Nice, nice, nice!. NoD, you need to mail me out the very same stuff you're taking (& I don't mean the berries you put in your smoothies ); it makes you think from a very different perspective. I really liked this post. One thing that I have not been doing is figuring out the R:R. If a trade looks good, I'll just get in. My last trade with CIEN is a perfect example, where the R:R is really not good (I suppose I got lucky with that).
*I did not trade today; these are trades from yesterday. 02/07: Pic. 1: Trade 1: LONG: Entry: $16.09 Exit: $16.27 +$0.18 <img src= "http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=3085456.png">
Pic. 2: Trade 2: LONG: Entry: $22.47 Exit: $22.68 +$0.21 <img src="http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=3085460.png">
Pic. 3: Trade 3: LONG: Entry: $31.51 Exit: $32.29 +$0.78 <img src="http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=3085463.png"> Total (+/-): +$1329.00; [+$1350.00-$21.00(commission)] 2011 Net (+/-):+$11142.37
I didn't trade today, but saw some good opportunities in JCP and URBN. I might trade tomorrow, but feel like I need to take a break. Just like when I have a few bad days in trading, I will take a break to regain my confidence, I think the same here will help me. Overconfident with the feeling of "this can't last forever" is how I feel right now; I know that if I trade with with these emotions I will end up screwing things up. Also, this is the first time I have done so well in terms of consistency. I was looking back and trying to see what changes I might have made to help with this. The only thing I can see that justifies this being able to pick "good" stocks during the morning session. Picking the right stock is as important as picking the right entry, if not more. Also, I have for the most part of it kept my trading for the morning session and have limited my participation to no more than 3. This is not a rule; I will trade more if the opportunity is there.
1) You're welcome. It's amazing how, we, over in this forum do not personally know each other, but have so much help from our peers. Wall Street has all the advantages and manages to pull a few fast ones over us each day. In banding together, we in our own little way have our success. Thanks to you too, for posting the link to ALL the other greats on this forum. 2) I will PM you on this.
Sowterdad, I know you have actually spent a little time on this and I just wanted to thank you for that. In the past, I used too many MA's. However, I am trying to keep my trading as simple as possible and so have done away with most of my MA's. I am at present working with the 20 & 50MA. I have never used the EMA's before. I like your concept and it seems like you will drag me right back into where i got out of. Damn! . It definitely seems like it can prove to be a good trading signal. I will look at my charts and see what we come up with. I will keep you updated. In regards to moving from the 1-min to the 5-min, after locking in profits, I tend to do this at present. However, I do not always lock in profit. I have been thinking of doing that as it makes the trade less stressful.
1) I just use the free scanner on freestockcharts.com (See image below. This was from today). So far it has worked pretty well. I have it set to the S&P 500. However, if it is a dry day, then I will shift to NASDAQ. Very rarely will you not find something to trade. Btw, I am having decent success with this in the morning sessions; the afternoons seem to be a little more difficult. <img src= "http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=3085800.png"> 2) I am not using setups on the DAILY chart. However, I do refer to the DAILY, in addition to the HOURLY and 5-MIN charts. 3) No filter or scanner, besides the above mentioned. 4) 10-20 different stocks each day, out of which I will trade between 1-3. When I start off in the morning, I have a set of 10-20 potential stocks. As the day moves on, I will be more selective in figuring out which may have more strength than others. I will also see how the sector is doing colectively. By 9.:50 - 10:00 am, I have that list down to between 5 and 10.
You are welcome Sam- You are obviously doing fine in trading exactly as you are . You've stayed in and maxed your recent trades. Very Nicely Done! Offered that as a different perspective . analyzing your fast frame trading 1 & 5 - is a good exercise for me- for my higher time frame- 60 min/daily. I'm learning from you and some of the other "faster" day traders things that apply to good trading in general. One of my flaws is exiting too soon- and following too close with stops and getting whipsawed. Therefore I employ an ma, and multiple ema's for reference. You can Experiment with different time frames, The ones I fit on the 5 min seemed to signal well on that chart. May not do so on others though. While trailing price, I have found it useful to keep the stop lagging until price signals that it's weakening. The first bar that spikes below -or closes below the fast ma is the warning shot, and suggests to raise the stop. I'm still working on where I split some of the position and take stops, and where to take a first profit. Consider that that chart worked well during the course of the day because price trended up. In a choppy market, it would be a different story, but you'd have to do the comparisom on other equities. You could also employ on your 1 minute chart an ema that references relative to an ema on the 5 minute chart- Obviously the wider the gap from price to the ema, the stronger the pull on the rubberband- Price will eventually lose momentum and come back to meet that ema, and possibly break through it. Visually, you already analyze the price moves, and recognize when that momentum is in decline- The only thing a ma /ema on your chart would give you is "how extended the move is, and whether the pullback is significant or within "normal" pullbacks and should be allowed to continue. As for stepping back for a rest: Good you know yourself- You seem very grounded to have that awareness. Allow me- You likely know this already..... Yes, at some point you will have some turbulent and losing trades- Market will bite you, Maybe it's because of you, maybe it's the market ....Maybe , as you said, How will you handle it when things go against you? Either way, something changes. Personal, Market, combination of both. I tend to think it's commonly that market conditions change and a trader's approach that worked well in one market cease to perform the same in the new. So, when what works today suddenly doesn't work tomorrow, consider while you assess what is either you or a changing and perhaps volatile markets; , to significantly reduce your position size as you get accustomed to a different environment and find the way to trade it. Or Not trade it . At that time, it's not as important about making a profit as it is to learn the process of adapting to a different market environment. Or is it something that you did differently? Either way, it's critical not to force yourself upon the market, because the market doesn't care. Survival and longevity are the key as the market itself goes through different cycles and your trading approach will need to be modified to meet the new environment-Whatever it is. The trader that learns to recognize, survive , and adapt to those changing conditions will likely pay some dues for the learning curve that goes along with those future changes- Don't fear losing, just lose small . If you don't feel you're on your game, don't trade large to make money , just trade SMALL.......to see how the approach works- To get a level of expectancy for your approach in that market. Sorry if I've ra Sorry for rambling on- Looking forward to following your continued success Sam!