You are right. I am trying not to think of money or anythng while trading. It would be good to see it as a game actually.
So far I have followed my plan. I have never had one, so I guess I do not know what i am actually looking for. Probably some insights, good advice
Right now my goal is to make 10+ ticks daily with maximum daily loss of $20. If I follow my plan and patient enough, math should work gradually for me this way. Today I made finally 10 ticks. Yesterday was close. Obviously I trade only when I see set ups present . Better to have 0 day then - day.
Don't focus on the money. Your goal should be to take all the set-ups, to follow your plan, to trade to trade well as they say.
That's very true. You cannot imagine how many orders I cancel and they get profitable. I am being very careful now. I think I lack experience with stocks but gradually gaining it. I am thinking in ticks, not in $. The progress however is noticeable. My winning streaks are getting longer and I am getting more ticks per day. I already can trade more than 100 shares, But decide not to for now.
How do you trade? Using MS as an example, what time frame charts do you look at for your setups, what time frame charts do you look at for cross-reference (such as entries, or daily bias) and how do you choose whether to enter long or short? I use 3-min or 5-min charts for setups, I use 1-min charts to guide my entries so I can place a very tight stop without too much shakeout, and I cross-reference a daily chart for overall trend so I know in which direction the greatest moves might take place. Do you trade with the trend; do you trade breakouts; do you ever consider counter-trend trades (if so, what are your conditions for taking a position)?
Quote from shiko2000: I have seen guys who made it and chances are higher to make it while trading prop than own account. Unlikely. Most of the rotating crop of prop newbies don't get anywhere near the successful props traders so they can get much help. All you learn is 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb, same as at home. My cousin made it actually with Swift. Make it? You see his He made $10? $20,000? Has he done this for 5 years, with good metrics? 6-12 months is not "making it" but most likely luck until the black swan or clumsy self-confidence causes a blowout. Generally from what i have heard it takes 6-12 months on average to start making money. I do not expect to make it before 1 year. Try 5-10 years, and even then, unlikely to have longterm lucrative success. I am learning to read tape and watching support/ resistance. Better than many I also understand importance of knowing when to trade and when not to trade, patience and discipline. You think. It takes a long term to REALLY grasp these. These factors are far more important that system. No, they are not. Contrary to what many claim, without a serious outperformance edge, you are just a longterm gambler, losing everything to the casino's house edge. Commissions, slippage, bid/ask spread, fees, black swan events, errors, risk and other things make it VERY hard. You may have to do 30%+ annual gain just to break even.
Why are you cancelling orders that get profitable. How do you go about being careful? Why should thinking in ticks differ from thinking in dollars? Rather than think in Ticks per day think in trades per day that you made following your plan perfectly.
I have opened daily chart. 1H, 15Min, 5 Min and 1-2Min. Setups can be trend following buying retracement when bottom confirmed. Can be contratrent when trend is overextended. Can be range trades. In all cases I wait for price to show me some top bottom to have stop loss established.