Early 'Deep Thoughts' & Musings for 4 06 12 ------------------ Excellent week for me on avg. risk of 0.7% per trade w/16.07% return for the week. I did have 3 trades that were 'karma' trades {I call lucky trades that}. I'll take it. The pendulum swings both ways, indeed. Weekly AM Trading April 2-6th 22 trades 15 wins {avg. was 2.62 Reward} 5 losses {avg. was 0.94 Risk} 2 b.e. 68.18% winners (15 trades divided by total of 22 trades) Avg. risk per trade (avg of all 5 days) $735.375 I do NOT trade Monthly Employment if the market is not open (indices) at least until 10:30am est {early close today @9:15am est}. CL isn't even open since last night and won't open again until Sunday night. Gotta run early today; taking flight to Puerto Rico to enjoy 2 days of Spring Break 'ogling.' Hey, I know that Puerto Rican girls have razor blades in their pussies; but I'll be targeting the Americanos for their last 2 days of spring break 'bender.' I'd ask for luck on this one; but there is no need--there is none. I actually did 4 good 'deeds' this week, so thinking that karma will reward me. If that fails I know that my highest hit rate on Friday & Saturday nights are between the hours of 3:30am to 5:30am {low volume but the setups are my highest win%}. peace Cardinal Hedvig Von Dikkkeman V
Hola Hola, After a wild weekend in Puerto Rico (passed out in bed by 9:30pm est Sunday night after I landed back home in Miami). Monday a.m.--I sat down in front of my screens today and was thinking the following...patience...this Monday after an international holiday...5 European countries have official 'bank holiday today'--so be PATIENT! Really concentrate on the basics--my trend determination methodology along with my other stringent intraday rules. Sidenote: I try to think of a good trade (2.5 or 3 to 1 reward:risk setup) as analogous to a really fresh (just dumb as dirt) young white 'country' girl. The trade sets up much like me blowing into town--totally relaxed and calm KNOWING that I have approached this situation so many thousands of times before. I patiently wait for one of my highest win%/consistent setups. Inevitably fresh pussy (I mean, a good setup) 'flashes' in front of my face; I go through my checklist in 10 seconds--yep, it is 'valid' and then I hit that offer (going long). Great trade setups (indices--I trade NQ & TF & sometimes ES) finally started hitting on all cylinders around 10:11am est) and I thought to myself--stay grateful. Realize in the 1st couple years how many times you 'fucked it all up' with "impulses." Let it go--hang on the teeter inversion table and do your grateful 'visualization exercises.' Yep--no problem. I could not give a shit less about trades that are not 100% in my plan. Honor my method. Use my proven Reward to Risk pre-planned risk management parameters. Every week I NEVER enter prematurely nor take 'impulse/revenge' trades. I think some people reading this thread have taken several thousand trades and can relate to the 'release' of letting go of the 'fear of missing out' on trades that do not meet our strict requirements (our method/our approach/unique to us--we continue to NEVER take an invalid trade). Bottom line the day ended nicely. I expect NOTHING each day but if I trade with purpose (decisive action at the correct times according to my methodology and written trading rules)--then day by day and week by week and month by month I know I will reap the rewards. I don't think about money--only ticks and obsessive risk management of 'ticks.' ---------------------------------------------- 6E/6B--5 international countries (Germany/Great Britian/Italy/Switzerland & Italy) had 'National Bank Holiday'...so I spent from 7am to 8:55am est chilling and reading some good psychology articles from Andrew Menaker http://www.andrewmenaker.com/ideas/blog/ CL--good setup and I quickly bailed according to my rules (-5cents $50.00 per contract); especially proud of this trade management... NQ: 3 trades w/2 full winners and a partial winner (I began @10am est in NQ) Ironically, I have NOT had a winning day in CL since 3/30/12; however, I trade 6E/CL & NQ each day at different times. Everything runs in cycles--each instrument. I am a with the trend 1st and 2nd pullback trader w/multiple higher timeframe confirmation trader and Momentum Breakout (breakout and pullback) with the trend (and a higher timeframe confirmation) trader. I ONLY use volume charts intraday. Price and Volume are the alpha and beta of intraday trading. peace Hedvig
