What was your reasoning for taking on the trades? MA crossover.... CCI divergence... msh/msl on 3 min sticks. If you just show up every morning guns a blazing I can guarantee what's going to happen. Good Luck ~EC "I just wait until there is money lying in the corner and all I have to do is go over there and pick it up. I do nothing in the meantime. In essence, by not wanting to trade, I have inadvertently transformed myself into a master of patience. By forcing myself to wait until there was a trade that appeared so compelling that I could not stand the thought of not taking it, I had vastly improved the odds...." - James Rodgers. Good trading.
maybe work a few hours over the weekend and head to walmart - i here there's a sale on shotguns. good luck - everybody has a first day...
Here are my trades for October 16, 2002: (Not sure how to format this out of IB ... I just did an export): SPY;SLD;100;86.16;17:46:39;20021016;ARCA SPY;BOT;100;86.09;17:55:45;20021016;ARCA ESZ2;SLD;1;857.00;18:14:27;20021016;GLOBEX ESZ2;BOT;1;859.75;18:21:46;20021016;GLOBEX ESZ2;SLD;1;859.50;18:25:12;20021016;GLOBEX ESZ2;BOT;1;861.50;18:29:09;20021016;GLOBEX
Aphie, Don't let the fact that everyone gave you a hard time about not trading become a motive to "trade too much". Slow down, stick with one thing. Tomorrow, don't trade, just watch the instrument you will be trading - get a feel for it. Work on your system whatever it is. Define your stops. Then trade. Good luck
Please just screen capture your "Execution Report" and post the Image file. I believe you, but maybe that will help. Thanks.
Anyone who has traded real money can read Aphie's first few posts after placing his trades and know he is trading real money now. Give the guy a break. Good luck Aphie, keep your chin up, and STICK TO THE PLAN that you talked about. Obviously you put a lot of effort into its development. No need to try anything different until you see if the boat you built that worked in the harbor will float out at sea.
You are going to lose money in the beginning. Everyone does. You might bleed for 6 months, 2 months, 1 year or 5 years... The only people who don't are the ones who trade too large for their account and make 1000% then lose it all next week. Trade until you have a 20% drawdown in your equity. Then do a comprehensive review of your strengths and weaknesses. Your focus must remain FIXED on trading well and NOT making money. You will make poor decisions in the pursuit of making money, but your pursuit of trading well will make you money for sure. If you can understand and internalize that you'll be on your way much quicker.
About your ES short at 14:14:27. The market was in a defininte uptrend and you entered the short too late (at the bottom of the turn). When you find yourself on the wrong side of the market, don't wait for confirmation. Just get out. Trade with the trend only for now. That way, if you make a mistake in entry or you wait too long, time will help you, not hurt you.