p.s. if you try to get by on entry/exit advice from a dozen different sources that all conflict, you will quickly drive yourself insane. structure, structure, STRUCTURE. start mechanical, graduate to discretionary down the road (if you still want to by then).
I agree that structure is key but I think you also need to understand how the market trades and at what levels it keys off of, or else you will never have a good mechanical system. and by the way, aphex, did you have one eye on the NYSE TICK chart all day like I did?
m_c_a98 , Thank you. I'm going to trade tomorrow using my gameplan and see how it works for me. I feel really good -- but I need to review all the buttons on TWS and make sure I understand how it works inside and out before I subject myself to any more market movements. Your graph is a big help -- thank you!
aphie.. nice to see you finally trading real money.. now, just $1,000,242.50 to go.. for one thing, youre gambling.. you pressed the buttons today because you felt a need to be in the market.. its greed.. "ill take a quick position and just see what happens, who knows maybe ill make some money" that kind of thinking will quickly apply math to your 5k stake alright.. division and subtraction.. its normal i think as a new trader to get gittery when youre in a position.. my stomach was upset for a month when i started.. now, i dont feel anything.. just dont let your feelings dictate your position.. today, i took the YM short off the ES double top.. i wanted to give it time to drop into the gap but it was really taking its time moving down.. even though i "felt" like getting out, i stayed in because the reason i made the trade in the first place was still valid.. the most important thing for you right now is to force yourself to apply your strategy and NOT TAKE A SINGLE TRADE THAT ISNT PART OF THAT STRATEGY.. good luck man.. -qwik
LOL! Thanks for making me laugh. That is great! hahaha ... Yes, you are absolutely right. I pressed the button the first time on a need to be in the market. The market bit me in the ass. Then, I said, "Ok, well second time is a charm." I re-entered the market minutes later with the SAME type of position. These are just one of the many stupid mistakes I will need to make on my way to one million dollars (which seems a whole lot farther away than it did with paper-trading).
Alphie, Read the TWS manual then forget about most of the features. Set up hot keys to buy, sell, price up, price down, transmit and cancel. Get rid of the PNL columns. Don't go in and out of a trade because of the pnl. If they are on the screen, I believe you'll be staring at your $ totals as opposed to the market. Get in and out because of your plan not because your down or up $100 bucks. If you do that, I bet you'll end up cutting your winners too quickly. (You can always check your cash balance via the account window). Don't trade for the sake of trading - obvioulsy you did that today as you have a new toy. Some of my greatest trades have been the ones I turned away. Finally, like others have recommended. Log out of ET and turn off your e-mail during trading hours until you can train yourself to deal with other distractions. Post at the end of the day - AFTER you've studied what and why you did what you did. just my two cents.
Aphix.. It darn sure ain't like papertrading.. is it. Def gave you very good advice. Plan on takng ONE trade tomorrow.... win, lose or draw, that's IT. So make it a good one. Look at, and post to, the board after hours. Be assured that your heart will pound for a while trading the e-minis. Don't worry about it, just keep it at bay. Good luck.... love this journal.