While these are not necessarily in my defined set of trading rules, now is a good example of a couple of things that are part of my trading routine...
First, after I close a trade, I rarely jump right back in. I like to take at least a few minutes to reflect on the trade, make some notes, take care of my accounting/bookkeeping, etc. When all that has been done, I'll get a drink, take a short walk, check a message forum, or something else to clear my mind. I'm trying to get out of the moment, and get mentally prepared to take the next trade.
Which brings me to....
Sometimes it will be quite some time before that next trade comes. I will never "force" a trade. (This really should be added to my defined rules). If an opportunity doesn't exist, I won't create one. The past 90-minutes or so since I exited my last trade has been a good example. There hasn't been a clear opportunity for me. Price has been hovering right around a psychological resistance point (1.3000), but yet still seemingly wanting to push up. It's too hard to predict which force will "win" this battle, so I'm just going to sit on the sidelines until a more clear opportunity presents itself. As of right now, if I don't take another trade today, I'm still where I want to be - ahead of my MTD and first daily target. The one remaining daily target is the "extra" - if I don't hit it, I still end the day slightly ahead of where I need to be in order to be on track for my overall monthly goal.
Funny, as I've been writing this post, it looks as though we've broken that psychological resistance, so maybe an opportunity to trade will be coming soon...
First, after I close a trade, I rarely jump right back in. I like to take at least a few minutes to reflect on the trade, make some notes, take care of my accounting/bookkeeping, etc. When all that has been done, I'll get a drink, take a short walk, check a message forum, or something else to clear my mind. I'm trying to get out of the moment, and get mentally prepared to take the next trade.
Which brings me to....
Sometimes it will be quite some time before that next trade comes. I will never "force" a trade. (This really should be added to my defined rules). If an opportunity doesn't exist, I won't create one. The past 90-minutes or so since I exited my last trade has been a good example. There hasn't been a clear opportunity for me. Price has been hovering right around a psychological resistance point (1.3000), but yet still seemingly wanting to push up. It's too hard to predict which force will "win" this battle, so I'm just going to sit on the sidelines until a more clear opportunity presents itself. As of right now, if I don't take another trade today, I'm still where I want to be - ahead of my MTD and first daily target. The one remaining daily target is the "extra" - if I don't hit it, I still end the day slightly ahead of where I need to be in order to be on track for my overall monthly goal.
Funny, as I've been writing this post, it looks as though we've broken that psychological resistance, so maybe an opportunity to trade will be coming soon...