[rxs0005]

Hi all,

i am in the stage of my trading history where i am Not losing money big time , i would say i have graduated from losing money recklessly by not sticking to my sell stop , being greedy , gambling , being impatient all the bad stuff.

I have eliminated all that of course with a cost! and now i am consistently not losing money i am about break even on my trades.

I am sure all your seasoned traders have gone through what i am going through my Q is when do i start to make money or rather how do i get into the realm of profitability since i have stopped the bleeding now what do i need to do to get on the green side of the curve from your opinion and experience

thanks y'all

rxs0005

[Tams]

in general terms,
if you can survive not bleeding for one business cycle... you will be ok.


otherwise the simplistic lessons you have learned in the down cycle will
get you into the same naive trouble in the up cycle... etc.,
because the up cycle will behave slightly differently than the down cycle, etc.,

just my 2c

[macdfx]

Trade real money, and trade small until you get the feel of it.

Scaling up requires emotional capital as well, so you'd better know what you're doing before you even go there.

[BlowFish]

One way of stopping loosing money is by closing too soon (this has the side effect of stopping you winning money). I know I have been there. Are you following your plan or are you closing winners early?

examples.

Price is 7 ticks against me, comes back to 2 ticks profit, phew I 'll close for a small profit.

Last trade was a looser this one is up by the same amount, I don't want another looser, I'll close now.

etc.

[AmCan1]

This might sound kind of corny, but for me, I need to be solid as to 'why I am trading in the first place.' In my view, there is only one legit reason to trade and that is 'to make money.' Once I struggled for a good long while, I had to come full circle to see if my results might be due to having a different reason for trading then just, to make money.

IMO, if you are truly trading just to make money, then the next logical question should be, 'What do I need to do to achieve that objective?' Again, IMO, you need to have a system that gives you a statistical edge in the market. Then you trade the edge of your system. Trades will win and lose but the edge of your system will make you money over time if you keep your risk at the proper levels. Then you will make money and achieve the reason for trading in the first place.

I hope this doesn't sound too abstract or hokus pokus but it really does work if you have the confidence (and capital) to stay with your system and trade it accurately. If you don't have the confidence, go back to the initial question, why are you trading? No confidence = no money = 'you better stop trading' because you won't achieve your objective. To get confidence, again IMO, you have to backtest, backtest, backtest, so that you have enough vision to understand the EDGE of your system. Just like the casino, if you have an edge, than you have the 'house' odds on your side and that's where you will make your money and achieve the reason for trading.

Rememer, we have no control over whether any trade will win or lose. All we have control over is the ability to put the odds in our favor on every trade, control our risk so that we don't blow out our account, and take the next trade as per our backtested tradeplan. As traders, what more can we do?

[gandalf33]

rxs0005, in my opinion, if your system is earning money in backtest and you're not earning money in real trading (although not losing), you simply have to find out why - what you do differently in your backtest than in real trading. And if you find this reason, work on it. That's all.

[TheDude]

Originally Posted by rxs0005 »

Hi all,

i am in the stage of my trading history where i am Not losing money big time , i would say i have graduated from losing money recklessly by not sticking to my sell stop , being greedy , gambling , being impatient all the bad stuff.

I have eliminated all that of course with a cost! and now i am consistently not losing money i am about break even on my trades.

I am sure all your seasoned traders have gone through what i am going through my Q is when do i start to make money or rather how do i get into the realm of profitability since i have stopped the bleeding now what do i need to do to get on the green side of the curve from your opinion and experience

thanks y'all

rxs0005

Whats stopping you?

Either:
a/ you hang on too long letting the good ones turn bad or scratch.
b/ Your wins dont cover your losses, because you get out too soon.
c/ Your win rate (timing) needs improving as your risk is the same as your target.

In my opinion, not losing money is the most important part. If you have realised how to stop this, the other bit should follow soon.

Just my

Good luck

[WorldTrader]

Originally Posted by BlowFish »

One way of stopping loosing money is by closing too soon (this has the side effect of stopping you winning money). I know I have been there. Are you following your plan or are you closing winners early?

examples.

Price is 7 ticks against me, comes back to 2 ticks profit, phew I 'll close for a small profit.

Last trade was a looser this one is up by the same amount, I don't want another looser, I'll close now.

etc.

Blow,
You hit one of the nails on the head! I have seen this and done this soooo many times. Trading is probably one of the hardest jobs or things to do! It is so unnatural. To stick to a plan, to take heat well, to over ride your emotions when you are in a trade or to ignore your gut feeling that the market will come back as you move your stop further and further, or add another position.
Now, back to not losing money and at the break even stage. You have crossed the first stage. Now, stick to your plan and if your system, that you backtested and know you have the edge, will start to bring in the money. Again, stick to the plan. Journal, every day and make sure you are not making mistakes or breaking the rules. If you do. Penalize yourself, by not trading the next day. Focus on your trade plan and your emotions. Then you will come out ahead more often than not.