Hot damn, It's been roughly 4 or 5 months since I started trading I have traded 159 times and I've blown up my account 5 times. Below are my stats and profit chart to look at....(not very impressive but hey, I'm learning)

I will give another update of everything at the end of June to hopefully convey that the habits I am developing are working.

 

BUT I am now really starting to understand what it takes to win this game. As you can see my profit chart is starting to find support and is an excellent opportunity to dip buy after all that panic ;)

This past week I have had 3 green days in a row and ended up on the week GREEN!

Honestly it has been due to a couple of habits/skills that I have been developing these past 2 weeks.

I'll give the top 3 that have had the most impact.

Habit/Skill #1: Waking up at 5:30 AM to go on a walk before the market open at 6:30AM (I Live in California)

This is an interesting habit that I have been developing. In the beginning of trading I thought that i was at a disadvantage of having to wake up early and trade because it was ssoooo "HARD". 

But after putting a new perspective on the situation and realizing that by practicing the discipline to wake up at 5:30AM when I don't "HAVE" to, I am actually exercising the same discipline that it takes to only trade the best possible setups when I could be trading unpredictable trash thats everywhere in the market.

This honestly has been a game changer for me and I find it easier to take less trades or not even trade at all if I don't see the setup I want.

I used to have emotions flying when I saw a stock shooting up to new highs and I missed my entry. Infact I would be SO emotionally charged that I would jump into the stock when it was soaring only to find that I had bought near the top and would then watch it free fall. (I didn't have the discipline to cut losses IMMEDIATELY).

On a technical note. DON'T buy a stock mid-candle unless your entry is at a key point, support or resistance, or 1 to 5 min high etc. it's just too risky.

The other part of my morning walk is about gratitude or appreciation of everything I have in my life. 

This does 2 things:

1. I am then feel amazing about my life just because, without having to depend on an external result, which is a HUGE mindset to approach trading with.

2. When I feel like I have enough in my life to make me happy, I am much more objective about what I am willing to trade as well as have no hesitation when entering and exiting my trades. (A problem that a lot of consistently losing traders have)

So ya be grateful and get a little exercise in the morning :)

Habit/Skill #2: CUT LOSSES IMMEDIATELY, NOT QUICKLY.

When I think of cutting losses quickly I think of letting the stock hit my stop and then maybe letting it go a little further... to see if it comes back up... WTF?? That's a losing strategy and I am sure I'm not the only person who has done that.

Here's how I have been combating that.

For the past 2 weeks instead of setting a stop below my entry, I set my stop at breakeven right off the bat. 

Why?

Because I have noticed that the BEST breakouts happen IMMEDIATELY (I buy breakouts). Rarely do they struggle.

So when I notice struggle I sell for a small profit, or at breakeven. Now sometimes there's slippage if the stock comes down and I am not quick enough to get out and I'll lose 1 to 5 cents ish. 

But that is okay for two reasons:

1. My winners are bigger than my losers.

2. That is way better than a 10, 20, 30, 40, or even 50 cent loss that can blow up your account. (I have done that several times due to lack of emotional control).

I'll leave you with this:

The greatest investors, billionaires, millionaires, etc this.

Rule #1: Never Lose.... Rule #2: See Rule #1.

Habit/Skill #3: Keep A Fucking Trade Journal :)

I can not express how important this is. I feel like this point is grazed over or just "touched on". This is probably the MOST important thing anyone can, do other then getting control of their trading emotions. (I recommend trading in the zone for emotional control It's about Trading Psychology, free on Youtube.)

When I had a "general idea" of what I was good at and what setups worked well, I thought that I had a good grip on trading.

I HAD NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT I WAS DOING.

I was making the same mistakes as before:

1. I would take the same setups that didn't have a high statistical advantage of winning. 

2. I would not go into my trades with a plan or set risk and my losers would be HUGE.

3. I didn't take profits because I "thought the stock would keep going"

4. I had terrible entries on momentum moves which gave me smaller profits and bigger losses.

THEN....

I started my trading journal. If anyone is reading this far and is SERIOUS about being a consistent winner... keep a trading journal.

If you don't care about winning consistently and making money, then don't keep a journal. Seriously. It's that cut and dry. Either you keep one and WIN or you DON'T and LOSE. Just look at your results.

By trading journal you could use profit.ly, tradervue, or a spiral notebook. I use all 3 because I am serious about winning.

By tracking my trades through my journal it helped me realize that I WAS consistently making the same mistakes. That way I was able to course correct and start make different mistakes.

So I started winning more.

I'm currently tracking a pattern that has a +90% success rate over the course of 15 trades. The trick is executing that pattern though, and that really isn't a big sample size so I will keep testing.

I would have never found that pattern had I not tracked my trades and kept a journal about them.

So if you're still here I have some action steps that will help you become a more consistent trader:

1. Keep a trading journal if you want to win. Buy a spiral note book, write the date at the top of each trading day and track these things:

-The Ticker

-Your Entry and Exit

-The Strategy You Used.

-A One Sentence Lesson You Learned.

-2-4 Sentences About What Was Happening When You Entered and When You Exited.

2. Read or Listen to or Watch Mark Douglases Book about Trading Psychology, It's called Trading in the Zone. I recommend reading his book for free just google it, then listen to his audio book after on youtube, then watch his seminar on youtube... all this shit is free.

3. Wake up and go on a 15-30 minute walk before you trade to build discipline, wake up, and be appreciative and grateful for what you have :)

 

Hope this helps guys, 

It's been a Game Changer for me.

 

Thanks!