Friday, February 15, 2008

Shut down

I lost -106 pips today, it's about 5.5%. With my recent loses I'm now down -214 pips or about 11% from last account high two weeks ago. I'm doing the same thing all over again and just keep losing. I lost all my reasoning and trade just like a zombie.

I will stop trading for some time.

4 comments:

tradeswing said...

Man, I sure do know what you mean. I was up 12% for Jan I lost all those gains in 2 days this week.

Slowly inching my way back but I when I see a loss, I'm getting rid of it ASAP.

tradeswing said...

Don't want to spam your comments or anything but I wrote up a post about a month ago called Thoughts on Not Trading.

Deals with patience and trading high probability setups only.

http://tradeswing.blogspot.com/2008/01/thoughts-on-not-trading.html

Maybe you'll find it useful.

FX said...

Thanks on your comment it's good to know when somebody else have a bad time, it's little easier emotionally lol.

Your post on "thoughts on not trading" is good. My problem however is that I can't control impulsive trades (you would say losers in the first place). They are impulsive I enter and trade them totally different than other good trades. Big problem is that somehow I don't know it's bad impulsive trade until it's to late.
Best thing would be to just get out of it immediately, but it's hard.

I'm now more in to thinking not how I trade, I can trade good I can trade bad, but what are the reasons for my bad trading behavior. Why I'm driven to those things? Why I don't do only good trading all the time, I don't mean winning trading, but good trading decisions. It's the problem like addicts have, they would like to behave good and don't go in the direction of their addiction, sometimes they do, but other times it's all mess. They are addicts, but what am I? What do I gain from bad trading? Why do I do that? What is driving me when I do all those bad choices?

I'm currently thinking that it all have to do with motivation and goal for the trading. I have to look deep inside and see why do I trade? To make money is not enough for an answer.
That's where I'm now, I don't know what's next.

Anonymous said...

FX, I have a different take on this...but you already know that if I write something it's gonna be one of those contrarian things. Anyway, if I were in your position, I would keep trading! I would reduce my size to the point where I am no longer focused on the profit, but on the market and the trade. In my experience, it's taking enough trades so that the act becomes routine.

Here is something else you can try -- when you feel yourself takinga compulsive trade, even if it is too late, you can do what Robin Dayne calls the scramble. You stand up, speak your compulsive thought in a sentence out loud, and then attach it to physical movement, like walking forward. Repeat the sentence five times, taking a step each time, for example. Then do it while making funny faces and exaggerating your voice. Then do it backwards! (This last part will take some practice.)

You ahve to do this every time you take a compulsive trade, or behave in any way that is bad for your trading. Over time, it will work. The point to the exercise is to dissociate the thought from the body's reactions, and from the neurochemical reactions that follow from that thought. The theory is that in doing this, you avoid turning that behavior into a habit. It's embarrassing at first, but you get used to it. And it's worth it, in my opinion.

Anyway, if you want to talk more about this, email me.