Is there a psychologist in the house?

Hi all,

Ive been messing around with spread trading for a few years, mostly demo a/cs but also with live a/c's but with little or no definite strategy, obviously the results were less then impressive.
Last year I decided to practice on demo a/c's but sticking close to a plan I laid out and also tried out a lot of different strategies before settling on a couple that seemed to work (for me anyway). I started getting consistently better results and after a few months of this decided to try the same plan/strategy with a live a/c. Problem is, as soon as I start using the live a/c, all self-discipline seems to vaporise, along with any strategy/plan (and my money).
I know Ill get this under control in time(for the most part anyway) but am not sure if my funds will last that long Im not talking huge amounts but enjoy trading with demo a/cs and it would be nice to make a little extra cash from this.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Ky

It may help to read this.

Trade the minimal bet, and see your loss as education fee, then sooner or later you will come out winning, assuming of course you are a good student. The first rule of the game: patience.

Hi,

Thanks for the advice guys, Im going to try both.
The minimal bet idea is definitely a good idea, I could live with a certain amount of small losses as long as I can see improvement. I guess its the best way to find out for sure.
Now all I need is patience!

Thanks again,
Ky

Now all I need is patience!

Click to expand...

Patience is key !!!

Re the Mark Douglas author mentioned above, you are in what he calls The Profit Gap...ie the area between successful demo and successful live trading, and as you are/have experienced executing a plan and sticking to that plan in a live environment is mostly always psychological. You ahve developed your Trading edge/plan - you know it works in theory/demo and now you have to develop your own psychological framework so that you can execute it profitably in a live a/c. This will involve all of those attributes commonly referred to; patience, discipline, ability to stick to the plan, control of fear and greed, no over/off plan trading, no reverenge trades etc... It may take you a while to develop these skills so that they are 2nd nature to you. It may also be that you never do for this particular trading edge in a live a/c and that you have to find a different trading edge that suits you better in a live a/c. Whatever you do, there is no substitute for time.

G/L

Try spread betting on gekko global markets which is 10p per pip at least if you stick to the plan and bet the minimum you won't go bust.