[laundrysoap]

In the long run, the only thing you can do is wait for the next one.

[Disco Scottie]

I approach it this way: if the missed trade was a setup I look for, if it follows my rules of entry, and it's successful, then it verifies and validates what I'm doing... which gives me more confidence to take the next one. And as many wiser folk have already said, there's always a next one.

[ant]

Originally Posted by gifropan »

I often find myself in a situation where I have failed to enter a trade at my intended price...

Hi gifropan,

You should try to determine why you're missing your initial trade entries if it's a recurring pattern. There are many reasons for this, but I think one prevalent reason is the following. Many times traders hesitate to pull the trigger because they're looking for more trade confirmation. As others have said, this could be due to lack of confidence in your system or yourself as a trader, which I think is usually resolved with experience. Experience builds confidence and knowledge, which is why I think it takes years to become a successful trader. Another reason may be a trader's struggle to deal with the uncertainty that is inherent in trading and will always exist. If this is the case, then I think you simply need to embrace uncertainty as it is uncertainty that creates opportunities in the marketplace, otherwise everyone would know what something is worth.

One thing that took me a while to learn was that the best trades do not give a trader much time to enter. Hesitate and the opportunity is most likely gone (i.e., the trade moves away from your entry very quickly). If a trade gives you a lot of time to enter, than it most likely isn't a very good trade and everyone already sees it - there's no edge if everyone sees the same trade. I don't know if this applies to you or not, but these were some issues that I struggled with and maybe you can relate to them as well.

Regards,
Antonio

[mookie9920]

My work space has to be incredibly clean. So when I miss a trade, I take a post it note saying "Follow The Plan" and stick it to my monitor. It drives me crazy! It makes me pay attention, and when the next set up comes I deff take it so I can take that damn bright pink post it note off my monitor. I can only take the post it note off if I take a trade. If I miss another set up then I stick another one on there.

[brownsfan019]

After reading some of the other replies here, I would say whether or not you chase and what to do depends on...

1) How many trades do you get per day? If you are a 1 and done trader, then you might need to chase a bit. If you get 5, 10 or more trades per day, missing 1 may not be a big issue.

2) How far are you willing to chase before letting it go? IMO a few ticks is not worth missing a winning trade over.

3) And the real question is - why are you missing winning trades and what can be done to stop it? That's probably the most important question of this entire thread.

[Mickey Caine]

Great topic and some really good replys.

Here are a couple of famous sayings that might help you.

When you are sitting there watching that trade run away from you, remember, "It is always better to watch a trade wishing you were in it, than watching a trade and wishing you weren't.

Also please note that if you wish to chase, the last one in the water swims with the turd.

[Bear Mtn.]

Originally Posted by Disco Scottie »

I approach it this way: if the missed trade was a setup I look for, if it follows my rules of entry, and it's successful, then it verifies and validates what I'm doing... which gives me more confidence to take the next one.

100% with you on that Scottie. I take pains to record all the setups which action on my rules - so if I miss an entry due to my own hesitation or for whatever reason, I still have evidence of my setup working (or otherwise). I then record results of my paper trading separately from trades I took, which still enforces a degree of accountability to the trading plan - which I think is very important.

For me it comes down to body-of-evidence... the more you record and study your setup in action the better you can refine it and manage the trades you do get an entry into. So a missed trade, however successful, is really just another opportunity to train yourself for your next entry. It's not always easy to convince yourself into this positive mindset but well worth trying, imo as it will benefit your cash trades long term while frustration over missed opportunities will only force more errors and chasing on your part.

[zdo]

re What Do You Do when You 'miss' a Trade?

I often find myself in a situation where I have failed to enter a trade at my intended price...

No good general answer!
Depends on
1. what kind of system you’re trading and
2. why you’re missing trades.

if you’re scalping and/or trading high frequency setups then take a fly fishing attitude - wait / reel it in and cast again
if it’s a system that requires nimbleness, consider moving your time frame around by little bits until you dial it in for yourself.
if it’s a breakout system then maybe create a contingency entry plan (like on 1st retracement – btw being aware that this is a wholly separate new system with different stops and targets and statistics, etc.)
if it’s a trend system, just get in as soon as possible / give up a few ticks. with trend systems you have to be in every single time to make sure you’re on board for the outliers.
if the system is missing too many limit order entries – give up some precision and get a little fuzzy with it. Consider placing an array of orders to fill the position - with only a small number of cars at your ideal entry point, etc

re #2 why.
Do some digging around with your trading fears and biases…

Somewhere you may not be willing to pay either or both the explicit stop size and/or the implicit composiite risks of unlucky, deserted, wrong, loss pains to find out if a trade is good or not…

Mark Douglas talks in terms of thinking in probabilities. You may have to take it way beyond that and totally freakin completely surrender to probabilities…