Me: I did good and bad. I maximized my risk/adjusted return on a sequence of trades but I missed the forest for the trees. I had predicted the low, high, and everything and everything happened exactly as I predicted. Coach: First, you did great. You recognized when you were wrong and took some profits. Your account this month reaches new equity highs for the month. That's great. However, you had a bigger plan that would have resulted in much greater profits. What do you think went wrong? Me: Maybe as B. has commented, I made a move2move trade when I meant to make a trade2hold trade. Coach: That's a good way to think about it. But, that's too simplistic. What did you do wrong? Me: I didn't listen to Jack Hershey. I had a game plan but when things changed, I adapted but then I didn't go to step 2. I had a cognitive error that because I was right in changing my game plan that the game plan changed. I knew had the cognitive error because I said it to myself. Coach: Exactly. You didn't have a good game plan for step 2. You did. It was your original plan where you had predicted everything. You executed a successful play but you didn't execute the plan. You're going to have to take a lot more risk to do the returns you seek. You gotta get ready have 1,2,3 plans. Me: Right, I see my problem now. I had some rules that got in the way. I work on principles and will adjust those rules now. Coach: Exactly. The rules got in the way. Also, remember when you're tired of running the ball then call a time out and do the swap. You made a good play. You failed to call the time out. Me: True words. Coach: Listen, I know you're taking this as a loss. But, this is a great moment because now we recognized 2-3 errors that you made. Trying to capture every opportunity helps because it keeps you market focused. Take that idea and the idea of multiple game plans and being in the "game" and you're going to see what you're looking for. Also, if you get tired then make the hand off. Don't just quit. And third, don't overestimate your abilities. A good call or play is just that. Listen to what you say and act on it. For you, its not going to be a continuous process... that way lies ruin. You're going to have 2-4 discreet plays to make per day. And you're going to make them when needed. Anyway, you will not let this bother you. Predict. Execute. That's the cycle. Keep practicing it. On the path to glory, there lie many defeats that were victories.
I didn't read through the whole journal but is this coach a consistantly profitable trader? If so, why doesn't this coach have sit down sessions with Lucias during trading hours and trade there with him? Also who's money is on the line if it's not Lucias'?
sfbay: Coach is me. He's my self-coach. I'm consistently profitable and so yes coach is consistently profitable too. I use self-coaching as a tool. As to second question, I have subscribers at C2 who autotrade my signals and C2 reports back fill data when I have someone autotrading. They have netted approximately 8k over past 35 days based on my rough estimates or around 8%. When I started the journal, I also traded live at NADEX but pulled my money with profit. However, I am going back to live trading at NADEX this month. I will be opening account with around $2,000 for my system trading binaries (and possibly spreads). I will only be trading my system though because I don't have the time to put on discretionary trades there and at my C2 accounts. One reason I'm doing this is because I don't care how I get to my goal. This is purely a monetary endeavor, and I am planning to risk the entire account. One aspect that most people probably don't understand is just how skilled that I am. And, some people want to know, "How good am I?" Well, I'm rarely flat out wrong. I usually know where the market is going every single day. I usually know where the quote is within 2 points without looking at the screen within a 6 hour window. I don't gamble. I'm always working but it is really precision work. It is really fine tuning. And, those fine details mean the difference between me losing $1500, breaking even, making $500, or making $1500. The very fine details. It is typically just a matter of the risk that I take because I'm usually right. The more risk I take then the more I win. But, I will be really wrong sometimes. This is why it is so difficult. True, I may be trading the wrong way for my strengths. There is always something to work on but remember I have something to "work with". That's really key...
LOL.. so you were referring to yourself in the third person.. like Ricky Henderson did. LOL. I thought you actually had someone coaching you. I make reminders in my journal all the time and talk to myself but never in the third person. LOL. Sorry no offense, just didn't realize it until you pointed it out to me. You talk about about your winnings.. so forth. Can you post a pic of a screen shot of your paper trade results?
sfbay: Its a tool, like any other. You can do a search on collective2 for predictor discretionary & predictor day. Those are my systems and listed under Market Predictor. I can't provide links here. You have change the broker to mbtrading or oec to see more realistic results. You can click the drop down and see if live trade data is available for a given trade. That is funny though.. you thought I had a real coach. Lol.. I wonder if anyone else thought that. Good one. I got the idea from Dr. Steenbarger's idea of "self coaching".
Its really not suprising he has conversations with himself. He is two-faced in many ways. IE He bashes vendors and is also a vendor. It is ironic that he sells an autotrade program that in his own words is appropriate for a tiny account. If it is so great why not use it to autotrade his own tiny account? Must not be that great in real life lol. From his website: Products My Favorite Edges Standard Price: $299.00 Limited Time Introductory Offer: $179.99 I'm pleased to present My Favorite Edges. This is a comprehensive report on the edges that are working best in the current environment. I share my best working, never shared before, proprietary discretionary techniques. But we don't stop there, I take the reader beyond discretionary techniques fully into the realm of quantitative and objective. I develop proof-of-concept systems to demonstrate my claims and refine our edge. I focus extensively on inter-market analysis but include other types of edges too, including price based edges, time-of-day, and qualitative market understanding. This report is going to be invaluable for the day trader and active swing trader. I focus mostly on whole market effects that are applicable to anyone who trades the ES futures, stocks, and S&P 500 proxies. My processes are fully described in a non technical manner and refined using more advanced concepts. The report is packed full of edges and is 29 pages in length and is sent as an electronic PDF and can be read on the computer or printed. A CD copy is optional. It is entirely unlike any other trading guide on the market and can help you to profit in today's market. Be sure to order your copy today! Delivery is instant and electronic. Predictor Day ES Quant I've listened and built a compelling and appealing system. The system is 100% mechanical and uses no discretion. It can be traded with a tiny account. This system never holds overnight and always has a catastrophic stop. All orders are generated for market on open and close. This is an easy to trade system and a big gainer. It has averaged an 84% return based on 10k/contract over the most recent 4 years. It only places about 40 trades per year which reduces risk and commission. Absolute Minimum Allocation: 5k-8k per contract. Assuming $500 intraday margin. Minimum Recommended Allocation: 8k-10k per contract. Click the link above to learn more, view the audited hypothetical returns, subscribe, and view the monte carlo risk simulations. Be sure to read all of the disclaimers. Never trade with money you can't afford to lose.