Some further 'deep thoughts' and a nice trading article. It is Monday and I need a few cocktails over lunch at a new dive bar that was recommended to me by an older (very wise) colleague. I feel 'a mess' after the crazy Friday night/all-day Saturday down south 'spring break' junket; so--I seek solace/gin martini (always gin) & a NEW dive bar. Oh yes! I personally thought this trading article (pro vs amatuer traders) article was excellent! http://ninjariskexpert.com/images/Basso.pdf -------------------- peace Hedvig
As a trader I can control a) Entry criterion--and stick with a proven method that creates an edge over time b) How many trades I take per day and how long I sit and stalk trades c) Markets I can watch d) My trade management that is written out and which I adhere to 100% As a trader I cannot control a) When and which trades and which market will favorably give me profits for my work b) How long a trade will last c) Which trades will win and which trades will lose As a man I can control a) How fat or thin I am by what I put in my mouth b) How much I exercise according to my goals/schedule c) What websites I visit d) Where I live As a man I cannot control a) The stupidity of reality t.v.--well, most anything on t.v. w/commercial interruption b) The utter 'fuckery' that I encounter when I leave my house each day c) Popular opinion and a 'majority' mindset I am grateful for a) Stupid women that spread their legs for a man like me b) Getting older so I can continue to live my stupid little life nearly exactly the way I want 1st trade right @7am est 5tick risk/11tick reward/2.25 to 1 reward:risk Winner +11ticks
Hey Stephan, Since you are into psychology and seminars I think you really might benefit from the "Landmark Forum". When you research it you'll see some naysayers - which is generally the case with anything that effects profound change. Honestly from reading your posts, I'm sure if you make it through their introductory seminar you'll thank me for recommending it. Their seminar is perhaps the hardest thing most people ever attempt, and the dropout rate is high, but it forces you to face things most people never dare to face. Ultimately this knowledge should make a fundamental improvement in many areas of your life. Sorry I don't know how to really explain it better than saying it is experiece based vs philosophical in nature and makes you face what you've been repressing. It only costs a few hundred bucks and lasts 3 intense days.
Hola, 1st my stats & then some purging... Solid week w/good price action! A bit of luck and a bit of discretion on 2 trade exits that had stalled for an hour. I am a scalper so I prefer not to have one session trading a specific instrument 'leak' into the next. I trade 6E/CL/NQ primarily & some TF & 6B A full week 5 days trading with about 17.5 hours of work. There is no wealth without work. WEEKLY AM TRADING April 9-13th, 2012 Trades 18 Wins 10 Losses 3 losses (-$450.00, -$937.50, -$300.00) B.E. 5 {includes keystroke errors} win% for trades (wins vs losses)--NOT including b.e. 76.92% win% for all trades (includes b.e.)--Including b.e. 55.5% +15.42% roi on the week Avg. Initial Risk per trade for all 5 days was $922.50 Monday Avg. Risk Per Trade $1,050.00 Tuesday Avg. Risk Per Trade $764.10 Wednesday Avg. Risk Per Trade $874.95 Thursday Avg. Risk Per Trade $937.50 Friday Avg. Risk Per Trade $975.00 ------------------------------------ I am about to drink my drink and take a hot tub. A grueling week for me after my past weekend of debauchery. A few inhalations of psychotropics a bit later will assist me in forgetting the 'battle' this week. I'll be reviewing the week and my trade setup criteria a bit longer than usual on Sunday after my best net $ profitable week in 11 weeks. I remind myself of the following each morning. "I focus entirely on remaining out of the market. I trade by exception only." When I leave the house today for my lunch I am bringing bail money with me. It will be like that today. It has to be. So handcuffed all week with ultra-maniacal discipline. Incredulously, the other night--some dishrag whore I visit often told me she was 'disturbed' by certain comments I kept uttering to her on Wednesday. She said I seemed on edge. Apparently I kept repeating that I wanted to cut her head off as a preference instead of spending quality time with her. I mean, it seemed like the right thing to say at the time. I was sharing honest emotions with her; every male trader understands what I meant, right? I am sure you married guys understand that emotion, eh? Especially after say 2 days of the week you basically 'scratch' for the entire a.m. battling the price action. For me (personally) that is why I can't have any estrogen in my 'war room.' No, I keep that outside my sphere. I have NEVER told a woman what I do for a living. It is a foreign language to them. I once kicked a woman out of my house because I suspected she left a bloody tampax in my personal bathroom garbage. Subconscious emotions always bubble up after I return to U.S. from abroad. I guess that is why I am purging a bit today. (Puerto Rico is NOT the U.S.