This is it folks! I've finished a draft of my trading plan. In this journey to become known as the 100-lot trader, I'm going to have to grow some balls. The money management/position-sizing plan I created (shown below) is not for the faint of heart. It's a money management/position-sizing plan I must adhere to in order for me to ultimately become known as the 100-lot trader. I plan not to take out any money out of the futures account unless I absolutely need to. I currently have low expenses (I'm still living under my parents roof) and therefore do not need to withdraw any money from this account. After I get to level 9 I may decide to withdraw some funds here or there to reward myself. Preferably, I would not like to withdraw any funds from this trading account until I get to point where I feel comfortable trading anywhere from 50-100 contracts on a daily basis (and profiting on a consistent basis of course). The contract I'll be focusing on is the E-mini S&P 500. Please feel to give my trading plan some constructive criticism. Some rules: I will not hold a position after 4:15pm EST and before 9:30am EST. I will be trading on an intra-day basis from Monday thru Friday only. After each trading session is over, I'll go over all the trades I've done for the day and see what I'm doing wrong and what I can do to improve my trading. My Trading Plan. 1. Questions Regarding My Purpose and Myself: Why do want to be a trader? I want to be a trader because I am excited by the challenge to be successful in a discipline that is notoriously difficult and where, allegedly, 90% of participants fail. My primary objective in wanting to be a trader is to generate sufficient annual income of at least $200,000 in order to support the type of lifestyle I want to live. My secondary objective is to spend more time with my friends and family and enjoy the freedom of being able to be my own boss. These objectives are important to me because they provide purpose and direction to my life and enable me to lead a more balanced one. I believe I can achieve my objectives because I am extremely motivated and persistent. What Sort of Trader are You? I am a discretionary trader and my style is very aggressive - which makes me suited to scalping intra-day. I understand that I cannot predict the future and I accept that I cannot control the markets. However I can control myself, which I will do by adhering strictly to my trading plan that is detailed, specific, tested and profitable. What are Your Strengths and Weaknesses? My primary strength is allowing my profits to run. This contributes to âmy edgeâ and helps me towards my goal of being consistently profitable in the markets. My primary weakness is overtrading and chasing. The following aspect of my trading plan will help to control this weakness and prevent losses from spiraling out of control. I have a pre-defined daily stop. If it is hit, I stop trading or the day. Are You in the Right Frame of Mind to Trade? I will only trade on days when I am rested, relaxed and not distracted by work or family etc. I will be guided by my trading plan and I will adhere to it rigidly. It will help to prevent me from making trades that are poorly conceived and executed; i.e. trades that are based on gut feeing and motivated by fear and/or greed. I will not trade on days when I am feeling off hung over, particularly tired or when I am mentally distracted by other events in my life. 2. Questions Regarding Trading Goals: What are Your Annual Trading Goals? My annual trading goal is to develop my trading âedgeâ in order to tip the balance of probabilities in my favor. At the moment, this comprises two separate elements, namely: 1. I model the best trading practices, including having a written, clearly laid out trading plan. 2. My strategies are well developed, tested and monitored comprehensively to ensure that they remain tradable, market sensitive and profitable. I expect to achieve these goals because I read many books and magazine articles pertaining to trading and study the words of wisdom from the more experienced members of Elitetrader.com. What are Your Weekly Trading Goals? My weekly trading goal is to trade every day of the week in accordance with my trading plan. This will entail taking my stops instantly; sticking to my risk and money management strategies; following my exit criteria and devoting most of my time to searching for new trades and choosing only the very best setups. When I achieve this goal I will pat myself on the back by hanging out with my friends. What are Your Daily Trading Goals? My daily trading goal is to trade according to my plan. Today I will stick to my plan because it is detailed, specific, tested and profitable. I am confident that I have the self-discipline to adhere to it, which, in turn, will ensure that my weekly, monthly and annual goals are met. 3. Questions regarding Market and Instruments: Which Markets will You Trade? The instruments that I will trade are the U.S Market as well as the crude oil market. Which Instruments will You Trade? I will trade primarily the ES because I can incrementally increase the number of contracts I trade as my account grows without effecting the movement of the instrument (I donât have to worry about liquidity as I would with micro-cap stocks). 4. Questions Regarding What You Do Before the Market Opens: What is Your Daily Pre-market Routine? My daily pre-market routine comprises four key areas, namely: 1. To analyze and log yesterdayâs trades. 2. To review any open positions and update targets. 3. To assess todayâs market conditions and plan accordingly. 4. To plan the day ahead, hour by hour. Have You Analyzed Yesterdayâs Trades? Each day, I will ensure that yesterdayâs trades are analyzed and logged and that my trading journal is up to date. Additionally, I will check to ensure that I adhered to all aspects of my trading plan. What are the General Market Conditions? Before trading, I will check: 1. Index futures to see if they are flat, trending up/down or mixed. 2. To see if any key economic reports are due to be released and at what time â i.e. Michigan Sentiment. 3. To see if any key personnel are due to make announcements / speeches and at what time â i.e. Bernanke addressing Congress etc. I aim to trade the market reaction to these reports and speeches. Therefore, I will not trade for the first 15 minutes following the speech / announcement and observe the reaction to it by the market. This will help to ensure that I âtrade what I see and not what I think. Is there anything I should add, delete, or improve upon in my trading plan? Thanks in advance folks!!!
a discretionary ES daytrader probably has lowest odds of success possible in this game... best of luck!!
Thanks! I'm going to contribute as much as I can to this board. I'm going to try to help as many people as possible, to the best of my ability, as I expect many people to help guide me through my journey as a trader. This Trading Plan of mine is not done. It's a work in progess.
Dude, I give you credit for writing up a whole detailed analysis but you are attempting to trade the ES discretionarily - which is not easy. You will be trading against pc bots all day.. that game has been long washed away. The most successul daytraders on this board trade a variety of instruments and some of the best are stock daytraders...
discretionary = gambling although you say you are using a discretionary method, I don't think you are that dim. You are saying it because you are not prepared to discuss your method at this point.