Sorry about posting twice in a row, I'm enjoying your journal. When I am trying a new strategy and "paper trading" it, I like to get in a chat room and call my trades with the new strategy. Its the closest thing I've found that equals the emotions you have when dealing with real money. The thing that sucks the worst is losing real money, the second worse thing is everyone thinking you suck as a trader.
What I was wondering is whether or not you are trying to become expert in only one approach first before expanding your repertoire, even though that may mean missing out on some very profitable moves, or if you are looking to have several tools at hand, switching from one to another as the need arises?
I just look at the 2000 tick chart (attached) to see the current trend. I use the "higher highs, and higher lows" definition of trend and draw a trend line. I use the 20 period CCI on this chart as a second opinion of trend, since I don't have a trading buddy. When it moves from -100 to 100, that's the start of an uptrend. When it moves from 100 to -100, that's a downtrend. When it tests zero, those are usually critical times. Like today! Again, if it's trend up I only go long, likewise for trend down. I am wrong at tops and bottoms.
Well don't include me in that group, and I know some others here who don't mind either. Complete b.s. on the author's interpretation. Marines are trained from the get-go to focus on accomplishing the mission, not focus on the mechanics of the orders. It's a common misconception that they are robots. Hell, even Gunny Highway said "Adapt and Overcome...". The whole Marine Corps is designed to adapt to changing situations fast, from top to bottom. Those traders were better at it than those Marines, since they get to practice their art every working day, while good military training is tough due to budget constraints (what I experienced anyway). Now if your buddies faced off against them after a year of patrolling Afganastan at night.. then we'd see a good fight.
Yes, I've been with this pullback method for 3 or 4 months now, I think. I love it because I've seen how it can work every day, and I just like how it trades. Now I have it on this journal because I feel like i've learned all I can about and am interested in what others have to say about what i'm doing. On the other hand there are parts of the system I am still working on, like the continuation signals. I used other methods in the past, one or two are even partly chronicled here on ET. One was "tradin' hammers". This method is really an extension of tradin' hammers, and grew out of what I learned there. Another one I did was trade a mechanical moving average system, which also shows up in this system, I'll show ya'll how tommorow (it's trend indicator #2). BTW I will always remember that system because that's when I first had a profitable month. I don't trade it anymore because I hate trading it and the money isn't worth the agony.
One last note about the big selloff today. There was a "three-inside-down" candlestick pattern right before the bottom fell out, on the 875 tick chart I posted. How cool is that??
The article might be- War in the Pits: Marine-Futures Traders Wargame by F. J. West, Jr. http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ndu/forum61.htm
Virtual Stress Wargaming with New York commodities traders gives senior officers "think-fast" training for info-based wars By Capt. Mike Snyder, Public Affairs, New York http://www.usmc.mil/marines.nsf/0/ace2663f5d5f857c852562ca00489939?OpenDocument
This also mentions the experiment of Traders vs Marines... How to Think With Your Gut: How the geniuses behind the Osbournes, the Mini, Federal Express, and Starbucks followed their instincts and reached success. By Thomas A. Stewart, November 2002 Issue, Business 2.0 https://www.business2.com/subscribers/articles/mag/0,1640,44584|2,00.html