Slow, choppy days could be challenging for inpatient trader, and one of the top questions that I get from Subscribers is how to be disciplined and wait for opportunity. There could be 4-5 hours of waiting between two high odd setups, again without guaranties that any of them will produce more than just +1R, and could turned out to be a breakeven, scratch or loser. Result will depend on how you execute them. When you watch PA - don’t live every tick. Slow market between the zones – make a break, put alerts on your chart, and do something else, take a walk. For start - by just making your stop two times larger and your lot two times smaller, you could increase your win rate, pull trigger easier and hold trades. Build confidence. With more confidence, work on win rate first, then work on efficiency. There is Blog page of the website, with “Trading is not easy” articles, Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Check them as well.
Reviewing your own trading will help you. I regularly do that for myself. Wanting bigger winners in a choppy environment, because you missed better days is typical mistake. Or being eager to make money after a trading pause. Traders can push idea of "possible" bigger winner. In that way, plenty of money will be left on the table, since market will just go back to you. Often this saying is right in trading: A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush, since markets spends majority of time in a range, giving us opportunities for +1 to +3R top.
Inevitably you will get situations, that you close trade for +2R, only to see them going and going for much more. But more often in neutral markets, it is a good idea to lock profits in zone-2 zone trading. Make two trades like that, or just one per day, avoid unnecessary loses of trading something in between inflection points, and you can be in front of the crowd. Better PA will come, and we will have opportunities for bigger gains, just be patient and wait for the market to come to you. This skill is absolutely necessary for you to develop. You can get rid off both FOMO and Fear of losing, but it takes time and will to do so.
So, slow and choppy times – we are picky about our entries, less trading and more protecting the capital, taking zone-2-zone trades. When better PA come – aggressive. We are not in the business of avoiding losers, we are in the business of taking high odd setups, and wait between opportunities. Once the preparation is done, we are waiting, ready to execute.
Cheers, StrayDog
(this is adjusted version of text that was on second page of Morning notes for Aug 28th 2019)
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