Mark: I guess you are Nihabashi (???) Japanese Candlestick? Anyway, whoever you are you are definitely right. I hope that my addiction may have been caused by losses only. The more you lose (money and time) the more you want to get it back fast, which leads to addiction and being jack of all trades.
I tend to think the same, but 15mns is too long, you need to hold overnight to make it worth the risk/reward. I hate overnight because that's where the hunting for stops becomes a national sport. Did I mention that I trade only ES? I have to confess that the months I was up, I was relying more on 15mns than anything but then, it was during the run from November up. The market goes down, then the first two bars break in the 15mns to the upside, it stays up until the close. Since January there are many ups and downs within a day, you get stopped very often for no profit if you use 15mns.
As oddly as it may seem, I agreed with multiple posts that may seem contradictory but in fact they are not. Money can be made at anytime frame with different strategies. The shorter the harder that's obvious. The longer the less harder but less money to get. I definitely agree that all this bot thing is put out of proportions. I think, just like you hedge, that bots make it easier to daytrade, because they need a trend as micro as it could be, but they need it. I have never seen trend following work and clean than the last few years intraday. If you know how to read a trend and when the trend is violated, you can make a lot of money. I coutinue to believe I achieved a high degree of knowledge in market structure, if I can get disciplined I could be rich ;-)
I haven't tried prosac yet, but it is in the plan More seriously, I started to exercise today!!! and I'm sleeping a lot better than previously.
Hate it. Long live the independent cinema, the real one. Go see Biutiful, you'll be shaken like hell.
Eddie, I read the book twice, I don't think there is a book you name I didn't read (exaggerating a little bit but not too much). It just seems that fixing one problem takes more time for me than average. For instance, I spent a lot of time before respecting my stops and not moving them. Pulling the trigger, I have no problem with that now. Letting my trades run a lot more than I used to. Not switching to longer time frames when the market goes against me, I'm more atient. I think I solved a lot of problems; my first trade is most of the time a winner. As I stated, if I can fix the problem of revenge trading I'll be ok.
I highly recommend that you read both of Mark Douglas books. They will help you a lot. Quick comment on a few of your rules: - Staying in the trade until a reversal or descent profit of at lest twice the risk. This rule may mess with your objectivity in that you are looking for a "descent profit" instead of looking at the market. Some times you should be happy with a small profit. Personally, I have let many small profits turn into losers, because I was not satisfied with a small winner even though that was all the market had to give on that trade. - The most serious of the most serious ones, stop for at least 30mns after a stop loss. This is my top one problem; I end red every time I have a loser. I don't wait for another setup, I invent them myself ;-). This could indicate that your risk per trade is beyond what you`re comfortable with, yes? Opening the door for an emotional frenzy of overtrading? If your risk per trade is small, you should be able to accept a loss and then immediately re-evalute the market conditions and move on. Especially, if you are trading during the open and there is lot`s of movement and opportunity. In my experience, there are countless times during the open where I start the day with a loss or two and then immediately change my opinion and catch a winner on my next trade. I have however experienced with my own trading that I should use a similar rule if I take a trade during a slow time of the day and am stopped out for a loss. So you might consider that. What do you think? Just some thoughts...
momoNY, Yes, my former user name is NihabaAshi (martial arts and Japanese Candlestick term). I switched names because I grew tired of people thinking the name was something else. Yep, just like the prior user name...the psychological aspects of trading is at the top of my list from personal experience. Mark
I have a 1.5 point stop, I don't hesitate to take trades. But again my problem is going back to a failed trade. That's what I need to fix before I go bust or nuts. Last year is the first year I had 8 points winners, I don't take less than 2 points anymore.