Thought I knew what I was doing but lost money

[DontKnow]

I thought I knew what I was doing. Thought I understood everything. Did pretty well in the demos. Then I open an account with a few hundred and I keep getting stopped out. Almost every trade I'm getting stopped out. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. Is it simply that I started with a balance that is far too small? I think I'm good with charts, I understand money managment, but that doesn't help when you have such a small balance, if you risk 1-2% even a small retrace or spike takes you out. I feel beaten and my confidence is gone.

I hope someone can give me some advice please, I could really use it.

Thanks.

 

[raysor]

I thought I knew what I was doing. Thought I understood everything. Did pretty well in the demos. Then I open an account with a few hundred and I keep getting stopped out. Almost every trade I'm getting stopped out. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. Is it simply that I started with a balance that is far too small? I think I'm good with charts, I understand money managment, but that doesn't help when you have such a small balance, if you risk 1-2% even a small retrace or spike takes you out. I feel beaten and my confidence is gone.

I hope someone can give me some advice please, I could really use it.

Thanks.

Possibly the answer is that you think you know what you are doing but don't really (an easy mistake).
Just appreciate that this is a VERY difficult game. Take the view that you know nothing until there is proof of the pudding.
Most people I know agree, contrary to the opinions of contributors to this forum, that success (profit) is the result of three things. Not necessarily in the correct order but: Inside information, luck and knowledge.

 

[Calinor]

How large is you stop loss point from your entry usually?

 

[jackolan]

Sounds like you're spread betting... If this is money you can afford to lose on a new hobby, then loosen out your stops. if you can't afford to lose it, don't spread bet.

 

[goatse]

go back on demo

 

[DontKnow]

I do appreciate it's difficult, I think just didn't realise it. Back to square one I guess.

Stops were between 10-50, though that can bring the risk up to well over the 1-2%.

Yes I was spread betting and the minimum goes up from 10p per pip to 20p then 50p. Seems like a nice little trap for novices with a small balance.

I will, I'm going to demo again and next time I feel ready I guess I'm going to save up and use a real broker.

Thanks all.

 

[jackolan]

I'm going to save up and use a real broker.

Don't get me wrong, spread betting is great... but if you put £4300 into buying shares and lose £300, you tend to walk away with an entirely different level of glumness than if you put £300 into spreadbetting and lose the lot.

Worse still, is to not realise that £1 a point on a market at 4300 in spreadbetting IS AN IDENTICAL TRADE to buying £4300 worth of shares.

 

[raysor]

I do appreciate it's difficult, I think just didn't realise it. Back to square one I guess.

Stops were between 10-50, though that can bring the risk up to 10% or over.

Yes I was spread betting and the minimum goes up from 10p per pip to 20p then 50p. Seems like a nice little trap for novices with a small balance.

I will, I'm going to demo again and next time I feel ready I guess I'm going to save up and use a real broker.

Thanks all.

What's the point of demo? Just to prove that in a particular timescale luck overtook bad luck or vice versa? Why not learn a bit or as much as you can about a particular instrument whatever then trade it within your capital constraints (if possible, if not save up a bit more).
I know that if I go horse racing and bet I will either lose my capital (say £100) or win something, purely down to luck as I know nothing about horse racing (who does?). I accept this and have no aspirations to be a professional gambler or indeed have any optimism about making money on an otherwise enjoyable day out

 

[DontKnow]

I guess the point of demoing for me is just to get more experience and perfect my system. I kinda rushed into live trading/betting, if I'm honest. I just kept making good trades on the demo and thinking this could be real money, but with the demo I had a $5000 balance, so I had room to let it play out.

I'm almost certain that if it wasn't for the constraints of my tiny balance and tight stops I would have made money on most of the trades. I will have to go through all of the trades I made to make sure though.

I'm just wondering do you guys think that it was unwise even trying to trade with such a small starting capital? (£300)

 

[jackolan]

I guess the point of demoing for me is just to get more experience and perfect my system. I kinda rushed into live trading/betting, if I'm honest. I just kept making good trades on the demo and thinking this could be real money, but with the demo I had a $5000 balance, so I had room to let it play out.

I'm almost certain that if it wasn't for the constraints of my tiny balance and tight stops I would have made money on most of the trades. I will have to go through all of the trades I made to make sure though.

