Tag: Thoughts

The Mindset of a trader

Hi guys,

So last week was traumatic lol. L’s on L’s but that is okay, you know you blow up and come to a realization then blow up again then you need to re-build. I’ve been thinking about my whole idea of living off of trading and I feel like it is leaking into my day trading activities and creating issues for me managing my risk. I know I’ve said i am happy with 5-10% for the week but am I truly happy with that if I continue trading?? you see me continuing to trade contradicts the idea that I am happy with 5-10% for the week. then am I truly happy with that if I full margin after? I dont think so. so now the question is how do I change my mindset. Today during the FX review for the week this came up and I realized shit, I really do need to go to a mindset from living off of trading to earning additional income from trading. sure my job can give me x amount of dollars a year but if I can make even half my income trading then I am deemed successful. I may not be able to live off of it but over the long run I definitely will. peep this.. 50% on a 10K account is 15K end of the year then 50% again we are at 22.5K… 33.75K…. 50K…. 75K…. 113K. anyway you get the point in the long run consistency and small gains will grow your account exponentially and you will have more money to make more money. This is how you get to the point of living off your trading.

The other question I need to ask myself is why I trade? Continue reading “The Mindset of a trader” →

Know your Risk….

Hey guys….

I know I constantly  talk about risk management and why it’s important. I believe one should never risk 50% of their account to only earn 25% or anything less than what your risking a matter of fact. Earlier this year I made a trader flow chart but after reflecting this week I realized that I was missing another question. The question would follow after “Calculate risk and setup position.” The question is “are you comfortable with the risk? if the answer is no then recalculate the risk and ask again. I realized knowing your risk and being comfortable with the risk are 2 different things.

“If you are too comfortable in a trade then you probably do not have enough size”
-GMan, ONE GOOD TRADE

This quote is kind of counter to what I am saying but I believe in it so much. Nothing is wrong with taking calculated risk as long as you realize the damage it can do and willing to setup the proper reward given the risk. My max risk for a day is 5% so I have the opportunity to make 15% if my risk:reward is on proper.

In addition, you also have to be willing to be have reasonable take profit. After reviewing a lot of my profitable trades I noticed that some never hit tp and I closed prematurely ruining my risk:reward ratio. over the long run this is no good because your SL will be hit and your wins will never out-weigh the losses. of the few that would hit Stop loss I need to determine if my TP is completely out of whack because I’m not trading the structure or if I’m forcing a specific risk:reward just so I can play the trade.

Anyway, trading this week begins on Wednesday and I’m so glad to be back.

Talking to myself (back dated December 19th, 2017)

Do I really know what makes me risk more than I should. I think vaguely it would be emotions, but which emotions exactly. I’d say mainly greed because I always forget this is a long term game. Last year this time I deposited 1K and lost it over a week period. 1000/5 trading days= –$200 a day roughly. Keep in mind last year I had no real risk management plan.

That’s a loss of more than 10% a day. If I took my time and managed my risk and actually gained that 1% a day for a year I would be laughing now with at least 10-15K and a ton more experience managing my risk and another step closer to leaving the 9-5 life. Right now the #1 goal is to be financially free then mentally and physically fit!

Remember this: Winning takes discipline, discipline comes from confidence and only a system in which you have confidence will you increase your chances of succeeding as a trader.