The DeCarley Perspective...
Read our strategy article in the TraderPlanet Journal
See our "Trade Like a Girl" quiz in the Fall TraderPlanet Journal!
“Girls” believe in pressing their luck in the markets, even if they are enjoying relatively easy gains now?
Answer: FALSE
Beginning traders sometimes confuse skill with luck. There are times in which you will be in the right place at the right time to make extraordinary profits possible. If this happens to you, take the money and risk off of the table.
Regardless of what we think that we know, or even what others think that we know, trading boils down to making an educated guess. If you happen to be the lucky beneficiary of a windfall profit, don't get greedy or expect that the gravy train will continue. Letting your ego fog your logic may lead to a situation in which a big winner becomes a loser.
“Girls” attempt to keep past trades where they belong; in the past?
Answer: TRUE
Whether it is a positive or negative, the past is the past and it should stay there. Allowing previous decisions to guide future actions in the markets is one of the quickest ways to end a trading career. The most common form of this is the torture a trader sometimes puts himself through by playing out different scenarios of what could, or should, have happened.
Dwelling can be a drag on performance or in extreme cases devastating to a trading account. The fact is: we will never be able to sell the exact top and buy the exact bottom. This is something that mature traders learn to accept. The ability to fully appreciate this concept should prevent you from carrying the emotional baggage that comes with the "could have, should have" mental anguish.
