and all through the stocks, not a creature was stirring, not even a trader in socks.
(I struggled to find something to rhyme with market...)
So, it was a very strange week and a somewhat subdued week in the markets I felt. I didn't trade on the Tuesday as I had a Mobility session with my trainer. It's usually at 11:00am so it doesn't impact my trading but he asked me if I could move it to 8:30am instead, and for reasons I'll never know, I agreed..? When I reviewed the markets that night it turns out my strategy would've returned 30 points so I could've had an 82 point week, but, even without those additional points I am not at all unhappy with the outcome.
As usual, the important factor is that I traded my strategy to the letter albeit apart from 2 trades. That's not bad because those two trades only amounted to +5 points so no damage was done per se. Yes, it shows a small lack of discipline which has not gone unnoticed, but I am very happy with how I traded for the entirety of the week. I flipped the switch (thank you TH), I took trades when they were presented, without hesitation (mostly) and I fully accepted the outcomes. As the markets were somewhat subdued volume wise and prone to spikes I did however find myself moving my stops much sooner than I normally would've. But again, I don't have any issue with this because it is not out of fear, it is a dynamic decision made in the face of the 'information' the market was making available to me at the time.
A great trader has a strategy which they adhere to 100%. But that same great, disciplined trader is also adaptable and aware of the information the market is showing them, and so has the mental flexibility to adapt that strategy and to accept whatever happens as a result. For example, I will trade my strategy 100% as a default until the market gives me information that my strategy may not be optimal for the conditions. Basically spikes and long tails. In this environment my strategy is prone to whipsawing me in and out of trades. So in this instance, yes I will still follow my strategy 100% as regards entry conditions, but I will then adapt it with regards to exits. These adaptations manifest themselves in stops which are moved to breakeven quite a bit sooner than usual (7+ points in profit for the FTSE and 12+ points in profit for the DAX), and I will also consider a scalpers close (basically what I refer to as a manually decided exit), instead of my usual mechanical close. This means that inevitably I will leave points in the market quite often, but then I simply refer to my 'golden rule/ belief' and that is -
My job when I trade is to make points, but I don't have to make ALL the points.
This enables me to not eradicate completely my frustration at leaving food on the table, but it does help me to put the correct perspective on it and that, in my opinion, is much more important than realised profit.
As in life, perspective is the all important element that when correctly applied, helps us make sense of it all.
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