TGIFF #010: Why Expecting to Win Will Send You Broke…

This week I want to share with you a critical element that every professional trader has come to understand.

Every trader wants to win, obviously. I know.

Wanting to win and expecting to win are two very different mindsets.

Wanting to win is a normal healthy mindset, expecting to win (when it comes to trading) is a very destructive mindset.

And I get it; I have been there.

In my early days I expected my trades to work out as I had intended.

Of course, the market had very different intentions, and often I would find myself on an emotional roller coaster. 

The reason for this emotional roller coaster ride had nothing to do with the markets and had everything to do with what I expected to happen in what is an unpredictable beast.

Suffice to say, when I started trading 10 years ago, I approached the markets expecting to win and maybe I’m a slow learner, but it took literally 4 years to not only get better at trading but to also be far more relaxed about the outcome of any one trade.

Fast forward to today, yes, I enter a trade based upon multiple factors to stack the odds in my favor. However, more importantly, I actually do not care about the outcome of any one single trade. 

So read on to learn what I did wrong so you don’t have to.

The late great Mark Douglas, said it best: 

“Trading is a Random Distribution of Winning and Losing Trades.”

No matter what your trading edge is, the fact is the distribution of your winning trades and losing trades are completely random.

Think of it like this:

Let’s assume you have a well-defined trading edge that has proven itself over a large enough sample of trades and this trading edge works out in your favor 50% of the time.

So out of every 10 trades, you win 5 and you lose 5. That much you know because your trading edge has proven it. 

What you don’t know is the distribution of the 5 winners and the 5 losers. 

The simple fact is you never know when you will hit a winning trade or a losing trade.

I know it sounds obvious, but most traders enter the market expecting to win.

HERE IS THE PROBLEM WITH THAT

If you are expecting to win you are going against the very nature of the markets.

The markets are random, they are not predictable. Expecting an outcome means you are predicting an outcome.

Expecting to win means you are “expecting” the market to conform to what you want it to do.

This is disastrous because when the market doesn’t do what you expect it to do, it opens the real potential for emotions to creep in.

So, what is the Solution?

Stop expecting to win every trade.

The market cannot be controlled, all you can do is control yourself, therefore, your actions.

If you have convinced yourself that your next trade is going to be a winner, you are in for a world of pain.

Undisciplined traders focus on the rewards, disciplined traders focus on the risk. 

If your risk tolerance is in line with your trading plan, it shouldn’t bother you at all if you win the next trade or not.

If you are focused on the reward and not the risk, you will place far too much importance on each trade you take.

If you really grasp this, then the focus shifts from the reward to the risk.

When this happens, you have put yourself in a very strong position to allow your trading edge to play out, and given enough time allow yourself to be a consistently winning trader.

Hope you’re learning a great deal about the market with these tactical trading tips. 

I’ll see you next Friday.

Till then, keep trading and have a wonderful weekend!

Apart from these tactical trading tips, there are 2 more ways I can help you:

1. Beginners Fast Track to Forex Domination: If you are a beginner, looking to learn forex trade from scratch to have a massive source of income, I have just the perfect course for you: Enroll in the course now!
   
   
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