--not by a long shot). This is my opinion. Last weekend was great there. Islands are nice to visit but too isolating to really live on for more than say, 6 weeks or so. 'The taste of freedom' outside Estados Unidos stirs up something in my predator-like nature. When I feel like this I go shoot a variety of guns (at a firing range). A great psychological 'release' for me; everybody should do this when wound up. Nearly every impulse I cannot express in intraday/swingtrading throughout a week with good price action, inexplicably expresses itself in my personal life on Friday and Saturday. When I really want to 'revenge' trade in my personal life after a long week I abandon civility. Fuck it all. This is the time to get OUT of one's head. One needs to balance out the 'urges.' Instead of stalking prey at local wine bars or @yoga/pilates or private universities or marinas (like a perverted gentleman); I take it down to 'street level.' NO barrios or latinas in questionable neighborhoods; too much 'machismo midget-male familia members' that surround them. No, I prefer the taste of meat from the dark continent. Something fascinating and kind of fucked up happens every Friday in a 'dark' community. Don't believe me? Go and hang out--I mean really hang out (I'm a white tall male) in an impoverished african american community on a Friday & Saturday night. You have to commit. Be willing to really let yourself go. This is better than mountain climbing or golf or tennis on the occasional weekend for you civilized gents. I can't explain it, but if you pay enough attention you can almost feel the 'pulse' quicken as the afternoon stretches into evening. Then it gets all 50/50 stop-go & eventually descends into a haze of weed and alot of awful hard-core cut drugs and 'bum-wine' carnival show. At that point (or slightly before) I either follow a girl that I am interested in or call it a night. This will be my last weekend down south; I move north next week for the summer. Peace & Blessings! Archbishop Hedvig Von Dikkeman V
-------------- I'll look at this on Sunday when I am decompressing and the next time I turn on my computer. peace Hedvig
I have a mantra and it goes something like this every Monday morning. ---------------- Monday... Got up early; took a shower. Had some coffee outside. I ended up scoring some dark meat this weekend so I feel somewhat sated going into Monday a.m. I look for 10 quality trades per week that go to full win or full loss. Win 60% @+2.25X's risk ='s 12.25% roi 40% @1% risk loss ='s -2.25% roi ------------------------- 10 trades per week includes trades that go over that number that are b.e./partial win/partial loss {about 5-7 per week}. That equals 10% per week--I expect to get 65% of that 10% on avg. per week or 6.5% per week. I am ecstatic and pleased with 5% roi per week with low drawdowns though (on avg.) on risk margin. I stick with my trade management plan on every trade and I error on the side of caution when a borderline setup appears. I patiently wait for the proper high win% good R:R trades to setup in each of the markets that I choose to trade each day. On avg. over most days and every week I risk on avg. no more than 1% of bankroll per trade. This keeps drawdowns low over time. I anticipate further market action and analyze trade setups properly in real time. I do NOT predict price movement. I do annotate my charts in real time so the repetition of market analysis (my method) is ingrained into my brain. Today is a new day and this is a new week. I come to the battlefield with my eyes and ears open with no expectations; only focusing on what I can control according to my plan. Because I use volume charts NOTHING new ever happens in the charts I watch. Endless variations on the same theme play out. I follow the rules for each trade that I enter. This is my edge over 90% of the other retail traders. I am also using a proven better than 1:1 reward to risk trend following (w/1st & 2nd pullback) method along with a momentum breakout w/the trend & pullback method that limits risk and gives me up to 3 to 1 reward to risk. My final edge is position sizing and never risking on avg. more than 1% of bankroll per trade. I put trades on--manage them and then move on. At the end of every trading session I document in my journal my results and then go do something else of my choosing with my time. Peace & Blessings! Hedvig
