Simulated trading IS what it is - a convenient method of 'keeping score' , but woefully lacking in 'real consequences' to the trader. Nonetheless, I've been pursuing my trading goals (dreams? ) on and off for years now, and feel I have paid more than my fair share of real tuition So it's kinda the lesser of two evils at this point in time, and I am grateful for such technological advances within the industry. (That is to say, it beats the hell out of trading the NYSE contract, using ten minute delayed data, calling the broker on the phone - and all for the experience of having your head handed to ya - hahaha). Yep, I'm a "quackajack" ( ya gotta love that term - no matter how condescending, the originality and humor demands some credit). I arrived on the scene somewhere near the end of the Equities II journal, and it just so happened I was starting to sense the importance of observing volume in my own stuff. So that discussion grabbed my attention - and then once it was stated that a Futures journal was starting first of the year, the hook was set. Fast forward 4 months or so - I've been simming the Hershey methods pretty much from the get-go, against the recommendations of Spyder, et al. My inability to follow the rules may actually be exposing flaws in my trading psyche, but we each have to follow our chosen path. Results have been positive from the onset, but always with the unavoidable 'self' caveat of "you're just playing a friggin' arcade game". Thus my decision to go 'public' - if I'm not yet prepared to risk real money (I will refrain from live trading until the end of the 'course'), at least I can up the ante a bit by risking public humiliation and ridicule My purpose here is quite selfish - just looking for a means to add more accountability for my time spent, and perhaps to even receive some constructive criticisms from my 'peers'. Considering the current environment here at ET, I shouldn't lack for any revilements due to personal failings. Finally, a couple of personal stickpins: I have a very risk-averse nature, and I also suffer from perfectionism. It is oft stated that a trader must find a method that is compatible w/ his personality - thus, for me, the allure of scalping. Naturally, this is in direct opposition to the "hold" philosophy , and it is something with which I struggle every day. The game plan: > Trade times (and any charts) in the Central time zone > Trading "account" will start w/ 20K - should losses exceed 25% of the acct, trading will cease, and I shall slink away, never to be heard from again - lol > Trade will normally be entered w/ one contract, and the max. allowed cts will be four. ( I try to add to winners when warranted, and have often been known to avg. down my entry, when perceived as poorly timed) > I normally trade on a daily basis during RTH, altho I usually take several breaks during the day (in case I happen to miss the perfect setup - I can say I was away from the screen ) If I know I won't be able to trade any particular day, I will so state the night prior (to alleve any thoughts of 'conveniently failing to post a horrendous day') > Daily results will be Hypersnapped from my Bracket Trader windows, which is fed via IB, and posted after I've shut down for the day . One shortcoming in BT is that additional contracts added/removed during a trade are only timestamped at the begin or end times - I will try to add the actual times for such occurrences > Total # of trades often end in the 20-30/day range, due to the above noted scalping affliction (also, this does not imply that I am practicing SCT - I rarely reverse at this juncture) > Greatest effort is utilized to "buy the ask and sell the bid" (in other words, it became obvious very early on that limit orders in sim are about as far from reality as one can get) However, I will use stop orders for breakouts and such, and any slippage will remain one of those unknown variants > I will attempt to post chart snips of meaningful trades derived from proper signals, per the methods Full disclosure: Bottom line, I'm a plugger, and as such, all actual results will fall squarely on my shoulders. Athough I am attempting to use all the tools offered under the Hershey banner, I do not profess any real skill level w/ such at this time, and can only hope to improve. That idea alone is the true goal here. Let the games begin ... (starting Mon. a.m., Mar. 26, 2007)
Done for the day here. Definitely nothin to crow about - made a bunch of my typical mental errors during the session, and for whatever reason could never buy into the uptrend after the first hour or so - thnik my bias had already been implanted (lousy home sales, higher oil) and could never get on the right side after that. Only consolation for the day was eeking out my min daily goal of 200. Another day, more lessons - tomorrow will be better
I look forward to following your journal with great interest. In many respects my story is not that much different than yours, but I do have one question: Why do you feel that the simulator limit order fills are "about as far from reality as one can get"? I wish you luck.
Hi fellas - thanks for your comments. Stevegee58: the trade log is created in my front end software - Bracket Trader (http://www.bracket-trader.com/). It is designed for use w/ IB TWS - if ya happen to use IB, and want to check out BT, they offer a free version at their site (main rub w/ the freebie is that it limits the number of contracts you can trade, and if memory serves, cuts ya off at 5) Big APPL: don't know if I can clearly express my thoughts on this, but will try. I trade off the BT DOM; a limit order is selected at the desired price, and is immediately triggered when touched. That being all well and good, the problem is when the (for ex.) bid size is 835 and the ask size 47. Unless your order has been in the queue for a while, I can't imagine getting a fill every time as it shows. What it bascially is doing, at least in my mind, is eliminating the ever present spread. I had a lot of days when it seemed I could just scalp 2 ticks at will, but when ya sell the bid and buy the ask, it quickly becomes a bit more difficult One can still use limit orders, but to equate them to 'live' performance, I think ya would want to see price print a tick below your entry. And that quickly becomes a nightmare, as far as bookkeeping is concerned. Just trying to keep it 'real' - and as we both know, its still a far cry from that. Perhaps someone much more knowledgeable can chime in here for us. nkhoi: good to know you are looking over my shoulder I need all the help I can get! At the time of the double bottom, I was "thinking" (first mistake) - ya don't wanna get in front of that freight train (price smashed thru S1, S2 w/ ease). Price corrected off the LOD on diminishing black volume, a Pt. 3 on downchannel was created, and I was seeing increasing red volume as price came back down to test the bottom (11:00 est bar), so I was not looking for the FTT. But I totally missed the retest of the new up RTL three bars later w/ the accompanying B\/B and the BO of the down RTL (I will blame it on misinterpreting my gaussians) What do I need - an invitation?
try an "atm" order when computing your profitability. If you can still make money it will give you the "balls" to go live.
Yep - all entries and exits will be at market - I think that will be close enough for what I'm trying to learn here. As for the balls, pulling the 'live' trigger was never a problem (in fact, always too dang trigger happy) - it was always those negative P/L's that were the bitch Actually one of the reasons for the thread - figured some scrutiny might facilitate some better trade selection - tho,that remains to be proven - heheh. Thus, we press on ...
Well, a rough tally of possible points today off the swings is somewhere around 45. Sheesh - guess its good to know I have some room for improvement. It does seem my thread idea has added some extraneous mind games here, so guess that's a good thing.
Pulled the plug on any more trading today -will just keep drawing the lines this aft, until attending to other duties. Was away from the screen for this latest correction - my equities portfolio was heard exhaling a sigh of relief Fearful, tho, of what may still lay ahead.