I'm just wondering do you guys think that it was unwise even trying to trade with such a small starting capital? (£300)

If you're trading at 10p a point then £300 is the equivalent of 3000 money units. Plenty of room. The problem seems to be just fear. You're scared of losing the money and trying to protect it at all costs.

Fear will only cause you to do stupid things. Set a plan... have an entry point and an exit point (a win and a lose exit) and set it and walk away. Do exactly what you did on the demo and you'll be fine.

 

[Calinor]

10 point stop might be quite tight (depends on what you're trading) but you said 10-50, so that probably isn't all that tight. You shoudl be able to get some decent trades off without the stop being immediately hit at that size stop.

 

[Black Swan]

talk to me whilst I've got a few minutes; can I ask what indicators (lagging and/or leading) you're using to decide your entry/exit on what time frame/chart? In fact talk me through your process, from picking the (typical) trade, to closing it(or being stopped out)

 

[Dinos]

I thought I knew what I was doing. Thought I understood everything. Did pretty well in the demos. Then I open an account with a few hundred and I keep getting stopped out. Almost every trade I'm getting stopped out. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. Is it simply that I started with a balance that is far too small? I think I'm good with charts, I understand money managment, but that doesn't help when you have such a small balance, if you risk 1-2% even a small retrace or spike takes you out. I feel beaten and my confidence is gone.

I hope someone can give me some advice please, I could really use it.

Thanks.

Sounds like your set up is not right, I assume before you compiled your trading plan, you backtested and forwarded tested the system in demo, if it worked in demo and you applied the set up to live trading, then the trades should have worked. What win/loss ratio did you demo trading show? and how far back did you back test.

 

[Black Swan]

Sounds like your set up is not right, I assume before you compiled your trading plan, you backtested and forwarded tested the system in demo, if it worked in demo and you applied the set up to live trading, then the trades should have worked. What win/loss ratio did you demo trading show? and how far back did you back test.

Yep, if the set up is right it should be working time after time. Shame he hasn't replied, perhaps he's gone back to playing online bingo. TBH It's hardly surprising you more experienced guys just fook these guys off, even when you try and help the levels of ignorance stink the place out...

 

[SuperScalper]

learn from your mistakes and try again (sim first)

everybody lose money on the markets you are neither the first one nor the last one.

This game is like that, you lose and you make money , if you make more than what you lose overall then you can make a good living

 

[DontKnow]

10 point stop might be quite tight (depends on what you're trading) but you said 10-50, so that probably isn't all that tight. You shoudl be able to get some decent trades off without the stop being immediately hit at that size stop.

Usually 10ish, I was just trying to obey money managment rule of sticking to 1-2%. I lost a few times on the Yen pairs which have a minimum stop of 50. That took my balance down pretty fast. So I stopped trading Yen.

 

[DontKnow]

If you're trading at 10p a point then £300 is the equivalent of 3000 money units. Plenty of room. The problem seems to be just fear. You're scared of losing the money and trying to protect it at all costs.

Fear will only cause you to do stupid things. Set a plan... have an entry point and an exit point (a win and a lose exit) and set it and walk away. Do exactly what you did on the demo and you'll be fine.

Yeah fear is a big part of it, and impatience. Gonna work on it some more. Thank you.

 

[DontKnow]

Sounds like your set up is not right, I assume before you compiled your trading plan, you backtested and forwarded tested the system in demo, if it worked in demo and you applied the set up to live trading, then the trades should have worked. What win/loss ratio did you demo trading show? and how far back did you back test.

I didn't do back testing. Basically I'm just learning as I go along.

 

[DontKnow]

learn from your mistakes and try again (sim first)

everybody lose money on the markets you are neither the first one nor the last one.

This game is like that, you lose and you make money , if you make more than what you lose overall then you can make a good living

Thanks. I just need come to terms with losing some and not let it affect me.

 

[mrsoul]

I thought I knew what I was doing. Thought I understood everything. Did pretty well in the demos. Then I open an account with a few hundred and I keep getting stopped out. Almost every trade I'm getting stopped out. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. Is it simply that I started with a balance that is far too small? I think I'm good with charts, I understand money managment, but that doesn't help when you have such a small balance, if you risk 1-2% even a small retrace or spike takes you out. I feel beaten and my confidence is gone.

I hope someone can give me some advice please, I could really use it.

Thanks.

If it ain't working- junk it and start from scratch.
This is a VERY hard game and it could take a lifetime, or longer, to find a way to make it work.
Reevaluate if you are comfortable with those parameters.