*** Proceed at your own risk of extreme boredom. As this is a personal journal of sorts, I guess its OK to dump out some self-talk here *** Wanted to get this in place before the mkt open, as I intend to take a more structured approach to what I am trying to accomplish. The long weekend allowed the opportunity to go back and review the month of March in Spyder's JH Futures journal, and it served to once again provide ample evidence of the errors of my ways. My focus has been continually misplaced during my attempts of applying what is being discussed - I'm a stubborn ole fart, and more obviously not the brightest. I've been trading fulltime (live/sim) for over three years now, and I have become entranced with the activity on the DOM. I keep complaining about being a scalper - DUH! When I constantly consider where the next tick is going to land, I wonder why! So, it is now my intention to force myself to return to the edges of the forest, and hopefully build the proper foundation before proceeding. It's already well known that we will eventually be tuned in to the DOM and T&S - looking back, I don't know why I couldn't just let things fall into place as planned. Could it be that danged 'patience' factor again? So, just wanted to throw out a heads-up on where I'm at - this could get ugly, folks! No doubt it will necessitate using larger stops than which I am accustomed, and if the entry point (3) is ill-chosen - guess I'll be paying the piper - lol. Then too, what else is simulated trading for - I've yet to locate any merchants that will accept my play money. No doubt some will be salivating, waiting to pounce on the first signs of failure, with their "we told you so's". I really don't care to engage in any bitch fests here - just let me say that if anyone cares to inject such opinions - the PM door is always open - just realize that the wrath of Mephisto can become quite 'colorful' Just a couple minutes till open, so time to boogie. Let the games begin, Part II In the words of the venerable Adm. Farragut: "Damned the torpedoes - Full speed ahead!") Hoping all have a very successful week ...
Hmm - talk about sailing in unchartered waters - LOL. What a different way to trade - gonna take a lot of debriefs to sort through all these new feelings. The second (and last) trade lasted one hour, forty five minutes - what the hell is going on This is a busy week in other areas, so am trying to restrict trading to the am period. I hate giving up the screen time (more experience) but gotta always keep the 'balance' in mind. As there were only two trades (BT shows the add-ons as separates, which in reality they are), I will put up a couple notes. Trade 1: Entered short, anticipating a FBO @ RTL of the current downchannel. A B\/B quickly began to appear on the radar, so hit the REV button. Trade 2: so now long @ 55.50, but was a bit careless about being aware of entering the slow period - vol quickly dried up and the dreaded lateral began. Added the second contract @55 maybe 30 or so min later, thinking I would just exit the next up move to the other side of the lateral and go get a sandwich. Price wanted to actually work lower, so figured maybe a new pt. 3 would appear after walking out of the previous channel , and decided I'd try to buy one more ct. down under (not filled - and failed to note the price, so don't know how much it missed by) Also, in the event of the uptrend continuing, I placed a stop order at 56 to be picked up on the next leg up. Before leaving for lunch, the current LTL was crossing in the 58 area, so placed target @57.75 and fills were received while absent. We'll see how tomorrow goes ...
congrats mep.... not sure but that looks like your best p/l to date? and it was on a half day with 4 trades
Thanks, Jander. I was relieved to get out of the starting gate unscathed, since my decision to switch gears. Not the best result here to date, but that entails an idea I wanted to hit on in the earlier post this a.m., but was too hurried. And that being, along with my misguided focus on the DOM, I've known for a while that being so concerned about the P/L is counterproductive. If we do the work, and make all the necessary associations, that will someday fall into place - or, at least, that is my take on it. That is not to say that I don't receive some positive reinforcement from a positive daily net, but I think it best not to dwell on it too much, at least at this stage. As mentioned up front, it's just an easier way to keep an eye on the longer term score. I feel I've used some very decent approaches in previous campaigns: in fact, in the hands off a disciplined trader, I believe one could do quite well. However, I also think that discipline and confidence go hand in hand, and I've always lacked true confidence in my methods. And as a result, I could often be easily shaken out of some very good setups, So as not to be misunderstood - it wasn't worrying about actual dollar amounts so much, as it was finding ten other reasons why 'this trade' probably won't work - lol. Naturally, this would eventually lead me to discard what I was currently doing, and move along to the next flavor. Long story short, if I firmly believe in the setup, I feel I will stay the course. But all this can only be tested in realtime, through replication over a decent length of time, IMHO. Don't mean to bend your ear on this stuff - kinda slow in here - heheh. Hope you'll share your thoughts and experiences when time permits. I do enjoy kickin this stuff around Cheers ...
Scrolled past a thread coming here titled "Confused Market" - that pretty much explains the action here - confused trader Tried to give em some time this aft, but couldn't ever figure out where to join the correct side.
At least we had better movement to work with today. Making more than my fair share of mistakes via the methods, and found myself right back in scalp mode after the FOMC minutes, so I'll just call it a day before I get too stupid.
Glad you started a journal. Didn't see it before or would have stopped by. It'll be cool to see how it develops. I can relate to your DOM issues . When I was trying this before on my own, I had everything thrown in together - saw some weird stuff on the DOM that really chopped me up. Watching at the wrong time, too much etc. Now I know it was the "games" being played that got me. The changed focus should improve things. Good luck with the journal. Regards - EZ
Hey there, Mr. EZ - welcome! Hope you'll keep an eye on things over here, and chastise me when I get off track - one day I think I'm gettin' there, the next makes me wonder why I even try - heheh. But I do feel that hammerin' away at the basics is the key. Thanks for your comments, and remember to keep an eye out for those danged tree roots Trade well, amigo ...