After rolling to The March contract, I had to alter my STR-SQU by 2 points before the market opened. Once the market opened, I waited for a brief 'calm' moment to readjust. - Spydertrader
Nice results on your trades. However, when you have real money in the market, do you trade the same way? If not, start using the simulator in an effort to simulate (as close as possible) actual trades you'd take, at the appropriate contract size you'd use. Otherwise, you'll not have your 'training' to fall back on when you return to real money trading. You'll just have the 'game' you were playing. Continue to build a strong foundation, and the results will follow. You already know how to trade, and trade profitably. No need to waste your time on silly games. - Spydertrader
Because I viewed it as going from a Point One to a Point Two, and then, I would need to see a Point Three to form my down Channel. Once the Pennant formed on the next bar, and having already anticipated a Point Three Down channel, I then anticiapted a Break Out to the Down side. The Pennant formed a Left to right traverse (Point 2 to Point 3). Note the Price Action within those two red bars (12:15 & 12:20). Price heads down, then comes up and closes. On the next Bar, Price continues up then heads down. I see this also as a left to right traverse (Point two to Point Three. Price moved in the opposite direction of the tape during this traverse. In other words, this opposite directional movement resulted from one half of one bar, and the other half of another - as opposed to one single five minute bar moving in an opposite direction. I hope you find the above information useful. - Spydertrader
The attached shows how to scale up once you have earned the right through consistency. Jack calls it the "Yellow Brick Road", I call it "Why We Trade". (Comments welcome by the way.)
While I agree 'scaling up' to size (over time) benefits the trader immensely (from a purely P & L standpoint), this isn't what Callmate was doing. She chose to trade 12 contracts (something she does not do with real money) and then scale out of a trade after reaching certain profit points. Jack recommends starting with a certain contract size (one or two), then as profits build add on contracts so every trade and every profit reflects the added size. Doing as Jack recommends compounds one's earnings. The only difference I recommend stems from how one scales up. I recommend scaling up slowly (one or two contracts at a time) in an effort to avoid trading too large a size for one's psychological 'pucker factor' Jack has often recommended doubling contracts as one progresses (e.g. 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc). However, irrespective of how one scales up, one should only do so when one has earned the right to do so through consistency (as you pointed out). - Spydertrader
ES daily chart December 13/07. The volume for today on the daily is off. I am running a continuous contract, so I will correctly annotate as the data fills in.
Hi Blowfish, I am finding it easier and easier to see the point 3 forming real time using only YM, ES price, and PRV. With increased accuracy at identifying them, the P/L problem disappears. good trading to you
Spyder, At anytime during the 9:45 bar, did you consider the bar to have possibly given you the point 3 (snip from Gooch's chart) before you saw the pennant form on the next couple of bars? That is should someone trading point 3s consider that a valid point 3 entry? If you did not consider it a valid point 3 I would like to hear your reasoning. Did the fact that the bars did not attempt any kind of (decent) retrace make you not consider it as a point three?