No Trade Today - Canadian Holiday
I decided to skip today's trading day. It's the Canadian Civic holiday and so I decided to spend some time with my wife (though I swear I'm married to the computer because I spend more time with it than I do with her).
If you haven't noticed, I've made some additions to the blog. I've listed some trading stats in the sidebar and I've also listed links to my monthly stats.
You'll notice I don't have a link for the May's monthly stats because I spent about an hour typing up that particular post and when I went to publish it, either there was something wrong with blogger or my browser crashed and I somehow lost the post and I never bothered to re-type it.
Of course there is also no stats for anything before February (this blog wasn't born yet!).
If you haven't noticed, I've made some additions to the blog. I've listed some trading stats in the sidebar and I've also listed links to my monthly stats.
You'll notice I don't have a link for the May's monthly stats because I spent about an hour typing up that particular post and when I went to publish it, either there was something wrong with blogger or my browser crashed and I somehow lost the post and I never bothered to re-type it.
Of course there is also no stats for anything before February (this blog wasn't born yet!).
posted by J.C. at
7:13 p.m.
2 Comments:
Hey JC its Jay again. Going by your stats I'd say you're keeping a good risk/reward ratio, which means you must be keeping your losses low, taking them when you have to. Now I have a big problem with that: very often, I don't take my losses even when I know without a shred of doubt I have to get out with a loss. It's like I got this tremendous psychological obstacle that's somehow insurmountable (and I end up hoping/rationalizing/blahblahblah). I have been struggling with this issue for longer than I care to remember. So, my question is: how did you instill your discipine to take your losses. Hope you can share it
By
Anonymous, at August 08, 2006 5:39 a.m.
Hi Jay,
Thanks again for the comments.
The reason I keep my losses low is because it has to do with the way I trade. Whenever I get into a position, I'm expecting it to immediately move in my favor. This is because of the trading rules and strategies I have in place (one day I'll take the time to post up my entry and exit strategies).
If my position doesn't go my way immediately, then it's time for me to get out. While this may work for a scalper, it may not work very well for longer-term trades (you'll always get stopped out!).
Another thing that has helped is I'll enter a position with smaller size if not all my trade criteria are met or if I feel uncomfortable with the position. If the position begins looking stronger, I'll add to my position. If the small position doesn't work out, then my losses won't have as big an impact.
Another thing about me is that I don't like seeing a losing position in my blotter. Once I'm in a position and I see that my unrealized profit becomes negative, my mind is screaming "Get Out! Get Out!".
I would suggest that for you, to select an appropriate stop-loss before getting into a position, set it, then forget it. If prices come back down, have it automatically take you out of your position; that way you don't have to fight with yourself when a position doesn't go your way.
Hope it helps,
JC
By
J.C., at August 08, 2006 7:36 a.m.
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