Waited the entire day to short. When the signal finally came, I did take the signal because it would have broken "no trade" in last hour rule. Missed a very good trade following rules. Have to learn to appreciate the discipline rather than seeing "what I missed".
nimble, your name fits your trading style,those small profits you missed will come back to you,if you learn discipline you will be around forever
Ammo, thanks for the encouragement. Market is always here, and my job as a trader right now is to survive as long as i can Today, 2 trades. Both are short signals. Stopped out in both cases. If I didn't follow rule and took profits I would have had small gains instead of loss. If I had defied rules, I would have attempted a long based on gut feel. Anyway, I am trying as hard as I can to stick to rules. Once I get the habit down, I can start to be a smart ass and figure out when I "could have" broken them.
Well I have been following your thread loosely and it seems like you are making progress that's good. Discipline and money management IMO are the 2 things a trader must have or they will go bust simply. A method or set up that you are comfortable with is of course important too. If you critically looked at most trading failures I believe you would find it's due to lack of discipline and poor MM. I am by no means perfect and discipline problems have been a real issue for me since I started. Just keep going and improve a little bit everyday and week and you will be on your way.
How to Boost Your Willpower -- Eat candy, laugh and brush your teeth with your opposite hand. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/how-to-boost-your-willpower/
Thanks Ammo. Anekdoten has a great list. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1922656#post1922656
2 Trades. First one short, small profit. Second one long and no stop. Averaged "down", and end up with quite some profit. Got very close to being stopped out. This was somewhat a conscious trade based on my "other system". That's a problem. I mix up my systems. One is my predominant system, and I deviate from it 'cos that system does not trade frequently. I should probably focus one system to day trade ES, and find a system for swing trading, or day trade another instrument for days when I "get bored". Anyway, done for the day and week.
Food for Thought on the Subject of Living a Fearless Life. http://www.pennies-from-heaven.us/futurestradingsecret.htm
1 Trade today. Waited for many many hours for signal. Took profit way too early on first half (against rule) because I was not comfortable since market has been bullish the entire morning and in theory has broken out. Took profit again on the other half based on rule. And happy on the A- trade )