(US) How to Pull Back and Bounce Back From a Bad Trade
Everyone makes mistakes in the markets. But, how do you bounce
back and pull back from a bad trade? There's really no such
thing as a perfect trader, and don't believe anyone who says
they've never had a loss. They have, and if they are any good,
they've learned from their mistakes, and then put the mistakes
behind them.
The key to success is learning how to pull back. First, you
have to understand the basics. The good news is that the more
you trade and the more experienced you become, the fewer
mistakes you'll make. If you use stops and pull back on all your
trades, even a few large mistakes won't wipe you out. Instead of
being perfect, you should aim to improve continually, while
using proper trading techniques and money management skills. But
while it's in your power to prevent avoidable mistakes, some
market events can't be planned for. The market cannot be made
into a completely safe place
If you are alert and nimble when you trade, and have stops in
place, quick market changes shouldn't hurt you badly. But it's
always possible to be completely surprised, to have a disastrous
computer crash or other equipment failure at the wrong time, or
to simply be unable to exit a large position quickly enough.
Occasionally, you may be wrong about a trade you felt very
confident about. Events can sometimes conspire against you,
causing you to sustain a large loss. And though losses like
these are devastating, you can recover from them, with a bit of
work.
Often the best thing to do after a big loss is to take some time
off from trading. I recommend doing something else for a week or
two. It will put the loss in perspective, and give you time to
recuperate from the emotional shock.
When you're ready for it, take some time to analyze the
experience. Setbacks can be great learning opportunities, if you
have presence of mind to take advantage of them. Spend some time
figuring out the best way to keep the same thing from happening
again. Then add these ideas to your trading strategy. Consider
if it was a weakness in your money management skills or your
strategy that contributed to the problem. Decide what you need
to do to keep the problem from happening again, and then do it.
Once you've made your changes to your trading system, trade on
paper or in a simulated account for a while. This will help you
to feel comfortable and in control before you start trading your
account again. You will need to get your confidence back before
you start actually trading. Also, your time off will have left
you a little out of touch with the market, and this is a good
way to get up to speed without risking capital.
When you return to actual trading, treat it as a new start, free
of pressure to regain lost capital. Whatever you do, don't keep
punishing and distracting yourself by trying to make up for the
loss. Don't affect your thinking by putting that kind of
pressure on yourself. Consider the mistake a thing of the past.
The only way to trade successfully is to trade with confidence.
If you're feeling guilty or are scared of a repeat disaster, you
won't be able to trade with a winning attitude.
This is how you pull back. Once you have that winning attitude
back, make only trades that you have confidence in. With your
strategy fine tuned and your confidence back, you will soon be
completely emotionally and mentally recovered from your loss. It
will become one of many points on the road that you've passed on
your way to becoming a successful trader.
Discover BIG profits from the market by downloading your FREE
copy of David's new Ultimate Stock Trading Systems course. http:/
/www.ultimate-trading-systems.com/stocks.html