mule1976

Hello all, I finally got the time to write out a trading plan (as suggested by FXGirl), so if you guy have any comments on it, please let me know. 1. Identify which stocks will be volatile for the day, because of news, technical reasons (violating major support, making new 52 week highs or lows, etc.) 2. Identify the main trend of the stocks and except for quick scalps, only trade in the direction of the trend. 3. Look at price action (hammers, inside bars, dojis, piercing lines) at swing lows/highs, support/resistance and moving averages at the 1 and 3 min time frames. 4. Enter on the break of the current candle, and place a stop at the other end of the candle. 5. Exit at break of previous candle, or at expected support/resistance. Money Management 1. My daily goal will be $1.5 per share a day, and daily loss limit will be $0.70 per share a day. 2. After 3 weeks of averaging $1.5 per share, I will double my share size. 3. After 4 consecutive losses, I will close my trading platform and step away from the computer for 15 minutes. Thanks everyone.

FX Girl, Many thanks for your help. I haven't had a chance to implement your suggestions yet as work has been extremely busy, no time to trade. Will let you know how I do. Also, for anyone else having the same problem, I use the LightSpeed platform, which I just found out has a dollar loss limit I can set for my account, something to protect your capital until you can get your emotions under control.

Thanks for this. Could you talk more about what kind of 'work' you did to get to where you're at?

Hi FX Girl, Thanks for your reply. Here are my answers to your questions: 1. “I have been trading off and on for a few years now, and have not been profitable…” Please tell us why you haven’t been profitable and if you trading with a system you know works? Do you have a written trading plan? I have changed my system a few times and for sure in the past, I had no idea whether what I was doing worked because I never tested it. My current system I have profitably paper traded for a few months and feel like I have something to build on. But I admit I need to be way more specific in my rules, and then actually write down my plan and refer to it as I trade. 2. “I feel like lately I’ve been making some progress and improving…” In what areas have you been improving? What is responsible for the improvement? I think it's been a process of studying, seeing how other people trade in these forums, and getting better at pattern recognition. 3. “If I have a few losses in a row…” How many losses or amount of money lost triggers this behavior? Four losses is usually the point where it would start to happen. 4. “This has only happened the last 6 months…” What changed in the last six months with you, your situation, or what people are saying about your trading? I think it's been frustrating to be profitable on paper, and feel like I am making progress that way, but still not seeing any results in live trading. Another issue is I me starting to get a bit fed up with my job, and seeing trading as a way to escape. 5. “I think it’s because I haven’t been improving as much as I think I should be….” What is your thinking about how much you should have improved or where you should be in you trading career? I thought by now I should at least be a break even trader. I'm probably putting too much pressure on myself. 6. “….and want to prove to myself I can make money” Please say more about this. Not sure on this one. It could be a self esteem issue going on here. Thanks again for your questions, and to all who have replied to my post. I think going through them brought some stuff to light, things I need to work on, and some suggestions I can put into use.

Hi all, I have been trading off and on for a few years now, and have not been profitable, but I feel like lately I've making some progress and improving except for one big problem. If I have a few losses in a row, I NEED to get that money back, and won't stop trading until I do. As you can imagine, I start to take trades that don't fit my system, start trading larger size, etc., making back some of the money, then losing that and more. I guess this is what some call revenge trading, or trading on tilt. Last week this happened again, and I had my biggest losing day ever. This has only happened the last 6 months or so of trading. I think it's because I haven't been improving as much as I think I should be, and want to prove to myself I can make money. A few times it was because I fell below $25,000 and wanted to make back the money to avoid margin calls (stupid I know, and yes I am undercapitalized). This is so frustrating, because when I do this, 95% of the time I end up losing more money, but I can't seem to stop myself from doing it. Then I can't really evaluate my set ups, because I end up taking so many sub par trades that don't really fit my rules. How have you guys dealt with this problem? In the past, I have stopped trading and gone back to paper trading. Of course this never happens when I paper trade, and I am able to make money. I know I need to be focused on the process and not the money. But it's not easy. Any ideas? Thanks, Ben