I started off well today, and i thought i was doing well with my money manegement. I’m trading trendlines etc; on M30 chart. I started off well but then got demotivated when i hit three losses in a row, wiping out all of my profit. Is this normal? is this something i should get used too? :54: or do i need to change my strategy?
I used to scalp etc’; but decided to move up to higher time frames so i can get better money management but i dont know if i’m just being too negative or if i really need to step up my game a bit more?
Unfortunately, three losses in a row isn’t very unusual and shouldn’t be a reason to abandon your strategy. I would suggest really making sure you trust your strategy before moving forward. This could mean doing some extensive backtesting (be sure to include slippage and trading costs), running it on a demo account to make sure you are comfortable trading it, or just really trying to optimize it on different time frames, currency pairs, with different stop losses, etc.
I believe the first step in a becoming a successful trader is developing a strategy that you trust is profitable, then you can sit back and even three losses won’t get you down.
Hang in there and maybe take a little break to get your head in the right place. There is nothing more dangerous than trading when your doubting yourself or are trying to get revenge on the market. You can do this!
Sounds like you need to take a short break to reassess yourself and strategy. You need confidence in your strategy with concrete proof (in the form of testing and data) that will remind you that you’re on the right path. If your confidence is shaken by hitting a few losses, then you may want to integrate a “time to take a break” clause into your trading plan to ensure you stay even psychologically.
Also- have you considered going to a much higher time frame to reduce the stress? 4h or daily charts provide plenty of great opportunities and are far less time intensive so you’re not constantly embroiled with dealing with mental aspects for long periods of time.
if Your system have good results in past, don’t worry about that draw down because all systems in world have DD. Try to lover Your leverage and trade small.
hope it helps
Hi, thanks for the replies, i have tried H4 charts and Hourlys but, i have found it annoying, especially on the H4 where i may have to wait a few days for trades to finish. I kind of got a bit bored with it and wanted to be more active trading, so that’s why i went down to the M30.
If you are feeling down after the three losses wiped your profit then what’s going to happen when you have a really bad day and ALL losses? I can’t comment on your strategy or risk management but sometimes less is more ie trade less and get more out of it. Move up a time frame or two ie 1H or 4H
Sometimes traders have to be reminded that losing is a part of trading since every trade carries a probability of winning and losing.
If you have a trading plan and trading journal, you should be able to know when to stop trading once you’ve reached your maximum drawdown.
But if you’re still far from your maximum drawdown, don’t be discouraged! It’s a part of the game.
I don’t know how often you review your trades, but if you’ve been constantly losing for 3 months, I suggest that you review your strategy and do some amendments. While trying out new strategy, it would be better that you back-test it using your demo account first.
Regardless of the time-frames, you can always practice a proper money management. But if you feel more comfortable trading in higher time-frames then feel free to do so. It is also advisable to stick to one or two time-frames that you’re most comfortable with.
Well this is a new strategy which i have been testing, and i feel like i have reaslitic money management of a 2.1 ratio. I suppose i just have to keep on testing and trying out new things.
It depends how you are treating this, in my view, what you want from your trading.
If its a hobby and you enjoy the rush, and are not looking for a consistent income, then trading because you are bored is fine.
If, on the other hand, you are hoping to make consistent money from it, maybe even go full time some day, then in my opinion trading a lower timeframe because you are bored is a disastrous idea and won’t set you on the path to consistent profits, and certainly not at any serious level of income.
Better to pursue a trading style from which you can make money, rather than one which keeps you busy and excited. If you’re bored between profitable trades, surely better to develop a hobby rather than to enter unprofitable trades.
I’d also echo others who have said that three losses in a row is not unusual.
Take trading seriously and it can make you seriously wealthy. Treat it as purely a bit of fun and a lifestyle accessory and it won’t.
Well i’m definitely in it for the long haul, not a hobby in the slightest. If i wanted a hobby i’d take up sports betting. Here are my trades today using a strategy i was confident working with today. I had alot of losses but i tried to manage my money to make a better outcome. Here are all the trades, i only made £15 from a £200 account, but it’s profit. Now if you look at this, do you think it’s pathetic? or am i on the right track here? with any system, should i be expecting a better win ratio, or does this look good so far?
Just want to get some general feeling on how i’m doing.
with a -10/+20 expectation, you need to be looking at a much shorter timeframe, like a 5min candle or even 2min candle. a 30min candle is far too long for that “tight” of a trade. on a 30min candle chart, the “dither” or “noise” is going to be greater than 10pips, so you’ll get stopped out randomly and seem to make no progress. you might get stopped out at your SL, or at your TP, but unlikely to be consistently.
either use shorter timeframe charts, or expand your SL/TP levels by a fair bit.
£15 in a £200 account is 7.5%… just in one day!! if you are able to replicate this kind of performance every day and compound it, then you will be rich very fast
Sorry, i should have mentioned. This is a different system on a M5 chart. But i’m actually incorperating a system using currency strength and ADX from higher time frames. It’s basically scalping, as many trades last no longer than an hour (if you can still call that scalping). Also as odd as this sounds, due to the nature of this system it doesn’t matter what time frame you’re using, or watching.
Yep, anywhere between 5 minutes (if stopped out) to 1 hour. Usually no longer.
then you’re totally fine. scalping is psychologically very difficult (it’s like being in a dogfight in a fighter jet), lots of trades need to be made relatively quickly, so a bunch are going to be losses and a handful are going to be profitable.
and a $15 profit on a $200 balance is very good overall - and awesome IF you can keep a similar pace for an extended period of time. a 7% net gain should double your money in around 2 weeks. and IF you can keep your emotions in check (this thread says you’re going to have a VERY HARD TIME doing that), you could walk away with an island and a jet by christmas.
I wish this site has less discussion of doubling account balances within a couple of weeks. It is a pipe dream, unsustainable over the long term, and simply propagates the myth that pretty much any rookie can look forward to a lifetime of riches.
why? it’s possible, albeit not easy and not sustainable indefinitely (there’s a saturation point). and NOBODY implied that rookies can look forward to near-infinite riches (other than ICT, from what i gather)
if some people are only looking for and are happy to get 5% per month, then that’s their prerogative, is it not? in the same vein, there are many MANY common folk who would think that earning 5% PER MONTH is a ludicrous pipe dream and THEY are just happy to beat inflation (which would mean hitting around 5% PER YEAR)
hitting 5% per month is an incremental effort over hitting 5% per year, just the same as hitting 5% per week is an incremental effort over hitting 5% per month. again for 5% per day. again per hour. etc.
and anyone who thinks or believes that these “incremental efforts” mean that “anyone and everyone who tries will succeed” quite well deserves to fail miserably for being too naive and unrealistic.
just because it’s possible for 0.001% of the population doesn’t mean it’s not possible. just BLOODY HARD.
