Max DD = Maximum Drawdown. In case you still don't know what i'm talking about, its the largest loss in equity before you make a new equity high. I'm of course talking about historical results, which you SHOULD have ingrained in your memory! fyi...these are BASIC things -- if you don't know these then you should learn them RIGHT AWAY. :eek:
Hello dmastah R U the same guy who was running the US operations of Schfonacker Intl ? I was a quality mgr in one of ur plants ( the one in the south - SELMAR - ring a bell) I did hear that u quit cause the germans did'nt approve ur plan for localization and they were hell bent on outsourcing. Anyways I approve and am proud of your commitment towards maintaining the quality of worksmanship. I know its been quite a while ( 18 months i guess ) since u hav taken ur severance rather than bow down to the pressues of outsourcing ( this was debated and discussed by all staff members ). But I am curious ? r u the saME GUY ? If ur pls let me know.I reply because ur id DMASTAH is veryr well known in our company. Everybody says I WNT TO BE THE MASTER LIKE OUR BOSS. I also quit my job 6 months ago and am planning to trade stocks. I saved some money in ur stock option scheme and plan to use it very wisely. Pls advice. I also have a 401k plan. Eagarly awaiting ur reply? r u really Mr. Smith? Sincearly yours, jiko
D, i've attached a chart with some comments on your legitimate trades (#1,3,and 9 you said). Here are some other things to think about: (1) By targeting < 5 point moves in the ES, you are a scalper, meaning if you don't buy the bid and sell the ask, you immediately putting yourself at a disadvantage on the trade. (2) By having a fixed point target, or a fixed time (exit at 3:30pm), and not letting the market tell you when to exit... well, what happens when the market wants to give you more? Or less? People who have fixed point targets at least have done some statistical studies that say, on average, they'll do better just getting out then... have you done such studies?
Hi Peterfigliozzi, Really appreciate your feedback. I will explain the reason for my 2 pt target taking yesterday as an example : The initial swing was around 7pts. Since my entry method is based on retracements normally between 40% and 50% setup was triggered between 1130 - 1131. The low at that time being 1127.50, it was a 3 - 3.5 pts move from my entry. My system/method predicts quite accurately a move back of at least 50% of this range ie; 1.5 - 1.75 pts ( back to a minimum of 1129 .25 ) Any move beyond that is not predictable . Now, this is on a normal trading day. If there is a profit potential of less than this amt my method rejects the set-up based on the premise that the initial swing is too small to confirm a trend. This is the reasoning behind me setting my profit targets. But then again on strong trend/Breakout days like yesterday the market rarely retraces to the 40-50% levels. On these days my entry setups are based on different indicators. Trailing stops is what I should be using or trend lines as explained by you. The reason I am not following these exit methods is because right now I want to be consistent in my set of rules as mentioned above. Strongtrend/Breakout days are very very few compared to a normal trading day. I want to first become consistent trading on a normal trading day. When I am a success at this I will consider Breakout days a a Bonus day for larger profit objectives. The problem I have right now if I am not using 2 pt targets is that, I find it very diffucult to adjust to a normal trading day after a strong trend/Braekout day. what I mean is that I will wait for the big moves ( Hey I got it yesterday will/should target it today too ) which dont happen and in this waiting also give up the 2 pts which my method predicts. I know this is a mental block, but am confident I will fix it. One day at a time.....baby ste-ps..... Still have a long way to go ... Hope this makes sense. Regards, DMASTAH
Hi all, Apologies for the delayed posting. Due to an emergency I had to drive my wife to the hospital - but as the saying goes - alls well that ends well. Although I did not get an opportunity to trade on Thursday 04 29 , I am posting that chart with the triggers as per my method. Could have traded on Friday 04 30, but decided to take the day off ( would have been distracted since i had to frequently attend to my wife ). Anyways I took this opportunity to review and significantly revise my Biz Plan. Just got done. Spent 18 hrs over two days but was worth it. All my biz data is updated including disciplinary actions. Total OVERHAUL Starting Monday ITS A NEW WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Attached is the chart with the triggers set off as per my method. There were no trades taken for the reasons posted in previous post. DMASTAH
again, i ask: what is the expectancy of these things you are claiming? how about just for the last month? anything would be good are you are afraid of doing this step? afraid that your method might not be profitable, or not as profitable as you hope? there are plenty of tools to quickly find out your edge, with slippage/commissions. if you don't do this before you begin, then nobody here can really help you that much -- and you will basically be throwing your money away. your choice!
again, i ask: what is the expectancy of these things you are claiming? how about just for the last month? anything would be good are you are afraid of doing this step? afraid that your method might not be profitable, or not as profitable as you hope? \ Hi Funky, While I really appreciate your concern regarding my expectancies I would want to reiterate once again that the reason for my journal is to develop a sense of discipline and not to doubt my method/system. I have absolute confidence in the triggers set-off by my method and am trying to stick to trading just these setups. Unfortunately my passion for being in the markets all the time is proving to be a major hinderance. Please treat my avoidence/ignorance to your post as nothing more than trying to get off the subject/focus off starting this thread. Note that I am not in search of a system or method that will make me money. I have already spent a lot of resources before getting to a stage where my major concern is Discipline. I Dont need your help or anyones else in this board towards helping me find the holy grail. All I want and am trying to seek is a sense of discipline. I know the road to get to where I want but am trying to clear the obstacles on the way. "f you don't do this before you begin, then nobody here can really help you that much -- and you will basically be throwing your money away. your choice! " So be calm ! We dont need the dramatics ! Do we ? I have chosen my choice It wont be long from now before I truly transit from being an amatuer to an proffessional. Happy trading DMASTAH