When to add to a trading set-up/plan and when to leave it alone.
It can be a very daunting task to create a trading plan/strategy that fits you without conflict. There are a lot of obstacles that inhibit the average trader from leaving a profitable trading plan or strategy as it is. Even I struggle with this which is why I have decided to publish this article. After much reflection, I have come with a few metrics you can use to determine if you should change your trading plan or not.
Mental Capacity
Mental Capacity, to me, is perhaps the most important aspects of trading. It easily differentiates traders that are absolutely determined to become successful and traders that are bound to become scam traders and losers (no pun intended). Mental capacity resonates itself in a traders ability to deal with traumatic trading experienced such as drawdowns and losing trades. A lot of traders don’t understand that trading is a game of probability so you have to make a lot of money when you’re right and lose a little when you’re wrong. If you make 4X the money you lose, you’ll have to lose more than 80% of the time to not be profitable. Understanding and having mental capacity allows a trader the ability to ignore irrational phobia of thinking that their strategy is not working. If your trading plan/strategy fits you mentally then you should have the mental capacity to accept all the things that can happen to you trading wise. If not, then it’s time for you to change it. Trading is a mental game, always.
Objective
As much as I love the mental side of trading, I do have to admit that objectives are very important in trading as well. If you’re trading a strategy that is not fulfilling your objective (based on reasonable probabilities) then it’s time to switch components of your strategy. I hate to admit this as I am a big believer in having a “Mind like water.” When it comes to trading but if you have an ever burning passionate desire to make 4X what you risk and also to follow the trend then it’s not recommended to deny yourself of this desire as it will one day influence you to give in and break your trading plan. The solution to this, in my opinion, is to take your objective and create your plan/ strategy around it. For example, if I have a goal of making at least 100 pips per 25 pips that I risk then maybe I should trade on a higher time frame while using psychological support and resistance levels. The moral of this part of the article is to exemplify the fact that any undesired occurrence a traders mental capacity can’t handle can easily be resolved by having an objective ( not having a 30% DD) and a solution (maybe I should hedge my trades or buy options) that can help you acquire that objective. The solution in return will let you know that it’s time for you to change your strategy, but if it doesn’t resolve the objective then keep it as is.
Compatibility
I’m going to try to keep this part simple mostly because it’s somewhat related to the objective side of this article but at the same time is a very important part to keeping and tossing your trading plan. No matter how much money you are making in trading, if you aren’t compatible with your trading plan then it will all be in vain. It isn’t logical for a trader who loves waiting to be a scalper and vice versa because when this happens it makes the trader feel that they have to change instead of the trading strategy. It has to be the other way around! Trust me, I learned this the hard way because I always got jealous of high leveraged scalpers making 1k days while I was making 2% per month if I got lucky. When I tried copying them it forced me to change into timeframes/trading strategies that I was not compatible with. My advice to any trader struggling with this is to love yourself and you’re trading because it’s your decisions and perspective that determine profitability.
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Mental Capacity
Mental Capacity, to me, is perhaps the most important aspects of trading. It easily differentiates traders that are absolutely determined to become successful and traders that are bound to become scam traders and losers (no pun intended). Mental capacity resonates itself in a traders ability to deal with traumatic trading experienced such as drawdowns and losing trades. A lot of traders don’t understand that trading is a game of probability so you have to make a lot of money when you’re right and lose a little when you’re wrong. If you make 4X the money you lose, you’ll have to lose more than 80% of the time to not be profitable. Understanding and having mental capacity allows a trader the ability to ignore irrational phobia of thinking that their strategy is not working. If your trading plan/strategy fits you mentally then you should have the mental capacity to accept all the things that can happen to you trading wise. If not, then it’s time for you to change it. Trading is a mental game, always.
Objective
As much as I love the mental side of trading, I do have to admit that objectives are very important in trading as well. If you’re trading a strategy that is not fulfilling your objective (based on reasonable probabilities) then it’s time to switch components of your strategy. I hate to admit this as I am a big believer in having a “Mind like water.” When it comes to trading but if you have an ever burning passionate desire to make 4X what you risk and also to follow the trend then it’s not recommended to deny yourself of this desire as it will one day influence you to give in and break your trading plan. The solution to this, in my opinion, is to take your objective and create your plan/ strategy around it. For example, if I have a goal of making at least 100 pips per 25 pips that I risk then maybe I should trade on a higher time frame while using psychological support and resistance levels. The moral of this part of the article is to exemplify the fact that any undesired occurrence a traders mental capacity can’t handle can easily be resolved by having an objective ( not having a 30% DD) and a solution (maybe I should hedge my trades or buy options) that can help you acquire that objective. The solution in return will let you know that it’s time for you to change your strategy, but if it doesn’t resolve the objective then keep it as is.
Compatibility
I’m going to try to keep this part simple mostly because it’s somewhat related to the objective side of this article but at the same time is a very important part to keeping and tossing your trading plan. No matter how much money you are making in trading, if you aren’t compatible with your trading plan then it will all be in vain. It isn’t logical for a trader who loves waiting to be a scalper and vice versa because when this happens it makes the trader feel that they have to change instead of the trading strategy. It has to be the other way around! Trust me, I learned this the hard way because I always got jealous of high leveraged scalpers making 1k days while I was making 2% per month if I got lucky. When I tried copying them it forced me to change into timeframes/trading strategies that I was not compatible with. My advice to any trader struggling with this is to love yourself and you’re trading because it’s your decisions and perspective that determine profitability.
EURUSD
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