Top Stupid Mistakes

[pimind 10]

I just kicked the power cord and unplugged my UPS. It started beeping and It freaked me out. Anyway it made me think of stupid things :doh: we do when we trade. I know many things maybe be common sense but as i received in a email today common sense is dead.

 

This is intended to be a breather from our trading activities, and we can share some of our stupid mistakes and maybe even laugh at ourselves.

 

So I'll Start it .

 

1. Kicked the UPS cord and couldn't figure out what happened.

"Remove UPS and power strip from underneath desk"

[Jene 10]

Every investment mistakes are because of basic misunderstanding of stock market and by untrue performance expectations. The market moves is totally unpredictable.

[jonbig04 10]

Every investment mistakes are because of basic misunderstanding of stock market and by untrue performance expectations. The market moves is totally unpredictable.

 

haha

 

#2 should be "trying to predict the stock market".

[pimind 10]

Isn't the basic essence of trading an attempt to predict the stock market or at the very least an attempt to predict the movement of the instrument we are trading?

[Tams 20]

"Predict" is a loaded word. It can mean different things to different people.

 

but most likely, when referring to noob traders, is to "forecast" price movement WITHOUT (due) analysis.

 

seasoned traders prefer to use the term "Anticipate".

 

 

;-)

Edited April 24, 2009 by Tams

[Head2k 10]

There is a significant difference between prediction and anticipation. Although English is not my mother tongue and I don't know the definitions of these words as they are written in a dictionary, for trading purposes IMHO prediction means a bias what market will do, while anticipation means awareness and readiness for what market might do.

[rod30 10]

overanalyze

hoping

 

[thrunner 10]

There is a significant difference between prediction and anticipation. Although English is not my mother tongue and I don't know the definitions of these words as they are written in a dictionary, for trading purposes IMHO prediction means a bias what market will do, while anticipation means awareness and readiness for what market might do.

Prediction is hoping you are right.

Anticipation is knowing you could be wrong.

[mookie9920 10]

I hit the buy button, it didn't go thru i panicked and hit it again.....got filled for 2 contracts instead of just one, got stopped out for double

[jonbig04 10]

To me, predict implies you are trying to profit by figuring out what the market will do next in that moment. the fact is that no one knows. all we can do is react to set ups that are in front of us. All we know is that there is X chance of something happening. You know your profit potential is Y and loss potential is Z. You know that, over time, these variables add up profitably. During trading, you react to what is happening now. go into chat and there will be many people making predictions about what's going to happen. Trying to predict also implies that you need to be "right" to make money, when in truth you can be wrong 90% of the time and make bank. On a side note it seems like most people spend all their time trying to increase their accuracy, when they should be focusing equally on their r/r.

[rod30 10]

To me, predict implies you are trying to profit by figuring out what the market will do next in that moment. the fact is that no one knows. all we can do is react to set ups that are in front of us. All we know is that there is X chance of something happening. You know your profit potential is Y and loss potential is Z. You know that, over time, these variables add up profitably. During trading, you react to what is happening now. go into chat and there will be many people making predictions about what's going to happen. Trying to predict also implies that you need to be "right" to make money, when in truth you can be wrong 90% of the time and make bank. On a side note it seems like most people spend all their time trying to increase their accuracy, when they should be focusing equally on their r/r.

 

I noticed it too in to other chats not on T.L.

markets have infinite variance

the best for me, my opinion is learning how to manage a loss

A winner position take care of it self

another big mistake is starting real trading without any knowledge

and no screen time

the best theacher is always your chart

[bakrob99 11]

Every investment mistakes are because of basic misunderstanding of stock market and by untrue performance expectations. The market moves is totally unpredictable.

 

 

#1 Mistake would be listening to this.

[Tams 20]

#1 mistake would be listening to this.

 

 

.......... .......... Lol

[vinson 10]

trying to become rich in a week(or in seconds, enter trade with too much size and pray)

 

If you have a lot of risk capital-keeping all your money tied up with one broker

[SwingTradinJay 10]

...#962,432,422

 

Revenge trading and chasing losses.

[pimind 10]

I had plenty of that today.

[stockmarcus 10]

For intraday trading (and being a beginner) mine are:

 

- Hitting the wrong buttong for buy/sell. When the market says you need to be be in as close to now as reasonable for some reason i got this wrong.

 

- Getting in the market when its flat or untradable.

 

Thankfully, i dont do this anymore, starting to learn about a whole heap of new mistakes, with scaling into positions

[gsalvadi 10]

For intraday trading (and being a beginner) mine are:

 

- Hitting the wrong buttong for buy/sell.

 

This thing happens to me occasionally.

[pimind 10]

dido for me i then freak out. It happened this week i had a nice 4 point gain on the emini, hit sell instead of by i was short 2 right when the reversal happened, before i knew it i was down 2.5 x2 5 points. it sucks.

[bathrobe 10]

1. Exiting far too early, this is a problem still, long after I first realized it.

 

2. On the ridiculous side, my hand was on my mouse when I stood up and I accidentally entered an order, I was able to exit at B/E but hand placement is now an issue for me while trading.