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Well hello again!!!!
I took some time off posting. I had a rough trading year.
Truth told, I got lazy, uninspired and really started hating the market.
I lost a lot of money and was flirting with throwing in the towel. I talked to my family about it, about how I was feeling and how it was affecting me. They told me that all they wanted was for me to be happy.
Trading makes me happy.
I love trading. I love it. I like the puzzle of it, the way it keeps my brain firing. I love charting. I love watching the market move. I could look at charts all day and all night.
But I was still losing every month and I was so frustrated and tired and blaming. I kept saying to myself, "If you are such a good trader, how come you have lost so much money this year?"
And the answer to that is simple:
I'm not that good of a trader.
I can chart well. My TA is good. I know how to pick contracts. You'd think it was easy to make money then, right?
I've read a lot on X about how traders have that moment that "clicks", that moment that changes things for them. I've been looking for that moment. I've been wondering if it will happen for me before I quit, or am liquidated.
Well, I'm not saying "everything" has clicked, but I did have a few moments of clarity about certain things this past week.
I hope they help you if you have been feeling like me lately.
Clarity 1 ✅ - I work best with a PLAN.
The main thing I realized was that "winging it" was not a strategy for me. AT ALL. I do not "wing" stuff well. In trading, or in my real life. I like to know what is going to happen and have a plan ready.
Clarity 2 ✅ - I like the Daily TF for concept, the 30 min TF for entry and 5 min TF for confirmation.
No one TF can supersede the other. Use them all. I like more data, so I need to be ok with that, even if the furu's says otherwise.
What I realized was, that unlike a few of the coaches I studied under, I can't just trade the daily chart or just trade a 5 min chart. I need more confirmation than that.
Intraday can be a tricky space to navigate - too small a timeframe and the noise will spook me. Too large and I can miss nuance that is giving me warnings.
Clarity 3 ✅ - Chart Annotations and Plan!
The third thing I realized was that I need to go back to annotating and planning my charts out the night before and doing a deep dive on Sunday to plan the week.
I plan the entry criteria (sometimes 2 different entries).
I plan the SL (usually LOD or loss of key level).
I plan the TPs (so I do not take too early by being scared).
I pre choose the contracts (so I don't have to choose one on the fly)
This keeps me from FOMOing on others ideas from X or discords.
If my trigger hits, I'm in.
SL hits, I'm out.
Knowing what kind of trader you are, and what you need to do to have success is key, I think.
You can pull strategy from many successful traders, but knowing how YOUR personality works and building YOUR own strategy based off those key elements is what I am hoping is the missing link for me.
Proud of myself for jumping back on the horse.
Took $TMC and $PLTR today
$PL and $RKLB yesterday
Still holding $NCLH and $RIVN of course!
$PL, $RIVN, $RKLB and $NCLH all trimmed and set to BE.
Truth talk: Yesterday I wanted to quit.
Like full on rage quit.
I blamed everything and everyone I could. Market Makers
Politics
Charts
People on X
My cat
Etc....
But the truth is, there is only one person who decides what to do and how to trade and how to manage risk.
ME
So, after some tears and some reflection, I am ok.
This thread really helped me re center myself, it's a great read, I highly suggest you read it.
If you are struggling, remember, you are not alone.
We've got this.
My dad survived the Dot Com bubble, the 2008 crash, and Covid.
Today marks 25 years of him trading full-time.
I asked him how he didn't blow up his account when everyone else did.
His answer was brutal: 🧵
@AnkurPatel59 low volume flag to EMAS looks good, if it breaks that level with high volume maybe I'd be in. Holding gap well and seems to have found some support. I'd say a B+ set up
I traded very poorly today.
I was swinging $RIVN, $LRCX, $TSLA and $NCLH
I wasn't worried about $NCLH, as I had trimmed and had it set to BE.
I got wicked out of $TSLA this morning when she swept yesterday's low. It happens, but reminds me to adjust my SL appropriately, since I know TSLA likes to do this.
I found a new entry (on $TSLL this time) and then took a few $TSLA weeklies right before close.
$LRCX and $RIVN both stopped me out, but instead of letting it go, I took $RIVN again off the 8 EMA, as I am bullish on the chart and had FOMO. I did not want to get left behind. BUT I got stopped out AGAIN. Market conditions were NOT GOOD, so I need to figure out what I was thinking.
Revisiting my FOMO rules is in order for sure.
Revisiting my rules on trading is in order.
Reviewing my trades and market conditions is in order.
I know most just share their wins, but I wanted to share this in case it helps anyone who is also learning how to become a better trader.
I know the answer to becoming a better trader is simple.
FOLLOW YOUR RULES.
But simple doesn't ever mean EASY.
So on days like today, if you traded poorly, ignored your rules, FOMO'd, etc...
First, forgive yourself.
Second, go review your rules and make a new commitment to adhere to them.
Third, go review the trades that you did not execute according to your system.
If you are like, "OK, I'd take that trade again, but in better market conditions", you can kind of give yourself a break. Not a big one..... 😂
If you review it and think, "DAMN, why did you do that?", figure out why you did it.
Was it:
Boredom?
FOMO?
Chasing?
Tailing?
Just general degeneracy?
Figuring that part out - and finding the bad habits will be key to fixing your issues.
I am a work in progress. I learn something new each day.
Each trade I take makes me a better trader because I can learn something from each one. Especially the bad ones.
So, if you traded today, poorly or awesomely, congrats, you learned something new today for sure.
Now, go apply it.
Took 4 trades today
$PLTR
$RIVN
$LRCX
$NCLH
I cut $PLTR - it wasn't acting great and I front ran my trigger. Small loss, no biggie.
I also front ran $LRCX - but holding to see if we close above 166 - the ORH
$RIVN and $NCLH both look great - sitting at about 16% on both.
Wild end to the week. I took 2 small losses on Friday that were very small. No biggie.
I did, however, catch the move on $NCLH on Thursday which was great. I need up closing it in full on Friday because of the overall market conditions.
I'm looking at a lot of charts today, most weekly charts. I want to see how they are holding up before diving into any daily charts in depth.
It feels like the weekly is setting up some nice moves, as opposed to the daily right now. The daily feels like it's so up in the air as to which way we'll decide to move.
Patience will be KEY this week.
I'd rather wait and take a home run than hit a few singles or strike out completely.
If I see anything good, I'll share!