Time is an issue, sometimes with everything that I am involved in, I find it difficult to find the time to trade. I think the best thing to do in your case, is the following;

1 – grab four sheets of paper
2 – write – trending long trade, trending short trading, bounce and retrace.
3 – on each, then write what you know as regards the setup and how to trade each one of those.
4 – when you’re done, go back over your notes and you will be surprised at how much you already know.
5 – fill in the gaps by skimming over any other notes you have from your training.
6 – open a live account with worldspreads,com – tell them I sent you as they have various offers open, usually to those that are introduced.
7 – fund it with a couple of hundred quid.
8 – trade using the techniques for bounces and retraces on stocks.

Let me know how you get on.

Stu

At the moment I am very busy and therefore find it difficult to focus my thoughts on what I need to do to get started. I feel as if I need to review all the training I have already done and paper trade for a number of months, but that seems to delay my actual trading. Do I therefore plunge forward and hope for the best, or continue reading and perhaps procrastinating?

Regards,
Chris.

Thanks for the reply.

I think part of the issue is perhaps you’re placing too much pressure on yourself to perform. This is due to the ‘nagging wife syndrome’ (that can also be husband too), who witnesses some losses and then reminds you of them. The trouble with that, is that this constantly reminds you of the fact that you’ve lost and therefore makes your focus on loss, rather than simply placing a trade. I know this all sounds like a load of psycho babble. However, here’s what I want you to do.

1 – stop trading with real money for now.
2 – go and open a virtual account, http://www.worldspreads.com or http://www.capitalspreads.com have them, tell them I sent you for a possible extra bonus, that they sometimes have.
3 – trade exactly the same as you are now, but using the virtual account.
4 – Do this for 3 months, really for 3 months.
5 – come back to me after that time and I can assure you, that your gains will be greater.

One of the other issues that is common, is overload of information, in terms of what to do, when to do it and how. Everyone has a story, a system, a method, a XYZ… the truth of the matter is that it will ‘work’ for them, but chances are it won’t work for others.

This is why I aim to create a course that teaches analyses, first and foremost, by learning how this is done to an exceptional level, will stop the need and reliance to seek answers elsewhere. Because you will know, more than most of those touting their systems and black box techniques.

Stu

It’s easy to say how I feel. I am looking at my trades today, (I trade the American market as it suits my work) and today I have Costco at -e64,yet Jabil and TECO at +e12 and +e8.

So I feel despondent, low, and if I listen to the missus I should give this up as the only people who mess with the stock market lose money.

In reality the only thing that gets me down are losses, I can cope with the work, well, now that you mention it, the kids…… No it’s ok, they’re fine.

Funny thing is, I know there is a way to make money at this game, yet I invariably feel anxious when I go to trade, I see all sorts of ways, explanations, and possibilities for the trade to go any way at all. Maybe I have learned all the wrong stuff! Rarely do all ducks line up in a row. And yet I miss some trades that would have worked out!

you see, I really don’t know how much slack (room for stop losses) to give a trade, and how to know when it is riding the storm or genuinely changing its trend.

Alan

Good to hear from you.

Yes, a lot of people have missed the bullish trend we’ve seen. That trend won’t last and we could be seeing the end of it as I write this. However, it’s never easy catching a bull or a bear run such as this. The reason being, is that to really make a profit from the large proportion of the trend, certainly one as erratic as the current trend, that appears to consolidate a lot; you would need to place a wide stop indeed. Few, if any have the resources to be able to that. As a result, I find it better, to look at the supports and resistances in the main trend, and then trade the bounces and retraces, leaving the trend for the Institutions who can cover such a wide stop.

Hope this helps.

Stu

Good to hear from you. Hope you’re well. Ranj tells me you’re still trading and doing well. I will be in touch to let you know more about the ‘Masters Cert in Analysis’ when it’s ready. Jen and I are going on our hols to Portugal in Jan/Feb. Never been, so looking forward to it. Feel free to drop me a line or two.

Cheers

Stu

Good to hear from you. Just a thought, when you’re keeping this diary, is it strictly just the trades you’re entering and existing from? The reason I ask, is that it’s a very good idea to keep track of how you’re feeling too. Now I don’t mean for you to put down ‘feel ok today… going to trade now.’. Remember this is for you to read, much like any diary. Therefore, you need to be honest with yourself. Right down how you’re feeling, issues you’re facing in life that day and then add details of your thoughts on your trading. Trust me, over time, a relatively short time, you will find that the days when you’re making better judgement and profit, are the days when you have a clearer head. That’s why I never trade when I am in a bad mood!

The other thing that maybe stopping you from making good profits are perhaps too narrow stop losses. Always give room for trade to breath and move. You should be able to place the stop easily outside of the nearest support or resistance, when you’re ready to take profit, tighten it right up. This will mean that you possibly face more risk, but the risk is small, relative to the amount of times you would get stopped out from having a much tighter stop.

Hope the above helps.

Stu

Just thought I’d pop up and say hello to familiar/friendly names and faces… yourself and Ranjit to name but two
Nice to see you pushing forward with this new initiative. I’ll be watching and looking to interact at some point. Reason? In recent years, through previous training programs, you have provided me a number of useful lessons on the trading front and have remained supportive throughout. Good luck! James, Algarve, Portugal.