guys, big deal; i know i haven't posted a trade in my journal yet. i don't go around all the journals posting messages like, "where's your trades!? what's wrong?!" people will do what they want, when they want to. i will post trades in my journal when i'm ready. i'm thinking of ideas right now.
GG, wasn't the purpose of this thread to post your current trades - ie, 'ideas' - so that they could be evaluated and constructive criticism provided? If you're going to go off thinking of new ideas so that you don't come across as stupid - an attempt to shield yourself - the purpose of this journal is very much being defeated, imho.
As usual your post is a pile of trash. Guy's/Gals this is his journal. I am a huge believer of introspection and the lightbulb effect. Each trader must create their own path. Some mentoring and leading will help. GG must find his own way.
Regardless...I think this journal of thoughts should be moved to the CHIT CHAT until he decides he has done enough thinking and starts to post his trades. Maybe Baron can start another Forum for traders wanting to start a Journal without trades I still dont understand why he started the Journal in the first place when he knew he would be off contemplating about the market, life or whatever? Maybe it was peer group pressure from all our posts to get him to post his trades. If he is testing knew stuff before the real deal...he still could post his paper trades (realtime simulator stuff) to satisfy those he said he would post trades. If he is currently being quickly mentor by somebody while most here have the patience to wait for him to start posting trades... hopefully that mentor wont let him trade with real money and start via a realtime simulator until he is comfortable with the new stuff. Until then...CHIT CHAT CHIT CHAT and the usual philosophical discussion. NihabaAshi
Wow such support! I am sure this is exactly what one has in mind when he begins a journal... badgering to live up to others' expectations, and disparagement if he doesn't. Not quite the goals I would have in mind... but hey, that's just me. I would rather encourage than discourage. As foreign a concept as this seems to be, it is well worth employing. I cannot imagine that upon finishing some of these posts, the poster sits back and says, "I sure hope I helped GG." Unless of course, badgering and disparagement is what the poster considers help.
You may have a point. There are nearly 40 posts so far commenting on trades that aren't here. Sort of reminds me of the ad campaign for VIP. --Db
Take a step back and re-read what you have written since this journal has started as well as what you wrote today in the chat room. You claim to have tons of ideas and write about the different strategies that you have used, would have used, or could have used. What you're losing sight of is that you've been trading since 1999 and you haven't become consistently profitable. All your efforts should be directed to correcting that and it must start with the idea that there is a strong possibility either your strategies or your application of them in real time trading do not have a positive expectancy. You spent a considerable amount of time in the chat room discussing a three bar reversal. By itself the pattern is meaningless. I won't waste your time with the reasons why because many of the issues were brought out by others in the chat room. What I will add is that you need to take this kernel of an idea, add some additional considerations, and turn it into what you think is a viable approach, if you can. Some of this may be subjective and some may be objective, your personality will determine what is right for you. Going back to the three bar reversal pattern that you mentioned, there was a completed one on the 5 min es chart just before 11:30. I saw it, but other aspects of the market had me in a relatively neutral bias, so I passed on the trade. As it turns out, this one would have been a profitable trade, but for me the correct decision was to stay flat. It's not anything that I would have even thought about were I not writing this, because I know that I was true to my approach and it is one that generates profits. One of the biggest problems with trading is that nothing works all of the time and everything works sometimes. In order to be successful you need to find an edge and consistently apply it. It's not easy and it's not a short process, but it can be done. After many years I finally honed an approach that suits me and I have been profitable for years since then. I have a few different strategies that I employ and if the market doesn't meet my criteria, I pass. Just like what happened this morning. Becoming a proficient trade, in many respects, is the same process that anyone joining any other profession goes through. Nobody become a master plumber from day one just as nobody becomes a legal scholar right out of law school. There's a learning curve. Your job now is to move in a positive direction to become a profitable trader. I hope my ramblings were marginally helpful.