Sim Life
Going back to sim starting tomorrow, 2/15. My account is getting close to PDT, but I can still trade. I am actively deciding to go back to sim. I am planning to stay in sim for at least the rest of the month.
What I want to accomplish in SIM:
Controlling FOMO
FOMO is my biggest problem and has been probably from the beginning. There are days where I can trade rationally with no FOMO, but most days I do not. I believe the biggest factor for me, is that I'm not actually watching my watchlist stocks that I create in the morning. I can watch 5 stocks at the open. 2 on each of my extra monitors, and 1 on my laptop which is my main screen with my watch list and all other account information. What usually ends up happening is that by 9:45 or so, I have removed half of my watchlist stocks and replaced them with "The usual suspects". I then start to trade these stocks instead of the ones in play. The watchlist I create in the morning becomes secondary to me.
One way that I plan to combat FOMO is to stick with my watchlist in the morning. I am adjusting my watchlist to remove the usual stocks that I trade. I plan to remove the temptation from trading AAPL and FB everyday. What I have been doing was using my laptop monitor to flip through everything on this watchlist here, and I was looking for trades to take. I would be constantly clicking and cycling through every stock on my list. I believe the more I click around and the more I am looking, the more FOMO I will experience and the more likely I will take something outside of my edge
Sim Goal: Stick to my 5 stocks that I pick in the morning.
Stick to my Trading Setups
This is a huge problem in addition to my FOMO and I think they go hand in hand. I think that if I can stick to my watchlist, I can wait for the right setups. A lot of the time now when I trade, I take a trade because it looks weak or looks strong and this is absolutely what I should no be doing. I need to stick to my strategies, this is where I have my edge and where I will be making my money. Our strategies work best with stocks in play, so I'm not sure why I have been trying to use them everyday on AAPL, MU, etc.. Sure they will work and those stocks will move more than most other ones, but I need to stick to what I know and use it where I need to use it.
I have about 5 or 6 trading setups that I feel work for my style and give me the best advantage. I will go over these in another post.
Sim Goal: Stick to my trading edge. Utilize my trade setups and only my trade setups.
Learn to set hard stops quickly and effectively
One issue that I have at times is that I don't want to lose. I dont mind taking a small loss, but when something breaks past my set stop loss, I have a hard time getting out. It should be an instant exit, but instead I let it keep going, and I try to find a spot for a suitable exit. I need to keep my losses small and manageable. I think having a hard stop will also allow me to feel more comfortable in a trade as well. It puts it in my head that the trade will cost me $X if it goes against me, and give me piece of mind. I am hoping to remove my habit of chickening out of trades.
The one issue will be where I do feel I should be exiting a trade before it hits my stop loss. I will be experimenting with that in sim.
Sim Goal: Learn how to set up hard stops and set them on most trades. ( I have an exception for 2 or 3 of my setups)
Learn to win again
I am averaging somewhere around a 20% win percentage now. I dont take winners anymore. I am not winning anymore like I used to. I need to learn to win again, whether that means letting winners run or knowing when a winner is done and exiting before I get past B/E. Let my winners win.
Sim Goal: Increase win % to at least 50%.