No institutional activity so far today. Looks like large spec traders are throwing money away. They keep moving the ES futures and the index arb folks are punking them. Seems silly to try to get off a trade in this mess. Hopefully the spec's will give up and let the market do what it wants. Might not see much institutional activity unless yesterday high/low are broken. Still, I plan on trading today, if only to get my feet wet some more.
should their activities be done already? given it is end of month, end of week and 1/2 way to end of day.
I tried a trade. Nothing on the radar so I tried a momentum trade (lol). Long at 1347.50. Of course it went against me until it dropped down to 1346.25. Then I saw some institutional activity setting up to buy. I wanted to put on a second long but it wasn't in the plan so I sat on my hands. The market went up and because of the slow pace I didn't feel any desire to bail. I waited until it looked like the move was over and I put in a sell market. I got filled at 1348.25. The top of the move was 1349.00 so I didn't miss by much. +31.46
Over the weekend I'll post my plan for October. If my broker sends out the monthly statement, I'll post it also. One thing that's helped me lose weight is keeping a journal of food I've eaten. I keep track of the calories each day and it's a little game I've made to see what I can substitute with what to save a few more calories (without feeling deprived). This little game has helped me stay on track when I haven't seen any weight loss (sort of like baby steps). I'm thinking of something similar to help keep me focused on trading. I was thinking of keeping track of how many points I make in a day versus the days range (high - low). For example, today I made 3/4 pt in a range (so far) of 3.50. So, the % made would be 21%. I think tracking something like that could help while I work on the other pieces to get better. I was also thinking of tracking some normal stats like wins/losses, % winners, and profit factor. Anything that might help track progress while not focusing only on dollars made. When I focus on dollars I usually screw up and then have to calm down for a day or two before trying to trade again. Anyone have any input on what I might want to keep track of to track my progress?
I've said "I give up a bunch of times in the past year". Only problem was the next day I woke up and still had to come up with something. Laying in the gutter and getting drunk is not an option. No matter what I'll keep on trying. If I lose a bunch of money, obviously I'll have to sell my house and either rent or start checking out double wides. One thing that I keep saying to myself everyday is "maybe I can't change everything in my life but maybe I can improve something". Baby steps, keep going and don't ever give up. Thanks for the encouragement.
one of my favorite saying from eminimaster everyday I try to improve a little more today than yesterday.
gutsytrader, I know a thing or two about fat loss, here's what I know about losing weight: 1. Diet alone WILL NOT HELP since your metabolic rate drops faster than you can drop fat. You starve your body and end up losing what little muscle you have. 2. If you have 3x90 minutes time a week and $40 to spare, get a gym membership. It's worth it, but ONLY if used right. 90% of the people at the gym have no clue what they're doing. 3. Gym = cardio AND weights. Cardio to burn energy. Weight lifting with the RIGHT TECHNIQUE & INTENSITY to increase your metabolic rate (=amount of calories your body burn 24/7) by increasing your muscle mass. Look what this guy did in just 6 months: http://www.johnstonefitness.com/all/front/m.php He's not selling anything, he's not using any magic pills or steroids from what he says and why would he lie. Just a good, clean diet and hard hard work and dedication in the gym. Oh well I know this is not for everyone. God knows I was scared and felt awkward when I walked into the gym on day 1. Now some 500 days later it's just part of my life. This is the one key that worked for me and brought me to a healthier lifestyle while reducing my body fat %. Back to you Gutsy, I didn't mean to threadjack, sorry if it appears that way. Good luck with the trading, I love this journal, keep posting.