Knowing how to trade isn’t enough!

Some good points made here.

“More often than not, good traders have gotten out way before price even gets to their original SL, because they recognized quickly that the trade won’t work out, minimizing their loss.”

I would say just one thing trade smaller and give yourself time to see your results it’s like being to close to the screen and not being able to enjoy what you imagine

I was a day trader and always worked on H4 charts, but switched to a longer termed prospect and found myself a commission free broker and started trading mostly based on daily to weekly charts, much better now. Not saying that I am winning every trade but you cannot believe how better you can manage risk and think about everything with a wider view. Not to mention it is all less stressful too.

2 Likes

Bravo @Ethan.ishere!

It’s encouraging to see traders start to “get it”

Day trading can be profitable by those who know what they are doing, but a lot of losing traders never make it past the misconception of having to apply their “edge” as often as possible.

Once you develop real trading skills, then you can actually design a process to suit your lifestyle. No better way to make money than while sleeping, sailing, playing golf or writing replies on BabyPips. :rofl:

2 Likes

Thanks man, yeah passive income while having fun is the dream worth chasing :laughing:

I have been thinking of trading indices even though not yet started. Do you provide mentorship?

Sure passive income is great.

Just to be clear though, what I do isn’t passive income by any stretch. “My job” is to manage my company’s portfolio of 40+ positions and assets. Just the time horizons for these investments and positions are in years. So “I work” on average 1 hour / day doing daily analysis and monitoring positions, but I can easily be away for weeks with zero impact. Having said that, when you do what you love, it doesn’t feel like you work a single day in your life and it very much feels “passive” :grin:

2 Likes

Hi guys. I have a question. From your experience whilst on a 5min chart, roughly after how many candlesticks in the wrong direction can you u say the trade is definitely going against you and start acting to minimise the losses as mentioned above?

Wow that sounds very grand and awesome man, you are way better of at this than I am, kudos to you.

Honestly, its nothing to be impressed by. I’ve just been at it for a long time and have learned to shape the trading / investing to a lifestyle that I wanted.

It took a very long time for things to click for me, I think most people could’ve done it in a much a shorter time if they had the same guidance.

As long as you see yourself as a lifetime student of the game and retain the passion to continuously learn, your development and growth will happen in bursts and stages. It’s about focusing on the journey, not the destination.

1 Like

I also trade the 5-minute timeframe too. I can’t give a specific number of candlesticks to watch out for before closing the trade. The market changes every day and techniques don’t always work out as you expect them to.

That is the goal here, to stay in it long enough to start winning it but I have to admit that sometimes it does get tough, though it is a part of the game.

IMO, this is where “trading psychology” comes into play (not the bastardized version about emotional winning / losing), how to not only stay in the game but to excel and perform when it starts to get a bit tough and/or boring.

It takes about 10 years to build a business. A business owner can’t force customer to buy and needs to be careful not to take on too large customer orders that can’t possibly be delivered without risking his/her business survival. In the same way a trader can’t force a trade or market to give more than it is willing and/or what is safely possible for their account size. The losing 95% fail to understand this and want it all before they’re ready.

Profits come from experience and experience takes time and effort to gain. A trader needs to play it safe and stay in the game until he / she has gained that experience. The profits will follow.

When I built my management consulting business, the first 6 years were profitable but the really big money started in year 7. It was the same for me when I got into trading / investing. The first 5 years it was nothing but losses and blown accounts, year 6-7 it was around breakeven, from year 8 the winnings started small and then year 9 and onwards they started coming in bigger and bigger bursts.

There is financial freedom and massive rewards on the other side but only for those that can persevere and continue to perform through the tough times. IMO, the best way to do this is to genuinely love the process (focus on the journey) and ignore the P&L (don’t focus on the destination).

1 Like

Yes I understand that and I am trying to do the same, to keep trading and improving but life can get me tied up a bit at times, but I guess when I look at it as a very long termed journey it does start to sound much more relaxed and easier to accept. I have not been around all that long but slowly but surely I will get there, thank you for sharing your experience I really appreciate that.