Sorry for the long post. My brain just works that way answering questions. Readers will just have to sort through it.
@volpri your "long post" was for me sufficient to fully appreciate and understand without "sorting" -- If one has diligently followed and carefully read and reread all your work on this thread, then this was, as your wife might have said, in her cake baking instructions -- "the final frosting" -- producing Perfection. Thanks again, I have benefited greatly and profiting! (BTW -- I apologize for violating your "Sim Only Rule -- POST #1252 )
In my post #1319 above I made the following statements: "So, if I get a good setup I will take a position because as it could take off immediately in my favor and I don't want to not have a position on. Or it could go against me a bit (giving me the opportunity to average down) because I still believe that my read on the market direction is going to pan out, once price starts probing in my favor." I would like to add: I had rather average down than jumping out, with an actual loss, followed by entering again because of three reasons: 1) If I average down I am playing price's tendency to probe up and down as subsequent bars (or the same bar as the entry) are being created, looking for more transactions and fair value. AND that probing will likely get my "paper loss" on my initial entry, back to at least BE, and likely a profit on it, including a profit on any other average down contracts that I had added, while building the position. 2) If I jump out of the initial entry because of an imprecise entry looking to enter again more precisely then I am dealing with an "actual loss" that I have to get back as opposed to a paper loss. A paper loss can be a tentative loss or a temporary loss. An actual loss is immediate and REAL, taking money from my account and putting it in to yours, or somebody's account! Any supposed loss is not a real loss until it is actually executed as such. I will thus take my chances betting that any tentative loss will dissipate via price probing tendencies. That way I will keep my money in my account and not donating it to your account! But I also have to be ready to take a real loss and quickly on an averaged down position when the market tells me "get out". 3) I look to take my profits quickly, on any averaged down position (generally when my first entry gives me a profit or BE or a small loss) because the market has shown that my initial entry was early and I best grab the profits when I can. That is why you will notice I at times will exit on an averaged down position and then the market continues in my favor. Should I have held? Well to my thinking, I grab the profit now. I can always enter again. Too often I may think it will go more in my favor so I may hold but then in seconds it goes against me again and what was a sure profit, is now a dissipated profit. The market is always giving imaginary (paper) profits and losses. What I do with them becomes my reality. Yours too. Thus is the world of a scalper.
This Thread by @volpri is the GOAT of understanding the concepts and steps to becoming a Consistently Profitable trader. Over the years I have paid many thousands of dollars for trading mentoring and courses which pale by comparison to what is insanely provided for Free by @volpri
The phenomena of disappearing profits: Even scaling up as price moves in ones favor i.e. adding to a winning position is a hard row to hoe, if one is scalping. Why, because often a scalper will see a profit on both entries, refuse to take it, thinking the move will continue, but instead it pops back into losing territory on both entries. What was a for sure profit (if locked in) has now converted into a loss but not only a loss on the initial entry but a even BIGGER loss on the second scaled up entry. That is why I preach to scalpers (grab them profits) and forget that nonsense of letting your winners run. I am scalping not investing.
I am just showing how I trade. It took me a long time to figure this stuff out. Here is to hoping it is indeed useful. The catch is that a trader has to practice the concepts, over and over, to learn them well and to see if this style of trading fits their personality, their lifestyle, and their time constraints. It certainly is not for everybody. Two people could learn the concepts and trade them. One will lose and the other will win. The psychological makeup of a trader, his habits, weakness, strengths, and his/her account size are just some of the variables that affect how trading the concepts presented here in this journal will, in the end, work out, or not work, for that person. Some people cannot stand, or deal, with the uncertainty of the markets but the reality is that we are all trading in a gray fog, finding our way. These people devise rules, carved in stone, to give them a sense of certainty. They back test to no end. They search for exactness and precise entries and exits. But the nature of the market IS NOT that way. While there are tendencies and probabilities there are also possibilities. I believe we must learn to trade and devise strategies and techniques that are more in harmony with the nature of how the markets work. At anytime, the market can do the precise opposite of what we think. We have to be ready for any outcome. That is have a strategy or technique, to employ to action, should things pan out differently than we originally thought. Rules are for the most part fences that set boundaries but at times they must be broken down for success to happen. The only unchangeable, carved in granite stone rule that I have is to position myself, at all times, to take advantage of what the market is doing at the moment. Even if it does the exact opposite of what I think it should be doing. What counts is not my opinion what it actually does. My opinion is only a starting point on what it may do, or likely will do, given the circumstances.
@volpri Do you respond to PM's at all? If not that is cool. I can try and ask some questions in here but would rather keep it private and not pollute the thread from your teachings so to speak. Thanks!
Well thank you! You must be a person that sees things like I do. I know short and sweet and concise is often times good and necessary but often I had rather just have some meat to chew on and think about. Whatever, meat I attempt to dish out in this journal ..well...a trader can just throw it to the dogs if they don't like the taste. No offense on my part. LOL