I've been thinking about my trading for a while (when am I not thinking about it!?) and wondering if I take enough trades. I follow a lot of blogs and see people taking multiple positions a day. At this stage i'm taking about 2 per week and for a while it's been on my mind.
Can I really call myself a trader?
Do I have to take or be in loads of positions to call myself a trader?
Should I take more trades?
No!
This post about Chasing Success from TraderX has really shifted my way of thinking when I read it the other day. I'm quite content to wait for the set ups that I like.
I was reading through some more blogs this morning and yesterday's post from KIS Trading made me finally write this entry.
From what i've seen over the past few months there is usually one great entry per day of the type that i'm looking for. As some of you are aware, i keep missing stuff lately so i reckon an average of 4 - 5 trades a week would be very doable for me.
I'd be delighted with that.
As I am preparing to get back into live trading i keep thinking about this myself. Have you considered looking at more pairs or more time frames/swing trades? Or looking at different instruments like gold futures etc.?
ReplyDeleteI feel like the more I am able to trade (while being able to devote adequate attention to them) the faster I will be able to move my equity curve up as long as i am trading well.
Another benefit I see is there is less frustration when a trade doesnt show up on a particular chart because you have more than enough opportunity on your plate when you are looking at more timeframes/pairs/instruments.
Im not saying go crazy and be trading stuff you dont know or getting overwhelmed...but you get the idea.
What do you think?
Joel
Hi Joel,
ReplyDeleteI have three monitors on the desk, i've changed them around a bit lately but on the first screen I have EUR/USD 5, 15, 1hr and 4hr. Second screen is Oil 5 & 15, GBP/USD 5 & 15. On the third screen (which to be honest is underused) is XAU/USD, AUD/USD, EUR/GBP, USD/CHF, USD/CAD and S&P, all 5min charts. They've all been there for ages and I haven't traded any of them!
I think for now i'll just be trading Euro, Oil and AUD are next on the list. They seem to "work" the best with the method i'm using. Charts like USD/CHF just don't seem to fit, which i find odd. On days i've looked back over them they have been a mess.
Good luck with getting back into trading, hopefully catch you on the forums!
Less is definitely more when it comes to my own trading. On my good days I usually trade a lot less than my bad days. Of course there are also traders that do phenomenally well doing 10 times my trade frequency. I think it really comes down to what suits your personality and trading style. You should trade every valid setup that you come across. The ones that you've done your homework on and prepared for. No more, no less.
ReplyDelete