Trapped.....any advice??????

Im treading water, dont seem to be moving up or down for a while now with my trading account which isnt much but seems to mean alot to me.
Would say that I manage to stick to my method now about 90% of the time which has been a great challange to me and I have found it amazingly hard.
Something needs tweeking.... not sure what but sure its not my method,

im in a rut....
Hopefully someone that has been in this situation will understand what im trying to say and be kind enough to tell how they managed to clear this hurdle in trading

Thanks......

Luds

If you are sticking to your method for 90% of the time then either that 10% when youa re not is killing you or conversely it may be keeping your edge afloat if it has stopped working (howsoever temporarily or permanently ?) If that 10% isn't having such a dramatic effect then your edge is in a rut ie neither making or losing money at the moment and you would be advised to look at it's historical precednces from the stats you keep from either it's forward test and/or back test., - ie are these periods typical? and is this current period typical of what has gone before in respect of duration and the character of your equity curve? (ie average wiining/losing trades, average strike rate etc..and other key metrics of your trading edge.)

In other word you have to really nail down why you are in this rut before you can find the solution to get out of it and start making progress re that equity curve again. When you have done that analysis - if you care to post the answer (s) others may be better able to help.

G/L

Even if it's broken ? that's plain bad advice - analyze what is really wrong is the better advice.

brie said:

keep going!

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Take a break and go over your journal.

Funny when you know you should you don't... then when a break is forced upon you and you come back - you think this is much better I should have taken the break

you can have that elocution for free

p-lab said:

Take a break and go over your journal.

Funny when you know you should you don't... then when a break is forced upon you and you come back - you think this is much better I should have taken the break

you can have that elocution for free

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This is a very good point and should be emphasised.
When traders spend countless days / weeks staring at screens, they can become blinded by what's currently happening. Sometimes it's a good idea to get away from it all which allows for quality time to think everything through.

Luds said:

Im treading water, dont seem to be moving up or down for a while now with my trading account which isnt much but seems to mean alot to me.
Would say that I manage to stick to my method now about 90% of the time which has been a great challange to me and I have found it amazingly hard.
Something needs tweeking.... not sure what but sure its not my method,

im in a rut....
Hopefully someone that has been in this situation will understand what im trying to say and be kind enough to tell how they managed to clear this hurdle in trading

Thanks......

Luds

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They got a job - finally.

Luds said:

Something needs tweeking.... not sure what but sure its not my method,

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The worst thing you can do is convince yourself there is nothing wrong with your method. That would be the first place to look because 9/10 that is exactly where the problem is.

Good thread this, i am in a similar position, havent had a down week in about 4 months, until this week, no blow outs just cant find the next tick, things just arent working the way they used to for me. Whether your edge has gone or just in a quiet period is a conundrum only hindsight will answer. But one thing is for sure, if it isnt working, scale back, get smaller, take a break if you need to and start investigating other approaches

Thanks for the replies, glad I posted, some good points which have made me think and veiw certain areas from a fresh angle which is a positive and will take a little time,,,,,so thanks!

The weekends here folks and I feel good,, have a great one

It is indeed difficult at the moment. Tiny volumes, low volatility make predictions very complicate, specially for the novice. DAX in Germany has been traped in a 200 point range since more than ten sessions. It does not help either than a lot of people think this uptrend has no substance. So if we go long there is always in the back of our minds the idea that this is going to turn around quickly, thinking that any little correction is the beginning of the turning.

It is for sure a good time to take a step back and reflect on what we are doing right and wrong. If we keep in the game for sure better days will come.

It is not necessary to become millonaire in one day. A week will be alright for me....

im in a rut....
Hopefully someone that has been in this situation will understand what im trying to say and be kind enough to tell how they managed to clear this hurdle in trading

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I think most traders hit a brick wall every once in a while. There is a lot of good advice being given, but whenever I hit a rut I re-study my trading journal to see what I did right and what I did wrong. This is nothing to do with winners & losers. It is to do with correct execution. During such a period I also go back to the demo account for a while so that I can practice correct execution with out the pressure of trying to win.
Everyone is different, but I find taking a complete break from trading makes me feel even more frustrated.
If you do take a break, I would recommend reading "Trading In The Zone" by Mark Douglas if you have not already done so.

mvtrader2000 said:

I think most traders hit a brick wall every once in a while. There is a lot of good advice being given, but whenever I hit a rut I re-study my trading journal to see what I did right and what I did wrong. This is nothing to do with winners & losers. It is to do with correct execution. During such a period I also go back to the demo account for a while so that I can practice correct execution with out the pressure of trying to win.
Everyone is different, but I find taking a complete break from trading makes me feel even more frustrated.
If you do take a break, I would recommend reading "Trading In The Zone" by Mark Douglas if you have not already done so.

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When I hit a brick wall - I usually take a few paces back, catch my breath and run forward jumping running up over the wall till I find my self on the far side...

Mi ol dog Atilla he is really good at teaching me new tricks :cheesy:

When I hit a brick wall - I usually take a few paces back, catch my breath and run forward jumping running up over the wall till I find my self on the far side...

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Well I guess a plan is a plan, but take care...........It's not called Wall Street for nothing