Give it a rest. 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months. Depends. If it's in your "blood", you'll eventually come back with better ideas/methods to test. But you need a break & some "clarity" to form a better way of trading. ES is a tough game. Not my kind of playground. Shitty odds.
The woodchuck circles the trap many times, and from all angles before deciding how he is going to get the fruit. Sometimes he will wait till another animal is in the trap, then pick the fruit through the wire cage. Woodchucks know their capabilities. They pal around with others in their den and know when one does not come home. They search for the scent of their own, and hear the cry of the one that is trapped. The big, old woodchucks learn from others mistakes and do not make the same mistake themselves. They are not paralyzed in fear, but cautiously optimistic, ever searching for the food they want, but holding onto true principles that have kept them alive. Big, old woodchucks will at times walk away from a trap because the lure of the fruit is not worth the work it will take to get out of the trap before the hunter kills him. Become the woodchuck
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QPHLb6QqfJ8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QPHLb6QqfJ8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Everyone and their mother wants to make 2k a day trading ES off the 1min charts. Get rid of the damn 1min charts. Ive been trading for 4+ years now and I NEVER LIKED the 1min chart...I honestly dont see how anyone does. It doesn't offer anything of value. Filter all that shit out and focus on the 5min atleast. It will help you. I preferably wouldnt use anything under a 15min chart, in conjuction with 1hr, daily, and weekly. If you want to continue living in the fast lane, you'll get burned or ran off the road. ES has the most talented minds of the trading world stalking your every move. Let the trades come to you. intraday charts encourage ppl to overtrade, but if you have a solid backtested system that works, its just a matter of trading the system consistantly. It took me about 3 years to make every mistake possible, more than once. I know what i'm talkin about. good luck CM69
Since the crowd is usually wrong, the same thought can be applied to what the crowd trades. Too many "players" in ES so I look for other things that actually move. Find a stock or instrument (several) that suit your personality. I think in trading you have to be "different", do it "different", trade it "different" than others, otherwise what's the difference between you & "the other 95%"?
well put cashmoney... but es is really nor that hars to trade o long as you are funded properly.. the enmtire problem of people losing money is using stops and trading more positions than they can afford. I personally only trade 1 es for every 10k i have of risk.. unless i am hedging stocks then i will do less if i need too.. but rarely do i need to do that since i typically only close out trades when they are profitable. I have had only 3-4 losing days on closed trades over th3e past 3 months.. I have had 5o winning days with closed trades.. and yes I have had losers on all of my days... i just did not offset them at a loss. I am committed to my trades to a point of " i cannot ake the heat or teh pain anymore" then i exit and get trading again. Good luck R8 do not give up.. I SEE YOUR PROBLEM.. YOU DO NOT RISK ENOUGH.. LET THE MARKET PROVE YOU RIGHT.. PUT A TRADE ON AND RISK LIKE 1000 BUCKS ON AN E-MINI.. YES 1000 BUCKS.. LET IT RIDE FOR A FEW HOURS OR DAYS AND SEE IF YOU ARE RIGHT.. YOU ARE SCALPING BASED ON WHAT i AM SEEING HERE.
I think its true that most retail traders are in the market without benefit of sufficient education, experience, capital, or comparative advantage (edge). Of the few who do get past those hurdles, they run square into the problems associated with disciplined execution, money and risk management. Its a "gauntlet" of obstacles, and not many make it through. I would say that a motivated person could make money without having all their ducks in a row, however I am sure they would be inconsistent, making money, then giving it right back the next day, week, or month. There's nothing wrong with paper trading. While it doesn't challenge the emotions like live trading, it can teach a motivated student a number of things about risk management, order usage, how to stage entries and exits and the importance of time of day (especially for the ES contract). The real problem for retail traders is that its hard to find reliable quality information about the business. After that the next challenge is having the discipline and patience to learn the critical lessons. Since no one is there to insist that a newbie "take the pre-requisites" most try to skip the important basics and go straight into the market. The result is they get their ass kicked, they lose their accounts, and their confidence and become embittered. The literature is filled with examples of traders who blew out their accounts at least once. What we don't hear about is the fact that an even bigger number of people get blown out of the markets and never find a way back..... I've given this some thought and frankly my opinion has changed about mentors and education in general. I think a student should spend most of his/her time trying to find a person with good skills, and experience, willing to teach for a fee (I'm talking hourly fee like any decent professional). What they need is a good professional willing to act as a consultant. Not to teach them a system per se, but to TRY to steer them in the right direction, to fill in the gaps in their education and keep them from blowing out their accounts before they can get it together. I think the issue of "proving" themselves by providing records is a smoke screen for embittered people who want guarantees. I got news for you...there aint none. Get all the proof you want newbies but none of it will guarantee that you will make money. Nothing except your own hard work, talent and persistence will do that.
Can you please tell us how much did you fund your account with and what software were you using to trade the e-minis