Mental Game 7/30/2007

Trading is such a mental game. The knowledge of the markets, trading patterns, even an edge I all know or have but the mental part is where I come short. I truly believe if I took all the trades I see I could have a 70% win ratio because I wait for the good setups. I also believe I would have bigger winners than losers on average. The combination of the two would be a winning trader. The stupid little thing call fear comes in to play. That is what is holding me back.
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I have for the most part conquered my fear in Racket Ball. Fear in Racket Ball??? Let me explain. When I played in the past against players equal or better than me, I would think ok if I can score X number of points I have a chance. Maybe if he has a bad day. And so forth. I was not thinking about winning but how close of a lose or game I could make it. This stupid mind set would never allow me to play my best. So players not as good as me, I know that and I would kick there ass. Players equal to me, I would a good chance of choking. Players better than me - I got killed.
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One day, a friend of mine asked me why I seemed to be a good player but played so poorly and I explained how I thought. He said I was an idiot. One point in the match has little to do with any other point. If you f-ed up a point or a play that does not have an effect on another. (Somehow does this sound like trading???). That you take each point of each game as a single event trying to win just that one point and forget the rest. How do you beat someone better than you one point at a time.
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It is weird now. By changing my thought process, I am destroying people on the court that I once feared to play because I would look bad. One gentlemen tonight I play, I usually beat very easily. He had a few good serves and I f-ed up a point or two and suddenly I was down 10-1 in a 15 point game. I paused and then took him apart one point at a time. After I closed the game within 11-8 his favor still, he died on his own mentally losing it on his own. It was funny. Once I had made the scored 10 to 4, I felt that I had already won the game and all I had to do was finish it. I then played a second match against a former feared opponent. I killed him. He looked at me after the game and said I played well and he had a bad night. I just said to myself - "I just now know I can beat you and I will".
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All of this relates to trading. I do the mental mistake of making each trade really important when it is not. It is just one trade in a long series of trades during a very long game called the market.
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I am amazed at traders like MT, Gary and Pinoy. From the way they seem to approach the market mentally, it is like they have already won when they get up each morning and if they don't, they will just win tomorrow then. No big deal.
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I can't wait to get into that mental state.
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I did good today. I doubled my best futures day again today.
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The numbers:
Stocks: none
Stock futures: Gross $520 net $474.16 contracts 20
Forex: none but I am getting excited about going short the Euro