"I focus entirely on remaining out of the market. I trade by exception only." Possibly one of the best original "quotes" I have ever seen. Many Thanks.
No, Thank you for picking up on one of the main points of the journal. The practice of that phrase (I trade by exception only); the concentrated application and the adherence to it over the course of 2000+ trades--well, it will change your life if you have a) trading edge b) positive expectancy c) proper trade sizing ---------------------- I am by fair amounts a sadist by nature and if I was training someone to trade I would use both the application of that phrase (I trade by exception only) and negative reinforcement so that my trading slave would be broken and beaten and compliant within 3 months. Only would take about 250 hours of market time. I am taking applications (female only though) for a trading slave. I work best with multiple 'issue' applicants. I enjoy the professional company of alcoholic bi-polar girls and aggressive transexuals who are creative or artistic or severely intelligent. No older than 19 years of age please. ------------------- By following my own brainwashing (that is what trading discipline is) today I had a large outlier day today for +8.5% on margin. As a devoted professional this performance is now 'dead' to me and for the rest of the week I get even more 'picky' and patiently wait for the proper trade setups dictated by my trading rules. NQ was on fire again today and I got a piece of the 6E as well. CL once again left the station without me. No matter, that is why I trade 3 non-correlated leveraged/liquid/volatile instruments intraday. I trade with what is 'size' to me so I allow little if any 'overlap' but I will manage a 6E trade up to 9:30am est and CL up to 10:15am est as I work my way into the next time slot. 6E 7am up to 8:50am est (no new trades initiated after 8:50:00am est) CL 9am up to 10:00am est (no new trades initiated after 10:00:00am est) NQ 10am up to 10:58:00am est (no new trades initiated after 10:58:00am est) On Weekly Crude Inventories day I trade CL from 9-9:30am est and then NQ from 9:30am up to 10:58:00am est). peace Hedvig
Today I took it in the ass. Learn to stay neutral and as a rule (do NOT come back w/revenge trading); it will happen from time to time. My revenge will come tonight on 'hump' night here on the lake (Michigan). Some young arrogant girl is going to feel my overtrading intermittent rage disorder. More specifically, her cervix will--and perhaps another couple orifices. That is my statement. I will get some satisfaction today. Let's look at the more pertinent issue(s)/numbers on hand and how I PERSONALLY react to a negative day. ------------ -1.89% on margin on 4 trades 1 full win/3 full losses I shut it DOWN on a day that I have 3 full losers. Recall, my initial risk per trade is usually 0.5% up to 1% or a bit more on each trade. @ 3 full losers on the day I shut it down. I traded my plan today and had excellent execution, psychology. I am done for the a.m. and will come back fresh on Thursday for another go. 3 full losers on the day and this is a rule that says 'it is not your day--come back another day'; protect capital. I will NEVER get hurt 'big' following my trading plan and adhering to it and honoring it. I KNOW my winners are 2 to 1 and up to 3.25 to 1 Reward:Risk so at the end of most weeks I will be profitable if my execution and trade management and trade selection is proper. After 20,000+ daytrades (750+ per year for 27 years) I know for a fact that my execution and trade management and trade selection averaged over every 20 trades is 'tight'--so I say Mr. Market and other retail/professional traders; you had my number today! Congrats. peace Hedvig
Friday musings... --------------------- 1st the numbers and some psychology. 1st week I have had 2 consecutive losing days {Wed/Thur}--1st time since late September '11. This week. 25 trades 10 wins 8 losses 7 b.e. 55% winning rate {not including b.e.} 40% winning rate {including b.e.} +10.74% roi on margin this week -------------------------- Short statement here from Andrew. I agree 100%. My trading self management is 80% responsible for my profits in short-term intraday trading. Without it I am an overtrading gunslinger. http://www.andrewmenaker.com/ideas/blog/ Something You Need to Know April 13th, 20120 Comments A trader with a superior trading strategy but lacking in self-management skills will generally underperform a trader who has a less than superior strategy (but still has en edge) and is superior in self-management. I see this all the time. Consider re-directing some of your energy and time toward self-mgt. Self mgt. includes a lot of thingsâ¦.but the big one is understanding how your emotions â including subconscious emotions â influence your decisions and actions. Your trading plan or your strategy must include self management. ----------------- Personal note: I am burnt! Moved up north for the spring/summer/fall on early in the week; didn't miss a beat trading. When I am really burnt out I go ahead and get lazy in my personal life. What do you do when you are burnt? I take a ROAD TRIP!! I have to go see totally nude whores at several strip clubs today (Windsor). It is an immoral imperative. I don't even give a shit where I wake up tomorrow or with whom. Having a string of 2 winning trades out of 10 (w/some b.e.'s in there) on Wed/Thur. now demands I show paid flesh how a losing proposition/trade feels like. I'll pick up a young 'small-town by the lake' girl I know to bring along to help on the drive and that I can use as possible 'leverage' tonight. Met her when she was 15 at a bonfire I hosted. She showed me the birth control in her arm that night 3 years ago. It was like meeting the tits & ass version of a young Jesus (I am atheist/nihilist). So this was akin to me being born again. Her boyfriend was an inarticulate football player and since I feared no reprisal (large group of people around) I had her sitting in my lap within an hour and him drinking senselessly and jumping in & out of the fire in an apparent 'neanderthal' reaction. Sometimes (very few & far between) life is good and you can just drink it in. I am still taking applications for a trading slave (female); so anyone looking for a finder's fee--you know what to do. peace Archbishop Hedvig Von Dikkeman V
