Yesterday was a good reminder that not everyday can be a winning day and that planning for the worst is sometimes the best option.

Whenever I enter a trade I always enter the details in to my spreadsheet and enter it as a loss, regardless if the trade is looking good or not. I hate tempting fate and entering anything different than a loss will tempt fate. What this does allow me to though is see what position I’ll be in if the trades go against me. I like to plan 2/3 trades ahead so I know what state my bank will be in.

As I’ve had a good run lately, it’s easy to forget that on average I only win 65-67% of trades which means I’ll have a losing trade at least once a day. Whilst I feel I’m emotionally and mentally stronger, I can tell I’m still not quite where I want to be as I still get annoyed and frustrated when I lose, you could say I’m a very bad loser!

I rushed the second TUFXP trade yesterday and paid the penalty as I mentioned right here that BoE King was speaking at 0945 BST and to watch out for volatility. What did I do? Walk straight into a sell and then watch myself get spat out on the receiving end of a 35 pip spanking. The only redeeming point is, even if I elected not to take the sell, the next valid signal was also a losing trade at 1300 BST.

Given that TUFXP will be a losing month, overall I am happy with where I am and I’m also pleased I’ve taken the steps to ensure I can continually become a better trader and learn from my mistakes. This is afterall a long term goal and sometimes worrying about one day is very insignificant in the bigger picture. Sometimes I just need to step back and look at that bigger picture to realise I am ahead of where I wanted to be.

4 Comments on “Plan For The Worst..”

1. marco 29th July 2010 8:22 am

   Do you find that a losing start to the day usually means a losing day?
   Do you think the CM method may work better woth one loss and you stop?
   marco
2. John 29th July 2010 8:27 am

   Hi Marco,

   Whilst it’s never nice starting with a loser, I have recovered after a poor start, it comes down to mental strength I think.

   Not sure about the 1 stop. I’ll run it through my s/sheets and have a look for you.
3. marco 29th July 2010 8:36 am

   Thanks ,John,
   Iwould love to know how much of a difference one loss and you stop would of made to the CM method
4. John 29th July 2010 1:05 pm

   Hi Marco,

   Please send me an email at admin@dubaitraderblog.com and I’ll forward you my results so you can analyse them with the 1 stop method. Not a lot of spare time at the min.

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