Are you suggesting Depth of market, time+sales etc I struggled even more with that type of trading when I tried, personally!
It sure is reasonable. Only $100 per contract per day. Trade 60 minis and you'll make a million a year. And you'll only have to put up $100k or less to start. Sound a bit too good to be true for a beginner with no clue about how markets work and no proven strategy? Other market participants are gonna lose their capital to you because....ah yes, you have some charts and have read about "technical analysis".... You don't have a plan. Price patterns won't make you successful. Any fool can open an account and start trading - ever stop to think why the barriers to entry are so low? Rather than wasting your own time and money finding out the hard way, why not take a quick browse through the "journals" section and observe what happened to any of the NoDoji / dbphoenix followers who call themselves "price action traders"? The latest 'student' wasted $8k in a year trading 1 lot. And managed to post on average 5 times a day in a useless ET journal. Trading is a business. Proceed accordingly.
I see you've been reading my journal G.of.B! Just a couple of points if I may. First, I think there is a big difference between a method and the execution of that method. Give an ordinary guy a kitchen full of tools and ingredients and I doubt he can produce a tasty meal unless he knows what he is doing. Saying that, since you've been reading my journal, its obvious that I have issues with some of the help I've been getting, or lack of help, or incomplete help, etc. (and yes, I know there is lots of work I'm supposed to do myself). But as much as I am intrigued by what you write, you're very short on specifics. Price action trading I can test quite easily on historical data. NoDoji, the queen of statistical backtesting has done this and has a rock solid plan as a result. For myself, even if I had a rock solid trading plan (heck, maybe I already do, I just don't follow it), I still fumble in the department of cutting off my losers but letting my profits run. (I do the opposite of what should be done.) If you were to share the details of how you trade a little better, I have no doubt that I could fumble that as well. When you showed me in my journal a few months ago some of the trades you take, I pointed out how at one point price had gone 6 or 7 points against you and yet you were boasting about having gotten 3 or 4 points. If its in your plan to have such a risk:reward ratio then fine, but I can assure you, this is what I have been doing and its killed me! Seriously though, the details of how you trade are non-existent. I already complain about how fortydraws is only showing the best trades, and Db hardly ever talks entries, just theory. NoDoji does state that she has lots of losing trades, and has identified in detail some of her trade tactics, so she absolutely gets my vote for transparency. I would love to read more about what you do as I think we are all intrigued how you trade without charts. (Wyckoff re-incarnated???)
Just a quick thought... it is extremely difficult to catch every little swing. You should figure out a way to develop some sort of directional bias for the day, and just take trades in the direction of that bias. Keep it simple to start.
Raw experience keeps me profitable at the moment, despite stupid trades, my good trades just about out do them, still perfecting a method since my last 1 I fell out with 6months back ( Market got stronger, chop based system gets slapped to often ). Standard Price Action rules of trading, don't work, some have good runs, some do okay and think there trading off it, but really there trend following if you analyze there trades. Got to get your head around......... 1. Momentum. 2. Ranges. 3. Noise 1. the market will have a directional bias, need to trade with this, this is able to change at a moments notice be warned, but hey, be no fun it it was too easy. 2. The market generally trades in ranges, common mistake is to jump on the top of the range, thinking they will all run 100pts, few do, most head back to low. 3. Noise, that's the generally movement, the up and down blipping around randomness created by the order flow, got to learn to ignore that and when it gives you a better entry take advantage of this. That's not quite right, there is short term momentum, which makes the market move 20-30pts say without really hesitating and the longer term which creates the higher highs through out the day. Getting your head around above and trading it live with basically educated guesses on what the market will do and accepting there that, is kinda tricky, it will take years to understand above let alone live trade it. Awesome challenge and journey though
I agree this is not ildeal to have four charts. However I feel the four charts do represent more or less the same but give me a better prespective of where to place me entry. I do agree how ever the using 1 max 2 is more ideal. Nore taken about the stop and reverse, I think in general it comes to the point of maybe overtrading. Truth is, and as other people here said, the for start its better to determine what is the current trend/bias. and trade only in this direction. I found it easier said then done espcially on choppy days, but it is a good point though
I don't use bias as that always lost for me, I can't back test bias. Each second I know what trend is, for me is a close beyond most recent pivot so long as it is not an outside bar. Stop and reversals for day trading will wipe out accounts, when market goes into chop, have many trades ( which usually means chop). How I anticipate price to move is an upthrust that clearly shows breakout of an area, then on next bar a retracement. What often happens is newbies see the thrust in one direction and jumps in that direction, then using tight stops, so market falls back down to hit their stops, then market will get going in direction of upthrust. I use often "time stops", my back testing shows me winning trades don't hang around point of entry more than 3 bars, so on conclusion of 3rd bar, if I am at a loss, my new target is plus one tick, let someone else pay the fees, it I am up more than one tick, I will lock in one tick stop. Fees adds up like you wouldn't believe, ten trades for some is $40-50, so it is best if you can get others to pay this by getting that one tick on brerakeven trades.