i trade spread betting daily & rolling Dow & i rely mainly on t.indicators( with my parameters) i have a question about taking profits. i tend to take profits too early.i know all about fear & greed & i also have read many "psychology of trading" books but i prefer to hear from Traders with personal experience.i hope this will be usefull for many traders.thanks
Hi
I adopted a strategy for taking profits that was outlined in Mark Douglas's book "Trading in the Zone" and it has improved my overall performance greatly. Based on my own experience I would recommend that you read the book and trial the money management strategy for yourself.
Whatever you find, I wish you well in your trading.
Smiley
I adopted a strategy for taking profits that was outlined in Mark Douglas's book "Trading in the Zone" and it has improved my overall performance greatly. Based on my own experience I would recommend that you read the book and trial the money management strategy for yourself.
Whatever you find, I wish you well in your trading.
Smiley
haleh said:
Old_Bob
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Mark Douglas books are really great. Start with The Disciplined Trader. When you finsh it read Trading in the Zone.
You can order these books online here www.traderslibrary.com
You can order these books online here www.traderslibrary.com
haleh said:
I think that this is a common problem and the answer in my opinion lies in correct money management.
Why not experiment with multiple contracts or positions. Close one at the first sign of weakness and the second at the next or even try a third and leave it to run until the end of the session if it is trending, or use another method for establishing end of move such as break of trendline/moving average etc. Moving your stop to break even of course on the final position.
It helps knowing that you have taken a profit on the move and can't lose on the final position.
Haleh, Can you give us some more information about what time frame you are using one minute/ 5 minute etc. Do you have a plan, do you use indicators or pure price action?
MACD can be good for staying in a trade if trending or in sideways markets keltner channels or bollinger bands.
MACD can be good for staying in a trade if trending or in sideways markets keltner channels or bollinger bands.
Have you considered seeking fixed levels of profit from each trade ie. setting limit orders. It is always better to leave something on the table for others. If you make £100 profit and it would have been £250 if you had stayed put, you will not like it but after a few trades you learn to accept it. Better still, after a few weeks you will find that you are more profitable.
zigglewigler
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I can't recommend stop and reverse strategies enough, nothing beats trading ranges from overbought to oversold, you take long profits because you have a reason to go short, and then you take short profits because.... you get the picture. Breaches of support and resistance are unreliable because they're schizophrenic in nature, first you think it's a strong foundation for a push up, but oh no, it's lost its bottle, down she plops, do you bail, ok she's away now, but for how long? what a drag, is this a halfway house, sort of support if the troops are there, oh crap a Dunkirk moment, back behind the Channel, have another think about it...etc. Overbought and oversold to my mind are clearer areas, you might be switching quickly between the two, but the direction you take is always clear, you simply limit the damage on flip flop moves. The resistance/support approach, and yes I know how popular it is, is too much of a line in the sand for me, too readily redrawn. The always in approach makes profit taking a no brainer.
peto
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zigglewigler said:
Hi ZW
So what criteria are you using to determine "overbought and oversold", if not res/sup channels?
Cheers, pete
I think from a previous post that the answer to my own question is some form of oscillator, but a little more info would be of interest, if you have the time and inclination!
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zigglewigler
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Well the tools available are lying around all over. If you draw up some boll bands you'll see a tendency for the market to range between the extremes, at some point it will run out of puff and move the other way, there are numerous oscillators to help, I use a top secret one, wink wink , I use three charts simultaneously, candles with heikin-ashi, line breaks and renkos, and take reversal signals after crossing osc extremes.
On SP I'm looking at adv/dec issues to watch tipping points, I put bolls and osc using line breaks. Of course some would argue that the boll band areas I'm watching are natural sup/res points, but my feeling is that they are more fluid and reflect the current market mentality, whereas trad sup/res lines drawn from 'older' market action is too linear. There would be a number of s/r lines on my charts on the way from my o/b o/s extremes which I would ignore. I don't want to be dealing with intermediate flaffing around.
The cardinal sin that I commit by the way is attempting to sell the high and buy the low, which if you are a pussy to convention you adhere to, I've found a way to hit the tops and bots fairly close and accurately. The Holy Grail? No, just a smart b******. And before you ask for the definitive practice, it'll be out in live trading service first!
On SP I'm looking at adv/dec issues to watch tipping points, I put bolls and osc using line breaks. Of course some would argue that the boll band areas I'm watching are natural sup/res points, but my feeling is that they are more fluid and reflect the current market mentality, whereas trad sup/res lines drawn from 'older' market action is too linear. There would be a number of s/r lines on my charts on the way from my o/b o/s extremes which I would ignore. I don't want to be dealing with intermediate flaffing around.
The cardinal sin that I commit by the way is attempting to sell the high and buy the low, which if you are a pussy to convention you adhere to, I've found a way to hit the tops and bots fairly close and accurately. The Holy Grail? No, just a smart b******. And before you ask for the definitive practice, it'll be out in live trading service first!
