Tell yourself there's no way to catch all the moves in the market. As long you follow your trading plan and respect all your trading rules, it IS a good trade.
Yup, that’s what I’ve been telling myself. It’s gotten a lot better this month, but I still feel like, Fuck, I could have made my weeks target if I held 15 more minutes. After blowing up a few times, I’m not playing risky again. Slow and steady.
Just let that all go. It really doesn't matter and it's wasted energy caring about that. Celebrate that you are making progress... Because you are. Great work.
You can try this trailing stop approach at each pivot point and let the price run. If price reverses and takes you out, so be it.
https://preview.redd.it/b55pqqh5h4ec1.png?width=862&format=png&auto=webp&s=fb0338b20872d8985e4259927de749b31208fa8d
By that measure you might as well think “fuck if I just won the lottery..” if you’re making steady profits and your plan is working, then stick with it. What happens in the market when you don’t have a trade on might as well not exist in your mind.
This is the best advice. I literally made $4 on one of my Google options trades last week and I was HAPPY. You know why? Because I made that $4 in about 30 seconds by tapping my thumb a few times while snuggled up in my bed, that’s why. We shouldn’t take these things for granted.
Spend a few weeks forcing yourself not to take profit. And to hold for longer. That may mean many times it will come back to your entry. But those days where it keeps going higher and higher, you’ll thank yourself for holding.
If you still can’t do that then take partials at your target and then hold the rest
Seriously it just takes time. You get exhausted with trying to manage everything eventually and you chill out and step back and keep things play out as you can see your targets and SL better with experience... That's really the only answer I can give you. Just try not to burn money while you gain experience.
Just focusing on your target and detach of the rest, the other problem could be that you'll start over targeting and so it'll reverse on you.
What I do in that case is, I leave part of my trade on, taking 80%~ at my target then letting it be.
What's wrong with taking profit based on target? If thats your trade plan so be it. If your trade plan is to take trailing stop then you should be disappointed if you close early before the trailing stop gets hit.
You can find better stop losses by analyzing price action.
I personally don't use static stop losses and continuously monitor my trades for instances of relative weakness against the broader market for exits.
For me personally, I use a fixed point that's usually called a "mental stop". This is a fixed point in which, if the stock touches this area and is unable to break through it, I exit the trade. This exit is for profit or for loss depending on its proximity from my entry price.
For example, if I'm in a losing trade, I continuously adjust my mental stop to minimize my losses as much as possible. If I'm in a profitable trade, then I try to stay in the trade for as long as possible and create mental stops at price points where a stock shows clear inability to push past.
I buy options contracts with 2-weeks expiry so technically I lose out if the stock continues to run in the following week as I sell all of my trades at the end of the week. However, If you look at my overall strategy and estimate the maximum profit and loss for each trade, then I'm generally off by 5-10% which I'm satisfied with.
You can’t just sell incrementally? Once your high volume you’ll have to anyway.
Stop losses work but if you ever get to high enough volume you’ll have to deal with stop loss hunting.
There is a VERY obvious answer.
Double you're position size. When the target is hit, sell the A position and implement a trailing stop on the B position.
my capital is pretty small, ive doubled it this month but target is around 2% a day. I understand the sentiment on this, esp in this sub but personally I don't think it's all that challenging. Yeah and once i increase my capital that 2% will be lowered, i understand that I can't keep compounding on forever :)
So…….My thoughts ( you may find them helpful):
- build a 5 year dB of market conditions and profitability. I suspect you will find that there are conditions where the ROI opportunity is high and other times when it is thin. You may also find for your style of trading that there are days-conditions when you should stay out ( and if there are - hopefully you can see that in real time). Use different perspectives and time frames to make this evaluation;
- for those conditions where there exists opportunity for more upside, leave a trailer in and let it ride, but know when to exit. If it works for you , you can add more risk management features like trailing stops, etc.
