I finally decided it was time for a journal. The good thing about a journal is that I can say whatever I want- right or wrong and it doesn't really matter to much either way. I want to keep a journal as a way of keeping track of good ole trades, and sharing the feeling side of trading that gets a lot of us in trouble in this business. This is mainly what prodded me to start this.
Right now lots of you are riding the gravy train south , that train is GBPJPY; I am long. I got in @ 212.06 and am currently 122 pips in the negative. Being human, I don't like looking at that negative numbers and in the last hour I've gone through a few different emotions. It started with passiveness. I think the passiveness turned into frustration and frustration into anger. I was expecting price to go right to 213.38; it sure didn't. I kind of have the feeling I experienced as a kid when my parents told me I had to wait to get that shiny new toy I just had to have. I was one of the horribly disappointed crying kids you've all seen being dragged out of your local Wal Mart. I am human and I didn't get what I wanted when I wanted it. Now, despite the emotions I am feeling, I am going to stick this trade out because it is based on what I know to be true- and that is all I can stand on. I had the option all along the way to manually close the trade out but I am choosing to stand firm. The hour chart told me a few days ago that price was going to 215.52, we then saw a big fall. This is still true and price will get there and I believe the 210.50 area will stop this down move and send price back in the right direction. I might be wrong, but I cannot in good conscience take this loss because it is illogical to me. This brings us to the topic of stop losses. I do not trade with stops. Stops are a horrible excuse for emotional security in trading. I believe stops simply enable people to be lazy when it comes to furthering their trading education. As Skunny once said, people are willing to settle for sub par results as long as they have good money management. I think money management is crucial to success in trading, but I don't think success is hinged on it. I believe that long term success starts with knowledge, acceptance of that knowledge, experience with that knowledge, all leading to wisdom- a mixture of these things. To sum it up, you can have no better stop loss than wisdom. And thats why I am sitting here now 90 pips negative. She'll go back up and the storm will be over soon. If what I know to be true fails me then the broker can have my money and I'll just take my money to Vegas.
Right now lots of you are riding the gravy train south , that train is GBPJPY; I am long. I got in @ 212.06 and am currently 122 pips in the negative. Being human, I don't like looking at that negative numbers and in the last hour I've gone through a few different emotions. It started with passiveness. I think the passiveness turned into frustration and frustration into anger. I was expecting price to go right to 213.38; it sure didn't. I kind of have the feeling I experienced as a kid when my parents told me I had to wait to get that shiny new toy I just had to have. I was one of the horribly disappointed crying kids you've all seen being dragged out of your local Wal Mart. I am human and I didn't get what I wanted when I wanted it. Now, despite the emotions I am feeling, I am going to stick this trade out because it is based on what I know to be true- and that is all I can stand on. I had the option all along the way to manually close the trade out but I am choosing to stand firm. The hour chart told me a few days ago that price was going to 215.52, we then saw a big fall. This is still true and price will get there and I believe the 210.50 area will stop this down move and send price back in the right direction. I might be wrong, but I cannot in good conscience take this loss because it is illogical to me. This brings us to the topic of stop losses. I do not trade with stops. Stops are a horrible excuse for emotional security in trading. I believe stops simply enable people to be lazy when it comes to furthering their trading education. As Skunny once said, people are willing to settle for sub par results as long as they have good money management. I think money management is crucial to success in trading, but I don't think success is hinged on it. I believe that long term success starts with knowledge, acceptance of that knowledge, experience with that knowledge, all leading to wisdom- a mixture of these things. To sum it up, you can have no better stop loss than wisdom. And thats why I am sitting here now 90 pips negative. She'll go back up and the storm will be over soon. If what I know to be true fails me then the broker can have my money and I'll just take my money to Vegas.