If you really can't look at 1-min, you could also use 2-min or 3-min charts. I like the 3-min. Just 5-min is a little slow-paced, but good nonetheless. Much more "reliable" either way, particularly for volume. Also I'd suggest you look at the YM, ES and NQ market depth as well. Nothing shows you shift of sentiment better than depth on the major indexes! If you use IB, you can even just call it up from IB TWS via context-menu, without using your charting prog! Make sure you give it a try, depth and T&S is worth gold. Emotions. This is the only problem that distinguished the trader from a trading god. Every trader battles the same problem. It takes a long time until you can apply full objectivity only. Oh, definitely! There's nothing better for gaining confidence than recognizing your own problems in the elaboration of another person's! This is what helps one realize that we're not alone, and we're all sitting in the same boat. As the proverb goes: "A shared problem is only half a problem". Many thanks for sharing! Yours Sincerely, ~The Scientist
You're using low-quality stuff. This can cost you a lot of money once you trade seriously! I've got the eSignal & IB deal, too. I've tried eSignal, OT, TradeStation, Ensign, Investor R/T - You name it. The best out there by far is eSignal. Once you get it, you'll never let go of it. I'm cancelling my TS subscription this month, have enough of it. eSignal isn't only the best, most useful and most reliable charting package as well as best service out there (and still keeps improving!), but it's also got the most reliable datafeed in the world. They've been #1 in datafeed for almost 15 years now - unsurpassed. Let's face it: Feed is all that counts if you're an active trader. I've used eSignal for 2 years now, I've never had a feed problem. Doesn't happen. TradeStation etc = All the time. Best Luck with it - It's an awesome program! Compliments, ~Scientist
I did not have any problems with QCharts on Friday and I entered a short trade for the ES right at 10:00 EST. I know during that time for me there was no problems with the data feed. I do think that Esignal has the best data feed by far and I guess I am going to have to subscribe to Esignal again ( they really pissed me off several months ago over screwed up billing). I know with all the complaints I see with QCharts on ET, it is just a matter of time before QCharts bites me one day in the middle of a big trade. I will say that I much prefer the charting on QCharts to Esignal.
Hi Vorzo, > 3. my own baggage leads to anger and breaking rules after I > make a mistake or miss a trade What has happened for me in the past has been twofold: 1. My prior decision to exit lead me to trade inappropriately in the direction of my exit -- perhaps to validate my exit. 2. There was a period of time needed after I messed up before I would recover equilibrium. Also, there was a tendency for mistakes to chain one after another, probably driven primarily by fear. I messed up Friday rather badly as well, so I can empathize with you. However, it did point out to me that my trading was not properly connected to the market -- so the lesson was pretty much inevitable. There's no point in dwelling on my mistakes though since they do not relate to what is needed to be successful. On the plus side, it looks like we are getting set up for post Labor day. David has set up a group using PalTalk, and I will have admin access. Judging from talking with Jack on Friday, it is best to expect limited sessions both in time and frequency to respect physical needs. -- Jerome
Scientist, Thanks for your feedback. I was aware of the lag problems of the Quote.com feed, it's just that it never interfered with my trading - call it luck. I haven't tried ESignal but QCharts is one of the best charting packages, probably the reason many traders are willing to put up with the poor data feed. But now I've had it, today I've not only missed a trade by it cost me extra points on exits. Edit: ESignal equities basic has only "basic" charting according to their website - what do they mean by basic? Thanks. AMT4, It depends on the server you are connected to. I found the sterling. servers to be the most reliable. Thing is, you cannot switch the server manually (StockWatchPro, a third party that works with Quote feed, has this option). Regards, Vorzo
Jerome, Thanks for sharing this. It describes my trading on Fri very well - not connected to the market. On bad days like this (on a personal level, not bad market days) we perceive a distorted reality of the market, and trade that instead. The Aug days lowered my confidence in the follow through of trends, and switching modes takes some adjusting. It costs money too. Let us know how to get set up for PalTalk. Cheers, Vorzo
Someone PM'ed me with a few questions about the stop logs, and since this was an issue that people kept asking about, I thought of posting my answers to the PM below. Yes, you're supposed to log stops continuously. Record the high or low of everything that you consider an "important price formation", regardless of trend. When in doubt, mark it down. I was using the 1m for this but now that I am rid of it will use 5m bars. As the market retraces over the values you recorded you cross them out. See the chart - thick blue lines indicate stops that were not crossed out by retracements. In a down trend, only the highs will serve as stops. Recording both highs and lows will give you an idea of the market pace (the more you record in a given time period the faster the trend) and makes you more aware of values important to market operation. Most importantly, keeps your mind occupied and you have less time to rationalize and second-guess. I keep two columns - one for long trends the other for short. In a lateral trend, if traverse is long record as if in a long trend. C&R means Cancel and Replace, and you do it at predetermined intervals - I use close of 5m bars. Depending on the trend, you count back 2, 3 or 4 entries (fast, intermediate, slow) that were NOT crossed out, add/subtract 1-2 ticks and use that for your new stop. On the chart posted, the list would look like this from the open: 1012.25 1011.50 1009.25 XXXX 1010.00 XXXX 1010.75 Say you wanted to enter short at 9:42, assuming an intermediate trend, your initial stop would be 1012.25 + 1-2 ticks. 5 m later your log would look like this: 1012.25 1011.50 1009.25 XXXX 1010.00 XXXX 1010.75 1008.50 XXXX 1010.00 so you replace your stop with 3rd non-crossed out entry, 1011.50 + 1-2 ticks. You get the picture. Hope this helps.
I have read everything here. I will check in on the vorso post next with a commentary. The stop log notes are in the guidebook as you saw them there. I am enhancing all the original posts and everything has been rearranged to create a logical text book. The guide book will be very helpful it looks like.