Was wondering who was gonna bust me first on this. Diz, you da man. Seriously, I didn't know how to handle the longer tails on the 5 min. candle. So, I went back to the 1 for setups, but ended up watching the 1 for everything and not going back to the 5. I switched charting systems last night. Went from the GET to the package that comes with eSignal, because they have the 3 min chart. Gonna try that real time this week, plus we're moving this week into a bigger place so I have my own office, and am not sitting in the little computer nook in the hall. Comparing the charts this morning, I can see what my mistake on entries. I am not trusting my s/r lines to do their job, which I think they do in an amazingly accurate way. I wait for her to come up from under, or drop from above and touch my lines, then take action from there. But I wait for her too far away from the lines, and therefore my entry is late, so that throws off everything else, it shouldn't, but it does for right now. Sometimes the entry is so late, I feel like I'm chasing. Trade 1 and 2 were late entries, but I realized yesterday I was not pulling the trigger, and kinda jumped in the market to get that out of my system. The late entries doesn't allow the wiggle room I need, and as Dave said, you miss the crest of the wave and exit too late for a quick scalp, or too early to catch a multiple wave run. Seems you're in no man's land on the exits. That is exactly how I feel, lost in the middle of the forest. With the 1, all I see are the leaves, with the 5, just masses of trunks. Looking forward to trading the 3. Two things I'm concentrating on today. Taking the trade at the line, and once in, be patient for the trade to work out and not move my stops too quickly. Thanks Dizzy and ddefina.
That person in the mirror is my biggest problem. that much I am certain. I saw for me, that my plan looks great on paper, simple trend retracements, low risk if you can catch the retracement near the peak, but huge rewards when the trend continues. BUT, my head has not really accepted the "risk" of when the trade is not correct. Even with my #1 rule of knowing I'm wrong until proven correct. Embracing the risk each and every time can be brutal to the mind that hasn't truly acceptd the fact of 'risk". I'm not sure if there is a difference between fear and greed with me. The fear I understand, as much as I understand. The fear of losing and blowing out the account, and having to get a job at McD's or something. If I don't make it in trading, what will I do?? I can't practice in NC, don't have a liscense in this state?? Will we have to move back to PA?? Pay the bills?? and on and on and on. This is where my faith in God comes in. He is my provider, and sustainer. In Him is my trust, not me. His will for me, right now it to learn how to trade, so it is His bill (actually too long and too personal to explain this, it's not just some whim of mine that I am passing to Him, ie God I want to do this, so you have to bless it). If you believe this fine, if not, that's fine too. The greed, I think for me is an offshoot of the fear. Having to get what I can to make sure the losses are covered. Holding on to that winner just a little too long, and it be cut in half, or a third, or even a scratch or loss. Poor trade management, as szubaak said to me last week, and I had to conccur. He was right. But I think that falls back to being inbetween, as discussed earlier. Step 1 iswhat I've been working on these last 6 weeks. Getting closer, I feel, not showing up in the P/L yet, but it will. True. Futuresnut, thanks for letting me use your post to work out some stuff.
Huios, How do you get your support resistance lines, Are they pivots, fibb etc?? You are the only one in charge of your account and destiny. No-one else not even the man up there. The market will take from anyone. regards
You are absolutely right. I was being kind of vague, because I don't know what a good goal for me is yet, and I had time restraints. I want to make 10 pts a day, consistently, but I look around, and don't see anyone posting that kind of stuff, unless those kind of people just don't post, which is probably the case. I'm not the kind of guy that is gonna say I'm gonna turn a 10K account into a million in a year, but I've played commodities long enough to know that $500 a day is very doable. Was talking to a trader this weekend at our meeting on Sunday. He says he remembers his first $1,000 day, and his first $10,000 day, but he remembers his big losers more vividly than the winners, because that is what he learned from. Am I gonna do it right off the bat, no, my goal is to get a viable trading plan with viable concepts, and deal with the fear of risk, and learn from my losers. Interesting concepts. There is alot of truth in this paragraph, and I appreciate the sharing. Sorry man, from the way you talked, "on the road, classy truckstops" thought you drove a rig. My mistake. Qwik, thanks for posting in this thread. It is greatly appreciated. If your ever "on the road" and get thru the Raleigh/Durham area (or even fly into RDU), let me know and I'll buy lunch, or breakfast, or dinner, or coffee. Now, gotta get to work.
Yes folks, the 3 minute chart. Played with the eSignal charting package last night and traded it today. Liked it better than the 1 min, and the 5 min. Using the 3 and 5, but taking the signals off the 3, and the 5 for confirmation. The charts have a different look, but it's all there. 3 trades, 1 winner and 2 losers for -.75 pts. Net for the Day: - 50.00 or so (wife broke my calculator yesterday, and too lazy to figure it exactly right now)
Huios, Glad to see you have settled on a course of attack and the 3min is a good medium. Just have a couple of questions? 1) Do you place a physical stop after you get your fill on entry or do you use a mental stop and get out at market. 2) How do you calculate your support and resistance lines? Regards and good trading
Huios, Thanks for that. Now I know why I couldn't figure out your s/r lines. The only ones I use are .618 and .50. I find they work very well in this market. One thing I will say is be very careful using mental stops. I know some people who have learnt the hard way using this approach and it cost them thousands. The market is very volatile at the moment and anything could happen. Be very cautious and on alert with a mental stop. I personally would not recommend but thats just from my experience. The mkt can move 10-20pts at times in the blink of an eye. Keep up the good work.