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We as traders put our primary focus on the profit, which is the result we seek. Isn’t that why we’re trading? The $64,000 question is how do we make profits consistently? They say repetition is the mother of success, what many fail to realize, is that it’s also the “mother of failure”. Doing the same thing over and over again, the same exact way will almost always produce the same results. A recipe is a combination of components that when followed, produce a result. We all know that when we change any of the ingredients the result will change. Eight years ago, during my transition from a clueless trader, to a consistently profitable trader, I focused on the ingredients and stopped focusing on the end result. A few years back, I had the rare opportunity to see Phil Mickelson warming up for a charity outing, and the press was there. A reporter asked him, “Phil, if there is one word that you could use to attribute to your success as a golfer, what would it be?” Phil replied, “repetition”. That answer further confirmed for me, what is required for trading success. Let’s take Phil’s answer a few steps further with the recipe approach.
Here’s what I attribute to my trading success:
1)A “realistic” Personal Trading Plan that I know intimately, respect and follow: When I evaluate traders and review their plans, I find that not only are plans unrealistic, but the trader will fail an oral exam of their own plan. You must know your plan inside and out. When someone asks you a question, your answer must be “reflexive”, no umms and uhhs. Ask someone to test you on your plan. If you can’t answer the questions immediately, you are doomed to fail.
2) A Daily Trading Plan, which is hinged upon the Personal Trading Plan: the predeterminations of entry, stop, and target and risk reward are derived from a specific method of scanning. The scans and predeterminations are always done the same way. Repetition! After you have reassessed all other components and still feel you’re missing something, you’re method or interpretation of your method may be faulty. At that point, you need to get the right education.
3)A “Trading Stable”: I know every single stock in my “stable” inside and out. This is the group of stocks I scan. I don’t have an interest in any stock outside of my “stable”.
4)Right before I enter the trade (like the pro-golfer addressing the ball), I repeat my mantra: “ I know the entry, I know the stop, I know the target, I accept the risk, and the risk outweighs the reward by “X”. I have nothing to fear. I will act.”
5)"I have acted", I enter my stop (AN AUTOMATED STOP), “load up” or prepare the target, and manage the trade. I neither have fear nor greed. I know that the stock will either be stopped out, or reach my target. Everything in between is noise.
6)Like a horse with blinders, I ignore everything else that does not fit in points 1 through 5.
What is the pro-golfer thinking when they address the ball with the club? “Wow! I’m being watched by millions of people, so I can’t screw this shot up”, or “I hope I make a great shot.” No, most of them are reevaluating their grip, making sure their foot is properly aligned with the ball, etc, etc. What is the result of their swing? When I enter a trade, I am reviewing everything that has brought me to that point. If you don’t know what your stop, target and risk reward is before you open the position…”you’re finished”. That repetition will continue to take money out of your pocket, and give it to those who have a plan.
Reevaluate your recipe, finalize your recipe, respect and follow your recipe, and repeat it over and over again. If you’re willing to give this a try, it may be tough in the beginning, because you will find yourself in a lot less trades, but I can assure you that you that most of your trades will be higher quality.
Here’s what I attribute to my trading success:
1)A “realistic” Personal Trading Plan that I know intimately, respect and follow: When I evaluate traders and review their plans, I find that not only are plans unrealistic, but the trader will fail an oral exam of their own plan. You must know your plan inside and out. When someone asks you a question, your answer must be “reflexive”, no umms and uhhs. Ask someone to test you on your plan. If you can’t answer the questions immediately, you are doomed to fail.
2) A Daily Trading Plan, which is hinged upon the Personal Trading Plan: the predeterminations of entry, stop, and target and risk reward are derived from a specific method of scanning. The scans and predeterminations are always done the same way. Repetition! After you have reassessed all other components and still feel you’re missing something, you’re method or interpretation of your method may be faulty. At that point, you need to get the right education.
3)A “Trading Stable”: I know every single stock in my “stable” inside and out. This is the group of stocks I scan. I don’t have an interest in any stock outside of my “stable”.
4)Right before I enter the trade (like the pro-golfer addressing the ball), I repeat my mantra: “ I know the entry, I know the stop, I know the target, I accept the risk, and the risk outweighs the reward by “X”. I have nothing to fear. I will act.”
5)"I have acted", I enter my stop (AN AUTOMATED STOP), “load up” or prepare the target, and manage the trade. I neither have fear nor greed. I know that the stock will either be stopped out, or reach my target. Everything in between is noise.
6)Like a horse with blinders, I ignore everything else that does not fit in points 1 through 5.
What is the pro-golfer thinking when they address the ball with the club? “Wow! I’m being watched by millions of people, so I can’t screw this shot up”, or “I hope I make a great shot.” No, most of them are reevaluating their grip, making sure their foot is properly aligned with the ball, etc, etc. What is the result of their swing? When I enter a trade, I am reviewing everything that has brought me to that point. If you don’t know what your stop, target and risk reward is before you open the position…”you’re finished”. That repetition will continue to take money out of your pocket, and give it to those who have a plan.
Reevaluate your recipe, finalize your recipe, respect and follow your recipe, and repeat it over and over again. If you’re willing to give this a try, it may be tough in the beginning, because you will find yourself in a lot less trades, but I can assure you that you that most of your trades will be higher quality.
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