Spydertrader's Jack Hershey Futures Trading Journal

es 15 min: The small circles indicate possible SCT trades, using bar closings and decreasing volume entries. ~20 points. The square indicates the midday.

<img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1663415>

 

Aren't you having a laugh ... ? They sound like they know what they're talking about ...

 

Note to self:
Don't over dose on left over Halloween candy, you post a million questions and then crash by noon, ending up needing to take a nap and missing some answers.

The answers today to all my questions were very illuminating and have put together a lot of missing pieces of the puzzle for me. Thank you all.

Today's chart attached.

 

CNMS2

I am not trading this week cuz I am adding new indicators. I want to test before trading.

Why did you wait till 1500 (3pm est) to start trading today ?

IF I would of taken your first 2 trades, which looked good on the charts, I probably would of been very hesitant to take the next trade.

This is the high EQ that you obviously have compared to myself and probably other traders on this site who never experienced consistent good results.

It is very beneficial to me to see all trades and how well successful traders keep on going thru minor and unavoidable losses.

My binder is starting to fill up with your pretty blue charts. I am trying to get my printed charts to move like some of your charts.

 

Wanted to share a small aha with regard to “what must come next,” because semantics can sometimes cause confusion. For example “what wasn’t that” always made me feel like I had to run my brain backwards to understand it.

I always had a bit of difficulty with the concept of “What must come next”. It seemed to be a prediction. Nothing really needs to happen, or must. Volume and price can change at any time. How can someone say for sure that something is going to happen before it does, or that the market “must” do something? You can’t dictate what it must do. Because X happened, now Y must happen.

Actually it’s just a subtle shift in thinking. More along the lines of: what do we need to see for continuation, what do we need to see for change. Or you could say “what should happen,” though that’s not as concrete. For a certain thing to happen (FTT, FBO, BO) certain things “must” happen for them to be so.

It’s not a statement that “this” happened, now “that” will happen. It’s a commentary on getting the confirmation of what we observed, more of an anticipation. If we are going to see continuation, What must come next: increasing volume, etc. What must come next for change or a failure to happen? We believe we had an FTT, what must come next: decreasing volume to the RTL. It we didn’t get that, we didn’t have an FTT, it was something else. Of the something else’s (what wasn’t that), what can happen, and what do we need to see for those to happen?

This may all seem redundant, or obvious to some. Sometimes it’s little things that become stumbling blocks. And a slight shift in your perception or how you read something makes a big difference. I hope this would help anyone who has or had a similar block.

Regards - EZ

 

I don't trade everyday, and rarely more than a couple of hours at a time, although I don't hold a job. I know that (small) losses are part of successful trading. Although at first I was reluctant to trade SCT, I learned that for me it's less stressful than using entries and exits, because I have only two choices: long or short (rarely staying out). With entries and exits you have more variables to handle, this adds to the stress, and losses make you miss opportunities. Currently I'm pretty confident in what I'm doing, but by no means careless. I know I still have a lot to learn, and I enjoy it. I owe a lot to Jack, Spyder and many others that posted on ET, including those who asked questions that made me think.

 

I have not added T&S yet. Can you elaborate a bit on your observation?

 

Ah! I forgot to mention that knowing that I have to make consistently only 1 tick a day (after costs) and let compounding work, relaxes me immensely. I don't chase big profits per trade, or per day.

 

Funny you say that; some of my "respectable" days have lots of wash trades. It is amazing how 1 tick per contract quickly add up when you are making many attempts.

 

Hi,

I like entries and exits better than being in a lot because I can monitor the market from a much more objective perspective. When I have no position I am more patient and waiting for the exact right moment. FTT's about which I have doubts I can simply let them pass without any consequences in order to wait for the one that is crystal clear to me.

regards,
Ivo