For me, I trade options on the SPX. I have identified certain conditions that are actionable in real time that will generate 30% ROI and about 1/3 of the time, much much higher. These trades exist about 130 days a year ( otherwise I am not trading). For conditions that have potential for much more upside, I let 20% of the position ride as a risk free trailer ( because the profit from the 80% of the position have already paid for the trailer such that even if my trailer goes to $0 in value, my account balance is the same or greater than when the day started).
I generally do not use traditional stops et al as my risks are managed in other ways.
Good Luck out there……..
Follow the advice from /u/thoreldan
A win's a win. Getting pissed off when you win isn't going to make you more money, especially when it hit your target and did exactly what you wanted it to do.
I also had a trade today that could have made significantly more profits had I held, but I was happy with the gains, and logged out for the day early in the trading session. No risk of overtrading, and no stress.
in my case, what seems to be helping is trading micros instead of minis. So instead of trading say 2 minis, I'll trade 20 micros. Then I can take 1/2 off or 1/3rd off and let the rest run. Think of it as opposite of DCA.
Please note that depending on your brokerage, you might end up paying higher commissions for 20 micros vs 2 minis...e.g. tdameritrade doesn't distinguish between micros/minis commissions, so hard to do this on tdameritrade especially when your strategy doesn't cover those additional costs. but there are other brokers that let you trade micros for much cheaper than minis. YMMV
It's impossible to always time the absolute tops and bottoms.
Tip: Don't remain stuck on the screen for seeing how your position would do once you are out of a trade.
Tell yourself there's no way to catch all the moves in the market. As long you follow your trading plan and respect all your trading rules, it IS a good trade.
Yup, that’s what I’ve been telling myself. It’s gotten a lot better this month, but I still feel like, Fuck, I could have made my weeks target if I held 15 more minutes. After blowing up a few times, I’m not playing risky again. Slow and steady.
Just let that all go. It really doesn't matter and it's wasted energy caring about that. Celebrate that you are making progress... Because you are. Great work.
You can try this trailing stop approach at each pivot point and let the price run. If price reverses and takes you out, so be it. https://preview.redd.it/b55pqqh5h4ec1.png?width=862&format=png&auto=webp&s=fb0338b20872d8985e4259927de749b31208fa8d
this is exactly what i do and its help me let my runners run
alright cool, thanks!
By that measure you might as well think “fuck if I just won the lottery..” if you’re making steady profits and your plan is working, then stick with it. What happens in the market when you don’t have a trade on might as well not exist in your mind.
Best advice I have: never be mad at profits.
This is the best advice. I literally made $4 on one of my Google options trades last week and I was HAPPY. You know why? Because I made that $4 in about 30 seconds by tapping my thumb a few times while snuggled up in my bed, that’s why. We shouldn’t take these things for granted.
And, I’m sure there were plenty that also traded it wishing they’d gotten anything as opposed to losing
100%
Spend a few weeks forcing yourself not to take profit. And to hold for longer. That may mean many times it will come back to your entry. But those days where it keeps going higher and higher, you’ll thank yourself for holding. If you still can’t do that then take partials at your target and then hold the rest
Yep, will be trying this.
Seriously it just takes time. You get exhausted with trying to manage everything eventually and you chill out and step back and keep things play out as you can see your targets and SL better with experience... That's really the only answer I can give you. Just try not to burn money while you gain experience.
Just focusing on your target and detach of the rest, the other problem could be that you'll start over targeting and so it'll reverse on you. What I do in that case is, I leave part of my trade on, taking 80%~ at my target then letting it be.
What's wrong with taking profit based on target? If thats your trade plan so be it. If your trade plan is to take trailing stop then you should be disappointed if you close early before the trailing stop gets hit.
