I have two questions. 1.) Are the two charts you provided hold all the "obvious" that the "few super elite traders" signal to each other it is time to act? Or is there other setup? 2.) Do you usually hold your positions multi-day? Thanks and regards
MMD, even though you may not realize it now, you are asking very important questions! I will be honest with you. 1) Every chart holds the "obvious"! 2) It depends on what I am trading. For example, recently a financial stock got hammered, so much so that it was on the verge of collapse, so I had to make a decision on whether the risk was worth it, as I usually do not hold positions for a number of days. It took about 5 days to get the desired position on, and after 7 days it was up 241%! I was willing to lose my initial bet, so I did not care if the stock went bust, and I am still holding, as the price might be good for about another 23% in about 1-3 days! The most important thing outside of the "obvious", is the understanding that you must never risk any more than you are willing to lose! In fact, I will go as far as saying that without ever knowing the obvious, if you understand and practice correct risk control, you will be streets ahead of the average trader! There are no "experts" in the trading game, including myself, but each and every trader can easily be an "expert" at risk control, if they but understand that every trade is a gamble! 100 pennies make a pound, but it only takes 10 x 100 pounds to make a thousand pounds! Some traders have pm'd me saying that they have changed the way they think and act, and hopefully for the better! I hate it when "idiots" try to tell people they are "experts" at what they do, even though they do not say it outright, as, you are now beginning to see that there are no "experts", but there are a few clever people that know how to take more money out of the markets than others, and, they are not "experts", they just know what it is they need to know, and more importantly, they know the difference between a low risk and a high risk entry. Trade entry is the most important thing ever, but this should be "obvious" to even a child, as if you get it wrong from the start, the odds are stacked way against you, and you then start that chain reaction of thoughts that lead to, well, do you want to guess what that might be!
RT, you are of course correct. If one is not making money, then they should stop trading and work out why they are losing money. You lose money because the price went the opposite direction to they way you thought it might go! So, if you want to stop losing money, you must either change they way you think, or stop trading! There is another solution that can work, but it is so hard to believe that the majority will laugh at it, and that is to reverse your order entry keys with the software, so that when you think you are buying you are actually selling, and when you think you are selling you are actually buying
RCN, the only reality in life is that most people are - and this will cause some offense to many, but so be it - ignorant! When you realize that the majority of people are ignorant, then you will understand that they talk mostly about themselves and what it is they know! But, and here is the interesting part, what they know is only what they have experienced - as it can be no other way! So, by a simple matter of applying logic, it should be clear that experience is the key to every success in life. And, how does one get experience. In college! On websites! Looking at television! Reading books! Bla, bla, bla! Look at what PDA means, and it is not that stupid little thing that allows you to trade when you are sitting on the jacks wiping your bottom with the WSJ paper
TH, you are very clever in how you ask something How do you know it is a swing high unless you wait to see! Any idiot can look at a chart and tell you what has happened, but it takes a clever idiot to look at a chart and tell you what will most likely happen within the next "n" period
PDA... hmmm... Property Damage Assesment??? Not real sure. But it does seem like that would be a good way to gauge one's experience since one's trading account is really THE main thing that matters. I enjoy trading and all that but, hey... It's really all about the $$$, right? I work hard for me and my family's living and losing money to the market is NOT fun. At least if I went to the casino I could have some good times, good food, and a good vacation while losing my money!...I DO take my trading serious though. Maybe...Hopefully...with the guidance from some on this thread I can get through the "win some lose some" barrier (smoke, mirrors, and toxins and such) and be on my way to some consistantly sizeable profit$..."OBVIOUSLY"! Once again THANKS for the enlightenment thus far! RC
Nyse, chart 1 - stock chart 2 - futures contract Looks like the obvious is in the chart 2 which shows some property of that particular market (related to your hints about mm hedging their bets and pit traders working with fungus ) You go long for a quick scalp after the p&f shows a significant drop in price. That would seem consistent with your comments about 90% BLASH, since it also works in a downtrend and gives you that 7:3 good:bad entry ratio. It also explains your comments about the "experts", bs indicators and trading books, since you simply exploit the mechanics of a particular market/instrument instead of working with voodoo dolls or real life analogies. Am I even close? Could you post a chart of your today's obvious? thanks, mindozas
Z.O.G., P retty D arn A pparent that some posters on this thread and others just don't have muchuva life. sorry ny for gettin' off topic
âWhy is the obvious, not so obvious?â ⦠because most look outside themselves for the answers! As a trader, it is important to learn all you can from various sources, (i.e. âExpertsâ, âSystemsâ, âRulesâ etc.), but in the end, it is YOUR skills, YOUR discipline, YOUR strategy that will make or break you. None of us trade exactly the same. We KNOW many of the same things. But we each have different strong and weak points which are refined into a personalized trading method that makes the most of our natural tendencies. Personally, I day trade to pay the bills, but counter trend swings over longer time frames to make the big money. I know when I begin to build a counter trend position for a swing, Iâll probably be feeling some pain. Other traders like NYSESTOCKS might say I was being âstupidâ for staying in a loosing trade. Others might try it themselves only to loose a lot of sleep resulting in eventual capitulation. Others might also enjoy the same success and suddenly find themselves with a 2nd Mercedes. Finding a system that truly works for you and all your individual, special traits is what will allow you to take money from other traders on a consistent basis. They are always looking outside themselves for an edge like NYSESTOCKâs âholy grailâ. Each of us only need look to ourselves! âAll of what we are is the result of what WE have thoughtâ - Buddha
... and your chart looks like a vertical OHLC. Potential double bottom, similar to what we saw on the S&P MID OCT. â MID. NOV â08 .