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Strategies & Market Trends
Your Worst Trading Enemy.. You
An SI Board Since January 2001
Posts SubjectMarks Bans
223 17 0
Emcee:  shawnwolff Type:  Moderated
Dear Friends and Fellow Traders,

After four years as a trading instructor, it becomes more clear to me every day that trading is not really about methods, charts, stock picks, and executions. Trading is about what a human does when confronted with the emotions "fear" and "hope". How we deal with those emotions will determine our success or failure, I believe, even more so than the methods a person uses to chose their trades. If you are only correct in your choices 50% of the time, but can keep losses small in relation to the potential of your trades, you will be successful. So why are so many losing? Why do so many hold and hope to the point of heartbreaking loss, against all common sense and logic? Why does fear grip so many traders to the point of preventing them from even entering a trade for long periods of time? Why do self-destructive tendencies enter our trading? And most importantly, what can we do to change these bad habits and remove emotion from our trading? Those are the questions that plague me, and in starting this thread I am hoping to make new friends who are willing to explore those questions with me.

I only have a few requests:

1. Please be respectful of others. I see so often in these threads people resorting to personal attacks and I think it discredits their ideas, which may in fact hold value. It is also hurtful. If you have nothing nice to say, please say nothing at all.

2. Please be supportive of others. We are all in this together, and will benefit so much more from constructive and helpful ideas than we ever will from negativity. Losing money is a very sensitive and personal issue, and it takes bravery to share that pain. Please respect that.

3. Please keep on topic and refrain from stock picking, as that is not really the point of this thread. I could pick stocks all day, but I truly believe that giving someone a trade will help them in the long run far less than if you can teach them the skills to pick their own trades, and help them build the discipline to trade consistently on their own.

(This thread is moderated, not to inhibit free speech or exchange of ideas, but rather on the outside chance that someone might repeatedly refuse to abide by the rules.)

Sincerely,

Shawn Wolff-Klug
MTrader.com
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223Hi, i posted this on several others threads on SI also,.. but i like this forum Knyyt-4/7/2001
222To:shawnwolff who started this subject From: shawnwolff Tuesday, Mar 6, 2001 6minnesotatv-3/25/2001
221Re: Three ways to lose Here are some ideas I have about losing. As I see it, shawnwolff-3/6/2001
220Thanks for the info ~protege ! Very interesting and useful information. It soshawnwolff-2/13/2001
219Hi Shawn, I've been reading your thread here since its inception. Good info~digs-2/11/2001
218thanks from me, too. ken sounds like i need options lessons. -robRobQ-2/8/2001
217Shawn, I don't know what level of understanding you have now so I will poinKFE-2/7/2001
216To: KFE Re: Option strategies Thank you for inspiring me to educate myself aboshawnwolff-2/7/2001
215I agree RobQ I think its unwise for "trader types" to be holding intshawnwolff-2/7/2001
214Re: In The Aftermath of a Large Loss I see a few common pit-falls that people fshawnwolff-2/7/2001
213To: Northspoon Re: Risk-taking <I wanted to stay in CSCO through earnings bushawnwolff-2/7/2001
212RobQ, <i>Did I miss a way to "hedge my bets" on my long term hoKFE-2/6/2001
211Brings up a good point about staying in or getting out of a position around earnRobQ-2/6/2001
210This is a good thread, it helps to read and talk about the psychology of tradingNorthspoon-2/6/2001
209To: Northspoon I am so sorry. I know how that hurts. It is one thing to rebuildshawnwolff-2/6/2001
208I work and try to get involved with short position trades at the same time, lastNorthspoon-2/6/2001
207PS..Sorry for the long pause over the last few days. I have been under the weathshawnwolff-2/6/2001
206To: Ally Re: Predictability of Direction in Different Time-Frames <stock dishawnwolff-2/6/2001
205To: Ally Re: Daytrading Without System It sounds like your opinion is that mostshawnwolff-2/6/2001
204To: Ally ..I have to totally disagree with you on that.. The first thing I wantshawnwolff-2/6/2001
203To: Northspoon Re: Analyzing Your Trades I agree with you Northspoon. I find myshawnwolff-2/6/2001
202Re: Unpredictable Market and Our Emotions Is the real culprit the unpredictableshawnwolff-2/6/2001
201To: Ally Re: Holy Grail The big question is: "Are there such things as hoshawnwolff-2/6/2001
200Re: Trading Percentages and Stops I agree with parker_meridian. It does not matshawnwolff-2/6/2001
199To: KarinP Re: Stock Specific posting I whole-heartedly agree with you. What hshawnwolff-2/6/2001
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