You're learning how to NOT make money. The other option is that you stop trading...learn more about discipline, money management, position size manage prior to your next trade and then practice such on simulator prior to any real money trading. Thus, there's more to it than adding rules especially if you don't have a plan to enforce those new rules considering you've proven to yourself you do not have the ability to do such on your own. Once again, stop trading...learn more about the above 3 variables (discipline, money management and position size management) and then simulate trade to determine that you're able to apply those new rules in an environment without the psychological pressure to perform. Markets will be here when you return...stop trading and practice your new rules in a simulator environment prior to using real money. Remember this, most traders are wired (our brains) for poor decision making. Therefore, to become successful...we need to recondition our thinking about the markets, trading and ourselves. If we don't, the markets is very good in showing us the door.
Or just cut his trading size to a level just above meaningless, which means playing for pennies or maybe a few dollars. Twenty shares or thousand lots in currencies. You still go through the same emotions, just on a manageable scale. Then he'll tell you he can't make any money at that size, when he's already losing. All of a sudden the desire to learn goes out the window of opportunity.
To the OP.... The above two posts are great advice. Just starting two weeks ago, you're not ready for the big leagues yet. Trust me I was in your exact same shoes several years ago and wish I would have learned more before jumping in.
Yeah, lowering his trading size is a form of position size management and a form of risk management. Yet, I prefer to see it in that if someone "knows" before hand that they have a problem in following their own rules and they only have the ability to discuss the new rules but they do not have a plan for enforcing those rules... The chances are high they will repeat the same mistakes even with a lower position size. Therefore, he will drop below the $25k threshold in which he's desperately trying to avoid. He also sounds like he has to trade. Someone that sounds like that has something else going on that's impacting his trade decisions and other decision making process involving trading itself...a something else that he's not revealing. He needs to resolve whatever that is prior to returning to trading. I now wonder if this 25k is money he can afford to lose and that it becomes his education about what not to do. If he can afford to lose it...that's a plus because the markets can be a mean place when trading with money that one can not afford to lose.
It seems to me the setup for,this trade is Painful Forced Awareness. I'd be long PFA and short Money if I were betting this one.
You're a market virgin -- you have alot still to experience before you can earn your stripes. That is if you even pass the trial period...which is minimum of a year, in my book.
Thank you so much for your all honest and very helpful advice. I decided to reduce my trading size significantly so that I can remain calm while watching the charts, maybe $2~3K per trade. My two biggest losses on Friday was MSFT and NFLX which I invested $30K each, too much for my fund level, obviously. A thread mentioned ACD method, then I Googled it and found 6 hours videos on youtube, I plan to watch them all. If anyone knows some open methods that have been proven to be effective, please share.
Don't tell him that, I wonder if he would let us all know what trade he is going to get in next and RN, myself and other can take other side !!!! hurricane_sh, listen carefully, you don't learn to trade by trading real funds. You learn to program and back test your ideas first till they are risking the least and making consistent profits. I have read about HUNDREDS of guys doing what you are doing and like 1% last beyond first year. There is never a hurry to lose money but that is what I am reading from you. Unless you have a well back tested Trading Plan that has all the answers before a question comes up, you are throwing money to the winds. It is best to learn charting on your own, take few years to get real good than taking other systems as you will never learn what to do when they don't work.
Another bearish day, placed a few orders and cancelled all before they were completed. My brain just can't get used to short trades. No rush, if I don't trade, I will be safe.