Too many times I have burned myself by not taking profits. And every time I get the same feeling, that feeling that tells you have been a greedy idiot.
It’s so easy to get overexcited about a coin you invested in. And when it turns out to be an amazing investment that goes flying up you tell yourself: This is the new Bitcoin!! I’m going to be that guy that bought Bitcoin at 50 cents and held it all the way to $1000! Hodl Forever.
Believe me, I have been there.
So, while you are dreaming of Lamborghinis the price crashes overnight and you find yourself the next morning with a hangover and you didn’t even have a drink.
Every time I have seen my investment (that went up a lot) crashing down to normal levels or lower I get the same feeling.
‘Why didn’t I sell at $20? Now it’s back to $7 and I bought at $5’. And you get this nasty feeling in your stomach.
Nobody has ever lost money from taking profits.
In trading, this is my favorite rule. (who doesn’t like profits 😊 )
If you read my blogs you know I buy coins gradually. I have long learned that guessing the bottom is impossible. So, if I like a coin/project I buy, let’s say, $50 every two days over a period of time. This way, I get a nice buying average.
When the coin goes up and I am in the profits (more than my buying average) I start selling slowly. And with every sell, I earn profits.
Of course, you will sell to early most of the time (example: I sold Ether @ $25 and $35). But because you don't sell everything you always have some left if the price keeps rising. That only means more profits. It's a good thing.
It's simply impossible to guess the top.
The money I earn from selling I reinvest in other projects (Example: I bought STEEM with my Ether profits) or keep in dollars if I don’t know what to do with it at that moment.
This strategy has worked well for me. I now own a nice diversified crypto Portfolio. And with the amazing rise of crypto (across the board) this month I have been smiling.
So, don’t be afraid to take profits to reinvest or keep money on the side-lines.
It’s just a smart thing to do.
Follow Me @exyle
Great advice mate. I know the feeling. Some days it just takes courage to take the profit. You can always invest back in when the time is right. Patience! Accumulated % of profits. If in for the long term ....don't look at the markets everyday as that will just absorb valuable energy and focus.
Thanks, man! You are right, although I find it incredibly hard not to look at the markets when they are so volatile.
I don't day-trade, I put some amounts in coins I believe in and leave it there long term but lately the alt market is craaaazy so I was tempted and gave into some smaller trades. Now indeed I am facing the same dilemma. Should I close last week's bought AMP at 110-120% or still hodl for more? It already went down from 150% ROI yesterday.
Got some Pascals the other day: 65%+.
Should I hodl on the NXT which is said to boom towards Q3? Should I keep the ARDR that were dropped on me from the NXT or sell them now?
Decisions, decisions... See why I don't like day-trading? :)
All I can suggest is that Nobody has ever lost money from taking profits. But if you are in it for the long haul there is no point in watching the markets. You should believe in your own judgment of your investment.
Its easy to spot a good entry. The hard part is knowing when to exit a trade.
I find them both difficult, to be honest. That's why I trade the way I do.
I had this trade during neos swap that went over 100% and it had been my biggest gain in the week that i eagerly sold everything without even thinking. The next day I woke up it went over 10times. I profited 100 percent but I was so upset it could have been my biggest trade of the year.
I like the way you do it. Sell some when it begins to be profitable or when you reached the target then sell the rest as it goes higher.
Thank you for sharing your strategy.
You shouldn't feel bad. 100% profit is amazing. Everything is always easy in hindsight. All you can do is learn from it for next time. Thanks for sharing your trade story!
I wish I could. Trading involves a lot of emotions.
Good post. And this applies to steem as well. I sold a little, just so I have some banked if and when the price returns back to 7 cents.
It applies to most of my trades. Steem is a little different because most of it I have in Steempower. In the case of Steem that's not a bad thing because Steempower gives a nice ROI if you curate well. (+15% for me).
That's a great advice @exyle! Thank you!
You are very welcome!
I'm still in the learning mode, so I take what I think is will improve my trading. At least I will know what do to when I will be in profit! Take it and have no regrets!
So true man! I bought 20 ETH at $10 each and sold at $12. Have been kicking myself ever since but at least I made a profit!
That's the spirit! 20% profit is not a bad trade.
Very True. I would recommend to people in Crypto to have two pots. One in your long term holdings, cold storage, never sell those & Trade the other pot.
That's not bad advice. I have some BTC in CS but tbh it's getting pretty hard to keep them in there with all the uncertainty.
What coins do you trade?
At the moment mainly Eth, Dash and STEEM.
I once traded pascalcoin. Lost around 100k satoshi.
Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. I've been making stupid stupid selling decisions for quite sometime now.
Upvoted & followed!
Everybody has made these errors I'm 100% sure. That's why I started to trade a little less extreme. It works most of the time for me. But even then I still find myself scared/excited sometimes falling for FOMO or big dips.
Do you also trade crypto on poloniex? crazy lately right
I trade on Polo and Kraken.
True and good advice ;-)
Thanks!
You are very welcome :-)
I know that feeling. Riding the waves is what we should do. However I noticed the best thing to me is to not trade but hodl.
Who knows. Maybe 10 years from now I look back at this time in my life and realize I should just have bought, hodl and forgot about it. But trading is just too much fun :)
It's fun until you get rekt lol
hear, hear!
Hey exyle, just a quick hi! :-)
Hi shla-rafia! Summer is coming!
Sound advice! It's getting out and taking the money and not chasing illusory profit that is important. After all, you can always buy back in again!
True, I no longer chase illusions. Except, Steem of course, that one is 100% going to the moon :)
Oh yes, i am with you on that one!
Right, a bit of craziness is needed though for a thrilling life.
I know that feeling all too well. I'm having problem with selling as well. Am wondering at how much of a profit (e.g. 10% increase) do you decide to take a portion out and how much of a percentage do you sell off and let the rest trail?
If you have 100 Neo or Xrp. What will you profit strategy be?
Thanks for sharing your strategy. I came across this trying to answer this very same question for myself.
The two times I tried to do a swing trade I made a small profit but lost out on some large gains and it would cost more to buy back in. I am definitely learning as I go.
For now I am hodl'ing with the thought to sell at intervals and set some stops to guard against huge drops. I had made about 7k within a month and a half then lost all of that with the correction before the holidays. That gains are back now though.
Learning and enjoying the ride!
Guys i need help! Cant find anything on this... if im trading and sell a coin but want to buy back in 10 days later. Do you leave that money in btc or eth? For instance if i make $1000 on a coin but want to rebuy in when it dips, how to you keep that money safe, without risking btc drop in value while you wait to buy back in? I heard about keeping it in USDT but they've been involved with some controversy lately. Thanks!
Great advice. I have gotten burned too many times. But what is the best way to sell when you have many different wallets? Bitcoin is so expensive to transfer. Whats the best place to keep btc to quickly exchange for usd?