1 trade today with 2 mistakes, so I stop for the day , it seems that I am not in the right mindset again. #1: PnL = -0.15 About the trade: Entry was valid, I was thinking though to filter it due to the double top looking PA, and that the HOD was close by. Anyway I entered, but then my mind went back to its in-trade mode: as the trade went few tick into my favor and came back, I closed it at BE, against the rule, then price jumped 19 ticks into my favor, and as it was coming back I reentered at the original entry price, and got stopped out. I sim trade for the rest of the day.
I had this quote (previous post) in front of me. I read it several times today. It is so true. And I still make the same shitty mistake of micromanaging the trades. May be I have to read it 100 times before trading. One thing is knowing it, and one thing is acting accordingly. Well, from tomorrow... Trade #1:+0.20 Bit of slippage at first entry, closed it at BE, then reopened again and then it broke and hit target price. Trade #2:+0.01 Entry was good, but since it was already the 3rd try to reverse and S1 was there too, so at the first sign of counter move my other self closed the trade at BE. And So I stopped today. Other: In the morning I was trying to test this stop moving to BE, but the tws charting was so clumsy freezing on me, I got so fed up with it so subscribed nymex feed to my other charting app, so that is why the change in the chart. But the entry exit lines are not noted on them obviously just an arrow. This charting is not the best either, but it is at least useable.
Well done, Marathonian. What's your problem with the TWS feed? The charts may be ugly, but I find the feed rock-solid
The feed is great, no problem with that. Just the charts are bad if you want to go back few days. It is slow, freezes, etc. (at least for me). But my other charting does not work with the ibfeed. (anyway , I was just explaining why the chart changed). Actually, I like one thing in IB charting: that you can change the width of the candles. I like when there is more space between the candles. But well, it should not matter in the end. Seemed lots of opportunities for day traders today on CL with proper discipline...
stress is not good for trading. this may be of interest. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=219528
I found that posting on ET is not bad at all when utilizing the Ignore list, and have decided to post again rather than let a small minority of loud bitter people take precedence over a majority of positive people. clm, I appreciate you posting my quote. Those words are my Keys to the Kingdom, my personal Holy Grail. There is no single right way to trade (despite Sp89âs opinion to the contrary, and, as ETâs resident Mom, I respectfully advise him â and The Oracle Wiz - to refrain from using whiskey as a stress-reduction tool.) Oliver Velez (for whom Iâm a shill according to coo(o)lweb, who is not on my Ignore list for the same reasons that I, a bona fide tree-hugging dirt-worshipping liberal, have a very good friend who is bona fide politically incorrect Rush-worshipping conservative) stated in a promotional webinar I watched prior to my initial attempt at day trading back in 2008: âTrading is simple, but itâs not easy.â In a word, there are many ways to profit from the markets and every successful trader believes their way is the best way. The reality is: without a plan that we personally are able to follow, every potentially profitable strategy fails. I played with quite a few profitable strategies during my journey, some much âsaferâ than others, yet every one of them failed when I failed to follow the rules. clm, you have some rough terrain ahead of you day trading CL, because it has an uncanny way of getting you to violate your plan. From what I can see, you have a strong viable edge and appear to be trading price action which is always a big plus IMHO. Your biggest battles will be psychological. Learn to accept small losers on the road to larger winners. Learn to accept that price of admission to the trade, which is your initial stop loss. That initial stop loss is valid until a reversal signal appears if you're trading in the direction of a well-defined trend. so be patient; but if counter-trend or in a range around a level of indecision, be stingy with the stop and ready to scratch on a lack of follow-through. If stopped out, be very patient for the next valid setup. CL has a load of trains coming by the station each day and patience waiting for the train to actually pull up to the station pays off. Of course, you have to get on board when it pulls up. If you miss that train, donât chase it; just wait for the next opportunity because it will come along shortly.
Thanks for the link. Do I look like I am stressed? DO I LOOK LIKE I AM STRESSED???? Well, I am really not stressed until the transmit button is pressed. And even then is not really stress but some elevated-changed state of mind. (may be it is stress , I am not a shrink (yet)). I like the links about meditation in that thread, and I am also very found of the way of zen in everything, although I have not incorporated it in most things in my life. I also listened to the Power of Now few months ago (falling asleep few times, so it really calmed my mind ), and it improved my focus. I was thinking to start the journal with a title "Zen in the art of scalping ", but found it pretentious on my level. May be in a few years, but I really think that trading can be done as a zen practice.
It is great that you post again. I read most of your posts and followed your progress and it is really helpful for us the retail crowd. Especially, to see that it is possible at all to trade profitably. Thanks for your words on my strategy and journal, it helps a lot. I am aware that the battle is psychological after backtesting and trading so many "profitable" system. They were so nice on paper but I always negated the edge. I hope that this will change with this journal. So again, I know what I have to do, but doing it is still away from me. Thanks and keep posting if you find time.