Traders, Concentrate on the 'guts' of this 2 part article each day for 90 days and you'll be a better trader for it. http://www.yourtradingcoach.com/Articles-Trader-Performance/How-Can-I-Get-More-Discipline.html ---------------------- High-level stuff! peace Hedvig
This week's opening mantra... --------------- I come into the week knowing my long-term daily avg. risk is @ or just below 1% on margin for intraday trading. How many traders have a method with a 2 to 1 and up to 3.25 to 1 reward:risk that trade 3 non-correlated markets and have a 100% objective way of trading with the trend? Doesn't matter because I do not compare myself with other people in my profession. Each trader is unique and has unique goals and preferences. I sit here for up to 3.5 hours each morning (with breaks) and do things exactly the way I planned it. My commute is 10 seconds and nobody fucks with me while I work. I buy and sell money. The game is over before it begins. I actively limit my mistakes and if I have a 'borderline' trade I always err on the side of caution. The markets will always be open and waiting for me. I look at weekly and every 2 weeks as a barometer of the efficiency of my intraday trading. I take nothing for granted and each day is new and I come into the arena fresh and ready for battle. My weapon is my discipline/positive expectancy and 25,000+ hours in front of live markets. Made an expresso today with my new machine (old one died). nice! Peace Hedvig
Interesting article. Personally I have no real issue with impatience or the other common psychological issues now. If a trade sucks or is a big loser, I exit. I no longer hope for my trades to make money, I just place them and contingency plan for each scenario. I occasionally get a bit cocky if I've had a huge winner, and hang on a bit too long (good example was AAPL recently, I got the first warning signal around 625 and a proper sell signal at 610-615, but sold around 588), but the first major down day is enough to remind me that taking profits needs to happen even to the best of positions eventually, and I've also got better at using the first signs of cockiness as a signal to tighten stops and lighten up the position. I don't have fear of missing out, because I fear just as much the likelihood of getting in right before a reversal, and I know that there will always be other setups. Since I started I have literally *never* seen a year that did not have at least 3 or 4 great trading opportunities, and a dozen or so respectable trade setups. I don't think womanising or outside interests matter much, except sleeping well, exercising, and having regular sex - but this can be with just one person. And these help only a bit. What matters most is i) trading skill ii) hard work and discipline. I've been trading for over 10 years so maybe it's an experience thing. It reminds me of experienced poker players who just never go on tilt. After making a mistake many times, if you review and adjust your performance, eventually the mistake disappears or becomes so infrequent so as to be irrelevant. It also helps that I went to longer-term trading, where you have more time to review your decisions. Making pre-entry and pre-exit checklists, and mistake avoidance lists, was also enormously helpful. My main issue nowadays is lack of motivation rather than patience. Some old setups I have, the challenge is gone because I know how they work, and so it's not as fascinating as when I started. As a result, I am not as diligent as I should be in monitoring for these setups, then planning and implementing them with 100% efficiency. So I miss some trades I should get. I am definitely much better at designing strategies than implementing them reliably. I found that working with another trader (or as a poor substitute, discussing online on places like here) helps massively with this problem, the trouble is that I have moved a few times in the last few years so I have to find someone new from scratch, and finding someone with good 'trader chemistry' is like finding a good woman or a good business partner, it takes time and is not easy. Anyway, I'd be interested in any methods people have for improving dedication and motivation in the 'chores' of trading. If I get any tips that work, I'll repay the favour by giving some effective tips on how to avoid impulsive trades, sticking with losers, and other common psychological errors.
If you are the type of person who responds well to goals that you set for yourself, a metric that I have found useful is % of Signals Taken (or call it % of Trades Taken if you prefer). At the end of each day I review and record the number of trades I should have taken and the actual number taken. Not a dedication issue with me, more like overcaution or gunshy. A low % simply means I need to improve on pulling the trigger.
Thanks for bringing up some 'deep thoughts' G of C. ------------------ 4 trades today 0 wins/3 loss/1 b.e. -$2,850 net net today/-2.71% roi on the day --------------- Ironic; today I feel great after trading today. I followed my rules--I never overtraded and managed my trades properly. I do prefer to have winning days but I have no control over profits or losses once I put the correct trade on and manage it according to my rules. Positive expectancy over time creates profits. Though I have losses in 3 of the last 4 trading days (-$1.800.00, -$1,950.00, +$3765.00 & -$2,850.00 net). ------- Today will be a special day for me though. I get to make my 1st Monday visit to a new dive bar here up north. I'll be sniffing around for fresh 'setups' during lunch. Stay sleazy ET--stay sleazy... peace s1.0