The Day What a day!... I need to debrief and gather my thoughts with a short narrative... <img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=2203327>
Update A while back, a friend of mine wrangled me into being unofficial editor of her lifestyle e-zine... seems it's that time of the month again, and I get all of two hours notice for a 1am deadline. Afterwards, I need to write my narrative, do day 10 of the series thereby completing the Intermediate drill, upgrade the log and look into incorporating stretch-squeeze and the DOM. Naturally, I intend to inculcate all the right habits by introducing the tools first via drills, and then in realtime once the habits are established. The little I know of the DOM, translates into apprehension regarding the mechanics of applying it offline. I'm almost at ground zero with stretch-squeeze, so cannot even venture an opinion as to it's viability for offline use. In the meantime, Ellis continues to optimize and streamline the machine, and I anticipate the technology, theory and technique all coming together at about the same time.
Thoughts I had a proverbial roll call of insights, comments, and inferential realizations to elaborate on, but rehashing poorly-written articles on personal shoppers, New Yearsâ hotel deals and amateur art has sucked my creative juices dry. Bone dry. Today, I found myself zooming in more and more, such that with every posted slice, I was advancing both chart edges, focusing on the ebbs and flows only within the current traverse. Every so often, I would briefly zoom out to level III for a birdâs eye view, before zooming back in. I spent far more time watching YM than ES. ES seemed like a clumsy behemoth moving mostly in slow-motion, while the elegance and flair were apparent in its more agile counterpart. Of course, I always had the ES in my sights, but it just seemed to be churning through the motions, at times painfully slowly. The YM let me stay occupied by looking under the hood. Iâve realized it may be far more useful to keep them both side by side on one screen, especially as trading resolution shrinks, and the 30â monitors will come into their own in this regard. With the zoom lens also came an improving appreciation of fractals, notably the âsub-fractalsâ and their tell-tale appearance on the ES chart. Hand in hand with this awareness came a reluctance to hold through extended periods, given that far more opportunities for reversals were now recognized. For the most part, these occupied the limbo between levels I and II, but a couple of times in particular, the level I turning points were presenting themselves, clearly, for the taking. Another realization that dawned with this was the surprising impact of late reversals on overall performance. Imagine going short at 20. The FTT comes at 10, and the price promptly returns to 20. So 20 points for the timely trader. Now, letâs say the FTT bar is an IBGS, with an open of 13, close of 15, and, naturally, low at 10. Reversing when the â1st chanceâ is offered, nets 20 points. However, waiting until bar end results in a net of only 10 points. The cost of the late reversal was FIFTY percent of the profits!! In recognizing more opportunities, Iâm also recognizing that first chances need to be noticed, and later, acted on. At times, I feel I need finer tools, yet at others I realize thereâs still a lot of optimization to be had just from being more in tune with the YM. Regardless, Iâm looking forward to the introduction of the next two tools in the arsenal. Iâve also noticed a change in mindset. Admittedly, my only significant trading experience came from swing-trading option spreads, with only a few weeks of day-trading, but while before, when something felt âoffâ Iâd simply end up staring at the candles, almost willing them to move in my favour, I now instantly ratchet my focus up several gears, searching hard for inconsistencies, or any evidence that an alternative way to annotate â which I may have missed â exists. This âhawkâ mode, as I call it, is even more intense than the heightened alertness that occurs when an FTT is due, and the non-dominant moves are now a very welcome escape from the intense concentration. As Jack might say, license to âgoof offâ. I have some questions, which a review of several charts should clarify; I have an increasing desire to carve ever-sharper turns; and frequently, I feel that my vocabulary is lacking in colour, precision and expressiveness. Jack mentioned 750 tabs. At this point, I doubt I could fill fifty (and Iâm not talking about arbitrary learning binder subdivisions). 2am now, so I may need to leave the drill for the morning, after which the important question to address is HOW to incorporate stretch-squeeze and the DOM into offline drills.
ES preflight Premium -0.64 10:00 - ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI 10:35 - Crude Oil Inventories 14:00 - Beige Book <img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=2203699>