Review: Trade Management: Exit on winning trade was according to plan. The initial climb was sharp. Waited for the creation of meaningful SL to fan the line. Exited 1st contract as price surged toward potential R of 3208. Exited 2nd contract as price stalled at R. Plan was to enter on a continuation of the trend. After being stopped out of the 1st continuation, saw the trend resume. However, the long at 0902 was a very late continuation entry. A better option would have been the long at 0859. Entry Level Management: Sought to give trades a little more room today but this did not pay off. The shorts were well positioned, but the losses on the continuation longs discouraged ideas of giving the shorts much room. As a general guideline, it would be better to get tighter with extended continuation longs and looser with Reversals. Continuations demand an immediate move in the direction of the trend, while Reversals may need time to fruition, even though the Supply/Demand balance is in their favor. Have started to feel comfortable with the Open. Over the past 2 weeks, these have consistently been my best trades. Now I need to become good with managing these positions. I need to now focus on developing robust guidelines for entry level management just as they were for winning trade management. http://www.sierrachart.com/image.php?l=1381504358766.png
Since I don't understand your entries and exits, I really can't say. I suggest you review what I've posted in the SL thread today.
I don't see any significant differences between my read of S/D balance and your take on it. Longs were taken with the LOLR being up and shorts were taken with the LOLR being down. Is the difference tactical? I see that some of my entries are more aggressive than those detailed in the Straight Line thread.
It doesn't matter whether I understand it or not if you can make it work, which you may well be able to do if people leave you alone and allow you to go through your process. If you want to pursue differences, see what I posted to the SL thread today.
FT Day 36 Oct 14 R: 3220 R: 3214 S: 3192 S: 3178 S: 3171 Context: The strong 2 day climb since Thu has lost pace. A greater likelihood of price reverting to a more sustainable angle of ascent by testing the Swing Lows. http://www.sierrachart.com/image.php?l=1381754620159.png
Review: Too many early and impulsive entries. I can't do this if I want to go live in 2 weeks. There are some gaps in the plan regarding the Open. I need to fill them and then simply focus on execution. Focus this week will be about identifying gaps in the plan so that there is always a ready and clear answer for every situation. http://www.sierrachart.com/image.php?l=1381764820313.png
FT Day 37 Oct 15 Review: Should have used the the early BE trades as a warning sign of the market's tendency to chop today. Even though trades were taken as per plan, the last few trades were given too much room. Given the choppy nature of the market, I should have been tighter on exits than usual. Today's performance was a great example of risk taking bias during losses. The first 6 trades were BE. I traded full position size on the 7th trade and the loss on that trade made me keep the position size at max, when normally I would have reduced position size had I been in profit. Once the P/L started going red, I kept giving the trades room hoping for one break to recover the losses. http://www.sierrachart.com/image.php?l=1381848147797.png
The P/L shouldn't prompt you to do anything, much less hope. You shouldn't even be looking at it. Focus on trading well. If the trades haven't worked out by the end of your session, then revise your plan.
This method is really good if you have a strict plan and can stick with it but I am finding really difficult to make rules that apply to almost any situation the market presents and that has lead me to believe it's very discretionary and in my humble opinion someone starting out needs to have rules that cover any market condition