How Trading Psychology Affects A Trader’s Decisions
August 29th, 2010 | by admin |When you think of traders you think of these people dealing with numbers and non-stop trading action either on the floor or electronically. In this day and age it is often the latter. While it is true that there has been a lot of traders who have experienced great success, there are also those who have gone broke and left the trading world, no matter what trading systems they used. The latter are often the victims of poor trading psychology.
Many traders have experienced the joys of earning big time because of the trading decisions they made. However, the numbers are bigger when it comes to those traders who have lost. And it’s even sadder if the money lost was their own savings. As you might have probably guessed, these are the first time and inexperienced traders. Often the culprit is, again the so-called trading psychology.
But what is this trading psychology and why does it have a great impact on the success of a trader? That even if he has the best trading systems under his belt, it may still not be enough to net big earnings for himself. We can define this trading phenomenon as the perception change experienced by a trader while working within his market. Usually the money that a trader uses in his dealings are his own and therefore the gain or loss of it will always have a major impact on him. You can just imagine all the emotions that a trader feels whenever he needs to make a big decision in his trading.
Naturally the first trade is crucial because it will help teach the trader on the basics, including how to work out a trading plan, and on how to best handle a trade, whether the result is beneficial or not for him. The stakes are even greater if the money involved is his own savings. This is because he will feel greater attachment to the money or stock or whatever it is being traded. When this happens, his thoughts or decisions might be unstable and may not be the best approach for that particular trade. Lost opportunities and trading mistakes are therefore common at this stage.
Another instance that a trader might experience a piece of trading psychology is when for a long period of time he has been actively trading in a specific market, and in high probability, has been making great gains from it. And then it happens. The numbers are not so good anymore. Everything seems to be going down, slowly but surely. The normal thing or the quick thought of anybody would be to make a quick trade exit, at least while he can still make even a little profit. But due to his pride, his ego, or just plain nostalgia that he has for that market, he prefers to hold on. Which is a good thing if he knows that the market would improve eventually. But other traders who have gone through this have lost considerably.
Understanding how a trader’s mind works is a great trading tip. It is very important so you, as a trader, can properly react to any changes in the market and make the best trading decisions. Trading psychology is broad and complex but just to learn the basics is often enough to make you a better trader.