For my final trade, I took a short near one of the highs and got $8.50 gross. So today was basically breakeven after fees. I stopped trading at the appropriate time. Used stops on all trades. Today was a good second day.
One of the things that has helped me have the confidence to hold on to trades a bit longer than my normal 8-tick scalps has been some "hand-holding" by a few of the longer time frame traders in a chat room I hang out in. Their stops are wider, but their win rate is high and they are often trading 3, 4, 5, or 6 contracts at a time. My brain melts if I put on more than 2 contracts! It seems like their goal is to get just 2 or 3 massive moves each day, and they often get it. I think my scalping ability helps me in the ranges (when they may be flat), but overall I think they may have the winning strategy. On the ES and NQ trades they have privately told me they are getting in upwards of $1000 on many days. These Micro trades are a great, low-risk training ground for me. Let's see if I can keep it up and pull this off.
following others in a chat room is not..imo..a good idea nothing wrong with a loss as long as you know why you exited when you did..NOT because it hit your stop..for..what that really means is that..wait for it.. you are not going to like this you do not know what you are doing..which is no big surprise if you are listening to and trying to follow others..as they more than likely don't know what they are doing either!!!
I agree that being in a chat room has risks. But with great results, the risk is reduced. Two people in the chat room have told me in the last 3 days that they won't be as active because they need to focus more. As far as results go, one guy in the room TODAY got long about the same time as me and took at least two ES contracts from the 2858 area up to about 2887. That is close to 30 full points. I watched him do it. That was about $3k. I refused to believe the market would keep going up, so I didn't do any more longs after the two I showed already. So some of them know what they are doing. This morning, I took those two long trades because of the overly-bearish tone of the market. I am indeed a true contrarian. We were below the Value Area and the "Tweeter in Chief" still controls the White House. To me this meant that the PPT (Plunge Protection Team) was going to turn on the faucet soon. You may be right; perhaps I don't know what I am doing. But maybe I really have made some progress after all. We have only seen two days so far. My fully-disclosed trading will just have to start to talk for itself . . .
to be honest..I have done many trades in the past where I hadn't a clue what I was doing..once I copied trades that made me over £20K..without one losing trade!!! BUT..then I got the "more you have, more you want" syndrome..I do not have to explain what happened next.. let's just say it took me months to even put on a small trade after it !!! no matter what you think others might know..the reality is that it does not really matter..unless you are going to copy every single trade identically..and when they get caught out some day..so will you..been there and done that if you want to prove you know what you are really doing..it is very simple..just post one trade using bar or candle chart (line chart will not suffice)..and explain in a sentence or two why you did what you did from entry to exit..if what you say is repeatable..then all you need do is make sure that your results are net positive after a set number of trades..the lower amount of losers the better.. obviously!!! again..not being smart or big headed..but..I can read it like a book..why..simple.. because I have been thru it all already..a good few times!!!!!!
I am going to say one thing..and one thing only..it will mean nothing to most..why.. because they do not have enough real experience to understand..so..next time you jump in and jump out..like a jack in the box..look at the 30 min chart and see if what you done was a clever..or stupid..move!!!!!!! better again..go back and get the 30 min chart for the 40 point loser you had on YM
That is unfair the OP. He is using what works for him. For example, if you were to look at the same chart with not 30 min bars, but Renkos, or some other range-type bar, would you come to the same conclusion as your 30 min bar chart? I would think not. They all paint a different picture of the same market condition. It is how we interpret those various charts that matters.
you could well be right..or..you could well be wrong..like with anything else in life..we can only go on what we have experienced..but..we should always look and consider other people's experiences where it is relevant to what we are trying to accomplish..without any personal biases..or..take everything we read with a pinch of salt..unless there are sufficient facts to support the views and opinions of what others say in the medical world..clinical trials are such an example of what I speak about so..what about the big bad world of trading..where can one find the "clinical trials" data..or does it even exist!! it is up to every person to do their own research into their own trials..but like the medical profession..the data has to be scrutinized to determine if it is safe and effective..if not..it can not be used what do most people do when they suddenly are confronted with a serious problem..they start looking on the internet for information..but..how many spend the time and effort to make sure they are looking in the right places!! it is not about being fair..or unfair..it is about the OP's ability to understand and being able to distinguish between what is best for what he is trying to accomplish..it is no use telling someone what they want to hear..that approach is only used by people who want others to part with their money the only thing that matters in trading is the end results..will the OP achieve his target..well..imo he will not..based on my experiences and what most do when they try...but only time will tell!!
Followed all my rules today. My old mentor said Discipline + Simplicity = Success. Today's market was anything but simple, but I took the trades I saw. I honored my stops and took profits at decent places. I was looking for shorts because the market looked "overbought" to me on news of China coming back to the negotiation table. Got close to $40 net gain today, or about 4% on my current balance.