Other than Nick McDonald, Scott Barkley is the guy most responsible for putting me on the right track, for in 2013 he opened up his service for a free two-week trial, and it was from watching him use his system in real time that I gained insight into the nuts and bolts of trading (i.e., planning your trades ahead of time, identifying key [predesignated] levels, sitting on your hands and doing nothing until you have good reason to act, integrating readings from multiple time frames, etc.).
I still have a hard time trading down days, so I only traded the MES today. I might make this my plan: When days are slow moving I'll trade the MNQ and in high volatility or downtrends I'll stick with MES. I really liked the MES movement today. I don't really like switching between 2 indexes because they trade so different from each other that I don't think I'll trade either as well as if I just stick to one. But it is nice to be able to trade the one I like best for each day. NQ Daily NQ 15 Minute ES Daily ES 15 Minute
I added the number of ticks in a move on the 15 minute charts using the zig zag indicator. I think I will begin to focus more on ES than NQ in my personal trading. If I can learn to trade it when it goes through the slow times of the year then I might not trade the NQ anymore. I'm hoping that by adding the number of ticks in the swing lengths that it will help me to learn to stay in trades longer, and this might be really helpful when there's low volatility. The reason for switching my focus to ES is that I'm trading it better than NQ. NQ Daily NQ 15 Minute ES Daily ES 15 Minute
I want to observe how overnight gaps get filled. I have a dashed horizontal line set beginning at 15:00 CT (stock market close) and another at the stock market open at 8:30 CT and will fill the space between with a teal rectangle. NQ Daily NQ 15 Minute ES Daily ES 15 Minute
Although this video from SMB Capital is about trading a reversal in a stock that's been dropping for a few days, it covers some good info about trading the open. The chart he shows nearly matches the price action today around the open on the ES. NQ Daily NQ 15 Minute ES Daily ES 15 Minute
The guy is as fake sim trading as all the others. You want to know the secret in how I know this? Notice where his "PA change" action is. It is in the PAST. Why doesn't he simply wrap a box around the closing action and give us a direction? Because he cannot. Nobody can. If he did, he would be providing trading advice or something like that. See the game that is before you? Soon you will not be the student, but the master.
Well, I don't know if he is fake or not, but I do like the price action that the video teaches. I think the key is that he already had in mind what he was looking for before the Open. He had his levels and an expectation that this should (could) go up, then he looked for support and resistance to help him get in. I like the video because I also try to look for support and resistance around the open and that's what my trade was based on. But I didn't believe it was going to really go up until I got in, and then I regretted it and nearly got out too early, but stayed in and was relieved when it made a little more than my usual target. Now I really wish I'd stayed in for longer, but I thought it could reverse where I got out and didn't want to risk it. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. Everyday I look at these moves and wonder why I'm not in them!!!! I'm still scalping for around 8 ticks, but I want to be in the trends. Price action on the video, inverted head and shoulders: My trade--not sure if it was due to luck or if it was a good trade...trading around the open is the hardest time of day for me to get right.
Didn't get these charts done yesterday, so worked on them just now. The daily charts have today's partially formed candles showing. Usually I won't show a partially formed candle, but it's close enough to the open that the candles show good information, even though not complete. FOMC Wednesday...so the slowing down at the top since Sunday could do a ranging than breakout(s). Could do anything , but that's just what I think is one scenario to watch for. NQ Daily: NQ 15 Minute: ES Daily: ES 15 Minute:
So, today is the end of this journal. At least for a while. I might start it up again if I learn to maintain self-discipline and do well with trading. Between yesterday and today I blew my account trading stupid. I had been doing OK for a while and thought I'd reached profitability because I had a lot of days in a row with profits and very little drawdowns. But something snaps in me when I have losses and I do crazy things to make it back. I know that I do this, and I've determined not to do this. Yet I still do this. I need to figure out if I'm going to continue with trading or not and whether or not I will have the self control to be a good trader. And I need to do that without keeping up a journal. I did think of one plan that might work: I could always only keep enough in my account to a certain amount over the minimum requirement for one weeks worth of trading. If I make money for the week, I can withdraw the extra. If I lose it, I would have to replace it before being able to trade. I actually think I trade better when I have to trade right, so this might work. Thanks to everyone who read my journal. And a special thanks to the person who taught me the method I learned to trade in this journal even though I didn't follow the plan the way it was suppose to be traded and I made a mess of it.