Posts Tagged ‘mental trading’

Building Solid Mental Foundation for Day Trading

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Today is Wednesday February 3rd and I picked up my goal today with a few small trades and wrapped it up. I did see a lot of potential trades I could have taken today, but I was satisfied to stop with 2 points. Below is a follow up from yesterday post.

I find it very interesting two days ago as I first made mention of a post “Face your Day-Trading Weaknesses with change”. In that post I talked about how important mental fitness is in the life of a day trader. If we ignore the things that are holding us back and refuse to face and deal with it, we will not be moving forward but backwards, staying true to form with the majority of other traders.

We need to do different things than the majority and be strong enough to face our fears and challenge ourselves in the area’s that hurt. That is where change is going to come from, identifying our weaknesses and building on our strengths. As I mentioned already, failing to do so, we will only find ourselves repeating the same day trading error again and again, to our destructive amazement. That is no way to make it to the top.

In keeping with the theme, yesterday I made mention of a man who puts out really good material to help all people, but it is so applicable to “Day Trading and Trading for a Living”  

 It is very similar to what I have talked about and although it is not earth shattering, it is simple, practical and what we all need to be doing. You would think that something as elementary as this would not be that hard to do, but it can be some of the hardest things to face and overcome.

His post is from February 3rd, and the title is called “Examine your weaknesses”. The February 4 th post is all so true. The site is called “The Daily Motivator”.

Some may find it strange that I am promoting another guys blog or website without personal gain to me, but this site is more than about me. It is a way of helping traders see what it is that they need to do, in order to find success. I feel my trading program will help many as well, because I do offer a road map and some personal mentoring to help those who choose, find their way. If you already have a trading method or plan that you are following, that is fine, but for those that need one, it is always available.

 
That is a lot to swallow in one sitting, but you can take it slow. Make a list of your trading problems. Start with the biggest to the smallest. Clearly identify what it is you are consistently doing wrong and go to the next one and write it all out. This should be in your trading journal as all of us should have one. As you go down the list, try to be as honest as you can. No one will see this, just you, so expose your weaknesses.
 
Now, think of what it is going to take to start changing what you are doing. If you are trading live and your trading equity is slowing going down, that is the first thing you need to do. STOP TRADING. See, that may not be what you want to here, but it is tough medicine. It is only until you get yourself situated. To stop trading is hard, especially if your trading account is funded and ready to go, but unless you stop momentarily, you will end up blowing your account out. Treat your trading funds as though it was the blood in your veins. You need that blood to stay alive, lose it and you die.
 
If you have no plan or trading method that is clearly written out with rules and objectives, that could be your first order of business. Trading without this, is like setting sail for England without a map, compass and other navigational tools, hoping that you will find it if you just go east.  The odds are probably about the same, not good.
 
If you have that already, you need to be sure that what you are following is sound and will be applicable to a variety of market conditions. We rarely see the same market on a regular basis, that is why system trading does not live up to its claims. If your plan or method is rock solid, then you need to follow it. There may be reasons why you struggle to follow it and that may be a lack of confidence in your ability to perform when conditions are right. You may need more time to practice your method and build your confidence, so take the extra time you need before you jump back in and build the mental side of your trading so the two can become one, success will follow.
 
If anyone is in need of a “Trading Method” that works and some “Mentoring” to go along with it, I offer both. Visit, www.sniperdaytrading.com and see the possibilities.

Mental Trading Lesson Today!

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

Today is Tuesday, October 13th and below are the turning points for today’s session.

Just a brief note, we could be making new highs in tomorrows session, but remember to always look both ways, you would not want to get hit. That is what my mom always told me growing up. Little did she know that can be applied to day trading. Be careful not to form to strong of a market opinion. That could really kill you one day, no kidding aside.

Tomorrow’s session may be going higher, but I need to leave my mind open for any directional change that may take place. If I get stuck on only thinking in one direction, BAM, your dead, or seriously injured. Be careful and look at both sides of the market. In the long run, you will never become surprised about a move that came out of nowhere. I have heard of traders say, that was one of the key turning points in their career as a trader. When they started to see both side of the market, looked  at price action objectively without bias and  had a plan for both, should a counter trend reversal takes place. That is the right attitude and approach. Anything less than that, you are only going to get hurt, don’t let that happen.

The reason’s for this is really amazing. You would be so surprised at how powerful the mind is. The power of suggestion has the ability to blind you from all reality and that is the truth, I have lived it first hand. You will not see the obvious trades right in front of you, if you have told yourself, “this market is going up, I know it”.  Well, you could know a lot of things, but you may be wrong about this one, then what. Do you have the mental capacity to be aware of what exactly you are doing and take the appropriate steps to STOP and readjust yourself to the pure price action at hand. Well, if you don’t, it is only going to be a matter of time before you hand your account over to other traders who do have the ability to do just that.

Your trading system or method may be very good, but if you do not train yourself to relax, calm down, realize what you are doing and look at price action objectively with an open mind, you will have the tendency to BECOME  BLINDED by what you think you see. If you are the type of person who hates to be wrong and has trouble admitting it, boy are you going to get hurt. The trading markets have no mercy for traders like that. Do some searching, inside yourself and see if you have tendencies like this. If you do, you would be well served to address this before you continue your trading adventures. Failure to do so, will not bring you the recognition as a successful day trader that you aspire to become, but part of a statistic that adds new members to it ranks every day, ACCOUNT CLOSED.

http://www.screencast.com/t/kgQTfXzT7dQ                 Todays Turning Points