Let me get this out of the way.. There's nothing wrong with trading trends, but when you make that your primary weapon, then you will most likely never become a full time trader.. Why? Because trends are just one way the market behaves.. It doesn't make any sense if you only do good with trends and don't do good when the market ranges.. All of your profits will disappear when the market is choppy.. If you want to day trade (not long term investing) then trends are not the only thing you should be focused on.. For all the guys that aren't successful, here is your homework for today.. Study consolidation (tight range), reversals, breakouts, and Wide ranges. Once you get a little good at that, then start drawing levels on your chart.. Your levels will be at the breakouts, and where price recently reversed at.. You can even draw levels at the previous low/high from yesterday (I use the 5 min chart to day trade).. Then I want you to wait until price hit those levels.. And then I want you to study how price reacts to the levels.. Write down the patterns that you see at those levels and then do some backtesting.. If you keep on doing this for months and months, then I don't see why your trading shouldn't improve.. I'm a full time trader.. Nothing else.. For all of you guys that don't think trading full time isn't possible, well I'm here to tell you it is.. I actually met another full time trader the other day at the basketball court (trading for 20 years) and he trades millions of dollars.. So i don't understand why people think that trading full time a myth... When I became a level trader, that's when everything change.. It's to the point when I see a key level that I like, I just put a limit order at that level.. And levels could be either horizontal or trend lines.. Please study key levels on your chart.. Here's a quote from nodoji that i like: "A pure price action trader trades off key price levels. Nothing else is needed other than the ability to look at a chart and see prior levels that will be defended. The defense will either succeed or fail. Statistical analysis is the tool for determining how far to let price run against you before the odds of price reaching a particular profit target diminish into negative expectancy. Only support and resistance levels are needed by a pure price action trader to determine risk:reward parameters for trades and these levels can be found on a chart that displays nothing but price bars."
I would only add...Dude, are you still trying to trade price levels too? I found them unnecessary a long time ago...only for entries.
Nonsense. If you are a successful trend trader, you don't need to trade anything else but the trends to make a lot of money. You can afford NOT to trade. Not trading is also trading. Full time trader does not mean trade all the time. I trade on average 2-3 RT every day, which means that I find at least 2-3 trends every day. I never had a day that there was not at least 1 trade. A successful trend trader will see trends that apparently you cannot see or that you qualify as "choppy". Every trader has his limitations. I also have my limitations, I can only trade trendfollowing. I am too stupid for anything else. Your limitation is clearly in trendfollowing. Never use your own limitations to tell others what works or does not work. Only if you master something far above average you can tell that that works. But you can say nothing else. Surely not about things that you apparently don't master at all.
It all sounds good and enthusiastic but as per usual vague as shit (ET Style). Tell you what, since we are giving out homework, my turn. Pick a common daytrading instrument with decent volume during regular trading hours, load up the 1min chart, I dare you to find me one that does not have trends, you cannot. You can choose to only trade the trends and stay out of the range and reversals, just like you can choose to trade the ranges or reversals and stay out of the trends, etc. In fact, the trouble begins, when you think you can trade it all and you end up overtrading and reversing like a wild horse amounting loss after loss because you think you are some sort of hot shot. Much easier, and profitable, to be master of something in trading than jack of all trades, pun intended. Food for thought. PS: BTW, whats up with the double periods ".." as terminal points?
MarketAddict, how much equity (REAL CASH, no hedging) do you have in your live trading account? How much COLD HARD CASH do you actually have, right NOW, in your live trading account? Hmmm?
Another ridiculous thread ... Dude, find a method and stick to it. Trend aren't there to be traded. These are only outlining market structures.
I think the OP's point is a very good one. The problem is that so much of the discussion for retail traders is dominated by vendors selling a canned philosophy or solution, or money managers proffering their specific approach. Here is an interesting question - If you followed the "results" of trend following, would you by and large still be "trend following?" I don't think so - at least not methodically or simplistically. The trend for "trend following" died a long time ago and only gets hot on occasion. There is no trading approach that can support an unlimited amount of capital - just when most want to invest in them (say, after 2008 where they outperformed, a great 3 year record) the trend method dies. That is how the market works. I would classify "trend following" as it is known as an early, first step in quantitative money management or trading. At one time such methods yielded phenomenal returns. but, just like any business, competition rises - the bar is raised every year. Continued, consistent profits require continued evolution.
Really? Read this then. http://www.cmegroup.com/education/f...h-managed-futures-historical-perspectives.pdf
Everything is just...talk, and noise,...in the marketplace. -- except for the bottom line results, or performance. But it seems like everyone in this industry is rather tight-lipped about that specific topic of discussion. It's easy to sound smart, but not be profitable -- and likewise, some dumb people...may be profitable.