Ozzy, I like your journal because it is one of the very rare journals that clearly and honestly displays the progress of the experiment and I sincerely whish you the best. But, unfortunately, I have to tell you that rokafella had very good observations to share and probably wanted to help you. When reading this thread a moment ago, I also wanted to advise you to reflect on why you âthoughtâ that ER2 was going above a certain level. It seemed like it was a very spontaneous thought. Your defensive reaction to his post also made me think that you were using an approach with which you might not be comfortable. It took me years to conclude that, independently of my personality or preferences, the best way to make a lot of money (statistically speaking) is not with an approach that aims at making quick profits frequently but with one that catches a few good waves. My journal provides an example of what I'm talking about. To learn more about this phenomenon, the Gambler's Ruin problem taught in financial economics would be a very good introduction.
steve - like you I agree with swings rather then scalps but that being said do you think it is the only way to make money from the markets? I have lots of friends that scalp VERY successfully. Trading has a lot to do with finding your own personal way and I can never understand why others feel the need to advise traders that their way is the best? Just say congratulations if it's working for you then GOD bless!
Two things: 1. Whatever Oz is doing, ain't working. 2. Giving opinions based on Academic research and backed by successful experimentation over several years is doing someone a favor if that someone is still searching for a successful method. If youâre successful with whatever method you're using then, sure, keep on using it because you probably have money/risk management techniques adapted to your system and making it successful. The success rate of most systems is closer to 50% than 100%, so what usually separates winners from losers is the capability of quickly identifying a bad trade.
The guy took 15k and ran it to 900,000 two years ago, so something he was doing worked. Yes he did lose it all back but it's my opinion that it was because he wasn't able to adapt to change quiclkly enough. Now he's trading futures and so far his daily results on this thread are pretty good. All I am saying is that if this is the style (intraday futures on a 1m 5m chart) he wants to pursue we should be encouraging him until HE asks for another style/approach.
Hi Steve, Yes, there quite a few times in the afternoon where I felt uncomfortable while scalping. My goal over the next few months is to not feel "uncomfortable" while scalping. Before I go any further I want to make clear that my approach is a hybrid of many styles. Currently my goal is to become succcessfull trading intraday. Believe me, I do no go into a day thinking scalp. I scalp because I know its an area where I have to improve. With an adequate amount of money in my account I have no problems placing longer term trades. I understand everyone's point and take everything into consideration. Good Luck to everyone today. ozzy
Ok: Although I ended the day positive, I was extremely dissapointed in my trading. I am still making the same mistakes which caused me to stop trading real money. I turned what should have been a $200 loss into a $1600 loss by moving my "STOP" !!!!!! I am making a vow today to never move a "STOP" ever again. This is killing me. Some observations today ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - I was premature in shorting the opening GAP on ER2. Note to self wait at least 10 (1MIN) bars before entering on the open. (I hung in there but it wasn't pretty) - Beside the 1 disaster trade everything was ok. - Win% seems to be quite high day in day out. I really need to work on cutting losses ASAP. If I do this there is no reason why I should not be positive on a daily basis. - Never move a "STOP" again. I will be keeping track of this from now on and will post whether or not this rule has been violated starting today: - In general my trading is off. Net Profit = $1,193 Account Balance = $9,961.4 Goal for tomorrow is to finish the day above 10K. Good Day, ozzy # OF DAYS STOP RULE HAS NOT BEEN VIOLATED = 0
ozzy One of the things that helps me with pshyco errors it to MAP out the day the night before. For example: Know where all your key levels are, Fibs, s/r levels, signifigant numbers, ema's weekly, monthly, daily HLOC's. If you plan for IF THEN scenarios you should know exactly where you where RIGHT on an entry and exactly where you are WRONG. This should make it easier to not move stops! I've saif it before and will say it again "a trader just can't show up, have a coffee and expect to make money"
Hi Samson, I agree I need to spend more time at night looking over all the levels and imprinting them onto memory. The mistake I made is just ridiculous. I moved the stop and then moved it again and then again.....etc. It's very important in this game to start off with good habits otherwise you end up spending a lot of time and effort fixing bad habits. Time for me to get book on behaviour modification!! ozzy
Hi Ozzy, Love the journal I'm on the same path as you but trading NQ , Keep up the good work, and god damnit, why do we traders always mess around with stops Now I set an audio file ALERT right after my trade is executed at the stop limit, so I sit there like a hawk ready to pounce on the market sell/buy order once my speaker yells out my stop has been reached. This way, we focus on executing our stops 100% instead of slipping at all. I have a 1.5 point stop on NQ ($30)