Intraday trading is very emotional, when a trade does not go well it makes you want to double the bet, it makes you want to operate immediately to recover what was lost, it makes you want to change the initial plan to win more etc. Every time I see it clearer. It is very important to have a plan and follow it strictly. Without a plan you are lost. Without self-control you are lost. The mind must be completely clear and focused on the trade as if only that existed in the world. In the end we are playing the money that costs so much to earn. So if you are not able to be fully focused on the trade and follow a strict plan, you had better stay away from trading.
I'm glad you like my post. On monday i made money Tuesday I made money Wednesday I made money Thursday I made money On Friday I returned everything to the market and the week was negative. During the week I realized that by changing the plan, the day ended positively. However I have come to realize that this is a hoax. Why? Very simple. When you trade, two things can happen. That it goes well or that it goes wrong. When you change the plan and it works out perfectly. But ... when does it go wrong? It is when you realize that without a plan you are lost. Having a plan and following that plan is the only way, I see no other way
I feel that I am very close to achieving consistency, but I have not yet achieved it. Any advice is appreciated
very simple. don't trade when vix is <25. when vix is >25, just use a simple trend follow model... new high/low, macd cross over while on the same side of some longer term MA..... whatever. daytrading is a waste of time, except when vola is high. back test it... it always works.... it's a very basic method... and you can improve it when you can READ the market better. but for a beginner this method will make money.
I appreciate your advice Dozu888 but then it would have been impossible to operate throughout the year 2019. I think you are wrong when you think that intraday trading is useless, although I am still not consistent, I am getting closer to getting it. During the time that I have been in elitetrader I have learned several important things that bring me closer to the goal. 1-Operate only when your configuration is correct. 2-Exit the operation quickly if you are wrong. 3-Manage the stop during the operation until the exit I hope this works for someone. I think I am missing the most important thing. FOLLOW YOUR PLAN !!!! So I have opened this thread to see if anyone can help me. I do not think it is impossible, very difficult yes, it is true. You have to operate like a robot and keep calm, but we are human and we have emotions, that's why it is so difficult.
It doesn't matter how much you make if your loss is infinite. Set and stick to a worst case scenario. And take the trade even if the worst looks good.
Do not lose the illusion dozu888, the day you stop thinking like a child, then everything will be very boring. Don't waste your money, operate in demo until you are profitable. You really don't need to be right about every operation. Even if you are correct 50% of the time if you cut the loss fast and let the profit run you will be consistent. The prize is to win tons of money if you get it. Do not give up!
This point is sometimes difficult. Sometimes in one timeframe it indicates one thing and in another timeframe it indicates another. That is why you should have a quick exit plan when you are wrong. People focus on how much they can win, however it is much more important to focus on how much they can lose.
Fear of losing is what gets folks hyped up to where they panic or can’t think straight in the heat of intraday trading. 1) I would suggest know your strategies and tactics well. That will give some needed confidence. To know them you have to practice them live. 2) Test them over and over “live” practicing them on a Sim until you can react without analyzing too much. I don’t back test. I only forward test and do so live. If I am not feeling well or feeling rusty or abit out of sync I will resort to sim trading for abit. Or if I am having a rough day trading live with money I may just stop and go only on sim for the rest of the day. This has the effect of stopping the hoeing of the garden to sharpen the hoe before resuming. Results are nearly always better with sharp hoes than dull hoes. A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife as the ole timers used to say. Never be afraid or hesitate to resort back to sim trade for a day or two or even a season as you hone your craft. 3) ALWAYS have at least a (your premise is totally wrong) stop loss in the market but far enough away (I base them on volatility and PA not money stops) that their location gives you a chance to not get whipsawed out of the market over and over. With tight stops a trader WILL lose in intraday trading. I like to have a hard stop placed where if the market reaches it I am just out and will double or triple up and go in the direction the market is going. Said another way, if the market proves my premise to be entirely wrong then it makes no sense to stay in. This is especially important if using “averaging down techniques” in trading. I just bite the bullet then reverse and go with the market. This said, I always maintain mental stops or even an actual stop that I am adjusting as the trade progresses. These are based upon the dynamics of “how” price is moving as it progresses. Slow and grinding? Low volume? Fast? How strong or weak are the moments of momentum. For instance, the old timers used to say “never sell a dull market”. I believe that refers to “in a bull trend.” Because it is probably just a PB. I adjust my intermediate SL’s and PT’s constantly throughout a trade depending on the dynamics of how the trade is unfolding. Each trade is different. 4) Losing hard earned money is what cause folks to do irrational things. Like holding onto a loss when it should have already been dumped. In such times emotions dominate reason and we find it extremely difficult to execute and just do what we need to do. A few techniques that can help is trade small size, know what your biggest SL will be, mentally accept that loss, then place your trade. Next turn off entirely the profit/loss indicators on your DOM where you cannot see any loss in points or $$$. This will allow you to focus not on the “money” or “points” lost or made as the trade unfolds but on the chart and the trading “process.” Trading IS A PROCESS. Constantly looking at profit/loss going up and down on a DOM can get your focus on money that you are making or losing at the moment (live) and that triggers emotional reactions and usually results in poor reasoning. FOCUS ON THE PROCESS! And if looking at money complicates the trading then you might consider turning those features off on your DOM since you already know and have accepted your max loss you can have. The above is not advice for you to implement in any way but just my thinking on some of the issues. I am using the reference to “you” in very generic terms. Not you personally.