It's 1:30am and I'm beating myself up because I've done it once again.... I chatted with a good friend who happens to trade Forex too... and everytime I do it's the same old thing....
We compare analysis.... he wants to go long... I see it as a short opportunity and before you know it I'm going long because in the back of my mind I keep hearing my friend tell me to go long and how he's aiming to make a couple hundred pips.... maybe he does... maybe he doesn't...
The thing is... When you're trading it's somewhat lonely and you feel like sharing what you're doing. Talking about your successes. Comparing Notes. You miss that "water cooler talk".
You're better off WITHOUT the water cooler talk!
What I have found time and time again, that sharing trades with other traders is the worst thing to do. The good traders usually keep to themselves. The ones that talk a lot are like the empty can that rattles the most.
Don't get me wrong, my friend can make money at the market. BUT his style is totally different. I don't like to wait for hours or days for my setup to go in the right direction with a huge draw down.
The other issue I have is that my friend will always pry on my trades. "Got any trades open?" "How many lots?" "Where did you enter?" I remember visiting him in my home city of Vienna Austria and I happened to be in a bad USDJPY trade. Analyzing the market however I knew it would just take some time to come around. So while I was busy exploring the city for a few days all he would do is tell me how far in the minus I am... and that it will come around again. Gee Thanks! Despite me telling him not to worry about it and not to update me..... Painful... 3 days.... I finally closed in the plus and was able to get BOTH monkeys of my back.
You're better off keeping to yourself!
The thing is when it comes to trading you need to just keep to yourself. Do It Your Way!
Well my rant is over and (hopefully) I have learnt my lesson.
Ultimately it's my fault for letting it come to this. I should have just put my foot down and not gotten into a trading conversation. It's best to just put the instant messages on ignore and change the subject, talk about something else, and after the air has cleared tell your trading friends that you trade better on your own, completely focused on trading.
