“I got a mentor, did my homework, understand the fundamentals, and backtesting my technicals, but why am I still losing money? Is trading just a scam?”
I cried and burst out to my girlfriend years ago when I blew up my account, again. It was not only about the financial loss, but it was frustrated because nothing seems to work and the market certainly did not reward my handworks. I felt unfair, I felt being cheated, and I felt angry, very very angry.
Fast forward, I still lose money every day (like today) and every trade, as I always love to tell beginners, “learn to love your losses because it’s part of the game.” It’s true, no matter how good your winning rate is, you will always have losses. You might have 95% of winning percentage in your backtesting, but that still means you will have 5% of losing trades and you never know when that 5% of losses will appear. Most importantly, you never knew how much trades you will have in your lifetime. 5% of 100,000 trades is still 5000 losing trades. Some people just couldn’t take it.
Yes, that is it. Some people simply cannot deal with the losses or setbacks in life. Trading is all about the execution, and the execution is all about your emotions. Sure, you need to have a good analysis, a good strategy and an approach to your trade, but when you execute the trade and start managing them, that is an emotional game.
Trading psychology is perhaps the most ignored area in all trading courses because it’s tough to teach as trading psychology is just a self-discovering journey for every trader to experience. Everyone loves to talk about the strategies, the winning rates, the forecast, and predictions, but what separates traders from success to failures is the execution. No matter how good your plan is, someone has to pull the trigger.
The sooner you spend the time to work on your trading psychology, the better off you will be in this game. And no, EA will not help you because you will let it run when it makes money, but you will turn it off when it started losing - even though you shouldn’t. However, your emotions get in of your way, and you just couldn’t trust the EA anymore. I know because I’ve been there myself.
Finally, be completely honest about your losses as you would toward you wins. Have a trading journal, and enjoy this journey of becoming a great trader. Take a look at today’s video to learn more.
Enho Kuo is NOT a Broker Dealer and engages in trader education and training. All materials given by Enho Kuo are for educational purposes only. This information neither is, nor should be construed, as an offer, or a solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell securities. You shall be fully responsible for any investment decision you make, and such decisions will be based solely on your evaluation of your financial circumstances, investment objectives, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs. This material is being provided to you for educational purposes only. No information presented constitutes a recommendation by Enho Kuo or its affiliates to buy, sell or hold any security, financial product or instrument discussed therein or to engage in any specific investment strategy. The content neither is, nor should be construed as, an offer, or a solicitation of an offer, to buy, sell, or hold any securities. You are fully responsible for any investment decisions you make. Such decisions should be based solely on your evaluation of your financial circumstances, investment objectives, risk tolerance and liquidity needs.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD: US Dollar to remain pressured until uncertainty fog dissipates
Unimpressive European Central Bank left monetary policy unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting. The United States first-tier employment and inflation data is scheduled for the second week of February. EUR/USD battles to remain afloat above 1.1800, sellers moving to the sidelines.
GBP/USD softens to near 1.3600 as BoE hints further rate cuts
The GBP/USD pair loses ground to near 1.3610 during the early Asian session on Monday. The Pound Sterling softens against the Greenback amid growing expectations of the Bank of England’s interest-rate cut. Traders will take more cues from the Fedspeak later on Monday.
USD/JPY drops back below 157.00 on Japan's verbal intervention
USD/JPY has come under moderate selling pressure below 157.00 in the Asian session on Monday. The Japanese Yen lost ground to near 157.70 following Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party's outright majority win in Sunday’s lower house election, opening the door to more fiscal stimulus by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. However, JPY buyers jumped back and dragged the pair southward on FX verbal intervention by Japan’s Finance Minister Katayama.
Editors’ Picks
USD/JPY drops back below 157.00 on Japan's verbal intervention
USD/JPY has come under moderate selling pressure below 157.00 in the Asian session on Monday. The Japanese Yen lost ground to near 157.70 following Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party's outright majority win in Sunday’s lower house election, opening the door to more fiscal stimulus by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. However, JPY buyers jumped back and dragged the pair southward on FX verbal intervention by Japan’s Finance Minister Katayama.
Gold eyes acceptance above $5,000, kicking off a big week
Gold is consolidating the latest uptick at around the $5,000 mark, with buyers gathering pace for a sustained uptrend as a critical week kicks off. All eyes remain on the delayed Nonfarm Payrolls and Consumer Price Index data from the United States due on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.
AUD/USD: Buyers eyes 0.7050 amid upbeat mood
AUD/USD builds on Friday's goodish rebound from sub-0.6900 levels and kicks off the new week on a positive note, with bulls awaiting a sustained move and acceptance above mid-0.7000s before placing fresh bets. The widening RBA-Fed divergence, along with the upbeat market mood, acts as a tailwind for the risk-sensitive Aussie amid some follow-through US Dollar selling for the second straight day.
Top Crypto Gainers: Aster, Decred, and Kaspa rise as selling pressure wanes
Altcoins such as Aster, Decred, and Kaspa are leading the broader cryptocurrency market recovery over the last 24 hours, as Bitcoin holds above $70,000 on Monday, up from the $60,000 dip on Thursday.
Weekly column: Saturn-Neptune and the end of the Dollar’s 15-year bull cycle
Tariffs are not only inflationary for a nation but also risk undermining the trust and credibility that go hand in hand with the responsibility of being the leading nation in the free world and controlling the world’s reserve currency.
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The challenge: Timing the market and trader psychology
Successful trading often comes down to timing – entering and exiting trades at the right moments. Yet timing the market is notoriously difficult, largely because human psychology can derail even the best plans. Two powerful emotions in particular – fear and greed – tend to drive trading decisions off course.