Thank you. But now I'm just pissed that I didn't hold for 6050 and trailed less aggressively as I was literally low ticked on that pullback. I misread. 65 % sounds good to me. Truth be told, for most would-be traders the number will be red anyway. Best to put it in SPY or similar and live a happy life.
I gave up on it because I couldn't stand the idea of letting a tethered machine enter orders for me. Then I arrived back at essentially the same idea after years of discretionary trading, which fits me better. And yes, there is a lot to gain by just setting a wide trailing stop and letting the position run, but I can't do it. There is a reason my avatar pic is a cat about to freak out. It takes another kind of spirit inside to get the huge money. You need become almost ruthless! A cold hearted collector of the hopes of the crowd, as they pile into something you got first. It's lonely, holding stocks they want to buy.
Yes. Or put it in a x2, x3 leveraged ETF, in 10%-20% chunks (as it moves in your favor), with (a) wide stop(s). Or, using the same approach, put it in in ES futures, with a multiple of overnight margin requirements (so you're leveraged x2-5 times, not 20+) and roll the position every three months. Or piggy back @Laissez Faire and @schizo and let the money roll in
That is why I think my aiming for 0.25% profit a day is too ambitious. Another puzzle I finally understood is, in my sim, I found it very difficult to increase profit % by placing more trades until I realize, it is subjecting to the same random process as noise: Theory of large number. It shouldn't go up linearly when you increase the # of trades?
0.25% *on average* on a leveraged, small to medium size account is doable, imho. The problem is when you try to pull 0.25% (or 5 points or 500 USD or whatever) every single day, whether the opportunity (for you, your system, etc.) is there or not, again imho. Placing more trades is fine, if you get more signals or trade more markets or whatever. Placing more trades just because you didn't reach an arbitrary daily target is pushing your luck, usually not great. My profitability and expectancy increased considerably when 1) I stopped needing the money 2) I started skipping days when I wasn't feeling "in the zone" and 3) I stayed in trades longer (enduring bigger open profits drawdowns, but keeping initial risk small). Number 3) depends a lot on your style of trading, but I think most people would benefit from 1) and 2).
I'm usually out in a couple dayz, and then just re-enter if there is another pivot to base it on (the reversal and first continuation pivots are my favorites, just like what Livermore wrote about in his book). Another way to deal with boredom and the need for action is having a side project or venture. One thing that is a huge threat, however, is the need to tell otherz about what I am doing. Not when it comes to trading (except on here, long after I'm back in cash).