I know myself and soon I will start to jinx myself. It just takes that one bad trade to wipe out so much sweat. Interesting I refer to my downfall as "one bad trade". Because what is that really? A trade that doesn't go as I predicted isn't a "bad trade", that's part of business.
One yanked stop is a BAD TRADE! And that's my own fault. It's destructive behavior.
I've worked on trading only my setup. I've worked on reviewing lekachim list (to the right) before market open. Now I need to work on eliminating my worst behavior: yanking stops.
Yanking stops (or not placing them) is the single most destructive thing I do. It has literally obliterated my account(s) multiple times.
Here are some tips to myself about using and not yanking stops. I've been talking to myself in the negative (don't), so I've tried to express these also in the positive, to remind myself the right thing to do.
Don't trade scared = trade more conservatively. Isn't it counter-intuitive? When I'm scared, I do the most incredibly destructive thing? No wonder I'm scared! I should be scared of myself, not of the market.
+ Don't trade wide spreads
+ Limit my position size
+ Give several days to expiration (ex: Wednesday move to next week, except lottos)
These are very simple and easy ways to be less scared. I shouldn't look at these techniques and think how it reduces my upside. I should look at these techniques and think about how it will help me not fry my account.
Don't ignore pivots = use pivots every time.
+ Identify a valid pivot
+ Trade against a meaningful pivot
+ Stop beyond pivots
+ Stop beyond the pivot
+ Take the stop beyond the pivot
+ Have I made myself clear about stops and pivots?
DO cut my trades short. I think I get too stuck on my targets as if I'm some sort of genius. I'm not a F*ing genius. Keep some money. Scale out. Cut before my target vs giving nice money back. It's ok. I need to keep something, not hit homeruns. Maybe my target would eventually hit, but don't go through pain on that hope. Just take some off. PEACE.
