Social media regularly paints a picture of traders minting money every single day in the market. In recent times, trading the market is more like trying to squeeze water out of a rock.
Even successful traders complain about the heightened uncertainties in the market over the past few weeks due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Price constantly breaks the norm traders are used to. This makes it more difficult to hold trades or scale in and scale out of positions.
Reversal traders, trend traders, and counter-trend traders are constantly watching their backs when placing trades. A few traders who manage to remain profitable literally struggle as they squeeze meager profits off the market.
The question asked by traders in most trading platforms is:
“How long are we going to trade through these uncertain times”
While there may be no answers to this question, there are solutions that could assist us as traders.
A few suggestions are:
1. Lower your expectations
If you were used to making a decent income as a consistently profitable trader, it’s time to trim your expectations so that you have enough capital to trade when the good times are back in the market.
2. Watch your risk appetite
Lower strike rates and higher drawdowns are not uncommon in such times of uncertainty.
Becoming risk-averse is the wisest thing to do if you really want a quick recovery when tides change in the market. If you are still taking huge risks in the market, you may not survive the storm we are going through.
3. Live to trade
A wise trader once said:
“ Live to trade don’t trade to live”
In other words: Have a life outside trading that gives you joy and a sense of fulfillment. The ups and downs of the market can drive any trader nuts if not properly managed.
Knowing how and when to stay off the charts to enjoy life is what will give you longevity in this business.
4. Re-awaken the sniper in you
A scalper could have over 10 trading opportunities in one day,
A day trader could have less than 10 trading opportunities within a day, and
A swing trader could have less than 5 trading opportunities in an entire week.
Patience means different things to each of these traders, but what matters here is exercising a little more patience, which translates to trading less in these uncertain times, and I guarantee you that this alone could make a huge difference in a trader’s P & L
In conclusion:
Risk could make or break any trader in this business. This said, its important for each and every trader to know when to push the pedal to the metal and when to step off the gas.
If you still struggle with this as a trader, you will need to learn more about money management which will help you manage your portfolio better, and trading psychology which will boost your understanding of the market’s ebb and flow, and its relationship your trading psychology.
Traders who are interested in joining our FREE trading group on Telegram, where trade ideas and trade-related topics are discussed, which could assist your trading career while being infected by positive vibes
hit us on Pip Crafters
