An update on progress, once again more for posterity sake. I'm not expecting anyone else to read this stuff. It annoys me that I have in the past simply taken posts like these in one ear, saved it to Evernote and then let it silently drift out the other ear.... The great thing about these forums is that people like DB, 40D, Gringo and many others are able to compress what would take months (longer?) to gain an appreciation of into a couple of sentences. But you have to really take it in, not just read it, file it, and move on to the next thread. What I'm doing differently now is that I am taking the time to mull over the posts I find important... I've also started reviewing the many many posts I have in my journal from both here and the Wyckoff archive over at TL with the same intent.
This stuff has a very brief expiration date, about the same as raw fish. Yes, much can be learned by studying static charts, but the upcoming session is always so much more exciting because one has no idea what's going to happen (which is I suppose why so many men move from one mistress to another). You'll find, though, that there are very few principles. The rest is just detail. In re Wyckoff, for example, pretty much everything you need to know is in Section 7. And if you add the earlier sections on Supply and Demand, Judging the Market by its Own Action, and Waves, that's plenty. Enough to chew on for years. As to the charts, yes, it is a shame all that was lost. But there are only a handful of charts that repeat endlessly, so losing them is not big deal. The charts posted at the beginning of my current journal are essentially the same. Fortunately I had learned before all the software conversions that using pdfs was a smart move, so nothing that is important to me has been lost. Before you go on through too much more, I suggest you start categorizing stuff if you haven't already. Waiting too long can be daunting, like cleaning out the garage.
On a practical level: Since monday I've been going back through the first half of 2014 gathering data ( and experience ) from the 100 Ranges exercise suggested by Db to kp I think it was a while ago? Anyway, from that comes hypotheticals and those then get distilled into specific investigations... It's a process, its not a small process and it's easy to get lost in it, but the rewards are plain to see. The amount that I have picked up recently is phenomenal. Add to that the focus I've put in on watching T&S as per the suggestions here over the weekend, it's been a good week so far
true. I keep all of this organised in Evernote, each time I add something new I tag it for easy search and PDF export later. Its the curse of being in I.T for the last 15 yrs or so! Same with my Daily Reviews and Pre Market Analysis.
Thanks for this. To me that is a really important distinction - it's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer mountain of information available. Keep it simple. Focus on the principles.
This was the impetus for the SLA/AMT pdf. I'd spent years pushing people to read W's course and begin journals and journaling in order to implement what was being learned, but this rarely worked out, largely because I very much underestimated the debilitating effects of fear, and fear is learned very quickly. A couple of years of fearful trading and a blow-up or two and anyone who still wants to nail this down has a long, hard road ahead of him. In all fairness, though, a 400p course is a hard sell, which is where Wyckoff Lite originated. But even that was too much for most. The SLA/AMT, on the other hand, is only 40p, half of which are charts. Granted there are no wasted words, but 40p is a lot more approachable. All of which is a way of making the point that as time goes by, you'll end up internalizing what matters and sloughing off the rest. And the fewer guiding principles you need, the more confidence you'll have at the beginning of the trading day and the more difficulty you'll have in being thrown. It might not be a bad idea to begin a separate file of those things that you really need to know (like Don't Be A Schmuck) and use that as your carry-on luggage.
Cheers. On a lighter note, as to DB's point above. For those who are more visual learners. I give you... There are a couple of recent threads come to mind
A further update on progress; lest inertia set in and I go a couple of weeks before updating the journal. I spent last week working on two main areas; watching T&S in the first 90m and also visually backtesting 2014. I managed to go through the entire year, so I experienced many different market environments. I'll post up some stats from the backtesting later as I think there are some others who would benefit from some of the broad strokes, particularly if they are going through the whole trade plan process DB outlines. I detailed around 500 entries in just under 200 trading days last year, so a decent sample size. Funny thing is along the way I found out specifically what entries suited me and my personality etc... Hint: I like reversals This week has been focused on the original Wyckoff course. I haven't looked at the market yet this week. My plan originally was to step back through all of the entries that I highlighted in my backtesting, but I figured I'd gain more from the process by really studying the original literature before doing so. I havent studied this much since University! Edit: Just logged back in to see that DB's updated the AMT pdf so guess I've got more to read! Once again, a big thanks to DB, 40draws et al who post so much information so freely so that others like myself can benefit. It is very much appreciated. It's a pity the trolls detract from it.
Now I have a bit of time tonight I thought I'd post a bit about the backtesting I undertook last week. If this helps to flesh out the bones of a process for others then it will be worth posting. I know I gained a lot out of it as I found the exercise to be really beneficial in a number of ways. The intention was to go through a years worth of trading days so that I captured all kinds of trading environments. I wanted to gather stats and data but more importantly highlight examples that I could then go back to study, replay and analyse further. So this was really a first pass aimed at identifying examples for more detailed backtesting. The intention being that this sample data will then form the basis of my testing and eventually my new Trade Plan. So, on to the process...
So - over the course of 2014 I highlighted ~550 trades over 192 trading days - give or take. I captured relevant data on reversals, retracements and breakouts that jumped out at me. Not just the clean sharp reversals etc, but also the messy choppy "dammit when is this thing ever going to move" kind of price action based on a valid level being triggered. You can guess the basic data points captured: time, level (Yesterday's High etc), level type (daily, Intraday, Globex), trade/entry type (BO,REV,RET) and a few others... Things like whether the "Danger Point" held as per Wyckoff For each new week I drew relevant higher timeframe trend channels etc For each new session I looked for guidance from the daily, hourly, 15m and then 5m charts to highlight relevant recent levels. So both regular trading hours and globex levels were identified. The added benefit of doing this is that I gained the experience of conducting ~200 days worth of pre market analysis and daily trade plans!