1- 4815 zone - Surprisingly strong zone over the past 2 weeks, top of Friday’s session a. Expect this to hold unless very strong force pushes through it b. Look for signs of a move being exhausted c. Can enter pre-emptively as long as the move pushing into this zone isn’t too strong, although aim to have a stop of 4821+ if possible 2- 4790 zone, bottom of yesterday’s RTH VA a. Likely to be first zone hit this morning b. LF trend reversal if volume is strong here c. LF trend continuation if no signs of strong selling d. Watch the timing this is hit, if within first 15 minutes then show additional cautiousness e. Do not enter pre-emptively 3- 4775 zone, Monday ON low, tested 3 times Monday ON a. Unsure of strength, watch closely but don’t rely on this too much b. Do not enter pre-emptively 4- Current bottom of balance area – Zone should be strong a. Look for long positions b. Can enter pre-emptively
Bit of advice - which I am bout 99.99% sure you will ignore! Too much stuff - get rid of most of it. Day is either 1) Outside Day or 2) Inside Day - if you don't know the difference then you should not be trading. Trade each day type differently. Use averages for levels - forget about home runs, only a mugs game. Use ladder, booktrader, dom, or whatever name you want to call it for fast order entries in fast moving markets - set up buttons for +/- 1 to 4 ticks, and reverse trade, market to limit, trail stop and what ever else you find you need to handle fast moving markets. There are a few more things, but I would like to see your reply first. J_S
I've got a very open mind and I’m aware that I know almost nothing about trading so I appreciate the advice. I know most people aren’t like that, but I’m not here to show the world how good of a trader I am, because I know I’m not. I’m here to learn and grow as much as possible so that I can be a good trader. I've got some questions as frankly I'm so new that some of your comments went over my head. 1- When you say too much stuff what in particular are you referring to? Is it what I'm looking at on a chart (candles, volume profile, volume counter, range, PDHLOC, zones)? Or are you referring to everything else I'm doing in terms of my routine? I do feel like I'm collecting too much information and right now I don't know what is useful and what is noise, so I'm going by trial and error and honestly that takes a lot longer to get right than I would like. I'm hoping this journal can make things like that a bit more obvious so I would appreciate some more detail on this so I can know what to address. 2- I haven't heard of categorizing days in that manner but I did a quick search on and it makes sense. Today was clearly an outside day and I should've traded differently than yesterday. Thinking about it now there were signs in the first 30 minutes of increased volatility that I could've interpreted as 'we will most likely have an outside day today, tailor your trades with that in mind'. The way I was categorizing days previously was as follows: · Trend day (directionally one way, very little force stopping the move) · Volatile balance day (balance significantly above ATR with bull and bear opportunities, ie last Friday) · Slow balance day (balance ~ATR with few bull and bear opportunities, ie most of last week) One of my mentors showed me this categorization and I haven’t given it much thought beyond that to be honest, as this made sense to me when he explained it. I’ll read more into inside and outside days though because I don’t know what I don’t know. 3- This advice confused me the most. Could you elaborate a bit more on the averaging levels piece? 4- Regarding forgetting about home runs as it's a mugs game are you referring to my overarching methodology of aiming for the bigger moves of the day (11pts+)? And saying I should focus on other methodologies such as scalping? 5- You’re absolutely right on the last point, I haven’t researched much on this and I’m aware that it’s a blind spot. Definitely something I will be learning in the very near future. Do you have any recommendations on a relatively effective and efficient way of learning and improving this skill? There's so much conflicting information on the internet that for a new trader it's difficult to separate a good method from garbage. Again, I appreciate the input
Well, it is good for YOU that you have common sense - a closed mind is a sure way to getting nowhere. The main point is - everything depends on what TIME and MONEY you have available. Here is why - it is no good even considering daytrading if you are not able to be there to do it - sounds stupid, but I guarantee you many look into it even though they know they will not be available - total waste of time and effort, which is exactly what you do not need if trying to learn how to make money trading. So, let's start again. Have you decided what way you are going to trade (daytrading, swing or position), what market/s (stocks, index futures,commodities futures or options on any of the previous listed), and what amount of capital you can afford to use so that it does not affect your normal daily life? Forget about everything else I said for now. J_S
Here are the key levels I have marked for the ES as of now - if I want to trade the range, then I short near the red line, trailing a stop as it moves down - this type of trading is OK once you are sitting there bored out your mind and ready to reverse trade real fast if we break! Same for longs but reversed. The market is RANGE BOUND right now! J_S
Within a range bound you have sub ranges - again, it is all relevant to what way you have decided to trade, etc! You can not take a trade without risk - this is the most important part of understanding what is required to make money trading - forget about all else for now, as the "technicals" are in fact the easy bit once you do some trading - controlling your risk is what will make or break you! J_S
The most important chart is the 30 min chart - this will become obvious to you as you gain some experience with making and losing money. J_S
Yes, I've considered all that. Answers are below: · Day trading - I quit my job at end of last year to dedicate 100% of my time to this, non market hours and weekends included. Apart from my marriage and personal health, growing as a trader is my highest priority. I’m currently enjoying dedicating about 50-60 hrs a week on trading / trading related activities. · I've decided to trade futures on the NQ o Futures for 2 reasons § Leverage, with proper risk management and an edge leverage can be your best friend § I’m thinking a bit longer term here, but once I get the hang of futures I can progressively grow my account without having to make significant changes to my trading strategy. Going long 1 contract vs 20 mechanically isn’t a big difference in the NQ o The NQ because it’s not as volatile so I’m comfortable with the swings based on my account size, the liquidity is more than sufficient for what I’m trading and will be in the future, and it just felt ‘right’ when I went through sim with it · I've currently allocated $19K to trading, and once I feel I am comfortable enough around the psychological aspect of trading, I can add a bit more to this. I am also in a position where I don’t need to take any money out of the trading account and pay all my living expenses comfortably for ~1 ½ year.
You are probably better off with 4 monitors - I am just trying out something new (psychological) with one 50" and one 20" - the pics above are n the 50". Again, it all depends on what way you have decided to go? J_S
OK, at least you seem to have your head screwed on - ES and NQ are the way to go providing you are in total control and observe a few key rules to save your ass, namely... Stick to 1 contract until making money each and every day for at least a month. Take out the money you make every week. Forget about making a million - when thousands will suffice I can help you help yourself - but you must be prepared for the Gobshites that will that start posting here, but remember, the only person you should listen to is the person who is helping you make money - fuk everyone else, including me if you do not start making some money Most people haven't a clue, but it is not entirely their own fault, as they have just let themselves be sucked into the normal crap put out there for the public. NQ it is then! J_S