Hesitating and fear of execution

Beginner Questions Trading Psychology
1

hey guys

i’ve been trading like 5 yrs , well first 3 years i didn’t know about trading and market structure and many other things about trading and i was trading in crypto , i studied alot about trading and tried almost every strategy in trading with lots of backtesting but all was failing , now i’ve been trading in forex and i am very pleased with that , also i have developed and mastered in my strategy (SMC) and i have a 70% winrate in my trades (yearly 73%) , well the problem is i hesitate alot and cant execute my plan and when i do i exit my trades too fast , i try to avoid over trade but in 1 min time frame i do max 8 trades a day , i just sit and watch chart like 8 to 10 hours a day , i think that first 3 yrs had a negative impact on my trading psychology and i cant get rid of that , although i know i am doing right and maybe perfect , i have lost self confidence in trading and have been struggling with this problem for last years , i exit trades as soon as it goes to profit , i cant stick to risk management plan ( R/R 1:2 ) , what do you guys suggest ?

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2

What about putting some distance between yourself and the trading process? -

  • enter only on pre-set orders, never live
  • same with TP’s and SL’s - once these are set, there is no more trade management required
  • set up your platform to ping you when a trade is closed - that’s when you might need to assess the next one
  • don’t look at charts after your orders are set - if you must check on progress, just check on how many positions you have open and how many orders still pending
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3

Connect demo to LIVE.

Copy your trades on demo to LIVE account.

Try to forget about the above steps.

Trade on demo.

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i use pre-set order with TP and SL , i do breaks and put distance sometimes like a week but since this is my only income source i cant stay away for so long , i use 0.5 lot with 600$ balance in EURUSD and 0.1 in XAUUSD , i know 0.5 volume is too much for that amount of balance , it has been is raised by the time and now i’ve got used to it and now am ok with that and the income , every week i withdraw my profits , and about not looking at chart i tried alot but since sometimes i use break-even and SL trailing i cant leave the chart :sweat_smile:

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well i never did demo , maybe that is where all problems started , i started , learned , developed and even backtested everything in live account with lowest volume , i always advise everyone to try demo but mine didnt go like that and now i cant go back to demo , i am profitable , but i miss many trades along the day , you think demo can fix hesitation ?

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I stick to the good old 2% maximum risk per trade rule. Even if I’m daytrading (I am right now but have not usually, I’m more of a long-term trader on D1 charts) this risk level means I can sleep without worrying what tomorrow might bring. I would boost up the funds in my account if that was the only way I could keep to the 2% risk per trade rule.

I always compound profits.

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7

hi, build expert advisor from strategy conditions

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Hey I’ve never done demo either. Live accounts help give you real emotions. It could be trading on a 1 min timeframe and spending 8-10 hours a day staring at a screen takes a toll on your psyche. Maybe that’s not your psyche profile to trade as a scalper.

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9

If there are some certain targets your strategy can achieve then i would suggest you to algo trade and really see the potential. Also that will allow you to remove psychological factors.

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10

You could always try adjusting your R:R. Do you have any data on your past performance? For example, would your win percentage have been higher if you did 1:1.5, or even 1:1? Also, maybe forget about moving your SL at all and try just letting your trades play out. You would be surprised at how many trades would have hit your TP if you had left your SL alone.

I would not tweak your strategy too much all at once though, just baby steps to fine-tune it.

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  1. Set Some Serious Rules: Like, make super clear rules for when you get in and out of trades, and stick to them like glue. It helps big time with keeping those random emotional choices in check.

  2. Chill with the Screen Time: Don’t spend all day staring at charts. It’s totally draining. And hey, maybe try some chill vibes like meditation to keep your head clear.

  3. Play Pretend Trades: Use a trading simulator to practice. It’s like playing a game where you can mess up without any real-world oopsies, and it boosts your confidence.

  4. Get Some Pro Advice: It might be cool to talk to someone who knows their stuff about trading psychology. They can help sort out those head-game issues that mess with your trading.

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12

yes this might be true , i am now working on it to jump to higher timeframes to test my psyche reaction

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thanx for reply , well i only move stoploss to break-even when price moves 50% of my initial profit level set by 1:1 RR level , otherwise i never touch it since in SMC we put SL under the orderblock and it has a fixed level and then follow RR to set profit level

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14

I usually find when I move the SL to cut the potential loss, I increase the probability of the loss or a break-even.

But it likely depends also on the strategy’s style - advancing the SL in a long-term trend-following position is probably going to be low risk: advancing the SL on a short-term break-out trade is what normally makes a loss probable.

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15

this could means ,your strategy is conflicting your mind ,deep inside you doesn’t believe in what your strategy tells you .from my experience ,you need to find an “excuse” to persuade yourself ,you need an legit explanation to do that ,it takes time .try ask yourself why i hesitate ?what am i affraid for?do i really trust in this strategy?am i been lying to myself?

in this journey ,we all try hard to understand ourselves ,so we can come out something exclusive.

best pip

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16

thanks for reply

this is such a great advise for new beginners , i have been through these processes that u mentioned and my strategy has passed this test long time ago and i’ve been thru all the excuses and tried to fix them one by one , i totally agree on what you said , as i mentioned earlier my biggest mistake was to leave my main job and totally (financially) relying on trading as my main income source , that created an extra hesitating/fear level when trying to execute each position , i look for perfect entry with minimum loss and it takes lots of time / energy / psyche (which is possible i cant deny it) , after all , now i am trying to move to 5 minute time frame and will give it a try since 1 min TF has lots of noise and failures , and one other thing i am trying to do is to go with 1/0.5 R/R , i always disagreed with this RR but i read somewhere if you have high winrate , going to lower rewards is not a bad idea at all , i will be testing these two factors and send the results for further conclusions to help other traders that might have same problem as mine

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Hey there!

Totally get your struggle with hesitation and early exits. It’s super common, especially with a past like yours. My suggestion? Try focusing more on the quality of trades rather than quantity. Maybe cut down on the hours staring at charts - it can really help clear your head. And don’t underestimate the power of a good mental break or some mindfulness exercises. They’ve been a game-changer for me.

Happy trading! :slightly_smiling_face:

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thanks for reply

yes i agree with you , i only focus on quality of trades and have done lots of mindfulness exercises , the only thing i am working on right now is higher time frame

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19

that is a common problem
do not worry
not to act based on what you have analyzed and not sticking to
you know what to do for sure and i will not name those things
just want to tell you that we all have problems like that
relax and try to fix it

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20

LONGER THAN I EXPECTED IT WOULD BE BUT STILL WORTH THE READ.

In my humble opinion, this is clearly a psychological problem and not a system or strategy issue. I have a couple of recommendations, if followed could yield the necessary results.

Phase 1 (I can almost certainly say it would yield the desired result).

1, Read The Disciplined Trader by Mark Douglas. He speaks and outlines the necessary steps to tackle this problem specifically. Trading Trauma due past trading experiences and what not. The idea is that you’ve developed limiting or daunting Beliefs & Associations with trading that inspires fear and set of behaviour under certain conditions. This book alone would be equip you with what you need.

2, Read the chapter on Dr Van K Tharp (pg 411 - 430) from the Market Wizards by Jack Schwager and follow up with Super Trader by Dr Van K Tharp.

Phase 2 / Alternatively!

1, Cut down your position size. If you cannot put on a trade and leave the screen without feeling anxious, you’re either not confident in that trade or you’re risking too much. This would cause anxiety and urge you to get out or secure your profits asap.

If you still want to use your 0.5 lot size. Then learn to effectively trail your stop loss. Either trailing to minor or major zones, swing levels or at the lowest wick of every 3-5 candles. Whatever works for you, but there’s an effective way of doing it otherwise you would just get stopped out sooner than you might desire.

2, Trade on a higher time frame. The benefit of this is a reduction of market noice and arguably better quality setups. This might permit you hold your trades longer as the volatility in short time would not be as overwhelming as it could be in the lower time frames.

3, Do not be married to the idea of a high win rate(I’m not saying that you are, just food for thought). A high win rate does not directly translate to profitability or better still - consistent profitability. If you fundamentally cut your trades short when you’re in profit, you’re most definitely going to have a high win rate. What you might find helpful is increasing your risk to reward ratio at the expense of your high win rate (this is easier to do on higher time frames than lower timeframes) and could effectively improve your profit margin and equity curve.

Pay attention to the highlighted bits on the screenshot, it’s from The Disciplined Trader.

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