I don't want to start a fight since we came here for different reasons, me I want to be a better trader. After reading all 2800 of @padutrader posts, I am still at a lost on what I can learn from them? Maybe you can share with us what you have learned so far? @Evermore2017 could be more diplomatic but I do share the general feeling. @padutrader basically said the same thing over and over again. @padutrader you are welcome to continue posting, I will continue to read and maybe I can still learn something from you. As a side comment, losing money trading during this bull market means you are doing worst than just randomly throwing darts. Perhaps you should step back and studying the forest instead of the trees. It is important to recognize the structural and secular elements of the market. I won't talk about structural but the best secular since 2009 is an up trend (read @dozu888's posts). Best to you SimpleMeLike.
ironchef, The 9K loss is all in all,blow accounts. That is not continuously losing. Blow one account, wait 7 months, blow another, buy this system, invest in this course or this book, blow another account. Try this and that, blow an account. All retirement accounts is in S&P 500 index average cost buying for the past 12 years. Trading is just passion and challenge. The blown accounts is all my fault, lessons learned.
I wasn't criticizing your record so you don't have to defend it. Think about what I said carefully if you want to improve because I won't comment on it anymore. Take care.
To get to a pro level, you will need to solve a couple of things in order to improve your trading consistency. 1) Market is trading sideway most of the time which will eat into your consistency if you can't figure out a way to recognize it. There is a way to do that which took years for me to figure it out. I called it momentum trading which you've to figure out where the sweet spot is for each setup. The market should take off or continue in your direction once you enter your trade. Generally speaking, it should take less than 15 minutes on average after you place your order. Otherwise, your trade might get into danger due to dying momentum, sideway, reversal or market moving news which you aren't aware of. 2) Being discipline: you never ever chase it after you miss a setup, especially when market is far away from the base. Each base is different which is depending on your setup. Also, treat each setup like a coupon. You can't use it more than once and you can't use it if it gets expired. Please notes that when I refer to a trend, I don't mean to just simply drawing lines. In all of my charts, I never draw a single line on it as well as using Fibs, cycles and etc. I used to do that in my old days.
While not part of the fray, I'm finally getting better at trading NQ and MNQ futures. NQ just 1 lot. MNQ futures from 1 to 5 lots. I like the idea of your challenge as a source of motivation for me to trade hard and trade well. Maybe we can set up a mini competition here on ET. please let me know your thoughts..
hm.... that doesn't seem ideal to me to trade only 1-lot in order to match yours. Plus, I already got everything configured to trade only ES. You know what? I can use my spouse's account to trade to match with your 1-lot, but only ES for me. If you win, I'll share with you a very powerful and reliable strategy of finding an intraday bottom/top from time frame like 120-minute chart. On top of that, I'll share with you a great setup to trade trend reversal once you figure out intraday bottom/top. Please see the below chart. If you lose, you'll donate $100usd to a local animal charity + $100usd to Baron and show your receipts on here. I think that's a very good deal for you. Likewise, I can match your donation. If you agree to it, we can setup a competition for a week starting on June 2nd as I'm away to travel for the whole week next week. I'll leave to airport right after market close today.
There are many many ways I would trade this PA. Here are a few. Many others but chart is getting marked up too much. A few general ideas: 1)A range can be called a range once sideways motion for 15 to 20 bars. 2)When PA is in a range divide the range into 1/3’s. 3) if a broad range such as this one then I look to go long and short. Start going long in bottom 1/3 and adding as it continues down in an attempt to BO south of the range. Odds are 80% the BO will fail (good odds!). So as I am averaging down I am simply betting the BO south will fail and I will be loaded up for a 50% retracement or even a move to top of the range (ways to distinguish which is likely). I reverse the concepts for everything for shorting at top. 4) 50% retracement (not a fib and thats not a fib lol) is important gauge. For covering shorts as price pulls back..exiting..longs as price retraces...and for initiating new entries counter to the retracements. Remember this in ranges and channels. Especially channels. You get the idea. Channel is nothing but a range tilted with skewed pressures. Ranges bull and bear pressures about equal. If bear channel watch for 50% retracements to short. If bull channel 50% to go long. I like to divide the channel into into 1/3’s. in bear channels I like shorting when price retraces into middle to top 1/3. Start shorting at 50% retracement (price in at least middle 1/3) and add as it continues up into top third betting any BO of top will fail within 5 bars. In bear channels 75% chance it will fail and price goes back into channel. But bear channels are also bull flags on larger TF and odds favor that when a BO does occur it will be north....so heads up. In bull chances 75% Bo out of bottom fails. But bull channels are also bear flags in larger TF and odds eventually favor a BO south. 5) if a retraces after leg 1 is made and the retracement is less than 50% I look for another (second leg) in the original direction and view the retracement as a pb flag (only in broad ranges). Tight ranges too small for multiple legs. Note: last trades ...far right of chart ..averaging down and loaded for ride up to middle of range 50% to exit or scale out some and leave rest if price continues to top of range. I do not know what happended after far right of chart but suspect we got at least a 50% retracement to exit longs or part and possibly holdthe rest for second leg up. But if price doesn’t make it to 50% retracement i exit long on any profit because tight bear channel (within the range) to the immediate left inthe chart. 6) sooner or later a BO north or south will succeed. If I am caught on wrong side of the market when that hapoens and I am loaded up from averaging down then when that happens the best thing to do is exit then I double up position size in the BO direction. Travels 1/2 distance and I am out at BE or hold for more. 7) i can load up shorting on top side too when prive in top 1/3 and poking out of top of range. I would be just betting with 80% chance (high odds) any BO out of top of range will fail within 5 bars. Many more ways to trade this but these are a few. Good luck. Think about the concepts. Hindsight... i know ...but they can be tested forward. If you don’t like the ideas ignore them. Finally, trading is about putting probabilities in my favor. Here are the probabilities in ranges. I can exploit them. Of course, this is a large broad range with 120 min but the concepts hold true in any TF chart. Disclaimer: Not trading advice. Only for educational purposes and sharing of some ideas. Just something to get the noodle to working as you pass the day.
woo...... I hope you didn't miss your trading with such a long and dizzy post as I already executed 3 trades with about 4 points gain of profit so far. Will read your post more later as I'm heading out.