A year later

It has been a year since I started trading as I took a break on and off for a few months here and there due to personal circumstances and it is only in the past few weeks that I have managed to successfully know and close my positions before the trend reverses. Previously, I just hope and hold on which reduces profits and also destroys my self esteem as I start to question whether I can only short but can't long successfully. I was tempted to reverse my trade twice but didn't and I was spot on both times! Argh, I'm still second guessing myself! 

I'm still way better at shorting although I only started shorting much later in my trading journey . Somehow my instinct for shorting is almost always spot on but since nothing goes down forever, I urgently need to work on knowing when to long. ACCICB told me that's because there's only panic selling and no panic buying due to human psychology which is why shorting seems to work better for  me. I seem to always miss the boat when it comes to buying and by the time I caught on, I'm unsure whether prices will continue to head north. 

I also learnt that I am just simply attuned to momentum trading rather than trend reversal trading. I'm working on systemizing my momentum trading and at the same time using ACCICB's trend reversal trading system in a bid to improve my skills in that area. I question whether I'll ever get good enough to make a living out of this and I must say that ACCICB is more positive in this aspect as he's confident that he will master it. 

The market has been hideous thus far and I'm far from breaking even due to some horrible trades done in the early part of my trading journey. I do see myself improving as evidenced by my archived trades and have been visualizing my growing account balance which has yet to happen. It seems to take just one bad trade to make me rethink everything and also hold off on making new trades which is very counter productive so it's another area I need to work on.

In the early days, my best trades were investment picks which I traded. Nowadays my best trades are based on momentum which I'm in and out in a day to a couple of days. I feel that it keeps stress to a minimum for me and I make sufficient profits to not be bothered by the trend going sideways or reversing. I usually don't reverse my trades which means I'm fighting with just one hand so till the day I can reverse my trades with ease and confidence would be the day that I've nailed trading!

Now the problem is that momentum trades aren't available everyday or at least I'm not good enough to spot them on a regular basis such that I can make a living out of it so I'm still researching to see whether I can mix momentum trading with trend reversal trading to get the best possible results as well as have more frequent trading opportunities. I've done one trade based on this mix and it was successful so I would continue to see how things goes. 

Comments

  1. Hi Joyce,

    Thanks for sharing your journey. When you said

    "... it is only in the past few weeks that I have managed to successfully know and close my positions before the trend reverses."

    Were you referring to the benchmark or specific stocks?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Delwyn,

      I trade only specific stocks since I started rather than benchmark or indexes.

      Delete
    2. Hi again Joyce,

      Thanks for the prompt response. I was wondering if you have a timing tool on the market, an indicator measuring market breadth? So you know when you should go long or short.

      Delete
    3. Hi Delwyn,

      I don't have a specific timing tool which I use. I use candlesticks as well as a bunch of indicators for trading as well as monitor the news for both general market sentiment as well as for specific stocks before I execute a trade.

      Delete
  2. Joyce,

    Knowledge by trial and error ;)

    The trick is to survive the first 2 years in trading - as like any industry or job.

    You'll soon discover the right shoes to fit your own feet.


    I see you have discovered a new trading style and different time frames to have less stress and still make profits ;)

    Optimise; not maximise.


    You and ACCICB are an interesting couple! Very rare to find husband and wife team in trading!


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi SMOL,

      2 years! Hmmm, so I still have another year to improve such that I can at least break even despite my horrible early trades! Yeah, ACCICB and I take different approaches and I think it works plus we don't influence each other. More like we are a crazy team to be doing this together! haha

      Delete
  3. I am not so good at shorting the market. It requires a lot of monitoring and sometimes the trading volume is just not there for shorting.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sweet Retirement,

      My trading watchlist has certain criteria, one of which is trading volume so if it has low trading volume or is not shortable in the platform which I'm using, it is not under my consideration. It does require monitoring because a short gone bad is more painful than a long gone bad by many times. What some people do is they place a stop loss so as to limit their potential losses.

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  4. Thanks Joyce. My original question was intended to discover some synergy between general market condition and the direction a specific trade should take. An up trending market would of course generally favor a long trade and vice versa. Guess a market breadth indicator that is specific to STI would be useful.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Delwyn,

      I'm not sure about STI as I don't trade SG stocks or indexes. As I trade specific stocks in overseas markets, there are times that market is in gear whereby most stocks either go up together or down together like the recent Brexit but once market is out of gear, the stocks may resume their normal trend which could be up if it was on its way up but interrupted by the Brexit news.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for sharing, Joyce. :)

      Delete

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