Right now I am trading 2 NQ contracts. Contract #1 objective: capture short term (many times a day trade) market swings. Winners are usually 10-15 NQ points. Operationally, I close this one at the first sign of trouble. Contract #2 objective: a swing trade. I hold my stop at b/e + 1 tick and ride the market. I close it when I get a longer-term exit signal. Mostly I hold this one overnight, usually a few days, sometimes a week or more. Winners range from 25 NQ points to 100 or more. Sometimes I'll have only the #2 position open and get the reverse signal. In this case I may close it out and open 2 contracts the other way, or I may just hold on to the #2 position. It is very situation dependent.
Howdy Walther, My acid-test for computer speed, for a trading computer, is this: when I send a market order, do I get the bid or ask that I see on the screen? Yes I do. So my speed is OK. About Marine marksmanship: scopes are not used. They can do it at 500 meters with just the iron signts. Notice in the picture no one is using a scope. (They are shooting from 'only' 200 meters in that photo.) The Marine snipers use scopes and different weapons-- one shot, one kill at 1000 meters+ !
Besides practice on the simulator I also like to play a lot of poker. The game is different but you get to practice handling the same emotions. This is very important. It's why today, after that awesome setup, I didn't re-short after I was stopped out with a measly tick. Sometimes in poker you wait, and wait, and wait, and finally you get a good hand-- you've got a boat, you bet it up but you lose to a straight flush. What a pisser. But you can't get frustrated and start playing stupid. Had I re-shorted, I would have lost a few points. Multiply that by 100 trading days and it makes the difference between a succesful trader who takes naps with his 1 yr old kid and someone who just blew out his account.
Nice journal, but I do have a suggestion. Instead of just marking you're charts showing where you went long or short, try using a simulated broker that can't be tampered with. It's much more realistic...I don't know if your charting software has that, but if it doesn't, I believe there are some free programs that keep a record of your trades (simulated or real) that work off the IB data feed. Then you can post a snapshot at the end of the day for everyone to see... Keeps us honest... BTW...if you post your charts in .gif or .png rather than .jpg, they'll be easier to download and look sharper.
Well friends, today was the kind of day that I trade for. Due to a recurring situational awareness problem I have (and need to get rid of), I missed the big sell off. Here are the details. This chart shows my second trade of the day. My trend indicators were both pretty neutral, which usually means a big move is coming up. I went long on the first arrow. The chart is the 875 tick, my favorite to trade from. I drew the trendline on entry, to adjust my stop until it moved to b/e + 1 tick. The trade started off well but I stopped it out. Now here's the problem I mentioned. If you look at the chart where I stopped out, that's a great short signal by the same methodology. It's not that I was afraid to take it, I just didn't see it. So that's why I call it a situational awareness problem. I get absorbed in a trade and I fail to see the whole picture. This is not the first time it's happened. It happens a few times a week. Now, my edge: I am happy to report I didn't trade like a jackass after I realized I missed the big one. I am still working on a continuation signal methodology, but key words: still working on it. I collected information, but did not trade. In the near future I will use it to enter missed trades or add contracts. But it's not ready yet.
Hi db, thanks for stopping by, Trading strategies or practicing strategies? Trading: I sometimes take "S/R Setups of the Gods". You know what I mean. They come around every once in a while. E.g. a beautiful decending triangle over 1-2 days. Practicing: I use trading tactics in my lab work, believe it or not. Experimental physics is all about trying different things, always being on the lookout for new things to try, but not wasting a lot of time if something isn't working. Same with a trading methodology or even monitoring a single trade. And just like trading, the art of it is judgement calls on when to cut things off. If you are too tight you miss out on the big ones. If you are too loose you waste a lot of time and money.
Hi Breakout, today's chart in .png format, you're right, it's a lot better, thanks. As far as proving things, I don't care. I'm mostly showing my ass anyway. Also, it's impossible to prove because any graphics can be edited.
Nice! I like when people compare trading to the military. Though we really can't HONESTLY compare them because I have some buddies in the Guard who were called up and they patrol in Afghanistan at night. I don't think any military folks would like to see the two compared. Anyhows, I've read an article on how traders beat Marines in simulated combat due to their intuitive nature and the ability of listening to their gut as compared to the Marines following the rules and not being able to adapt to changing situations fast enough. If anyone likes snipers read anything about Carlos Hathcock, the Marine's greatest sniper. I think his longest shot was 2,000 yards with a .50. His disclipine was inhuman.