Biggest Mistake to Avoid?

What would you all consider to be the biggest mistake to avoid in intraday trading?

Over-trading over-trading over-trading and over-trading. If you start to hit a losing streak cut down on your lot size. Only be risking at most 1% of your capital on a single trading or trading idea. So if you are trading two high correlated pair then only trade 1% between them. If you are lucky most currencies give you a good opportunity once a day during any particular session. Unless you have a system that is producing entry signals left and right, but such a system would be less efficient due to transaction costs. The fewer the trades the better. So you have to make sure that the trades you take are right and you ride that winner. Also, cut your losses short. After a loss I would be cautious about reentry to the market. Nothing worst then getting emotional and making a compound lost!

[B]No discipline.[/B]

It’s amazing to me how many traders out there enter and exit trades with no real reason like they’re throwing dice.

To be successful, I feel you have to have sort of checklist that eliminates as much of the emotion involved in trading as possible.

I agree. Over trading and inpatience were my biggest problems when I first got started. When I lost, I have this urge to hurry and make a re-entry to get my money back…and lost again. Sound familiar? I learned my lesson. Patience my friends is the name of the game. Today I choose to trade using daily time frame and ride the winning trade.

As O’ Wise One Warren Buffett says: “…patience pays, so buy them and hold them.” :slight_smile:

Not being aware of the data release calendar.

Just watched the US Non-Farm Payroll data come out WAY better than anyone expected. Can you imagine being blindsided by that? Picture yourself being short the Dollar in some regard prior to that release without realizing the figure was due out. Whoa! :eek:

A pending data release completely alters the risk profile of an intraday trade.

Since overtrading is the most obvious risk…what are some signs that you are getting close to the edge…that is getting close to the overtrading mark?

Well you should define a maximum draw down. How much your capital can go down in total before you stop trading. If you are getting close to that then I would say you are over trading. If you are not scalping I would say most pairs give you a good trade once per session. So I would say no more then 1 or 2 trades per session per currency pair. Say you were wrong about your initial entry but then you realized you were wrong and took the opposite position. That is fine so long as that you really realize that you were wrong. If you take the opposite position for the hell of it then you probably will be wrong again. Also, if you get caught be whipsaw then I would say it would be ok to re-enter the market.

My personal experience with EURvsUSD is that one trade a day is usually good. Sometimes though there isn’t a trade at all. That is something you have to learn to deal with. Some days there will be no trades and just don’t get into the market for the sake of getting in.

Greed and Revenge I think are good indicators that you are getting to the point of overtrading.

Sometimes you’ll be on a winning streak and start to get a little overconfident and greedy. This can cause you to rush trades without thoroughly thinking them through and can result in you making some really bad decisions.

On the other hand, you may be on a losing streak and start to get angry at the market. This can cause you to get vengeful and make you want to get your money back which would ultimately cause you to make bad trades and perhaps lose even more money.

Whenever you feel yourself getting like this, its time to take a break! :slight_smile:

Thank you both…for your excellent advice… Setting a maximum draw down and avoiding greed… I think this should really help me on my new venture in forex.

Hello

For me worst mistake is to have poor money managment.Whatever stupid mistakes you do you will be out of game cause only 1 reason - you lost your money :slight_smile: simple right ? And money managment is thing that teach you how to not lose your money :slight_smile: even more simple.

Best Regards

Vladimir.

My favorite is Don’t follow the advice of other analysts or friends who know what their doing. You alone are responsible for your actions. Anything can & will go wrong in FX so prepair for it!! :slight_smile:

[B][I]Unless they have a proven track record or work for babypips![/I][/B]

Many traders come with false expectations of the profit potential and lack the discipline required for trading. Day trading or even short term position trading can prove to be very difficult for amateurs due to the extensive leverage offered by the FX market. Just like any other market instrument, the rules of finance and logic apply. In other words, one cannot hope to make extraordinary gains without taking extraordinary risks. A strategy that incorporates high degrees of risk should be expected to result in inconsistent performances and even large losses. Trading isn�t easy. If it were, I wouldn�t work 12 hours per day. Even traders with several years of experience, and are considered to be successful, have extensive �losing streaks�. Like any other valued skill, trading takes time to master and there are absolutely no short cuts.

The most alluring aspect of forex is the [B]high degree of leverage [/B]offered. The idea of having the ability to turn small amounts of money into much larger amounts in minutes is extremely tempting.

However, leverage is a double-edged sword in that it can provide exciting profit potential, but traders must understand that the potential losses are also great. The biggest mistake that inexperienced traders make is over margining their account.

For example, if the margin on a currency pair is $1,000 and you have $10,000 in your trading account, this doesn�t mean that you should execute 10 positions. In fact, trading one lot, rather than multiple lots, will likely increase your odds of success.

Traders that over leverage their accounts are often �forced out� of losing positions prematurely that would have ultimately become profitable. Successful traders know that it is much easier to �outlast� the market than it is to �out trade� it.

Most experienced traders will agree that as a rule of thumb you should never use more than 50% of your available margin, and believe it or not many professional money managers are not authorized to leverage a trading account over 10%.

It’s real easy advice to give to someone…I appreciate it…but much harder to follow. We all let go of our money too fast…knowing how not to overextend ourselves is a life long task.