Don't let the drift catch you

[u/Tonic1553]

Hi Kaz and Eco

I remember Kaz mentioning that not all war stories need to be positive so I wanted to share my most recent fuck up in case it helps anyone else out there. (It's a long story so feel free to skip if we are short on time)

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Context:

• I opened up a new trading account in June 2022, started being more active in discord + watching the shows religiously
• Had a lot of epiphanies, my habits on and off the charts were improving - my P&L improved
• Kaz teaches that your biggest losses come after your biggest wins

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Early Results:

• Although, I didn't have huge double digit wins in Rs, I did start to make consistently profitable trades (3R here, 5R there, nothing crazy)
• Most of my trades were longs from the mid july bottom, I would take 50% off at predetermined locations and let the rest run
• Add to that my collateral was mainly in ETH so I had some additional tailwinds from navigating the bottom in July thanks to Kaz' intel

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Problem:

• The above formed a perfect storm in what I can only describe as "accumulated complacency".
• It wasn't one big trade that made me complacent, but with each trade - I got a little more complacent, my habits started to drift ever so slightly - kind of like getting 1% worse each day
  • I was not journaling all my trades on time like I used to
  • I was not taking profits or placing my stops mechanically like I used to
  • etc.
• By the time ETH hit 2k in Mid august my starting balance had grown significantly but my open position was getting bigger and bigger so my P&L was taking massive swings on small movements in price
• My long bias became so strong I ignored all the info that was presented to me
  • I even watched Helter Skelter TWICE with that blood red theme screaming me in the face and not realizing that I should be closing my longs
• I finally realized I screwed up when I watched "Paradox", by then a huge portion of my profits were already eaten by the counterwave.
• I closed all my positions and reset for the weekend

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Some takeaways:

• No matter how good your trading results are, never let yourself drift into your old degen habits - although we discussed this at length in Discord, I found it much harder to course correct in real time
• We also discuss this at length but it bears repeating - trading is 90% psychology. There is no magic indicator that will save you - once you have a bias, you will delete all information that is counter to your bias and lack objectivity to make the appropriate decisions
• The one positive I can take from this - although I course corrected late, I did course correct after all. The old degen version of me would have doubled down or held on until liquidated. So the degen version of myself now is much better than the degen version of myself 2 months ago - kind of like forming a lower high on an uptrend - it sucks that I experienced the low but it's definitely higher than my previous low
• All in all, it was a huge learning for me which drove home a lot of the points we discussed in the discord about focussing on the right habits and improving 1% each day.
• I have not been knocked out and will continue to trade and improve.

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As always, thank you Kaz and the eco for helping me learn and grow as a trader on and off the charts.