I like to be punished for my bad trades....

hey, i bet *that* got your attention!!!!!

now before you start calling me names like "sick" and "masochist", let me explain...

a "bad" trade is a trade that i either entered or exited, or maybe both, that did not conform to my trading strategy and rules.

being punished for "bad" trades means, I hope that my bad trades lose money.

that way, I *know* that i need to stick to my rules, because i lose money when i don't.

on the other hand, when a "bad" trade actually by some miracle makes money, then I am reinforcing my bad behavior. If it worked once when I didnt stick to the rules, maybe it will work again.

there is research on rat behavior that shows that if - just once - a rat is rewarded for doing something (pushing a lever or whatever), then that rat will continue to push that lever over and over forever, even if he never gets another reward.

*if*, on the other hand, that rat gets zapped a couple of times, trust me, he will smarten up fast and stop pushing the lever.


Make sure you are pushing the lever that makes you money and not the one that zaps you.

:)