Summary:
Traded TNA on 200 share lots and ended the day at +$179:
Played disc golf this morning so got a late start; then had to take a friend to the airport over the lunch break.
Overall, I had direction on trades (25-40 ticks on added shares), and ended up holding these till they stopped; that is just too much to let go. Expectations or lack of experience? Whatever it is, it is a recurring theme in my trading. I would probably chalk it up to lack of experience: the lack of market context perspective (that can only come from experience), resulting in misreading the charts (and setting up expectations). I find myself waiting too long.
Towards the afternoon I tried to focus on limiting/defining my exits: getting stopped, closing into strength, or closing just after strength. I think this is where context comes in - what is strength on one day, is not necessarily strength on another day. Strength is a comparative term. I am guessing that it has something to do with candle size - and how it acts while it is forming - velocity, hesitation, etc. Who is capitulating, the buyers or the sellers? Who is anxious for position? Who is hitting the panic button? What are the telltale signs of waning strength? When is the price going to keep going and when are the buyers/sellers going to trade anxieties?
This afternoon I also re-simplified my trading workspace - it's back to the basics. Sometime during the last several weeks I had convinced myself that I could have some extra charts/indicators on the desktop 'just to see how they behave' under certain market conditions; not that I would use them, only glance at them every once in awhile to see if they could add something. Pfft. Silly me.
Did I trade well today? Stick to my edge?
I would have to say no.
Thinking about my trading today, it was filled with hope/fear/greed. Perhaps the best indicator is that I can recall the emotions attached to nearly all of my exits: stops & discretionary. The stops were associated with frustration and fear; the discretionary were plagued by doubt, hope, fear, and resignation. This is more important than the charts. I am not sure that I have ever fully acknowledged this before. I may need to make a conscious effort to center my focus on price action whenever I find myself looking for a reason to hope/fear.
Food for thought: Is that what all the chart/indicator reliance/studying is all about? Me looking for a reason to hope/fear?
No frustration, fear, greed, or hope the rest of the day. And no charts either.
Wow man, this post is LEAGUES beyond the things I used to read on here when I first stumbled upon this blog. I hear self awareness, questioning about who is on the other side of the trade, and context. Inspirational!
ReplyDeleteHeh - thanks for that man. Maybe the decision to move away from EOD charts and concentrating on just the market is freeing - releasing me to work on what counts. Whatever it is, the shift feels right.
ReplyDeleteCatch you tomorrow.
nice post. i think it is that endless quest for the holy grail until you realize there is none.
ReplyDeletei like how you spoke about strength on one day, is different on the next.
question, aren't we always trading from fear when we set our stop losses? i know i am always thinking "i only want to risk this much" which in a sense, to me, is fear of losing.
Fozz: I think you are right in one sense, but I would distinguish between setting a stop and what happens inside my head as the price approaches the stop. Personally, it doesn't take a lot of emotional/mental energy for me to set a stop - probably the most unbiased decision of the trade for me.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, it doesn't stay that way. When the price approaches the stop I think things like: 'I knew this was going to happen', 'I am never going to get this right', 'Why am I always wrong', 'I should of closed sooner' - happened a lot yesterday.
Of course the big mental fights are the discretionary. Yesterday I had a good direction, added size, and it re-traced about a third of the profit. That is emotional havoc - should I add or close? Of course I closed and it immediately turns back around - immediately.
I was right on the fence on the decision - I had a feeling that the trade would go back to direction, but I was afraid that I would continue to lose. That is not the place I want to be.