Good Point Tastes Like Chicken
I fully agree with sticking to what works for you, until it no longer works. It makes perfect sense to do more of what works, and less of what doesn't. But.. what if the thing that changed was not his habits, but rather the patterns that he was trading? If everything else had changed and he had stayed the same, the market would have left him behind. I guess the trick then lies in figuring out exactly what is working and what isn't, when it stops working, and why. I can not recommend highly enough keeping an accurate journal. It is an invaluable tool for looking back as objectively as possible, and analysing your trading habits. In my journal, among other things, I keep entries for every trade like:
What were my expectations?
Were they met? if not, why do I think that is?
What time of day was the trade?
What was the estimated potential of the trade?
What was my stop, and how closely was that kept?
How was I feeling at the time?
..as well as my own criteria for the trade. The information may seem irrelevant at the time, but looking back later, I can begin to see patterns to my trading habits.
- Shawn |
