Is this "scalping?"

Discussion in 'Trading' started by IronFist, Aug 12, 2008.

  1. <i>"srsly... I have no idea wtf was going on today.</i>

    I do.

    You were fading inside one of the narrowest-range congestion days ES has seen in quite awhile. Try that same approach every day for the rest of this month... or until your account runs dry. Whichever comes first. Then see how it all shapes up from there.
     
    #11     Aug 12, 2008
  2. Would you consider today "choppy?"

    Please post a pic of this "triangle."

    I don't even know what choppy means anymore. I define "choppy" as "when following the slope of a MA wouldn't be profitable," but any time I have a choppy day I just change the MA value and it's not choppy anymore.

    So I don't even know what values to use to quantify a day's action.


    I'm sitting here looking at my ES chart for the day (233 tick) and looking at some parts and thinking "if I had traded there it would've blown my account out."

    Did I just get lucky picking the "choppy" parts to trade?
     
    #12     Aug 12, 2008
  3. How does one know if it's going to be a congestion day or not?
     
    #13     Aug 12, 2008
  4. I dunno dude. Honestly. Look at the bottom of page one. I bought up to 9 ES contracts (holy shit what was I thinking) and then at the top of page two I sold them all for less than 1 tick profit (average cost).

    That's not good trading, is it? That seems more like me getting pissed and setting a profit stop 1 tick above the last price... :confused:
     
    #14     Aug 12, 2008
  5. Do you find trading in this fashion induces a lot of stress?
     
    #15     Aug 12, 2008
  6. <i>"That's not good trading, is it? That seems more like me getting pissed and setting a profit stop 1 tick above the last price... "</i>

    Again, try the same thing every day for the rest of this month (or account runs dry) and see what the results are. I'm pretty sure you already know what the answer will be.

    No one ever knows ahead of time what will be a total congestion day versus trend day versus swing day. What we do know for absolute sure is the fact that there will be plenty of the latter two and few of the first. Markets must go somewhere intraday, or they cease to exist.

    When you lay on nine - ten contracts with a 1-tick profit objective and price turns on a dime against you from exact fill, you'll have a complete understanding of what reality is. Until that inevitable time, you are basking in the false glow of easy money that fell into your account.

    Not trying to rain on your parade. You asked the questions here... and those are the honest answers.
     
    #16     Aug 12, 2008
  7. ahhh....I didn't catch that. No, you don't want to be taking ticks on large contract sizes. Just come away from it with a better understanding of what you're trying to accomplish. Everyone has to start somewhere. Weed out the good from the bad and avoid the bad. You can do it. Anyone can do it but you have to find an edge and you have to understand what you're doing.

     
    #17     Aug 12, 2008
  8. i'll keep doing it (in a demo account) until the end of the month and update this thread with my results.
     
    #18     Aug 12, 2008
  9. ammo

    ammo

    watch the uvol/dvol comparison chart,if they are running close to each other on graph and your daily or 30 min chart show a lot of previous range bound in that area then the bulls and bears both like em at that price,if its one way direction,(3 days a month theres a trend day), then either the bulls or bears dont like em til we stop moving up or down
     
    #19     Aug 13, 2008
  10. I've been on an unlucky streak the past 5 trading days. And I've been telling people I'll make them rich.....if they just fade what I do.

    I've been joking to people I was going to go 'Costanza!'
     
    #20     Aug 13, 2008