For the last 2 1/2 weeks I'm struggling, I have lost considerably
but I'm not really willing to change my trading approach, as it has proved to be correct
I've made trading errors, I know them,
the markets have changed in the last 2 1/2 weeks as a look on any daily index chart will confirm
we have no longer a smooth ride, we have high volatility
and being wrong means
even when you might be right at the end of the day,
my disaster stop is likely taken out first
This wide stop approach has proved correct the last few months, but now it turns against me
as i can not really afford having series of disaster stops taken out. Someting which happened to me the last weeks
Yesterday even the good signals seemed to stop working and you know the feeling
you consider the best approach might be fading yourself
I stopped trading when I got that feeling
and then I found a post from Bruce in NQoos old Yahoo Group
actually it was a sentence prepared by the addmission of having gone through a big streak of losses
Jim chatted with me for oh well hour or so maybe more and basically showed me that I was tired really tired I had done the work it was now time to back off back right off and “Let it be easy”
I put your post into the hall of posts to be saved for reading when there is need
I shut down the computer.
I went to bed early
This morning I removed the distractions from my workspace
I kept the 60min charts of certain instruments I follow, but I removed the tradecharts of the 2 or 4 instruments I usually follow, replacing them with different timeframes of 1 contract
At 7:30 I started trading the HSI,
a contract I had struggled the last weeks, as it moved out of sync of it's peers. Something I'm definatly not good at, as part of my method uses the "a trend is seen in all comparable instruments at the same time" approach. So Nikkei being up 100-150 points and HSI selling off, actually crashing doesn't fit that assumption.
At 8:15 I was up 76 ticks doing 3 trades
I had removed any reference to other charts, looking at this contract alone, and suddenly it worked again.
I saw support, I saw resistance, I was able to take a signal and was willing to take the stop as it was again clear where it belonged, where my signal would have failed.
No need to add on a loser in the hope it might come back
I took a break then, as HSI was trading at an hourly resistance which proved to be a deadly trap for any longs taken near it in the last few days
Now I will see, if I make another trade today
I will let it come to me
I have certain ideas where a trade might develop, but if not,
fine
A deep cut with a sharp knife, a broken bone, an accident
it happens in the blink of an eye
The healing
it takes weeks
take the time and the bone will be stronger, it will never again snap at that point
it might at another point, but broken and healed you've become stronger
