Actually, none of it were redundant here. I'm not sure about other threads but this thread and myself is fairly new to ET and these examples and advises are greatly appreciated.
Good luck implementing all these awesome methods. Don't be disappointed after you wasted a lot more of your time discovering they don't work. You've already wasted two years of your life. If you want to waste more - "explore" these wonderful methods so graciously shared with you in this thread. Don't be shy and post an update when you're done
Thanking and appreciating doesn't have to necessarily conclude with me exploring all of the specific methods mentioned in this thread. I am truly thankful of those who selflessly shared their methods in response to the help I have requested. This doesn't mean I will be able to apply what they shared as the devil is in the details like someone else mentioned. In order for me to apply them I suppose would require me to view the markets the same way, execute the same way to the tick. Which would mean the method either has to be extremely simple or I'll have to spend hours with them to learn the ins and outs of their system. A burden I do not wish to impose on the posters here. Whilst I can't say I have suddenly become a profitable trader in a few days since the start of this thread, the exchange of ideas and guidance from helpful individuals I find does inspire and help open my eyes.
No one gave out their recipes but I found a lot of very useful general rules that a new trader can use to build his/her own method. Some "God and motherhood" type statements are actually very important to anyone new to the game. For example: Don't risk more than 1-2% on every trade, cut your losses early, let profits run.... plus the advice on this thread. The devil is in the details but to build details you need principles. One cannot design a rocket without knowing Newton's laws. Regards,
Nice post Chef of Iron. Not to worry, the OP has made excellent progress in his quest for the holy grail. I know, as he and I have worked privately for about 4 hours and NTL is well on his way to his goal of being consistently profitable. We covered rules such as "Don't Take Any Losing Trades" or in other words "Never lose". Not kidding this is an important rule particularly with those that have a relatively small account. Another Rule: "Know What Doesn't Work" -- Get Rid of ALL that Doesn't Work (stuff that doesn't make you Profitable). Of course, Keep It Simple. Understand the importance of setting Targets and Duration of trades. Enjoy Trading because it Really is Easy -- when done correctly and Rule-Based. NeedToLearn is a quick study, very smart, and hard working. He will soon be right there with you Ironchef, Xela, Soulfire, and all those "experts" who posted to his excellent thread here on the blog for Elite (as in Profitable) Traders.
Very good posts and you have my respect for willing to share your rules and experiences. I am no expert nor am I a professional, just a small mom and pop retail trader, i.e., a plebeian ekes out a living trading options, and I am still learning and trying to get better at it. Regards,
If you really want to develop your own strategy then perhaps start by writing down around 10 of your most significant ideas on trading, then expand on them and refine them into different areas. Then repeat the above in the light of forward testing, making notes as you go. No idea is too small to be worth writing down. I would expect things will get less painful if you try an understand 'the why', hopefully the above process will help in that direction. But, a last word of advice, don't let things get too complicated.
Lot of interesting things in this thread, but people forget it is all about you and your psycho. If you want to day trade and win, my advices: 1 HARD WORK You won't get your own edge without hard work. Imagine you are looking for a Phd in finance. Many are called, few chosen. Write your ideas, test them. I repeat : write your ideas, test them. Don't take things for granted. Why does it work and when ? What did I miss? It is important to write your ideas, because sometimes you will be close to the answer, you will give up your idea, and 6 months / 1 year later, you understand you were right (or wrong) from a new perspective / angle. You would even forget you wrote these goods (or bad) ideas months ago 2 DISCIPLINE It means you need to react accordingly to your own rules. Same signal to enter / exit, same stops / take profits, same reaction. Be a robot (with a brain). No ego, just do what you have to do. 3 PATIENCE Day trading is boring and repetitive. You need to increase regularly your stack, don't search for big gains. If you got an edge, probabilities are in your favor. Law of large numbers : the longer you play the same, the more you win. Good luck by the way! The road is really long but I can confirm there is a light at the end of the tunnel. "Eureka" CM