Thoughts: Take 100 good traders and let them trade a market. At the end, the best trader would have all the other traders' money. Its not just that you be a successful trader, you have to strive to be the very best trader. Only the best is good enough and nothing else matters.
Day 21 gotta DANCE with the Market... # of Disasters: 6 The moments of profitability are so rare (5%) that I should TAKE PROFITS, get back in.. take profits... get out.. I just simply have to DANCE with the markets. Letting +10 pts get away, and let you get stopped out on it seconds later is indeed a disaster.. horrible trading.
looks like nobody cares if you do bad, Since I traded ym today I'll share some notes you dancing around with YM is akin to you dancing around and skating in NY central park's pond when its not even freezing. If you slip once and the ice cracks beneath you, are you going to keep on skating? #2 Do you think you can predict where the ice is thin and where the ice is thick? Its either all thin or all thick. Theres should be no question about it espically the way you are trading (daytrading) if you want to be $$$ If you had a question about it, it will be answered once your foot falls into a hole and you lose your toe.
Coolweb, I think you are infering that today was not an optimal day to daytrade due to lack of volatility, as well as a lack of volume and that I should've recognized this early on? I think you are... but the volume and an explosive move can come into the market at anytime. You always got to be alert. There were some good moves today, even though I was on the wrong side of them. My trading is almost akin to those trend followers. 9 out of 10 failed trades, and grind it out.. till something comes my way.
Lack of volatility/volume has nothing to do with it. In fact as you progress you will find lack of volatility is the KEY to big $$$. Lets put on our thinking caps You mentioned "There were some big moves but I was on the wrong side of it" Thats fine, I'm also on wrong sides of the trades sometimes but most I lose to know I'm wrong is maybe breakeven or 1 or 2 points. And then I get on the right side if there is a side to be on. (There were no right sides today which is why I went to trade stocks FYI) Have you asked yourself why there were so many moves and you were on the wrong side on most of them? Can you tell which side is the right side to be ? Can you define it? Can you map it out for yourself so you can clearly say to yourself "We are long biased now" "We are short biased now" "We were short biased but oops, 3 seconds ago we just went long biased because of a fat finger at JPmorgan" or is it a flip of coin for you? Truely there must be something deeper to trading. If you want to discuss this more, message me on aim, I don't want to discuss things here.
Day 22 When will I ever learn?... # of Disasters: 7 1) I need to see/witness selling or buying before I take a position. Just because the price is at the unheard of levels isn't good enought. You have to see it with your own eyes. 2) Letting trades get past the pre-defined STOP is missing out on opportunities. STOP is there for a reason, and it is there for me to move it. Contain risk and do not touch a stop... there is no room to give a stop. 3) I have to take a trade where it is out of whack with value. I have to take the high probability setups, and I should have the patience that it is only a few more seconds before the prices come my way. Be patient and do not ever jump in at unfair levels. 4) Do not move a STOP. Yeah, NOT EVEN MOVE a STOP. 5) Wait for high probability set ups. Just wait patiently.. but when it comes along, you have to take each and every one of them. No time to chicken out. 6) Pre-define risk, contain risk.. and when it is out of your control, you never know how much big a chunk it could take out out of your account. 7) Do not let profits get away. You have to pay attention, aleart, aware and PROTECT PROFITS.
Can you use a term less frightening and full of impending doom other than 'Disasters'? A disaster is being underwater 10pts in the ES. Are these really disasters or maybe trading rule 'violations'?
I started this thread as a Journal in the Journal section. Then someone moved that to Psychology section, thus I took psychological tone to my journal... and now we are back to Journal section. Where will we go next babie..? Day 23 Must feel the FLOW... # of Disasters: 0 I have the discipline part down...but, my EDGE has some issues. Thus, I need to do everything I can do to be able to better feel the market. To get a better sense of flow, fluidity, and the motion and be along for the ride. Must feel one with the market.
Thoughts: Trader metamorphosis: Stages: 1) Lack of Discipline and Lack of Edge: Enormous Losses 2) Disciplined and Leaky Edge: Huge Losses 3) Disciplined and alright Edge: Losses 4) Disciplined and has an Edge: Net Negative 5) Disciplined and has a great Edge: Profits...