What kind of entry/exit/stop techniques do you use? You mentioned candlestick reversals. I was also wondering, how much of your account do you risk on any one trade. Don't give up, keep probing until you hit the nerve.
I wouldn't say it's easy. It takes a lot of mental conditioning to accept the market as it is, simple or not simple. It's true that most books i've read on advanced trading rules and money management have a way of presenting data and equation in a completely abstract matter. While I agree with some of the concepts, and believe these people are very smart in writing such complicated concepts, I tend to stay away from those that can't be explained to a 8 year old in a few sentences. Most people will try to apply the most complicated equation in the book. It's useless and dangerous. It takes time to come to the realization that you "get exactly what you want from the market" (Ed Seykota). If you want complicated results, apply a complicated system. Note: Complicated results do not necessarily mean losses.
so you've really had ONE year's of experience. i think you'll agree that part time stuff was probably bs and nothing to do with daytrading right? one years not really all that long... even though it seems that way... i'd give yourself two years (if u can). what do you mean by 'scalping'? (it's a tricky term to pin down, and it's hard to tell what ppl mean when they use it) pfft. like that means anything... somehow i doubt it. someone that really that much effort into (and succeeded) in understanding (and changing) himself wouldn't be on whinging on a message board. so you spent a minimum of 3 hours a day for the last three years coding systems huh? somehow i don't believe you well, you were probably due seriously, if you're not losing any money ($400 is nothing), (and you really are making all those trades as you claim), then you are probably very, very close indeed. why give up now?
he meant haphazard or odds. I can speak French fluently and still can't understand much of what he says. Might as well post in French.
First problem is... you claim to "have no idea WHY"! How is that possible after thousands of hours? IMHO after years in the markets, it is ...not... possible. Not with a serious and honest introspection. Not ruminating... but plain, simple candor and self-awareness. However, IF it is truly still an "unknown" after doing such, then perhaps you're in the wrong business. This is a business/profession that rewards those able to adapt to what the market is providing them... in the present. It rewards flexibility, ingenuity, independent thinking and creativity. It rewards smart work and planning... not just hard work (imho). Training to do this... well and consistently... takes years for all but the few prodigies; and often even they meet their Waterloo before finally getting to top gun academy. But first and foremost (imho) it rewards TRUST in oneself, patience and cool under fire! The final, game winning shot kind of trust and cool. IF after reading all these insightful posts on this one thread alone you still have no idea... you might consider looking in a different direction. No "shame" in that; this is not the least challenging line of work out there. But unless and until you know the "WHY", it likely won't change. Best of luck in all regards. Ice
Clueless, You've succeeded in one thing...starting a very interesting thread. I tend to agree with the idea that you really haven't had as much experience as you think. Without knowing exactly what you're trying to do, it's kind of hard to offer advice. I will say that the past three years have been damn tough for almost everyone. I wouldn't discount that factor. Part of making big money is simply being there when conditions are ripe and just about anything you do scores. Conversely, we've been in a market where mistakes seem to be severely punished and getting it right really doesn't pay off that much. Guess that's why they say no one makes money in a bear market, not even the bears. I think being in a prop firm may actually make it harder in a way because there must be a lot of pressure to be trading. How many trades did you do today? It was a nothing day, and the best play was to do nothing. Breaking even is not terrible in this market and with relatively little experience. Have you analyzed your trading records to determine what made money and what didn't? Often you can find that if you stop doing a couple of things, you can improve your results dramatically. Do your results indicate that certain times of day are better? Are you fighting the market trend or following it?