Is there a way to stop trying to scalp tops and bottoms

for a quick profit? Ultimately this and adding onto a losing position by martingaling and adding when it goes against me and not having enough capital to cover this drawdown by going in with too much thinking it will come back soon enough but by the time it does it takes you out, has been my downfall. too many blown accounts to recall. And every time it has been the exact same thing such as this that does it. Someone needs to make an EA that doesn't allow you to trade for reversals and only take trades with a trend.

Hi Justin.....

you need to put a reminder for yourself to not repeating the same mistakes again and again...

Make notes of your Trading System and follow it with Discipline...
Always review your notes before you open a position....

Remember that it is the Trader that makes a trading system works and not the other way around....
Different trader can get different results using the same trading system

Be Discipline and Be Patient.... only take High Probability Trade (HPT).... Even if it means just one trade per day or even per week....

Good luck with your trading

hope this helps

An EA won't help you, working on your own trading psychology will.

Is it possible that it just can't be corrected? I literally think I need some kind of mental therapy to get over it. A few times is understandable, but this has probably happened over 10 times by now, always the same way..

rehab or mental institution may do the trick

Justin...first of all I truly feel your pain. Been there done that. It sounds to me like you need to embark on a long and serious data collection campaign. I suspect you have insufficient data for YOUR method and that is what is leading you to make poor decisions. Start by writing down what it is you expect when you enter a trade. Ex: I enter when A, B, C conditions are met. I expect trade to go my direction in x bars or( what ever you expect). Then take that hypothosis and ask WHY you think the trade should move in the direction you think it will...write that down too. Finally TEST your hypothosis for at least 200 trades (I really recommend 500). Open a spread sheet and track your results...winners, losers, avg win, avg. loss, Avg # bars it takes for price to move your way. Avg # bars in a loser...Avg # bars in a winner...

Now take those results look at the probabilities inherent in your method...now you can begin to make your "rules" based on those probabilities. Ex: I will only enter if xyz conditions are met...I know this because my data has abc results. I will exit if zyx conditions are met, or if the trade doesn't go my way in (?) number of bars. I will add in ONLY if my original trade is positive. I will move my stop along (use your data here) conditions. I will exit in profit at (y) price.

It is only after you have managed your rules...based on solid data and practiced sticking to those rules that you can begin to worry about martingale and position sizing models...You MUST first find a way to focus and discipline your energy before you start adding into positions...optimizing positions sizes...martigale...etc.

Just a quick thought from someone in the same boat. I have a method that is trend friendly, but I seem to always chase the countertrend. Not sure why, but I can see, after keeping a journal here on FF with my trades and charts, that it is a fact. This is my issue.

If you have blown several accounts because of this, you are trading at a lot size way to big for your account! First, stop that. ratchet it way back!! Second, figure out how you see trending the best, including which timeframe matches your lifestyle and personality best. Third, take several weeks of trades to re train your brain!

gspajon, has it correct. His advice will help you build confidence in your new way of trading. This confidence, and the reward of successful trades should get you on the right track. Remember, it takes 30 days of everyday patterns to start to develop a habit in your life, your trading will be no different. In fact, it may take longer.

FWIW.

successful traders are trend traders. dont buy bs from so called gurus that they can trade every reversal. ask them to show you their real account or call their trades in real time then you will see their true clour

Been there, done that, still doing it and pissed about it.

Lessons to remember:

"MARKET CAN DO ANYTHING, THE MOST UNEXPECTED THING"

Market can blow away any S/R's, any levels and may not come back for a very long time.

There is no guarantee of profit in any single trade.

Wait for a confirmed entry signal/setup.

If market is giving opposite signals against your open position, don't think it's a bluff.
You probably got tricked into buying (or selling) and market decided to end up going against you big time.

"Cut losses, Cut losses, Cut losses"

Try again, upon the next confirmed signal.

"Let winners run"

When in substantial profit, take partial profits.

EA will not help you but using you own way of understanding will do you a lot of good.

We cannot control what market does.

The only things we can control is to enter upon a confirmed entry signal and place a stop where this trade proves wrong.

Accepting the loss is the key.

if you had an EA that knew where the tops were - you would never need to trade for yourself

but there is an easy way - print this out onto an A4 piece of paper, stick it on the wall and remember it
"DO NOT TRY TO SCALP TOPS AND BOTTOMS - BECAUSE TRADING THE TREND IS MUCH EASIER"

seriously though - you should of already learnt this from demo, and after trying it many times
so you brain would already recognise that sometimes it works very well and other times its a complete disaster
and if you are trading the trend (as best as possible) then your system will ALWAYS tell you the trend
so only long in uptrends - only short in downtrends

there is no bit in the middle, nor will you usually get the exact top or bottom - but still usually 50-75% of the next trend, which is n't so bad
most have been there, it just takes sometime for the brain to learn to just say no

if your system gets too chopped up and can't work with the trend, just trade a different market or pair
or use different indicators
some markets trend quite well, others are just abit too choppy for some trend following systems and indicators
but obviously we all want to make this as easy as possible, so try to build a system that follows the trend
and by design it wont allow you to make the main problem trades

Throughout your journey, many lessons you will learn.
One of the hardest and actually my hardest one is:

"Don't try to catch a falling knife."
"Don't step in front of a freight train."

This means don't ignore strong moves and try to pinpoint tops and bottoms.
Make a plan and stick to it.