“I just wait until there is money lying around the corner, and all I have to do is go over there and pick it up. I do nothing in the meantime” – James Rogers
Many traders don’t trade to win. They trade to get something else that they want from the markets.
So instead of being patient and waiting for something to eventuate, they feel the need to always be playing. But you can’t rush the markets. If you try and force a position, it’s pretty much guaranteed to come back to bite you in the a***.
If you don’t know what’s going on, and if you don’t have a superior risk/reward trade lined up, then you should not be trading. Simple as that.
If you have made a profit, there is no need to go out and place a new trade in a rush of overconfidence. It will come if you give it time. If you have a losing trade, you don’t need to do something to make it back – in fact, that is the worst thing you can do. Revenge trading is not a fruitful exercise.
So, get comfortable with “doing nothing”. Make sure you center yourself after a winner or a loser, and only place a trade if you have a great deal of conviction in its success. A good trade should feel like you are “shooting fish in a barrel”, not like you are taking a punt or hoping it will go your way.
About the Author
Sam Eder is a currency trader and author of the Definitive Guide to Developing a Winning Forex Trading System and the Advanced Forex Course for Smart Traders. He is a part owner of Forex Signal Provider fxrenew.com (You can get a free trial). If you like Sam’s writing you can subscribe to his newsletter for free.
This post was first published here.