It is not only entry point which is not easy to do but also exit point because the result of trading is not only depending on entry point but also exit point. If you could entry in the right time but the exit point is not right then it is possible to suffer loss or maybe it is still profit but you didn’t gain maximum profit when the exit point is not right. For me, keeping consistency to stick on the rule and always update trading plan which we had, that is the difficult challenging in trading.
For me, the hardest thing is deciding what to do if I miss the start of a new move. In theory, I should say leave it, there is always another move on the way. But if I do then the move will probably continue on to become a major shift and I am left feeling pretty dumb on the sidelines wondering how on earth I managed to miss ALL that!. On the other hand, to enter after the start is to risk buying the top or selling the bottom, which also leaves me feeling pretty dumb (and a bit poorer!).
For these reasons I concentrate very much on retracements where at least the stop/target ratio is always optimal.
For me, the most difficult part (for now) was to understand that the larger time frames are not harder to work with. It sounds much more difficult than it is in the reality. In addition, it is less time-consuming.
So when you trade you expect less than a hundred pips WOW!!! well i always expect about 200 pips or so, because for me my minimum is 50 pips and my maximum is 200 pips
For the traders losing their entry level is one of the most difficult situations that have to face. I believe that if you did not enter the market on the specific price you want then I prefer to remain neutral until I found the correct entry level.
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The most hard part fot me is not to do intervention when I FEEL that my trading algo is not right.
I learnt the hard way not to mess up with my proven, longterm, backtested, etc… strategies and let them do their job.
Two of the most difficult things for me are keeping the system simple, and taking every buy signal and every sell signal the system throws up. In both cases, too much thinking interrupts good trading.
The third thing I can’t understand is why I haven’t got a Lexus yet.
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well, the list goes on and on, from the first time i started trading a hotforex demo account, merely looking at MT4 was a puzzle, imagine back in the days when people where doing analysis on paper, well that was me looking at a platform not knowing where to start and simply step by step unfolding the mysteries of forex LOL but seriously almost everything about something we dont understand is hard at first till we get the hang of it.
I like to pick top and bottom as well. Mainly through the use of divergence in price and momentum oscillator. As well as Gann’s 3 day rule.
The underlying strategy seem logical but in essence profitability is hard to achieve. Sometimes, the fundamemtal simply goes against it. I have started to read news and learn to average my position not more than once. If i’m wrong, i’m prepared to cut loss and bite the bullet. In the past, i just can’t let it go and keep averaging till my account is burned. I realised i’m someone who find it extremely difficult to accept that my market direction interpretation is wrong. It is so so so painful to cut loss and close a trade in the red. That’s my biggest challenge.
My self control was very weak in the past. It has been 5 years now. It seems that my self control is improving but i think i’m still not quite there yet. There is still more room for improvement. My objective is 100% winrate and no tilting.
For me the most difficult thing was to get past my own internal feelings about money and success.
I know it sounds corny all that trader psychology and all, but it is not corny at all.
I took me a long time to realize that there is far more than fear and greed going on in my trades.
Know yourself and recognize if you are doing things such as subconsciously sabotaging yourself or trading reckless or whatever it may be for you.
Get all the why stuff sorted out and the how becomes much easier.
Money carries a huge emotional / psychological significance. If we were trading for anything else bar money, this game would be a lot easier.
I think I’m now very good at detaching myself from the money I could lose in a trade and what I could do with that money, or what I had to do to get it. One thing I have taken on is the concept that the 40% (or whatever) of trades that start in the usual way with good reasons for entry but then turn into losers are not losses, they are just over-heads, like the utility bills or local property rates. If my system has only a 50% win rate, then if 50% of my trades are losers, I am not doing anything wrong or excessively risky. Though I know many non-traders who have told me they could not even consider a financial investment that could end up smaller than when they started.
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One of the most challenging things for me - when trading, that is - is to learn not to touch a position I’ve already opened based on my trading plan. I always have the urge to fiddle with it, or even close it because I am always anxious that I am making a mistake.
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Keeping my humility, it is hard when you wake up in the morning, and you urinate excellence, then you look in the mirror, and you see, excellence, and then you trade excellence, yup really hard. Hehehehehe.
Ok, with that said. The hardest thing for me are the last four to six weeks of our fiscal year. This is when, in general, my mojo goes away and I could give it all back. In other words, just staying out till the middle to the end of Sept. It is a battle of self discipline.
The Ever Working On Self Discipline VIPER
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Most difficult thing is to be wrong, then publicly declare a position or opinion without the fear of being wrong.
Remove the fear of being wrong and it’s strange how often a person can be right.
one of my early on biggest problems was just that. We have a natural tendency to let our losers run and cut our winners off.
If you do that you must stop it. “locking in profits” while giving losers “room to turn around” is the death blow to any account. if you set a stop stick to it and if you set a take profit don’t fiddle with it.
Believe me I know it is easier said than done.
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yea i pee excellence too lol
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I know. I keep telling myself that when I open a position I should sit on my hands - sometimes literally - and not give into the temptation to fiddle with. I think I have gotten better at that (not touching the position) over time, but I still have a long road ahead of me.
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@mlawson71
that is exactly the most tempting for me.
While I trade using EAs that are backtested and stable I have still feelings that I know better what would happen to markets. Usually EAs are right.
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I barely use EAs, but in the rare cases when I did do that that is exactly how I felt too. It’s really frustrating.