Made a short example based on my real trades for just one day. Too lazy to check more days. As I don't want to give away my system I made it in a form that shows how it works, and what it can mean for you. Still some remarks: I based it on a small account size and used MNQ to show that it even works for small positions. Nobody needs to know what size I trade. This sample was from an excellent day. So the difference is huge as a result of compounding, combined with a big leverage. Big leverage is possible because of very low rate of losing trades and very small losses. So each trader will have different results depending on how good he is. Frequency has a big impact too, because each extra trade brings additional return on a continous growing size. Even on more difficult days the take profit taking and re-enterring still double digit % higher then no profit taking and re-enterring. Because at each closed trade the account grows, the size can grow too. With an open profit you can not do that. There are three different scenarios: trading with compounding as I do. trading with compounding with just 10 points better re-enter. trading without compounding and out and in again at the same price. In and out in the same second. The first column gives the number of contracts traded. The second column gives the number of contracts traded without any exit and re-entering.
Okay. I'll bite. If you discovered something which works and which isn't public or common (book) knowledge - why share it publicly on a board?
Three questions: How is it beneficial to share any small or big secret with strangers? Can you give me some names ( and their performance) of some famous very successful traders who share their secrets? Why have employees in big funds or trading companies to sign NDA's? Why can they not share what they know? If people only want the layout of my trading plan: I try to buy low and sell high, following the trend. (I think 99% of traders try to do the same). The last part of your post confirms that sharing makes no sense: "others would have trouble following it, because it's not their plan and they wouldn't trust it." So what's the use of sharing? Trading is like war: other traders try to take your money. If they cannot they can make no profits. Why would you help your enemy to destroy yourself? I am active in trading for over 25 years. Still have to receive the first help from somebody else. I did however receive already a lot of requests for information. It is like winning the Powerball. Suddenly everybody becomes your friend.
My position on this “secret stuff”. If a trader trades price action there is nothing to hide. It is seen by everyone. And the more you share the setups the more it will become self-fulling, if more people especially institutions do it, then it can potentially be of a greater benefit to share it. But even that is negligible. If they try to trade against you which is ridiculous IMO for how will they ever do such a thing when they have no idea you are actually in the market trading your secret sauce setups on monday! LOL. Traders should dispense with all this market manipulation fear crap. The market is what it is. Go with the flow. It is a big auction. The purpose is to move price where more transactions take place. Just learn to read PA. Secret indicators are hilarious! I use one indicator either a SMA or an EMA just to clarify some trades. These are indicators that ANYONE can use and they have been around for years and years. LOOK GUYS THE MARKET IS NOT OUT TO GET YOU! You nor I have enough to interest them. The institutions are gonna move it and if you get in their way with your orders you will get swept in or swept out of the market. You are a piece of dust on the floor LOL. Retail traders don’t move the markets. Our 10 or 20 contracts ES well that is peanuts. Institutions are moving the markets. They are trying to take money from each other. We just get in their way in the process and they get us “in” the market and “out” of the market. Of course institutions know where people put SLs but they aren’t going to make much off your 5 contracts. So dispense with the thinking they are out to “get” you. You and I make up maybe 5% of the market. We are crumbs. The only secret you might want to keep to yourself is some special “top secret” indicator code that you invented and don’t want anyone knowing it. I don’t need it. Keep it under lock and key for all I care.
I'll attemp to give you the answers #1 It's paying it forward. Like yourself no one offered to help me and I figured it out. I don't mind giving anyone a hand. #2 Not sure of their performance record but I'd throw Minervini, Ryan and Bradford Raschke #3 Like all Corporate policy there is no reason for it, it's just our policy!! My question to you is if you are not interested in sharing, what are you doing on a trading forum?
HFTs make up about 70% of the trading volume. Other institutions make up about 25%. The other 5% is retail traders. If that much. It has been estimated that 30% or so of institutional trading is arbitrage trading. We are like a drop in a 5 gallon bucket of water. They are not after your money. They are trying to take money from each other. We ride on their backs as they move the markets. At any given moment or second there are bearish and bullish institution at work.