Thanks Chris. Actually, I was inspired to try "intuitive" trading by something you said in an earlier post about how the human brain is the most powerful computer of all - you just have to believe it. I've been building models, so this is new territory for me. I think to make the journal useful, I going to avoid real time posts. I thought the time stamp would be good, but then I realized that I am not trying to prove anything and rushing to post is distracting. I guess the goal for me is to keep me honest, learn from anyone kind enough to drop constructive criticism and if I get to where I want to get with this, pass on the learning experience. Ok - so, trading plan is to focus on ES only. Signals are based on volume and direction. I am trying to catch reversals, but I may also ride momentum. Stops are based on the charts, usually off a previous peak or trough. This is much harder than trading with a system I think - it takes faith in yourself, that you know what you are doing. So .... not much for a reader to grab onto here - sorry. But any observations are welcome. Anyway, last trade was just plain silly. I am attributing it to adjustment issues. If it happens again, I am going to be very cross with myself.
16:03 S @ 1049.25 STP 1052 The gap down was nice - wasn't expecting it. Thought we might see a nice 3 pt decay over the next few hours in the night session. Don't want to watch this overnight, so we'll aim to take profits at 1047.25.
Hey Guys, Rather than discuss ET personalities let's see if we can all stay on topic for this thread. Thanks.
dbp this is a great thread. Thanks for the reference. I do have a few systems that I have built that work. They are EoD systems that are based on liquidity indicators. This is an interesting foray for me - I'm hoping it does not end in disaster. There must be something in this "intuititve" trading thing though - a long time ago I did it to disasterous effect, and so retreated towards reading about systems and started building them. In that process, I learnt that good systems are basically about writing down your market observations. Complex TA indicators just didn't do it for me - studying market behaviour does. That being the case, you have to have good market observations. I figured that if I tried discretionary ES trading again, at the best, I pick up a skill and can build something around it, at worse, I understand the ES market a little better and can somehow use that for my systems. Thanks for the input! Just noticed - C @1047.25 + 2pt Today is flat, -0.12pt after commish. Will write up some ground rules tonight on how to trade with a journal.
S @ 1049.25 10.38 STP out at 1051. Had the right call on the AM to go short, but that 9.49 print @ 1052 was wild. Clearly a case of locals hitting stops I think. Well, it took me out too - next time I'll pick a less obvious place to be stopped out. It stunned me for a while - if I had my wits about me, I should have seen it for what it was, and immediately got back into position. Time to get a coffee and cool off. ES @ 1044.50
Interesting. I also shorted @ 1049.25 this morning and went away. Just covered @ 1043.75. Maybe your stop is too tight?
Why not try to make 100pt on 1 ES on one trade. It'll teach patience, and make a more interesting journal than scalping for ticks.
Teach patience? Yes. More interesting journal? No. The whole journal will have only two posts. 10/17/03 shorted 1 ES @ 1049.25 8/23/04 covered @ 949.25