What makes you think that? I already said I do have an edge but I just don't really like to follow it. If I follow the edge strictly it's a lot of downtime and waiting for a setup to occur. My natural style is to make fast quick profits otherwise I get bored. That I can do but my system says that doesn't happen all the time. But that's the reason for this tiny micro account is to get used to to getting bored and waiting for a setup to occur. Today the system worked. My error was I didn't obey my stop when it got trigger. Then came hoping for it to work but in the end it didn't so I got out minor loss. I think I know that already. I know most of the best posters already left already. Why is it that you're still here? I vaguely remember your name from long ago? How are you?
Wow. I'm sorry to hear about that, jinxu. The ability to wait, avoid poor trading conditions and strike only when everything lines up is the hallmark of an excellent trader. Re-read Market Wizards and you'll see this mentioned time and again. Even as a day trader, there may be days that are not suitable to trading at all. There's a reason so few are successful doing this. Even if you know how to trade or have a valid system, you're still fighting your own humanity as a discretionary trader. Reducing discretion as much as you can helps. But even then, you may be tempted to override it as the urge to click the button takes control. One thing that's helped me is to think really hard about how hard that potential loss from a poor trade will be to recover from. And remembering every time I had to claw myself back from a drawdown only to end breakeven or slightly green. Whereas if I had more patience and discipline it would have been a very green outcome instead. Good luck!
Welcome back to the futures game. I trade YM first and NQ second. Rare to bump into another YM trader. Which broker do you use by the way?
Hi, I rather not say or they might see it and try to look up my account.That's what happen with my last broker and I think they tried to reverse engineer what I was doing. lol I trade the YM because it has the smallest tick size ccompared with the ES which is what I need for my system. But it could work on the ES too. I don't understand why you would need to trade both the YM and the NQ. They both (and the ES too) move more or less int he same direction don't they?
Thanks, and I remember you too. How are you? I recently solved that issue. My edge is I now know when my setup to occur so no more guessing on that. Before I was guessing. I do understand what you mean about the urge to click the button. And for me it comes from my naturally wanting to be able to predict. But my track record shows I can't predict the market 1000% but it's naturally how I think and hard to overcome. Another think I solved was before I was buying during crashes trying to guess the bottom. But know I'm able to predict it so no more guessing on that either. But it doesn't happen all the time and It's still a lot of downtime and waiting. lol
As AI algos get stronger and stronger, the retail mechanical daytrader will get crushed. I think going in the opposite direction of full discretion makes you more robust against the incoming wave of AI algos. When they look, you leap. The retail mechanical daytrader is not nimble enough, he is locked in by his program rules.
The user name you have chosen: Jinx It explains alot. Thats how you started your first day at ET. Thats the name you typed when you opened your account.
If you don't have discipline, you shouldn't trade, especially trade to make a living. Like many have said, you can trade for fun with money that you won't miss losing but if you want to trade to make a living, you need to have discipline. Even if you have discovered a Holy Grail of a system, if you don't have the discipline to stick to the system, you would still fail so what's the point if your goal is to make money from your trading? You are right. You still need to work on discipline. One thing what you can do is test out your systems more thoroughly to make sure it's profitable. The more confidence that you have in your system, the easier it is for you to follow it instead of second-guessing yourself.
The stress comes from not accepting the outcome of the next trade, and/or you not trusting in your strategy / system having a positive expectancy, and/or you not trusting yourself to follow the rules. Discipline is needed when you (your feelings) are fighting with a part of yourself. It’s important to have a trading strategy / system based on your own beliefs that fit you as opposed to fighting your trading strategy / system. You must also have strategy which won’t trigger your weaknesses. If you have a confidence in your strategy (or edge as others call it), then you’re more likely to follow it instead of fighting it. However, there will always be some discomfort. You can't win unless you learn how to lose. The confidence comes from manual back testing (bar-replays, manual scrolling through past charts, creating a library of past set-ups with checklists, etc,). It's like if you want to run a marathon, all the training and preparation cannot be skipped. You need to suck it up, roll up your sleeves and immerse yourself into developing new empowering habits. Backtest, create a plan, keep risk low, and execute like a robot. Obviously, it’s much easier said than done, plus there are other factors as well.