Today was a nightmare. Thanks to many inputs, I managed to stay away from long. This always happens to me when there is a reversal day. I tend to take all support on all time frames starting with 2 minutes to 4 hours. Add to that some revenge trading I end in the $2000 loss. Fortunately, for me these days don't happen very often, It just takes away all I made the previous 4 days!!!!. New rule: if 5mn and 15 minutes are down, no longs, and 15 minutes takes precedence over 5 minutes. chart:
I`m sorry for your loss, momoNY I honestly don`t believe you deserve to trade 2 contracts at the time being. I`m quite sure you would have traded differently with 1 contract. A $2000 loss on a single day is a disaster for most retail accounts, but the worst thing is not the monetary loss, but the effect it has on your psychology. It does change you. Also, stop looking at all these time frames. They may confuse you much more than they help you. A 5-minute should suffice for your day trading chart and then you would only need a 60-minute chart to gauge support and resistance. I also see that you`ve updated your rules today? You should be very careful to make changes based on one single day. I think you should go back to sim trading and refine your system. Trade it like cash. Become consistent. Then start trading 1 contract and do not increase size until you become consistent. If you still trade size, you are interested in making money and not trading. You will trade your P&L, not the market. And for the record, this is coming from a first class loser who have done the exact same mistakes. Good luck! LF
MomoNY, Do you have a "Primo" setup, as in something that you rely on and you HAVE take when you see it? My first flirtation with consistent profitability was when I just traded a single setup. Once that got me on the right track, I stuck with just that setup for MONTHS. Days would go by where I didn't see anything and I would just sit there. The no pressure observing (without trading) allowed me to continue studying and lock in other things that worked. Here is another recommendation that I have: Take a look at major reversal points, and draw horizontal lines that extend to the left (back in time). Now on the same timeframe chart that you are using for entries, scroll back to the left and study the last time this price came into play, and try to find patterns there. Is there a significance there? A pattern that makes sense? Etc.? The market doesn't just stop and reverse for no reason, there are identifiable places where price is likely to bounce. I also think you might be safer for now only taking trades during a much smaller window of time, say only a specific two hours of the day. Anyway, just my .02
Using stops that way is going to cut you up. Does a few ticks really change your expectation going forward? I doubt it. Just churns your account.
Why didnt you short right at the open? All the indicators were pointing on a down day. I shorted right at the open when I saw how the opening bar was forming.:eek: edit: I also covered at 3 pm
True, it would have been a good up day today if I had 2 points stop (actually even 1.75) instead of 1.5. I'm raising it to 1.75, let's see.
I don't use overnight in 5 minutes. plus, I was dead convinced we are back in the bull mode, was too emotional. In addition to that, I was waiting for 19.25 to break before calling it down instead of 24. I could have bet the house for 1324 to hold. Anyway, I hope I'll wake up one day and respect only my chart nothing else. On one hour there is a huge reversal, that alone would scare a sheep from going long, but not me!!
Aww, I guess thats it. Overnight played a big role in my desicion to short. That overnight action was only slightly bearish, but the first 10 minutes of the opening bar coupled with ES exceeding previous swing high coupled with overnight action was quite bearish, more than 50% anyway imo.:eek: