Can you tell when you're losing needlessly? The trading mistakes you do or don't see
|You've made a winning trade or two...
And it's a rewarding feeling.
But that feeling quickly turns to frustration when the next trades chew up all that profit. Correct?
And that's when it hits you.
Trading success is all about the trades you don't make. Agree?
The two types of losing trades
-
There are high-odds trades - like a pair of aces - that you bet on every time, even though they won't win 100% of the time. Yet overall - keep making these trades and you'll come out well in front.
-
And by contrast - there are the ultra-low-odds trades. Trades guaranteed to lose overall if you keep taking them. Right?
Tell me
The two losing trades below - are they unlucky losses not likely to happen often?
Or are they trades you always end up losing on overall?
Not sure?
You're not alone.
The person who made these trades didn't know either.
But that's the problem, isn't it?
When you don't know you're making trades guaranteed to lose overall - you'll keep making the same trades.
What happens next?
You'll repeatedly give back your profits. Correct?
Each time you do have a winning trade, you'll relish a sense of accomplishment and pride, only to be swiftly replaced by an unsettling pit in your stomach, knowing it's just a matter of time before you reluctantly surrender those hard-earned profits back to the market.
It's a recurring cycle of triumph turned torment. Right?
About those losing trades
The person who made these trades has taken on in-depth professional trader training. But trading is a 'doing' activity - like playing a musical instrument or golf.
It doesn't matter how much theory you undertake - it won't help show you what you need to adjust to improve. Or in the case of trading - what you're doing that's putting you in trades guaranteed to lose overall.
But there's a silver lining here
When you have someone who can point out why those trades will always lose money overall - then you can make the adjustment to ensure you don't make the same trade again.
That's what genuine trading mentoring is about - working with you not only to show you how to trade professionally - but crucial to your development - providing feedback on what aspects of your trading you must change to succeed. Why the change is needed and how to make that change.
The good news?
The person who made the trades above is no longer making the same error in their trading - meaning they're hanging on to more of their winning trades.
This level of professional guidance while rare, is available for people serious about making a significant turnaround in trading.
It's the difference in mentoring and training that leads to people seeing genuine positive outcomes.
As you reflect on your own trading journey, consider the profound impact personalized mentoring can have on steering you away from pitfalls and ensuring a more resilient strategy.
For example:
Imagine trading the same strategy taken from today's trading as shown below:
Overview:
Executions:
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.