Having seen that video Al Brooks video posted earlier in this thread, I suspect that he is not much of a trader. He knows what to do, but when it comes to putting his own money or even his own reputation on the line, he is unable to do so. That is my current assessment of Brooks as a trader. However, his trading course is not compromised by his own psychological failings.
This, my friend is almost assuredly true as it is also true for most of us at ET. We really do know how the market works and how to trade but in real time with real money on the line we get a little lost in the trees.
Interesting. When was that? I'll emphasize one thing. Note the bold part in what I wrote: Even if you know what to do, you'll often find that as a discretionary trader you may not always be able to do it. Trading is rigged against human nature. We want to be right and we're willing to gamble with losses while taking certain (and small) wins. Check out prospect theory. I'm not afraid to admit that it will still happen that after a second or third add-on, I won't always be able to take the breakeven exit and give it some extra room to breathe. The one rule I seem to be able to follow religiously is that I never average down. The problem with averaging down is that it can surprisingly often work, but the few times it don't, you will take that huge loss.
Some folks are always going find fault with what you post - instead of focusing on trade craft and discussing the merits thereof. The following is rhetorical and not directed personally to you: The fact that this vocation is one of probabilities and that those probabilities can change with the close of each 5m candle is lost on those on the sidelines and those "always" on the wrong side of the market. So what if the trade books a loss? One trade doesn't make or break a system and most here seem to be looking for the "gotcha" moment. Their commentary is just noise. Ok, so you want a verifable pnl and won't consider the merits of any post without one; let's break out the tiny violin for you. No one cares. If you want to be successful at this, work harder and increase your "spectrum of differentation." Nobody owes you anything nor dances to your futile tune. As Yvan Byeajee et al states; the "intolerance of uncertainty" is what causes most problems with trading. It sets one's overall mindset/state and they cannot see the forest for the trees. They are the latter half of "casting pearls before swine" and no matter what; will always find fault outside their own sphere of influence and self-accountability.
The following is rhetorical and not directed personally to you or anyone else, but anyone who claims to be using a method with good effect should be willing to put their money where their mouth is. It's known for a fact that there are plenty of unprofitable traders on ET who wants to teach and preach - both past and present. Some have come clean, some have been exposed and others it's just obvious that they're not making much (if any). This type of "help" is a huge disservice to the gullible newbies (or even intermediate players) who come on to this site and receives advice from those unprofitable traders believing what they're told and spend years wasting their time pursuing something that doesn't lead anywhere. I don't coach or give advice beyond generalities (which still could be useful), but if I would endorse a specific trading method, I would most definitely be willing to give a demonstration or show a screenshot of my P&L as proof that said methodology was producing riches. In trading, you're either making money (preferrably a lot of it) or not. Clever observations about where the market's at and what happened yesterday may not cut it, although it could sound impressive.
What’s in it for this hypothetical person to meet these rhetorical requirements; to gain some status on an anon board? Why would they even care if another recognized the value or not; as an attempt to satisfy the insatiable peanut gallery? There are simply better uses of one’s time. An unsuccessful trader, whether noob or seasoned, is either gonna do whatever it takes to achieve their dream or continues to make excuses why it’s elusive.
This type of "help" is a huge disservice to the gullible. ----------------------------------------------------------- As for your self-serving distaste of "anyone who claims to be using a method", I say screw you! No one ever mentions the months of one-on-one discussion that takes place in PM, or the many forms of sharing, communications, and even meet-ups that take place outside of ET. Myself, my methods are rooted in Jack Hershey teachings. There, immediately I've invited haters. Screw you! My participation on ET does not mandate I show or persuade anyone of anything, from a big picture view down to minutia... Nothing. You want some input about MY trading life... add volume to YOUR posts! I have very little to say trade-wise without it. Damn, I did it again, I invited more haters. Volume. Screw you! I occasionally post my trading thoughts and ideas. I also drop nuggets from time-to-time. It is not my responsibility to see to it that ET'ers get it. If someone wants to ask a specific question, they are welcome to that. They are responsible to themselves for getting answers, but it is not my responsibility to make sure they understand or agree with the answers. I recently had a thread discussion with @schizo. I haven't talked to him since. He was questioning that I use only 2, usually adjacent, time-based bars as a trend line starting point. Now maybe it's my imagination, but in another thread, a few of @schizo recent chart posts, show a very similar usage. I don't care either way. I'm not even sure if that is an uncommon way for starting trend lines, or how he usually draws trend lines. Either way, I did not need to, and would not have, twisted arms or minds, or cite tomes of information. Furthermore, disagreement and snake oil are different things. Newbies should have life-skills before they trade. ET has become a 17th century Witchcraft court... tie up the witch and throw them into a body of water. If they sink they are innocent, if they float they are guilty. The practice was called "swimming a witch".
Mmmmmm, I'll chip in (maybe I shouldn't) but I have a lot of respect for you as a poster. I'm guilty of constantly teasing on ET about hershey and especially his frequent mentions to volume analysis. But you seemed to have figured JH out and making it work. Just proves I suppose that there is no such thing as right or wrong when it comes to trading methods. My apologies if in the past I offended you.
Since I had the honorable mention in your post, allow me to clarify by simply saying that it wasn't the 2-bar trendline that I was disputing but the way you were describing looked too much like a hindsight analysis. So I asked you to come to ES Journal and post one or two of your trades in REAL TIME so I could verify them. But I never got any answer back from you. Other than that, I have no issue with you. That said, you made a good point in this post, to which I fully agree.