I feel bad for you because your post, from what I can tell, is actually by a real trader who is having difficulty with his strategy. These know-it-all traders just know how to tell everyone else how what they are doing is wrong, and yet add nothing useful or helpful to the discussion, or even go to any length to show that they are doing any better. They are simply the guy on the other side "of the trade" in that they hunt out these posts to state over and over again how they have it all figured out. Where they claim that you are making yourself feel better by stating that day trading can't be done, they are making themselves feel better by showing off saying they can do it 100 times better. There have been some good posts in this thread, and it is clear that you yourself haven't been able to figure out how to day trade, but at the very least, its a real result for you, and all these yahoos claiming they know how to do it aren't even providing a tangible proof of their result, just stating that they can do it since you said you couldn't. If they had any more credibility, then perhaps their works would be more valuable, but as it stands, which you already know, its pretty much useless. The only solution is to hang out here less. If you're frustrated, figure out other ways to channel this energy into something else, and if you had a good day, come here to gloat. Its the ET way!
I guess you can say having a down month is having difficulty with my strategy. I prefer to look at longer term results which have been positive, and which I focus on. My reason for trading is not to make money every day, like daytraders aim to do, but to make as much as I can when a good opportunity arises. Daytrading doesn't allow me to fully take advantage of these longer term opportunities, which is why I try not to do it. I'm trying to maximize the growth in my account, not the number of winning days, which daytraders aim to do. As Livermore rightly stated, " the money is made in the sitting". I do respect consistent winning daytraders because I know its a difficult way to make money, but most seem very limited in their view by ignoring the potential gains available in catching the big moves that happen over several weeks and months.
Agreed...If/when I plot out the MFE/MAE of specific trades, it's an eye opening experience as to how much I leave on the table repeatedly (especially when I'm hyper-focused on the short term)...Granted, in a market like this, we go thru weeks where the better plan is to daytrade (especially if there is alot of gap risk in the overnight markets)...At the same time, there are stretches of very good macro trending and it's fool's gold to constantly get in and out of the move since it can be very costly and open all sorts of pilot error... That Livermore quote always stuck with me as well...When I'm positioned right I simply leave or turn off the monitors...It certainly goes against conventional wisdom, but I (and in most cases we) are fighting ourselves and our needs, desires to find some instant gratification...Hard lessons for certain.
this is not a nursery... and there are no babysitters here to show the ropes.. we are all in a competitive business the man has an issue with a market, and he was told that it is not a issue with the market but with his method that's it what to do next? continue working at the method end of story
great one only has to remember that it means not only sitting in the position but waiting for the situation to develop to enter that position
There are no crap markets to trade -- only crap traders ...just some food for thought, There's money to be made in all market conditions. every day.
A swing trader won't survive the chop without a grasp of intraday mechanics. The prerequisite to swing trading is at the minimum, to be a breakeven daytrader which is a point most won't evolve to. This is a very hard business to survive in nowadays. It's statistical warfare.
any trader should be capable of operating like all weather interceptor fighter who has all-weather avionics, assuring successful operations during night, rain, snow, or fog somehow it was considered the domain only of day traders, but in reality anyone who calls himself a trader should be able to operate in almost any weather on the market
I often am up 4-5 hours before ES day session open, I am not going to wait around till it opens. There are several currencies, Eurex, Energies, Financials, USA Indexes, and when day session opens and if no signals in Indexes, Meats, Grains, Softs. I check out ETFs or stocks, like it is like a kid in candy store of instruments to trade and if everything not fitting you system, cause if your system can't trade other markets, it never going to be all that good. My day trading systems does better on low volatility as I prefer to trade when markets are more controlled or hedged by New York. And when all else fails, learn to trade options, you'd make more there than swing trading stocks. I wish I started with really learning about options fifteen years ago. Too lazy, too dumb I am I am. Just a monkey pushing buttons.... Starbucks time....