I'm fairly satisfied with my trading today. I wish I could have protected more of my original day's gain but c'est la vie. I suppose everyone feels that way. I've been very active today but that's to be expected, big day. Currently back in buy mode building a position as long as EUR continues to be stable/higher. Tight stops on the downside.
No disagreeing with that. I just wish I would get the big wins from some of my trading soon. I'm not complaining about a +10 day, nor any recent days - which all have been good. I want to get those 50+ tick trades, and I need that to propel my earnings to the next level. Days like today makes me doubt how I can do it. On the other hand - staying out of the hair with positions on important days like this - and then trying to cruise in between doesn't quite cut it either. Maybe I'm best off sticking to my scalping - but realizing it will be a lot more work than with positions. Positions requires another type of trading that I do not master very well for now.
Just saw that ECB says it's ok with 1.3000 and even 1.3500 as it offsets high oil prices. But 1.4000 would give some objections. All according to Thomson. I guess everyone can go long after all, just don't rush the rise too much into the rallies, because that makes everyone jumpy. So, Neal, I guess you're going to be safe long â¬s as long as the size don't get the best of you. Also Greenspan's comments should be a wet towel on the USD.
If you maintained an overnight "core" position, you had about +110 ticks in the trade at one point. Ratcheting up the stops to the point where the market was clearly 'doing something wrong' would have at least locked in a decent gain on the core position and allowed one to get to the sidelines to re-evaluate. In my opinion, scalping without an edge is like masturbation. It may feel productive and good but in the end, doesn't really do much for you. Keeping a small (or manageable) core position at all times in the direction of the overall trend is where the real money can be made. The EUR has moved up about 8 big figures in the last 1-2 months. Think of how much that is with just 10 contracts held the whole way (it's +$100,000 for those too lazy to calculate). That's a year's pay for many without much pressure or aggrevation. How many people have made more than $100,000 in the last 1-2 months trading the EUR as a scalper? Rhetorical question.
My personal nemesis is size. I tend to trade too aggressively and large for my own good. That puts undue pressure on me. At least I know where my demons lie. I just get very confident in my opinions and convictions and I want to make the most out of it but that's a deceptive trap unless you have unlimited funds.
I probably would have made the same amount as I have in the last few months if I had just held a core position at all times equal to about half of my normal trading size rather than actively trading from the long side in EUR and often holding sizable core positions but occasionally getting to the sidelines when i sense danger or the market stops me out. However, I suppose hindsight is 20-20 and we only see the fact of the definitive big up move in retrospect.
I finally sold around 1.2931 making about +45 ticks today.. but that was cutting it too close ) (as I saw my buying power slip to 2044 (and IB liquidates at 2000) when it was around 1.2858)
Yes, size can get out of hand and put that uncertainty in there which almost forces you into trades you wouldn't normally feel you "needed". I have doubled my funds for trading with EuroFX a little time back, and that's around $ +150k in the 3 months I've traded it. On the other hand - I'm down more than $1M - almost $2M on all trading since the collapse of dot-com, but still have made some nice gains the last few years. Hmmm, seems it was "an unidentified ECB offical" who came with those comments about ECB being ok with 1.3+ .... Nice thing by Thomson not mentioning that in the roughly 50 minutes it had the news out there.