Damned NQ was on fire today...early! 2 b.e.'s after I got to +150% open profit on both... Could have had a MONSTER day--but I have no control over price action. I place the trades and then manage them and let everything outside of my control do whatever the fuck it wants. I don't think about the money--only ticks. ------------------------ I had 3 of my b.e. trades today hit +150% 1.5:1.0 Reward:Risk (@that point I am b.e.) At +200% 2.0:1.0 Reward:Risk (if not my target) I trail with swing lows and highs to target (if greater than 2:1) I had 1 of my winners hit my 300+% 3 to 1 Reward:Risk target (highest probability trade) I had 1 of my winners hit my 225% target 2.25 to 1 Reward:Risk I had 1 loser today in CL (-12 cents)/-$1,200 on 12 cent initial risk. ------------------------------ After trading today (got done early by 10:15am est) I headed down to the convenience store for some gum and saw this 30 ish chick waiting for the bus. I said to myself fuck it; give her the 'bigger better plan' pitch--she is not ugly and rather tall (a preference of mine). I asked her if she partied and had some time to kill. Told her I would cover her transportation. Took me 3 more attempts at closing her with a final salvo of "it's Monday and I promise you this is the most fun you'll have all week." Well, I lied of course. However, that was a quickie but goodie acceptable 'whore/trade/opportunity' reward:risk setup. Most guys won't put in the time at convenience stores. I care; so I do. 15+ years ago I used to keep a monthly 'brokerage' statement in my pocket (always my best month in 6+months) and would even show that to young/dumb pussy as my 'over the top' close. That worked best in the midwest--not nearly as well on the east coast. Time to see my friends at my local Monday 'dive bar.' I'll be taking the next 2 days part time. I fly back north later today for the late spring/summer/early autumn on the lake. peace Hedvig
Saw a movie that reminded me of intraday trading last night. 'The Grey' w/Liam Neeson. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1601913/ Poem within the film was good. 'Once more into the fray Into the last good fight I'll ever know Live and die on this day Live and die on this day' --------------- That is trading intraday WITHOUT an edge, WITHOUT trade management and WITHOUT a plan. Professional traders with deep pockets will surround you and feed on you if you don't know EXACTLY what you will do when infinite trade scenarios present themselves to you each day. -------------- I don't allow 1 day to make my week nor do I get complacent after a large % winning week. Trading for me is about controlling my 'bad' urges while maximizing my math/expectancy edge over time. An article on separating your 'value/worth' from the "performance" of trading. http://www.tradersstateofmind.com/articles/article/7367349/156437.htm ---------------------- It is slow right now in 6E so I'll share my story some more. Pursuing pussy recklessly came to compliment my trading discipline. I made that connection a long time ago. It was never going to be a wife or children or volunteer work; no--young pussy, indeed. Yea I know--it seems stupid. But we are all wired for it. Constantly vigilant for the next opportunity and then following through on those hook ups somehow 'medicated' me enough so that my trading (after the 1st 9 months of my career) could be 'exactly the same--yet entirely different.' I am like the CPA w/a wife and 5 kids and a huge mortgage when trading. Responsible, pre-written plan, follow through. Debriefing, reports, etc... This all boils down to (for me--maybe for you) having at least 2 other passionate interests outside of trading that are equally as fascinating as trading. Better balance is achieved in all areas of interest if one's 3 main interests are practiced nearly everyday with something more than just the 'routine of it all.' peace Hedvig peace s1.0