When I first started day trading, one of the things that really affected my performance (negatively), was the fear of the same thing happening again if I were to take another trade. Especially, if I took the same setup once or twice and the same result happened - I get stopped out for a loss.
A day trader's profession is similar to a closer in baseball, or a goalie in hockey. You GOTTA shake off that last pitch or goal or game (whatever) and try again. Otherwise, you'll miss the good setups when they do present themselves. Now, this does not mean to 'Overtrade' just because you took a couple of losses. It means one must stick to their trading plan and have the confidence that the odds are in their favor. This is done through hard work, backtesting, learning, and using sound money management to ensure you live to fight (trade) another day.
And just like pitchers and goalies, a good trader needs to adapt and recognize when thier 'game' is off. Being nimble and aware of changing market conditions allows you to take advantage of the opportunities while anticipating when NOT to get in a trade.
You are not alone in this, and the wheel certainly does not need to be re-invented. StockTwits is a great wealth of knowledge and information that can be used very effectively for analysis, opinions, etc. Some of the advice given by tweeters such as tickerville, alphatrends, steenbarb are priceless. Use this information along with YOUR analysis to help guide you through your trading and investment decisions.
Occasionally, the best thing a trader can do who's on a losing streak is to step away for while - take some time off to re-energize, unwind and come back to trading with a fresh mindset.
Remember, sometimes NOT trading is the BEST trade.
Good luck and I'll see you on Twitter.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment