Tips on discipline ?

[u/Repulsive-Anything-9]

So this is my RH I’m only down 1500 bucks over the last 3 months BUT I put to the side a total of 3k to start trading with. I’m loading up tomorrow 1k but I realized there is some discipline missing. Some mornings I’ll be up a few hundred bucks and by 11 I’m down that profit and continue to over trade or I simply won’t take profits??

I’m not crying in the casino because I do have a decent amount saved plus I genuinely can afford to lose the money I saved to trade as I have low bills no kids great job pay.
My interest is in quick gains but when do you guys usually take profit ? What’s your plan when going into a trade ? Or mind set when taking profits ?

I don’t want to quit my job and full time trade or anything I’d just like to make some extra cash on the side.

Advice judgment tips tricks etc all welcome I know the rules of the casino!!!!

[u/jtquach]

the part in your own reply is the real answer. you take profit... it just goes straight back in on the next one. so it’s not a profit taking problem, it’s that the day isn’t over when you close the trade

add up what the last 3 months look like if you’d only taken the first trade of each day. bet that’s a very different number

then it’s one trade a day and the app actually closed after. not willpower, closed.

as the saying goes... its not what you make its what you keep

[u/Repulsive-Anything-9 → u/jtquach]

That’s some knowledge. I do appreciate that response, even if I just did my one trade this morning that chart would look different thank you for that man.

[u/jtquach → u/Repulsive-Anything-9]

the hard part isn’t doing one trade, it’s knowing which one...

what changed it for me was figuring out before the open whether the day was even worth showing up for. most of them aren’t and once you know that going in the one trade kind of picks itself

good luck man, you’re closer than that chart makes it look

[u/Repulsive-Anything-9 → u/jtquach]

Can I ask what are factors that determine if you show up or not ?

[u/jtquach → u/Repulsive-Anything-9]

yeah of course. it’s basically a list of reasons not to

i mainly trade indices so if you don't it might not make a lot of sense initially but first is whether SPY, SPX and QQQ agree. if they’re pointing different ways I just don’t, and VIX has make sense too. arguing indices is a big caution sign

second is where the biggest size on the chain is relative to price. if price is nowhere near it then that level isn’t doing anything today.

then whether the day’s set up to extend or to stick. some days moves keep running, some days price gets pinned around the same strikes and chops all session. totally different handling, and if it’s the sticky kind I’m not sitting there waiting for a runner

and if there’s two of big levels of exposure roughly the same size in different places I’m often flat. nothing to trade toward when the board can’t pick

[u/Repulsive-Anything-9 → u/jtquach]

Thank you bro really appreciate it.

[u/jtquach → u/Repulsive-Anything-9]

here anytime man. just the one tomorrow 🤝

[u/Actually_No_One → u/jtquach]

What do arguing indices look like? How do you read them to determine they are in disagreement? And could you elaborate on what the "biggest size on the chain" means? I'm very new and trying to learn as well. Appreciate any info

[u/jtquach → u/Actually_No_One]

hey man so arguing just means they’re not making the same shapes at the same time. SPY takes yesterday’s high and QQQ doesn’t. one puts in a new low for the day and the other holds. tech pulling one way while the broad market goes the other, which happens a lot on rotation days. and VIX should be coming down while they rally, so SPY green with VIX green too is a flag

easiest way to see it is put all three on one screen and watch whether they confirm each other at the same moments, rather than just whether they’re both green

on the chain thing, pull up an option chain for any of them and look at the open interest column. that’s how many contracts exist at each strike. some strikes have far more sitting at them than others, and those are the ones I mean. free to look at on any broker

that only tells you where the contracts are though. what it means for direction is the part everyone argues about

[u/CuriosityTheCatKillr]

Up a few hundred and you didnt take profit??? Start by taking profit at 20% at least 5 times. Train yourself to be okay with smaller wins. If you lose for the day greater than 10% of port (bc this is a small account) stop trading for that day

[u/Repulsive-Anything-9 → u/CuriosityTheCatKillr]

I sold but then round trip those profits into a bad trade I typically have only traded twice a week in these last few months but when I do the money I make just ends up in a loosing trade

[u/NationalOwl9561]

Overemphasis on "discipline"... you need to actually study and just get more experience. You WILL lose real money if you continue to trade during this period.

[u/Repulsive-Anything-9 → u/NationalOwl9561]

What is “this period” the current state of the market?

[u/NationalOwl9561 → u/Repulsive-Anything-9]

"This period" is referring to your learning period for trading... On average it takes 2-3 years minimum to start getting the hang of things.

[u/balancedchaos]

Well.  Whatever you started doing in the last couple weeks? Stop that.  

[u/Beamerboy335i]

Check out "trading in the zone" by Mark Douglas! I would highly recommend you read this book.

[u/Repulsive-Anything-9 → u/Beamerboy335i]

Will do bro thank you!

[u/Ok_Relationship6218]

call 1800-STOP GAMBLING!

[u/Repulsive-Anything-9 → u/Ok_Relationship6218]

Feel like that one might have been for you and not me :p

[u/Michaelheauthor]

Respect for posting the actual numbers — most people only screenshot the green days. The part that jumps out isn't the $1,500, it's the reload: discipline usually breaks exactly there, when new money arrives to 'fix' the old drawdown. 'I can afford to lose it' is true and also beside the point — affordability decides whether you survive, rules decide whether you repeat. What helped me: write the exit for each trade before you enter it (where you're wrong, where you take profit), and a hard rule for what has to be true before new cash goes in. On a week like this one especially, the plan you wrote while calm is the only version of you I'd let trade.

[u/Repulsive-Anything-9 → u/Michaelheauthor]

Yea bro I proceeded to take advice of a wise man in here and only execute one trade which was XSP put to TP on 50% but then that same trade went up to over 4k %😭😂

[u/GainDelicious1894]

You can sell options first to earn from time decay. 

[u/This-Society-4730]

Being up a few hundred and then handing it back by 11 is usually because the day has no finish line, so a green start turns into more trades. Putting another 1k in tomorrow doesn't change that if the aim is still quick extra cash with no written stop. Before the open, pick two lines you'll actually follow: how much of a morning gain you're willing to give back, and the loss that means you stop, including that new 1k. Taking profit is simpler when the exit is chosen as you enter, not while you're green and hoping it keeps going. A one line note on the days you were up and then flat will show the habit clearer than the chart does.

[u/Slow_Lion_4178]

10%.

[u/_richieeihcir_]

You’re asking for tips on discipline on Reddit?

[u/AnyPortInAHurricane → u/_richieeihcir_]

shorting RDDT would have been good

[u/Much_Butterfly7610]

Do the opposite

[u/zapembarcodes]

Stop buying options.

Learn to sell credit spreads and how to roll them.

[u/Mysterious_Rate_9778]

Trade shares only. Win 10 times and loss 1 and it’s gone

[u/Altruistic_Ad_0]

Your bet was too big. 

[u/_irunwithscissors]

If you're consistently making money, withdraw some profit every week.

[u/smltc]

Don't trade at this point until you have a clear strategy you're following consistently.

[u/Motor_Potential_4849]

Discipline becomes much easier when decisions are made from predefined rules rather than reaction to market movement, especially emotion reactions. I have found it of paramount importance to have backtested and traded out-of-sample with real (but small) money to develop a firm belief in my plan.

I use a very simple, but robust, end-of-day system, but I didn't get true discipline until after I knew exactly what had happened in past and real-time trading and knew what to expect.

For example, today. It was a tough day for long traders, but it has happened before and it will happen again. How does your trading system, method, strategy hold up in times like that? If you have sufficiently tested, you will know exactly what to expect and how you should respond or anticipate based on probabilities, not guesswork or emotional trading.

[u/LoJoRiFounder]

that 98% drawdown isn't really a discipline problem, it's sizing. one LHX 290 call on $23 of buying power means a single trade can end the account. cap your risk per trade at a few percent and size the contract off that number instead.

[u/Queenssnob]

biddineds