Newbie

Hi I am new to trading and have learnt a few ideas regarding how to trade well but I am still too scared to place my first trade!

Sounds to me like your not ready to place your first trade!

Welcome to the forum.

salindert said:

Hi I am new to trading and have learnt a few ideas regarding how to trade well but I am still too scared to place my first trade!

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Hi salindert,
Yes, welcome to T2W!
As Gladiator X suggests, you're probably not ready to trade yet which is a good thing. Most people (me included) can't wait to trade and get started long before they're ready or have any real idea about what they're doing. Reasons for feeling as you do include:
1. Lack of proper understanding and preparation
2. Trading too large size relative to account balance
Point No. 2 is really a part of point No.1 Generally speaking, trading is unlike most other human endeavors, but there are some common denominators. Have you ever worked in sales? Take telesales as an example. Experienced telesales people know their ratios, so that for every 10 calls they make, they get 7 straight 'nos', 2 'maybes' and 1 sale. If they get 5 sales a day, they're making a living, 10 sales a day and they're doing really well. 20 sales, they're superstars and the company throws money, cars and holidays at them etc., etc. The point being, they know they have to make 50, 100 or 200 calls a day to achieve these results, based on their ratios. But - and it's a big but, each time they pick up the phone, they have absolutely no idea if that call will result in a 'no', a 'maybe' or a sale. The same applies to trading, you've only got 3 outcomes: a loss (very small, hopefully), break even or a win (very large, hopefully). Each trade will result in one of the above, but you've no idea which. However, experience tells you that over say 50, 100 or 200 trades, the expectancy is positive and your account will show a profit. Knowing that goes a long way to eradicate the fear associated with any one trade. Point No. 2 is critical because the loss on losing trades needs to be very small indeed so that it has little or no impact psychologically and you know that when the winning trade comes, that it recovers the loss(es) completely plus a lot more besides. It all comes down to knowing your ratios and having confidence in your ability to replicate them (or better them) with live trading. The ratios are:
1. The number of winners Vs the number of losers
2. The average £££ won on winning trades Vs the average £££ lost on losing trades
Once your ratios stack up and you're trading a size appropriate to the equity in your account (typically a maximum of 2%), your fear will largely disappear.
Other than that, read 'Feel the Fear & Do It Anyway' by Susan Jeffers. Great book.
Good luck,
Tim.

salindert said:

Hi I am new to trading and have learnt a few ideas regarding how to trade well but I am still too scared to place my first trade!

Click to expand...

clearly define your edge(entry/exit) before enter the market, and also calculate properly whats the worst case scenario and your own acceptable drawdown.

Hi, everybody! I am new in this forum and I want to introduce myself. My name is ones.

Nice to meet you, guys!