Discipline in Trading

No time wasted here is a thread, let us hear from every one If they had or have discipline problems and how they approached this matter.
Personally I have a very good system It have a 1-2-3 step if they all occur I go in, but it seems I always mange to jump in before all 3 signals occur. I have tried many ways to get over this issue latest is printing out ( stick to your system) and placing it above my monitor lol.
Hopefully this will work, I’ll find out this week :slight_smile:

Discipline is no problem at all if you have something that works.
One of the reasons its hard to be disciplined is because most methods don’t work.

“There are old traders and there are bold traders but there are no old bold traders”.

You might be right but what if it was a good system?
I found that every time I violate my system I lose and if i stick to it I win, and yet i keep jumping in too early. It might be over confidence I get from making a few hundred pip a day or is it greed I’m not sure, But i know I better find a way to fix it.
Jado

This is a thread that covers a basic part of all trading and one that is perhaps harder to master than anything else.

I don�t remember who wrote about it, but i read a book where the writer had gone with a friend of his to an AA meeting and realized that everything fitted him as well if he just switched the word Alcohol for Losing (as in trading).

I think it’s Alexander Elder, not sure though.

I also do something similar I use one of those digital picture frames really cheap now days. I then make jpgs of all my strategies important points. Then load them on a SD card. it just sits there and ticks over and I can see all the information all the time… Just keep trying anything till you get it… As long as you slowlly get better you will finally do it… Plus everyone I know has a bad trade every now and then the one they knew was a big money maker… Once in a great awhile is ok.

I like the Dpic frame idea, its the next on my list. for now i got a dry erase board and hung it up in front of my disk :smiley:


Haha, I have a dry erase board hung up right in front of my desk also! And I too like the idea of the digital picture frame. I’m always trying to find easy reminders to stay disciplined. At one point I had all the pads on my sampler (musicians will know what this is) set to replay different trading slogans I recorded into it, like, “You’re up for the day, quit in profit!”, or, “You had a loss, so what, it’s a part of trading, do not place an immediate revenge trade!”.

Anyway, as you can see, discipline is my biggest hurdle. I spent the weekend rereading my favorite trading psychology books and I’m really trying to accept losses and stay on track. I’ve been the most insane revenge trader you could imagine in the past! Today, if I take a loss and accept it without taking an immediate revenge trade, then that day is a success (sort of like an alcoholic who sees it as a success when they go a day without a drink - one day at a time as they say in AA!).


I too have the issue, when I was live it really reared its head, but even after going back into demo it was not easy to control.

I am still in Demo now, but have 2 accounts. One account I use that mirrors the system I want to take live. The other is for those random style trades. I figure once I go live with my normal “system”, then I can have my random style moved to my main demo, and one I start looking good on that, even throw a small amount of money into it, for live trading.

I think this will allow me to be both disciplined to grow a real system and account and then also fulfill the need to “trade” when I “see” an opportunity.

BTW, I do remember reading about this from someone that said that they usually maintained 2 accounts. One account was for the wealth, the other was a small account for high risk trading…Do no remember the thread or author.

It’s actually a pretty good idea to have one account where you’re allowed to “misbehave”. Kind of like having a rubber hammer to hit your computer with when that is needed… which is often thanks to Mr Gates :smiley:

I think so. Lately, I have not had time to maintain two separate accounts, and am back live right now. I have found that the demons are still coming out, but I can spot them and control them more and more.

I love trading, but I do dread Mondays to be honest. I can’t wait to get that first trade in for the week as soon as possible. Once it goes in and it is successful, I know the rest of the week will be smooth sailing (i.e. I have a firm grasp on my emotions). But just waiting for the right signals for that first trade does frustrate me a great deal and it has led me to make some annoying errors in the past.

No offense, but you’re contradicting yourself… You can’t say “I can’t wait to get that first trade in for the week as soon as possible.” and “I have a firm grasp on my emotions.”

If you get excited about the thought of entering a trade then you do not have control over your emotions. :slight_smile:

The calmness will come with time, you just have to make sure you have a good money management plan so you survive long enough to see it. :smiley:

Good Morning Guys… Betting change your login name … you believe that this is gambling so much you named yourself accordinglly. This is anything but gambling, We study the price action or our indicaators and we make a EdUcated choice as to where we place our trade and what we have decided is a reasonable amount to risk ,our stop. if your anxious about your first trade your startegy needs a bit more work or you haven’t gained the confidence in it yet. But if it is sound you will.

Anyway not what I got on here to say…I have also been facing demons for a while. But having always had sound trading strategies. I always knew it boiled down to me. I have come to a couple of realizations of my faults. I need to be risking a amount of money per pip that matters to me. I had gone to trading minumial amounts saying i didn’t want to risk anything until I got this solved , but to me it was the same as trading demo. The amount being small enough I didn’t treat it with the respect I should have.

Last week a guy in our trading thread after listening to numerous people voice their frustrations about not controling their trading. He made the comment that he should take a $1,000.00 and turn it into $10,000.00 in a month. Knowing this person i knew he could probablly do it in a lot less than that. But it gave me the idea that i could do that and maybe that is what I need a challenge.

So I actually started with $750.00 June 2nd , First friday was up to $1,500.00 lost $1,000.00 during NFP then made $500.00 back so finished first week at $1,000.00. My goal was to double up every week 1500 ,3,000,6,000 and then 10,000. So this week my goal was $3,000.00 after the eur open friday I was up over $4,200.00 I then made a bad call friday am us open lost a bit. Decided not to risk it and quit for the week at $4,020.00

My point is maybe some are having the same problem. It is just that really that amount your trading isn’t going to make any difference in your life so deep down you aren’t doing the right thing. Maybe take a look back at your problem trades. see if maybe instead of a certain pip loss that the $ amount got to point where you cared and then you closed it.

If your stop in your startegy should be 30 put you let it run to 100 and you see that time and again you closed losing trades around $300.00 dollars maybe just maybe trading a full lot at $10.00 verses $1.00 per pip . Might matter enough to you to do the right thing. You for sure would make more when it goes your way. This is just a thought that seems to be holding true to me.

Also some one here ( don’t have it on my computer got a new one) posted a pdf called the Zurich Axioms. Might google it. The thing that made most since to me was the statement that most of us are a heartbeat away from being really poor but going the other way towards riches the skys the limit. The main difference is the amount your willing to risk.

I am in know way telling everyone this is for you . But I have been on these forums for years have seen people here as long and are longer than me. We know we have a winning startegy we just can’t get past ourselves. If this seems like something that fits you try it. But do so smartlly maybe lower your account ballance that way if you let it get away from you your margin call can save you. Moving stops is easy but it takes time to put money into your account. So if you trade a account size that is equal to the most you would ever want to lose in a day you have a stop you can’t move.

This will not remain a problem once we start making consistent trades and we really learn where the price is going to before it turns back our way. We will learn to take trades correctlly and not let it go against us to far as we know it is headed to the next level and why pay to watch that.

If you know older traders, this is why they say that trading is easy. it is nothing more than experience. They have seen it all a million times and know what is happening next, They are rarelly suprised, but when they are they too can let one run a bit deeper than normal. But it is not a normal event.

Boy what a rant, sorry … Take care Ken Lee :smiley: