Well ... get the f*ck out! That's what scalpers do. If a trade moves against me 1-2T or so, I'll often just exit. If it didn't turn out exactly the way you anticipated it in the first place - why linger? More often you're better off stop-reversing than holding. Or as Mark / velocity_trader put it: "If the next tick doesn't go my way, I'm out..." Unless you've traded like this, you couldn't even conceptualize the amount of profits you can save yourself thinking like this. I know, most people just say: "Oh, why use such small stops? Oh, it's just noise, anyway..." etc etc. Well, this is exactly not the point. The point is not what you think what is or what isn't, and what is noise. I'll explain why: The only point is the movement on the price chart. 1) And once price goes down, no matter how little, there will be [guaranteed] others wanting to get out before it goes down further. 2) So it goes down another tick. 3) At the next tick, even more people get nervous, and close out, adding more sells into the soup. Logically, reds starts rolling through. 4) Now the inside bid starts shrinking all of a sudden, and the inside ask grows, because they're really getting worried now. 5) They sell more, and price continues down. 6) Direction has changed. 7) Stops (dumb money) are getting hit, continuing the direction even faster... Now, this said, IMHO, if you've reached point #3, it's already too late. You need to get out at #1 or #2, or you'll be lucky enough getting out in the stampede. It's the good ole chaos theory domino effect. Dont' let it work against you. That's the whole 'secret' to trading; Trading isn't about charts, trends, supports, or sentiment. Trading is about being the first in the door, and the first out the door. Period. Never linger. Always have your foot in the door and ready to bolt. That's what I do. Nothing else I've ever tried works as well. Happy Trading!
That's a good question... Actually...! Fast, I still spend about 3-5h a day on research, logging, training, development, etc etc, this is aside from RTH! Where can you fit the time in? I tell you something with confidence: Trading is hard work. You can't just sit down and make money. The amount of trading success you enjoy is 100% proportional to the amount of work you put in. The more you work, the more you (hopefully) make. In trading, unless you keep up a certain (high!) standard of due diligence and preparation, you will stand anything but a chance to outdo your competitors. Remember, while the market might look like a huge flowing ocean of money, it isn't really. It's more like a competition between all the traders. And unless you can compete with those that put $hit-loads of work in, you will be crushed like an ant - particularly in futures. Remember, there's no "public" in futures. There's only professionals! If you can't put the time in - Either go and trade a stock, like YHOO (which is great, very liquid, easy to trade, and not zero-sum), or go and swing or position trade! Once you look into larger timeframes, things can become so much easier. But if you're pinching pennies in front of bulldozers all day long, chances are you will bleed, until you're strong enough to withstand. It's not impossible, but it will take a lot of your time to get there (namely being better than those you're competing with). Certainly more than just a couple of hours a day. Think about it.
taodr, and Scientist, thanks for your replys and concerns. I have a set amount of capital I'm willing to throw at this. I realize I can't do this full-time, but I want to learn as much as I can before I reach my loss limit. I'm currently down around $2.5K after commissions, ever since I started trading. I've already tried stocks and had the same time constraint issue in stocks. Intra-day trading does require the full day, unless you're scalping the 1-minute chart. Lets try this for a few more days/weeks/months until I reach my loss limit, which isn't too far away Thanks again. -Fast
We are all rootin for you bro.. Its a proccess and if you stick with it, it eventually starts to click.. Don't give up.
I don't agree with that. If your stop loss is one tick only you are most likely to lose on almost all of your trades, at least in the instruments I mostly trade. That is unless you have a PERFECT entry or you manage to enter with the momentum when there is still some to go. I have a specific "wiggle" room for each trade. That might be 2-10 ticks depending on the trade. On rare occasions I will not exit as long as the conditions are still proper for the trade. TM Trader