
ReplyDeleteOnly got around to replying to these now, I can't thank you enough for posting these. You've gone out of your way to find something you think suits me and I appreciate the time you've put in to that.
I particularly like the second comment you posted. It really speaks to me.
Hope this book is helping your trading or at least putting you on the right track.
Keep the comments coming!
Liam