Futures For You  |  NOV 2007

Futures For You by Dan O’Neil

Futures For You by Dan O’Neil DON’T BE A SORE LOSER I’ve been trading futures for a while now, and I’ve followed all of the standard advice about doing my research and setting up a trading plan. However, I’ve found it difficult to sit by when the market starts to turn against my position. My instinct tells me to take emergency action and do whatever it takes to get right again, but most of the “experts” seem to agree that’s a recipe for disaster. In general, what is the best way to handle a losing streak when you’re right in the middle of it? Welcome to the club. Every successful veteran trader has experienced an occasional run or two of poor performance in the futures markets; you can’t expect to operate in these markets without a few valleys to go along with the peaks. In truth, plenty of traders wind up with more losing trades than winners. So how do they survive to trade another day? It’s a simple, unglamorous answer — by maximizing profits on their winning trades and minimizing losses on the losers.

by Dan O’Neil