Ok, so I finally got sick of all the BS associated with stocks like the market maker games, the liquidity crunches, and the not so infrequent huge slippage, and have been trying to trade the eminis for the past several months with little success. I also agree, understandably, that it is near impossible to get any usefull specific information out of other successful traders. My problem is that the markets recently have so much noise and so many random reversals for any little news event, it seems sustained moves are getting ever more rare. So I find myself trying to scalp very short time frames with tight stops and small targets, but don't really think I have anything but a tiny edge there so any less than perfect execution makes me an overall loser. So where do you turn to try and learn SPECIFIC techniques for setups, entry, and exit that actually work? I've spent a year or 2 working on it myself and found nothing consistent. There are countless "schools" for trading and yet every one of them is consistently ridiculed as total scams on ET and other reviews. I've done a few webinars with some of them and I agree, silly basic systems that could be automated and run by a computer but lose money horribly over time. So where oh where to go from here? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have time, capital, and initiative, but getting very frustrated.
Moss - I recommend finding a method and trade it inside and out. Don't bounce around and don't lose focus on that one method - whether that's divergences, candles, elliot, etc. etc... The CME and CBOT websites have some very good webinars that are recorded. I personally think the key is to find 1 or 2 items and learn them inside and out. It should become 2nd nature.
I've tried that with several methods Brownsfan, just have yet to find a method that actually works even if practiced religously. I think there are successful people that include those methods in their trading, but in conjuction with a whole lot of more subjective criteria which is what makes them good. I can muck with candles until the cows come home, but even if I make 100 "rules", I can't get a profitable system over time. I'll take a look at the CME and CBOT stuff, thanks.