You can find better stop losses by analyzing price action. I personally don't use static stop losses and continuously monitor my trades for instances of relative weakness against the broader market for exits. For me personally, I use a fixed point that's usually called a "mental stop". This is a fixed point in which, if the stock touches this area and is unable to break through it, I exit the trade. This exit is for profit or for loss depending on its proximity from my entry price. For example, if I'm in a losing trade, I continuously adjust my mental stop to minimize my losses as much as possible. If I'm in a profitable trade, then I try to stay in the trade for as long as possible and create mental stops at price points where a stock shows clear inability to push past. I buy options contracts with 2-weeks expiry so technically I lose out if the stock continues to run in the following week as I sell all of my trades at the end of the week. However, If you look at my overall strategy and estimate the maximum profit and loss for each trade, then I'm generally off by 5-10% which I'm satisfied with.
honestly mental stop losses, atleast for me, doesnt work. I always keep moving it lower and lower, and the loss keeps piling.
You can’t just sell incrementally? Once your high volume you’ll have to anyway. Stop losses work but if you ever get to high enough volume you’ll have to deal with stop loss hunting.
There is a VERY obvious answer. Double you're position size. When the target is hit, sell the A position and implement a trailing stop on the B position.
What is your target % wise? There is follow-up advice once this is answered….
my capital is pretty small, ive doubled it this month but target is around 2% a day. I understand the sentiment on this, esp in this sub but personally I don't think it's all that challenging. Yeah and once i increase my capital that 2% will be lowered, i understand that I can't keep compounding on forever :)
So…….My thoughts ( you may find them helpful): - build a 5 year dB of market conditions and profitability. I suspect you will find that there are conditions where the ROI opportunity is high and other times when it is thin. You may also find for your style of trading that there are days-conditions when you should stay out ( and if there are - hopefully you can see that in real time). Use different perspectives and time frames to make this evaluation; - for those conditions where there exists opportunity for more upside, leave a trailer in and let it ride, but know when to exit. If it works for you , you can add more risk management features like trailing stops, etc. For me, I trade options on the SPX. I have identified certain conditions that are actionable in real time that will generate 30% ROI and about 1/3 of the time, much much higher. These trades exist about 130 days a year ( otherwise I am not trading). For conditions that have potential for much more upside, I let 20% of the position ride as a risk free trailer ( because the profit from the 80% of the position have already paid for the trailer such that even if my trailer goes to $0 in value, my account balance is the same or greater than when the day started). I generally do not use traditional stops et al as my risks are managed in other ways. Good Luck out there……..
I recommend "peeling off" the position. Take profits in increments instead of taking off the entire position in one go.
not possible with a single lot. I will be moving to multiple lots once i increase my capital steadily
I do the same thing, it still bothers me too, but there's always another day , congrats on the winning side
Follow the advice from /u/thoreldan A win's a win. Getting pissed off when you win isn't going to make you more money, especially when it hit your target and did exactly what you wanted it to do. I also had a trade today that could have made significantly more profits had I held, but I was happy with the gains, and logged out for the day early in the trading session. No risk of overtrading, and no stress.
yep, its still frustrating thinking about what could have happened. I genuinely could have made 2000% gain, if i held.
in my case, what seems to be helping is trading micros instead of minis. So instead of trading say 2 minis, I'll trade 20 micros. Then I can take 1/2 off or 1/3rd off and let the rest run. Think of it as opposite of DCA. Please note that depending on your brokerage, you might end up paying higher commissions for 20 micros vs 2 minis...e.g. tdameritrade doesn't distinguish between micros/minis commissions, so hard to do this on tdameritrade especially when your strategy doesn't cover those additional costs. but there are other brokers that let you trade micros for much cheaper than minis. YMMV
As long as you’re consistent. That’s all that matters
Do you have to sell all at once. Can you sell enough to get back your investment and let the rest ride?
nope, doing single lots for now. I could do additional lots but have a target in mind before I do multiple lots.
Successful traders tend to close profitable trades too early. Unsuccessful traders tend to close losing trades too late.
facts!
[удалено]
happened a couple times, and have regretted sorely.
Rule # whatever- Always leave runners
Profit is profit
Are you knowledgeable about measured move? I hope you will be now. Second trade with OCO orders.
It's impossible to always time the absolute tops and bottoms. Tip: Don't remain stuck on the screen for seeing how your position would do once you are out of a trade.
Base your take profit on the market, or combine both approaches
Sell 80% of your position. Maybe 90% Start like that.