That is one of those feel questions. I usually just decide to do it. No set number will really guarantee success. I wish I had a better answer than that but I really don't. Sorry
Many traders, especially beginners, aren't going to understand this. But if you saw The Mummy (the remake), and you remember what happened to Benny when he went back to the treasure room one time too many, your approach makes a lot more sense.
Can't wait until I can become lazy...I have seen guys trading all three at one time and it looked scary to me. Couldn't, wouldn't, shouldn't do it...
I personally don't think you did anything wrong and I want your opinions as well as everybody else. Trailing stops are a great thing. I probably would use them except that I am not a full time trader. I don't have the time to sit in front of my monitor all day. I do however have the luxury of owning my own company so that I can allow myself a certain amount of freedom to do what I love, and that is trading. My goals are just different than most. I do this in hopes of building up a nice fat account to retire on. If and when that comes I will sell my company and retire to a life of trading and traveling. -------------------------------------------------------------- No problem. Thank you for taking the time to answer. My message was not directly addressed to you but I think someone posted that saying that you left some money on the table was a stupid statement and I was answering to this. I read the whole thread before even posting one message, so I am pretty familiar with what you are doing in terms of exits. I still think that your profits could be optimized but I totally understand that your lifestyle makes the use of trailing stops difficult (even if some platforms allow you to automate them). I guess my comments were more directed to everyone else, and perhaps even myself I really like your entries, especially the fact that you start the day completely unbiased, ready to profit from any opportunity, and that news or interpretations of news don't really matter. I also like the fact that your trading is decided before the actual day starts, so that you are not influenced during the day. So I am trying to get what I like from it, but adapt it to my own trading style, as well as optimize it where I think it should be. Might help someone else as well. Anyway, thanks again for the good work here and for always being polite and respectful
Thanks, I save my rudeness for the highway...LOL...I encourage you and anybody else to try different things. Let me know how they work for you. At least you did read through the whole journal. That takes time right now as it has grown faster than I ever imagined it would. I really do like when news just sweeps me into a trade. That is usually when I make that little bit extra. But I am always thinking survival first. It is hard making a transition from another market. But I have found if you know how to trade and master one main technique, you can trade it in ny market. With a few modifications. It took me a while to realize that my style of trade set up are more accurate on a 15 minute chart so that is what I use most. Good trading to you and I hope that you stick with it and prosper. 4re
Are you trading the ES? If yes, for how long? If no, how long have you been studying the ES? For what it's worth I'm not trying to be confrontational I'm just curious.
Yes, I am trading the ES only right now. I started in January this year and it was early March before I really got my method the way I wanted it to be. I have been studying the ES since about October last year.
Are you trading the ES? If yes, for how long? If no, how long have you been studying the ES? For what it's worth I'm not trying to be confrontational I'm just curious ---------------------------------------------------------------- I am not trading the ES, and I have just started studying it. I have been trading stocks and options for 15 years, and I am pretty succesful I would say, with consistent profits year after year. I do believe that once you can trade something succesfully you can trade anything. A chart is a chart, and I don't care about what the company does. Also, I believe that the most important parts of trading are discipline and money management and once you've mastered this you can apply it to any instrument. Now I understand that there are some minor differences, in terms especially of leverage and I am trying to learn as much as I can right now. But I think the main principles are the same. May I ask why you were asking?