On the lighter side........... When I first started trading forex on demo's about 2 years ago, I tought my 4 year old male Airedale, Muppet, how to trade. When the time came that my balance was rapidly slipping away and I became completly frustrated, either from lack of knowledge or lack of sleep, I tought him to bark once for a 'short' and twice for a 'long' trade. Believe it or not, he actually made some excellent trades for me....! One night he made 7 positives and 1 negative trade. Not bad for a 'dog'. It was kind of amusing while it lasted but I don't think at this stage of my trading, that I would put too much faith in him. Now when I'm trading, he just does what a dog does best! (and it's not trading forex).

footnote: don't ever trade when you're tired or when your mental system isn't functioning at or near 100%. There are numerous variables that can affect the way you trade. We've all experienced them in one way or another, even though we may not have realized it at the time. buddy b

Good advice! I definitely agree with you. Newbie traders would be wise to take notice.

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My sites:

http://alansmoneyblog.com
http://alansfinanceblog.com
http://alansforexblog.com
http://forexnirvana.com
http://forexrobotsforum.com

Something else that might sound silly that will help though, is being well hydrated and a full tummy will help you perform exceptionally well.

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Patience is a virtue
"May the pips be with you"

Hey Mystic..... full bellies are great! My trading days begin with alot of juice, coffee, toast and eggs, ... and either ends with a big smile or a bottle of scotch! buddy b

But both of those sound really good!!lol

__________________
Patience is a virtue
"May the pips be with you"

For me, a lesson I learnt while playing poker was that I would never win if I was stressed about winning. If I felt it was too difficult to win then I would not play. I use the same methodology on manual trading (and EAs if I lose trust in them). If I am stressed about winning, I make trades that are far too risky, and as a consequence lose more money, the same as I played poker. I end up chasing losses and the spiral soon gets out of control. If I feel like the odds are against me for a day, then I just stop and go play golf or watch tv. It is better to stay even than to lose money.

My other advice is to keep a daily track of your net profits. It is amazing how many times you will actually be up by just cutting all your losing trades at that point compared to the day before. I think too many people (myself included when I first started trading) get caught up in the gross balance, and forget about the net balance when the drawdown is subtracted. It may not look good to cut out 20% of your gross balance, but sometimes it is better (both financially and mentally) to walk away and start again rather than trade your way out of a hole.

There are enough factors outside of your control working against you in trading, don't add your own negativity to it.

Good advice Dynamo... I especially like the part about 'being stressed' when you're losing... and then jumping into the hole even further by upping the ante in an attempt to recover your losses. bb