Tex, Oh I know I'll have losing days...I've had many over the years of trading...I just got frustrated today not b/c of not making a profit, but simply b/c the trades I made (except one) were really not that good of trades....kind of half assed almost! So more mad at myself for not keeping good discipline than anything...I've never gotten mad for taking a trade on a good setup and getting stopped out, its when you take trades on bad setups...or worse yet..when you take trades prematurely thinking you "know" how something will set up that makes me mad....but your right...clear the ol' noggin and get back at it! Take care and thanks for your contributions, -traderTX
Good going Mccullek! Over trading was once one of my demons as well. Now I trade futures only a few times each week (ER2, NQ and ES). I trade even fewer times while trading options on stock indices. But when I trade, I ride'em home. (If you hear the subtle hint, taking profits too early was another of my demons.) Later, I'll post a chart of what I'm waiting on to fully develop in the larger chart intervals. Take care, Tex
Nice trade there Grill Guy. That's what I'm trying to work on, riding the longer trends. My style has been to ride the wave and jump out at the turn, then jump in again when the pull back ends. Sometimes that works out great and seems to be the way to go, then I miss a move like today and wish I would have stayed on board. Like the rest of it, it takes discipline, so I know I can do it eventually. I just need to keep working on it. Anyway, just wanted to congratulate you on that nice trade. Speaking of grills, I'm a steak man myself, so I might put a few on for myself and the family this weekend to celebrate the profits made this week.
Sharp, those charts are from the AMP Global platform. Yes, I trade directly from the charts using a strategy that allows me to enter long/short on the click of a mouse. Upon entry, the strategy automatically sets up bracets with OCO stop and limit orders that are held on AMPs servers. You can custom set the strategy a dozen Different ways based on your trading rules. The orders are visible on the chart, and you can quickly drag them around to move them to a new location, which I do often, particularly when moving my stop to lock in profits on the runners. AMP's Global platform is the same platform as Open E-cry's. Now that I've gotten used to trading from the charts, I can't or wouldn't trade any other way. The platform is very solid and I seem to get good entries and exits with AMP. The commissions are the best I have seen as well. I'm pretty high on them at the moment.
Thanks Mccullek. The difference in my trading now versus long before is that I understand where price is in respect to current swing (S/R and retracement/extension levels) and I pull the trigger in the direction of the greater trend. There are 2 types of Risk:Reward that I pay attention: - # of ticks I'm will to Risk at S/R in order to gain x # of ticks - In this example, there's a high probability that a 38% retracement will extend 127% to 162% in this particular swing. This sometimes result as an Equal Move of price run (62% to 127% then 100% to 162%) in the continuation. In your chart, draw a L to H trendline (3min interval for this example at the 732.20 low @ 13:06 (Central) to the 737.50 high @ 13:42. Then copy and paste it at the low of 734.20 @ 14:03. (I see you smiling now!) Even better, Fib Retrace this level and you'll see that the 127% extension of this leg happens to coincide with where I got out (time stop + profit target about to be satisfied). Each of these confirmed a potential price target. Is this coincidence? This is the way that I trade. I manage trades in this fashion. So letting them run and PA stopping me out has become the ultimate game for me. I once took 6, 17 and 31 tick profits. But hitting a full stop loss without fully realizing a profitable price run really tries our patience. I think it was in Susana's journal that a trader once mentioned how PA tends to move in 3's (descending highs or acsending lows). He's absolutely correct. Enjoy those steaks! My preference: the Cowboy Ribeye (that's bone-in ribeye for all non-Texans). Take care, Tex
Hey TX, could you explain this? Does this have to do with Fib lines or is this something else you're referring to? Thanks!
For the 3's thing that was me, and I'm amazed almost every day how true it is. secondly, my biggest problem, i think, is the ability to ride big waves. I'm actually doing a lot better in narrow range days where somtimes I even get 70-80% of the daily range, but in the big 20-30 ES points days I just don't make what I can really make from the market. I'd really love if anyone here would elaborate about what made him take less trades with longer targets and the thing he uses to determine the exits. Amit.