Just wanted to say hello. I am new to bet angel and have only been using it for the last few days, it looks like a very exciting piece of software.
I have made several trades but at the moment i am losing more than i make. my main problems are
1. greed - i feel that i am trying to make to much from each trade, and then it going against me.
2. stubeness - when a trade has gone against me i foolishly belive that it will come back in my favour, though often this dosnt happen.
i know that the answer to these problems are obvious but am hoping that someone is able to give me reassurance and guidance
thanks
Paddy
help needed to overcome a newbies common mistakes
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nachtwacht
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:19 pm
reassurance: You can be sure that those two emotions are probably why most traders fail.
guidance: learn to do the opposite
You allready pinpointed your mistakes. I would suggest some books about psychology in relation to trading. There are some available for stock traders, the same psychology will apply. You might, if possible, give trading smaller a try. Bigger stakes will get you having bigger emotions.
guidance: learn to do the opposite
You allready pinpointed your mistakes. I would suggest some books about psychology in relation to trading. There are some available for stock traders, the same psychology will apply. You might, if possible, give trading smaller a try. Bigger stakes will get you having bigger emotions.
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aligammack
- Posts: 104
- Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 2:49 pm
I agree with nachtwacht that understanding the psychology of trading is by far the most important aspect to successful trading.
Society teaches us from a young age that being right is good and being wrong is bad however with trading we must reprogram our minds to accept losses. Being wrong is part of trading and to cut our losses early is a skill. It sounds so simple but it can be very hard to take losses when there is a chance the price might come back.
The fact you are letting profits ride and then the market is reversing tells me you are a swing trader. Maybe while you start out and to build confidence you should look at scalping the market which means taking quick 1 tick profits but obviously you should do what you feel comfortable with.
Markets can be erratic and unpredictable. Just when you think you have mastered it the markets will do something that will put your whole bank at risk. Take your time when starting out and as you open your trade always plan where you will take the loss if it goes against you.
As for larger stakes, once again you need to understand the psychology of trading. Before opening the trade you might think that you won’t want a loss to get bigger but when you are staring a greened up double digit loss in the face and the clock is ticking, the mind does crazy things like leaving the trade open and hoping the horse wins/loses. Trust me we have all been there. Just start off slow, control your emotions and work your way up.
Good luck
Ali
Society teaches us from a young age that being right is good and being wrong is bad however with trading we must reprogram our minds to accept losses. Being wrong is part of trading and to cut our losses early is a skill. It sounds so simple but it can be very hard to take losses when there is a chance the price might come back.
The fact you are letting profits ride and then the market is reversing tells me you are a swing trader. Maybe while you start out and to build confidence you should look at scalping the market which means taking quick 1 tick profits but obviously you should do what you feel comfortable with.
Markets can be erratic and unpredictable. Just when you think you have mastered it the markets will do something that will put your whole bank at risk. Take your time when starting out and as you open your trade always plan where you will take the loss if it goes against you.
As for larger stakes, once again you need to understand the psychology of trading. Before opening the trade you might think that you won’t want a loss to get bigger but when you are staring a greened up double digit loss in the face and the clock is ticking, the mind does crazy things like leaving the trade open and hoping the horse wins/loses. Trust me we have all been there. Just start off slow, control your emotions and work your way up.
Good luck
Ali
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nachtwacht
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:19 pm
Joop: for me trading small stakes has indeed that effect. I started with the minimum bets but I just did not care about the amount at stake so that made me not care about profits or loss also.
That is again psychology and you have to find the right amount for you.
However, be warned, upping your stakes will indeed have the effect that you will protect your bank a little better but it will have the same effect on the upside. You might start cutting your winners because they might turn against you and then you would loose it all again.
The wrong amount of money for your bets will have you either being to protecting or being careless and that will work with both winning and loosing trades. You will have to find the amount that fits your current state of mind. Also, I think this amount will change over time. If you start out with a 1000 bank you might feel comfortable with a risk of 50. However, if you accidentaly loose half your bank because of some bad luck (you will ofcourse not loose because you are just a bad punter ) then that same 50 risk per trade will make you feel a lot more uncomfortable.
Personaly I think a percentage will work best but it is not easy converting every trading strategy and every trade into a risk percentage.
That is again psychology and you have to find the right amount for you.
However, be warned, upping your stakes will indeed have the effect that you will protect your bank a little better but it will have the same effect on the upside. You might start cutting your winners because they might turn against you and then you would loose it all again.
The wrong amount of money for your bets will have you either being to protecting or being careless and that will work with both winning and loosing trades. You will have to find the amount that fits your current state of mind. Also, I think this amount will change over time. If you start out with a 1000 bank you might feel comfortable with a risk of 50. However, if you accidentaly loose half your bank because of some bad luck (you will ofcourse not loose because you are just a bad punter
) then that same 50 risk per trade will make you feel a lot more uncomfortable.Personaly I think a percentage will work best but it is not easy converting every trading strategy and every trade into a risk percentage.