The Evolution of an E-mini Trader

Huios,

First off - thanks for having the stones to post this. I'm a new trader myself and find your journal very helpful. I have a suggestion for you.

Stop trading your cash account for a while or so and go back to simulated trading to test drive all these new approaches and trading paradigms you're learning.

I realize the game is a bit different with real money on the line, but you've done enough real trading not to kid yourself, and the sheer honesty of this journal says to me that you'd be highly unlikely to fudge your paper trades.

Preservation of capital. Preservation of capital. Preservation of capital.

 

Huios,

With trade 1, I also took that one but as it was coming off a .382 ret off the daily high to low I went long at 982^6 when it broke the previous support bar.

I also shorted trade 2 but at the double top not just below it as 3dog says price does gravitate towards old tops but usually there ia a reaction. Took a small loss on that one but it may be telling us something about the strength of the rally.

Best Regards
Dizzy

 

H,

I can recommend Trade Prospector RT (www.trade-prospector.com). They offer a 14-period trail period. This is a very useful tool, if you want to trade of support and resistance.

Regards,

Ditch

 

I use both the 5 and the 1min charts. One thing I have found is that you can give a double top a little more time to develope. If it truly is a double top the retracement will be substantial so there is no need to try and catch the top.

 

I didn't read your posts till well past midnight. Actually, I'm glad I did not respond them, cuz I was really ticked. And, I have had enough training, and healing, to know...

... when I have a strong emotional reaction to somebody or something, it is usually about me and my past/issues/what ever you want to call it/them, and not about the "source" of the reaction. (gold nugget)

That "source" can be anything... the markets, my neighbors, my wife and kids, posters to The Evolution.

My job, and I choose to accept it, is to find out _why_ what was posted, in this instance, caused the reaction.

It is not about the what, but about the why. (another nugget)

Lying in bed this morning, I was able to process the whole thing, and especially how it related to how I was reacting to the markets.

In a nutshell, I hate when people tell me what to do. Always did. I got this sort of independent streak in me from way back, and usually it comes out as passive aggressive, since I also do not like confrontation. LOL, ask my wife, good thing is she doesn't let me get away with it!!!! Now, I confront things head on, instead of copping an attitude and ignoring them.

I see I do the same thing with my trading. I have rules, and follow them most of the time, but sometimes they “tell my what to do” when I want to do something else. My two trades yesterday were a perfect example. I wanted to do what I wanted to do, and didn’t see the (1) retracement of larger trend, not a change of trend, (2) strength of the rally, recovered in 20 minutes what took 35 to drop, (3) forgot about the resting stops above the high (4) rule about being wrong fast (5) rule about small losses (6) being patient.

In other words, I wanted to do what I wanted, (short the market soooooooo baaaaaad) and the market was not going to tell me otherwise. And I just ignored the pain of being wrong (with an attitude) till it was unbearable, and the loss was too big. I did that on the majority of my trades Wed. too. I chased a lot Wed, why, because I wanted to, dammit, and my rules are not going to tell me otherwise. LOL.

This month has been the cheapest therapy I’ve ever had!!!!! I figure I sit here almost 12 hours a day, times 20 days a month… 240 hours a month. So in reality, I’m paying about $2.50 an hour for the best therapy around, and I’m learning to trade!!!!! And, up to the last two days, my month has been positive, so the market has been paying me. Is that too cool or what?

Nihaba - you asked some very pointed questions, the answers to some are buried in the early pages of this journal. My trading background is commodities, overall not really successful until recently. For 4 years, after blowing out my 3K account, read almost everything I could get my hands on. Websites, mags, books, etc. Found most was just talk, and not applicable. The few gems (books – Tharp, Magee, Murphy, Douglas, Toppel, Schwager; websites – Intelligent Speculator, Phantom, the old FutureSource forum, and ET) I’ve read and re-read. I know this site has a lot of misinformation, but it also has a lot of excellent posters too. You just have to know how to weed them out.

Switched to the e-mini for a lot of reasons. Tried to apply commodity strategies to mini, and it didn’t work. Sat and watched every day for a month, revised some stuff, and started again live the beginning of this month.

This weekend, I need to rewrite by business plan, and make it pertinent to the mini trading. It is still pertaining to the commodity trading.

You ain’t really learning till cash is on the line, then the emotions come out.

Unlimited capital, in my dreams, but I can replace my account two more times, if I need to.

Mentor, I was just talking to my wife about this. When the student is ready, the teacher will come. (old Chinese guy) I think I’m ready, I hope I’m ready, please let me be ready. <grin>

I know you were not being a jerk, or rude. Thank you for posting.

Tater – thanks for the compliments. Yes, this past week has been a whirlwind, and I thought the Grail was found, I know better now, this week was just another clue to the whereabouts. And preservation of capital is the first point I make in my business plan and is posted on my monitor.


*****Both of you, thank you for stirring it up*****

 

I agree, just didn't think of it yesterday, when my psyche was all screwed up.

Nitro says "trade what you see, not what you think".

Thanks for the reminder.

 

You expressed yourself clearly and with sincerity.

Many would have responded much differently and most likely very negative.

I will continue to follow your posts because of your honesty and thirst to achieve your goals.

"Keep pounding that wall...what's on the other side will be worth it".

NihabaAshi

 

Thank you. You should have seen me before God got a hold of me, I was a real bastard.

Just ask any of my ex-wives.... naaaaa, just take my word for it.

 

Futures off floor - unless its electronic automated market - is risky business. Believe me I know after having worked for ten years for the CME. People are people, not machines, and unless you have a direct relationship with a floor broker you are taking greater risk IMHO in non-electronic markets. Electronically trading the big futures markets like Eurodollars, or the S&P's or other indices and very liquid stocks are also things to look into .....

 

I did not do any trades today. Watched till the beginning of the selloff in the afternoon. Gonna do some errands, and take my baby out for our 3rd anniversary with some friends.

Have a good weekend.

H