So I got a good email today from actually I got it last night from Eric. He said how I’m having, I know that this is a, what I’m looking at is a bull chart pattern, but I’m having trouble staying with it. And I’m guessing what he means is that he’s having trouble being consistent with trading this particular chart pattern. And so, Eric, thank you for writing in. First and foremost, my guess is it comes down to trust because if you trust the pattern, then there shouldn’t really be an issue. You could also have a trust issue with yourself. So maybe try to narrow things down. Maybe you’re trying to trade too many different patterns and you can’t just focus on one. Because it’s what I don’t know about this situation.
That’s going to because make me give you a bad answer. But I think if you focus on one and trade it small, you can see if you can get into the groove with it. And then if that’s not the case, then you could move on to another pattern. If that’s in fact the issue I don’t have enough information to go on, but you might be internalizing. Because as you can imagine, not every trade, even with a bullish chart pattern because works out. So how can you put the trade on and give it enough room to give yourself the biggest or the best chance to make money? Sometimes if you trade the chart pattern, you might be putting your stops in too tight. So one way you can get a around that is by investigating the chart pattern, seeing what the percent pullback is, and then making your bet size accordingly.
So that this way because getting into it that you can withstand a pullback or a move against you or bad timing, or just bad luck. If you try to price the thing for perfection, that’s awfully difficult because to be in that type of a trade, it’s hard to not get shaken out. You see? So a lot of people try to trade a certain size, but then put their stops in too tight because they can’t take the pain of losing money. Well, I don’t want to even get into that because if you’re good at trade losses are part of the business because it’s just the way that it works. And if you’re hanging on for dear life, my guess is you don’t have a rational understanding of losing money and what that means you might be internalizing it and ha you know, it affects your self-esteem.
Again, all of these issues are because what we coach to because it’s emotional, it’s not the chart pattern. That was an episode a couple weeks ago or whatever. It’s not the chart pattern, it’s you. So you have to find a way to get in the groove with that particular pattern. If it’s going to be one that you want to trade long term, I do think it’s awfully difficult to trade. You know, you see some of these guys on Twitter pumping out “these are all the bullish chart patterns.” Well, that’s just great. Thank you very much for your generosity and your insight. I can’t even believe that the clouds have parted and you’ve beamed down from Jesus Christ and the heavens all this wisdom on me. And it would be just so easy if I could follow these 16 or so chart patterns. Thank you. I’m going to name my first child after you.
So you’re sitting there saying, okay, these are supposed to be bullish patterns. How come I’m not making any money? It’s because that type of information doesn’t really help you at all. Doesn’t serve you. And as I’ve said, a few times, it’s about trying to get in the same groove with the chart pattern, because every chart pattern has its own vibe and has its own feel. And if you don’t give the thing, it’s like a relationship. If you’re constantly on top of your partner, they’re going to feel choked out. You’re not going to be able to breathe. So same thing with your trading. You gotta let it go. Put the trade on, put your stop in and walk away. If you’re too uptight about losing money or if you celebrate making small bits of capital because this tough business to be in, I’m always advocating for thinking big and not sitting there, especially if you’re newer because sitting there and watching it all day, trying to steer it. Because if you don’t have a plan sitting there in front of the screen, you’re going to find a way to try to do something that you shouldn’t be doing.
And because commissions are either zero or super low, you don’t really feel the burn of making bad decisions like I did when I was coming up, because commissions were very expensive. So trust me when I tell you the last thing you want to do is sit there and try to keep figuring out or pounding your head against the world, trying to fight through a particular pattern. So if you go and you figure out because what is it that you’re looking to do with your money in the first place that might help stop you from looking at certain patterns? I know it’s super deep stuff and it probably requires a much longer conversation than we can do here.
But when I look at the folks that I know who helped me out and mentored me, they really stuck to one thing and they just did it day in and day out. And that’s why many of them resorted to saying stuff like “good trading is boring” because there was nothing really special to it. They found a knack with one particular setup and they stayed with it. They didn’t introduce anything fancy from time to time, they had to adjust position sizes maybe for volatility, but that was really all it was. And then at the end of the day, they just followed the same routine almost mechanically day after day after day. And it was boring. They weren’t doing it for the excitement. So hopefully that gives you some insight. If I knew more, I might be able to shed a little bit more light onto the situation for you, but I appreciate you writing in. It’s all I have to say about it today. Folks. Thanks for being here and I’ll see you tomorrow.
This is a computer generated transcript.
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