Are you really hand annotating charts and getting out at the high or low tick daily? Good lord this site has not hit bottom yet...
I may get the chance to show some mistakes. And of course an explanation. It can be costly trading if one has a psychological error. But we learn from our mistakes. Right? Well sometimes. Anyway I will let the trade play out but the odds favor it being a mistake but it could work out. If it does work out it still doesn't mean mistakes were not made. I will highlight any mistakes in my commentary.
Volpri can I ask you a question? For how many years did you have to try until you became a profitable intraday trader. How many years ago since you became profitable? I'm curious to know what your old job was
Ok here is the trade. It was a larger position trade. It ended up working out but it was getting quite risky. Here are some chart. I traded 50 Es contracts by averaging down as price moved against me. While the overall strategy was sound (price was strong) and it ended up working out there is a better way. Look at the first chart: Now for some additional comments. I averaged down long 40 contracts. I had two chances (actually three chances as one on the same bar as the entries) to exit the 40 contracts with $4,250.00 profit, shortly thereafter, but see GREED. THE more one makes the more one wants. The entries were great made on strength. The problem was following it too far. See we got 6 bull bars with gaps between close of the bar and the close of the previous bar. This is urgency. But remember when taking a High Probability trade the reward, usually by nature, will be less. Why? BECAUSE MOST OF THE MOVE WAS ALREADY MADE! Remember this. There is no question about it. By that second bear bar after my 40 contract position I should have gotton out. I would still have made more than $3000.00 GREED IS ALWAYS AN EMOTION That a trader really cannot control. What we can do is redirect the greed. I have develop being greedy to enter at better price levels (can also be known as averaging down). But gurus’s say the opposite. Cut your losses let your profits run. No wonder most traders fail. If the context is right I want to be greedy to average down. However, if I do average down in a more immediate context “like in this case” then I need to be ready to take a quick profit as MOST of the move has already happened. High probability trades give up big reward and usually have to have big SL’s, hence bigger risk. See where the proper SL was located? While the larger context certainly was conducive to averaging down (from the open the opening gap was quickly closed...several bull bars in a row)...etc..that larger context would require a bigger SL. Because in such a scenario PB’s can be deep (l mean after all we had a gap down open day). This could have easily turn into a big trading range day after the initial closing of the opening gap occurred. What pulled this trade out was the larger context. But I had to suffer over $13,000.00 in drawdown. So, was it worth it to make $11,875.00. No it was not! I would have been much better off to take the very quick $4,250.00 profit wait and see what happens...enter again on the PB in the first leg then exit with more profit and make a third entry near the 20 EMA. THE mistake made was not averaging down but it was in NOT taking quick profits when the position gave it to me. Do you see that? If I had I would have had $4,250.00 in the kitty to PLAY with the rest of the day in other trades before I would be at break even. I like to be greedy for getting in cheaper but fear holding onto profits and letting them run. These concepts are contrary to guritus. Remember, I need to take what the market gives me when it gives it to me. I CAN ALWAYS ENTER AGAIN IF IT CONTINUES IN MY FAVOR. LOCK IN THOSE PROFITS. Because of the mistakes made, this trade was getting riskier by the minute. SL was in the right place but drawdown was not a good scenario and could have absolutely been avoided. When price was nearing the 20 EMA it was right at 50% pb from the high of the day. Much more and I would have to bite the bullet and exit with a loss. Of course, I would most likely get it right back but it is not very much fun to be down 13,000.00 or more dollars. Good lessons to learn. Watch that distance traveled. Be prepared to take quick profits. And thus lock profits in and give myself a “kitty” to play with for the day. Watch out for greed (greed used in the wrong way) it will make you give up sure profits. On the other hand big positions mean bigger profits. So here was bigger trade that in the end rendered. Sugar plum could get ready to go to Dillards instead of dollar tree. THE PROCESS IS THE SAME. THE TACTICS THE SAME on big or small positions. The valor is a horse of a different color. Study the charts. I really don’t like posting big wins as traders don’t believe it. They hardly believe the little trades in MES. But anyway this shows the process to be the same in big or little trades. Here is how it(pa) looked on a 5 min chart. Profit
I entered at low of 09h00 CST bar and made 3 exits by 09h24 for 1.2R profit. And then pissed at myself for not holding longer. And then pissed at myself for not quitting for the day ... Every trader and trade is different. There's no such thing as THE Trader's Equation. Rather, there's: The volpri_Equation, The CharlesS_Equation, The trader1974_Equation ....
I slept in late as I was up late and by the time I showered got some coffee and sat down and look at the computer that channel up from the open was history. I never saw it. Never got to trade it.
neither of us followed our respective, individual, planed Traders_Equations, the volpri_Equation and the CharlesS_Equation -- my original plan was to keep at least half the position for a net multiple R win, which I would have had, had I not permitted myself to get shaken out on an ordinary, weak mv down. You had a much better outcome (& more risk) on your divergence from volpri_Equation than I from CharlesS_Equation. Should have quit while ahead, the rest of the day was losses -- but I did learn some new significant things in the analysis of why the losses, there was a common price action tendancy that I had not previously noticed, I did not have a rule for it.
Hello Volpri, today a fall in the dax has been perfect to take many points, however the climb has been very volatile due to the commercial war, how do you operate in this environment? The stop must have a lot of distance. In these situations do you prefer not to operate? Is it better to always operate with low volatility?