Hello, Sorry I didn't mention it in my initial post, yes, I trade the ER2. I should also clarify that when I say point, I'm talking about a .10 move, i.e. the minimum movement of the ER2. Thanks for the kind words, chaps. I can't let it go to my head though, else I'll give all those points back to the market next week. As a general rule, I don't trade unless a big move is already under way, and I'm always prepared to cut and run if it isn't acting as it should. In much the same way as T28 originally stated, if it isn't doing what you expect within 10 minutes (or sometimes much earlier), cut it loose. It's interesting to keep a detailed log of all your trading, including all the charts you use for entry and exit, noting down your reasons for entry and exit, etc. If you're anything like me, you'll be surprised initially at how many trades you make not conforming to your own rules.
Sam, can I ask a few questions ? On average, how many trades are you doing per day ? What is your profit to loss ratio ? What is your overall % win rate ? Are you trading off the 2, 5, 10 or 15 min chart signals ? Thanks in advance.
Hey folks: If you're going to do this for a living, you will need to complete your education. A "tick" is the smallest incremental move that a market can make. For the Mini-Russell contract, that increment is .10 = $10 USD. In contrast, a full "point" on the Mini Russell is $100 USD If you go back and read the first part of this thread you will see that Trader28 finds several trades/day and tries to get at least 10 ticks (or 1 fulll point) out of each one. Good luck Steve
Roughly; 8 trades per week. I aim for at least 2:1, often 3:1. Win rate 40% on average. On my screens I have 2, 10, 60 and Daily charts, most signals come off the 2 minute chart, with 10 and 60 for confirmation of direction. I close any trade that isn't acting as I expect it should, keeps my losses comparatively small. I'm a firm believer of the best trades being correct from the start. I use the 10 and 60 minute charts to make sure I'm trading with any prevailing trend. Also, you don't have to make spectacular gains to provide decent returns. Consider you have a $250,000 trading account, and you observe for example, a 2% maximum risk on any one trade, that would allow you to lose $5000 within that rule. Or, in practical terms it would give you 15 contracts at a clip, and a stop loss of 33 ticks, which is pretty generous. If you can average 8 ticks a week, after taking into account all winning weeks and all losing weeks in a year, then you'll return around 25%, or $60,000. Size does matter. If you only have $20,000 and you make 100% in a year, you've still only made $20,000 - could you live on that? Not that making 100% isn't possible, it certainly is, but consistently? Year on year? Probably not.
Thanks for the very prompt reply Sam. 8 trades per week ? That's a pretty low number, I suppose that's because you are waiting for confirmation fron the longer timeframes before entering a trade ? I know that my weakness is overtrading, I end up doing 15 - 20 trades per day, but the best opportunities just don't happen that often. I think that one of the hardest things to learn is to sit on ones hands until the trades comes along and says 'take me !'. Good discussion.
You're right, patience and discipline are certainly some of the hardest aspects of trading to master. No system will be profitable if one doesn't have the necessary discipline to trade its signals. I like high probability trades, for example when the 2 minute and 10 minute charts make zero line crosses at the same time, this happened yesterday morning. I feel it's imperative to apply self governance when day trading, otherwise over trading becomes surprisingly easy. Of course, the more criteria you add to your rules, the less trades you'll make. That doesn't mean I never make a stupid trade, I frequently do. Going more than a few days without making a mistake would be rare, but the key is to recognize quickly when you're trading against your own rules, and to close the position before it can damage you.
Sam, do you trade other markets with this strategy, for example Dow/S&P/FTSE/Dax ? I can't imagine the RUT is the most heavily traded contract. I have never followed it, am doing some work on the FTSE & Eurostoxx50, since US hours don't really suit me (It's 10pm here by the time the US markets close).