I guess Im an oddball in that I do no preparation before or after the market hours. I'm not lazy but I have not found any benefit in it for intraday short term trading. The market never does what I think it will so I am no longer interested in anything but what is unfolding before my eyes.
I completely agree with above. some and i mean a few still make some money from the market, but it aint what it used to be. I used to say this job wasnt worth it for less than $200k/year, now traders good years are 1/3 that and many are hoping for 1/4 that. its sad but true.
Ditto. Either my setups are readily apparent at a glance or not at all. If I am trying to 'think' about it, most of the time that is an indication that my mind is getting ready to get me into something that is not a part of my trading plan (either I am bored or otherwise agitated). However, to put this 'effortless' trading into perspective, I must mention that I have traded these SIF's (Stock Index Futures) nearly everyday for over eight years now. With the amount of time and effort that I put into this pursuit (particularly during the first five years), I could probably have become a surgeon or rocket scientist with time to spare - and I am not even counting the pain and frustration of losing money nearly every week for almost four years.
Not really. I know a large percentage will fail. Why they fail could be due to many reasons. As long as the winning percentage stays around 50% or better Im a happy camper. If you can suggest something that I can look at before the market opens that I havent already investigated I would be happy to look at it. My charts automatically show major and minor s/r over the last few days.
Hmmmm that would be hard to do because I don't know how you trade or what you looked at in the past but I could just generally recommend that you review all the key levels, like ema's, fib's, s/r levels, pivots etc.. I also could suggest that you do that across a few timeframes. Some inter market analysis helps me to ei: I want to know where the key oil numbers are as well as the 10yr. levels. (whatever is making headlines and effecting traders psych). Do not try and predict just use the info to PREPARE. For example: Say I have a break out set up on my YM 10 min chart at 10500, I will have to build a case for that entry with several factors before just taking the break out. Where are the key levels in relation to the trade, will the larger timeframe traders see the same break out or is it just on the 10min, am I at any key resistance, do I have divergences on any indicators, where am I in the wave cycle, where is Oil (whatever) etc etc. It sounds like a lot but it's really not that hard to do if I'm prepared. I have found that trading like this I can get close to 80-90% success rates. There is a lot more to it but you get the jist. As another poster said, he has studied his set ups for 8 years and he just reacts NOW so it seems like he is not preparing BUT he really is prepared because of all the work he did for those 8 years, maybe your the same as him. I'm not saying one way is better then another as we all know it's really only our results that matter and if something is working for you great, this way of trading works for me.
I keep my own unique statistics/levels/crosses on spreadsheets, that are helpful for setting limit orders. They prove to be rather high probability setups at particular times of the day. If I get too many signals, I simply widen all the levels in the spreadsheets. I prefer to get the highest probability less often. Someday, I will be able to say that I have traded every exchange traded instrument once that the USA will let me trade. The entire market is important to understand, if you are to focus. Try to discover a combination that the masses do not follow. I am told that I share too much publicly, but I will tell you now, these are things I do NOT discuss publicly. You can do it, Find YOUR way. When you get tired of updating your spreadsheets, just tell yourself its part of trading and part of your due-diigence to your career, family and sustenance. Michael B.
Maybe that's the problem? You should not have a biased opinion when trading intraday. You should only be aware of the possibilities and numbers/levels to watch. ozzy
you'll be surprised how many can't make it even on paper, without the money-related emotions. apparently even when money is not on the line, there's a slew of other emotions and beliefs that sabotage the trader. as Samson77 said - it's all about acquiring good habits. if you're consistent on paper for a few weeks or months, switching to real money will not 'change everything'. hjkl make a rule for yourself - every time you are down 10% of your equity, you must stop trading and paper trade until you show at least a week of consistency. in other words - accept that the human factor (you) can burry your account and it must be handled with iron hands. this has absolutely no effect on a single individual. all it implies is that it's a tough business. it does not indicate anything about any single trader's odds. furthermore, most fail because of basic things such as complete lack of education, using bad tools (ameritrade with quote tracker etc), trading after work as a hobby and so on. in other words they don't even try to be a full time professional trader.