Turveyd and RN - Hey thanks guys, and I agree, entries and management are both important. I'm working on one aspect of each going into this week. Like I was saying with ND, I'll work on my changing my entries a bit and on the management side, with me that will mean leaving the trade alone a bit and giving it time to work. Edit: And I understand the point about how 'management' includes all aspects of the trade, including the entry. Either way, that's what I'm focusing on going into this week!
Not a good start to the week. I was stopped out for a 5pt loss on my first two trades. After the second loss I went out to the gym and missed the drop that I was hoping for. I came back and placed two more good trades and was up marginally at that point. I decided to go for one more long as I thought the market might be breaking out, and the end result was another 5pt loss. I thought the market was going to break out on the first trade, but unfortunately it didn't. The second trade was a short as the market was making a few LHs. I should have waited for more confirmation before going short there. The entry on the third trade wasn't very good, but it ended up working out for me. The 4th trade's entry wasn't very good either, but that one also worked out. I thought the market was going to break out a bit on the 5th trade, and once again it didn't and I was stopped out. I had a few opportunities to close that 5th trade out at b/e or a slight gain, but I decided to hold. I think part of my problem today was that I remember last week almost every 1pt trade I took the market went on to go 10 more. So I think I had a bit of the dreaded FOMO today, and that caused me to enter a few trades prematurely. Anyways, it wasn't a good start to the week, but we'll see what happens tomorrow. Today's results: 5 trades: 2 wins, 3 losses 1st: -5.00 2nd: -5.25 3rd: +6.75 4th: +5.50 5th: -5.00 Net P/L -$78.90 trades 1&2 trades 3&4 last trade
Today's results: 5 trades: 2 wins, 3 losses 1st: -5.00 2nd: -5.25 3rd: +6.75 4th: +5.50 5th: -5.00 Whether you realize it or not.., this is progress - no huge losers compared to winners It also tells that you're slowing down and giving a trade room to work Both good progress ============== Something to ponder so you're not unnecessarily beating yourself up Learning this take small steps... and while learning we make many errors - hell..., even after we've learned we make errors Mkt is a bitch in that - sometime it rewards us..., sometime it penalizes us - for the very same action (whether that action correct.., or an error) Makes it hard to tell when we've erred..., vs.., gotten it right One sure way to always tell is the ole PnL Yes you lost..., but each of your losers is smaller than each of your winners Make no mistake..., that is a big step in the right direction ========== One other suggestion - impersonal-ize your trading Too many "I"...,"I think" ..., "I thought" Trading is not about you (or me)... it's about what price did..., and what you (or me) did in relation to that Keep on Truckin RN
As you gain experience, your rules for entry will get much better, I see most of your losses cause of late entries. A year from now you will say you can't believe you got in so late. I may get a signal but based on "Swings" from one major Pivot high to Pivot low, range should be so many points, I think Nasdaq is between 16-23 points, haven't tested it several weeks. More than 50% of the time there are 5 waves in any one swing, 2 retracements, the retracements are usually areas we wait for to enter. Now for me, I want to get in closer to start of trend than near the end of trend. So if I add 16pts to lowest low of new trend, it gets dicey for me to be placing any more trend trades when price is at 16pt from Major low and if I do, will cut back on contract size. Most likely will wait for S/R congestion and get in near bottom for longs but trade with longer trend and cut back risk to 1-2pts Fast moves happen usually cause large orders hitting all the stops, market goes nuts, small traders can't control emotions and get in when the Pros are taking other side. Then markets usually will have some type of correction, some major reversals and some range bound. But last trade, price formed Triple Top, which happens to be my signal to go short and get out of any longs, same with Triple Bottoms to go long. I have another rule, for Nasdaq if four bars or less make 10 points range, I can't take any more trades in that direction for several minutes. I have various ranges for all the markets I day trade. Some money management rules aren't only after I get in but can negate a signal to get in. Only in ES where much volume is practical to watch DOME for precision entries. When I have lost bad in the morning and been able to nickel and dime my way back a bit above breakeven, I quit for the day, and it is hard for me to quit cause I am all juiced up, another reason to quit. I have made in spreadsheet by the hour Wins/Losses/Breakevens, this way I can backtest myself and performance I have done to see when I should be trading and when I should stop. If you not fighting to make money on each trade, you doing this for wrong reasons. Way to go, you doing better, keep learning and ask questions, you have some really good traders in NQ's Journals helping you.
Hey Handle123, thanks for the info once again, I'll have to go over that a few times to let it all sink in! This is a tough game, but I'm improving slowly!