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Glad you liked it. Yes, tick Strike makes a lot of noise.. The cadence can build from these little ticks to something that sounds like a machine gun when order flow becomes extreme. When I do the video of my playback, I don't have the sound up high because then I would be talking over my running commentary I do while I'm trading.
For example..I am constantly vocalizing various what-if scenarios during the session. Like.."if price fails here and enters my black spine, do I want this trade? Or..if momentum suddenly shows up and this small price range is broken, do I want to enter?"
This way..no matter what happens, I won't get caught off guard. If I don't do that "ADHD boy" takes over..and next thing you know I'm checking e-mails and reading Facebook..and then end up missing a good move. So the constant commentary keeps me focused as well.
Also, the benefit of the commentary is that I can watch back my session and hear the reason I took the trade. If I just keep the reasons in my head..instead of verbalizing..then I don't have as much info when I watch back my recording.
Great Video Lancelot!
It really looks like you have your system down pretty well.
I also have done a lot of work on the short time frame charts ---that is one reason why i have been following your thread. Scalping crude oils sounds like small change but it literally makes these moves all day long. I think it makes sense to focus on the short term if you can reasonably tell what is happening next. i think that predicting the next hours move is move is more difficult than the next 2 minutes. And like any thing in futures if you are consistently profitable you can make real money.
So thanks for the great teaching again.
Here's a recap of trades taken today. Much more ticks than I usually make in one day! 95 ticks. Just realized the video pauses for about 5 seconds at the 8:00 mark. That's not the end.
I see Matt Z giving thanks on several of my posts and I think that is really cool. I know if it weren't for him, I would have quit trading altogether a few years ago. After switching over from Forex to futures a few years ago, I ended up using Optimus (Matt's firm) as my broker. I had a particularly disastrous day where I just started revenge trading and losing all impulse control. i think I lost over $7000. Of course this was no where near as bad as some Forex losses I had taken in the past.
Anyhow, I just decided that I couldn't do it anymore..and I called Matt and told him I was done. He didn't try to persuade me..or talk me out of it. He asked if I wanted my money wired back or a check. Then he listened as I told him how I traded that day..and how I had done the same things in the past. He spent an hour on the phone with me talking about daily loss limits, psychology and so many things that were invaluable. After digesting his priceless information..I decided to go back to SIM and try again untill i could follow some strict rules. I won't talk about how good Optimus is..because this isn't the thread for it..but since this has become my trade journal, I did want to acknowledge that Matt helped me that day. I am happy I didn't quit now..because I really am starting to believe that I will succeed at this and finally be able to achieve my goals. I think if I had spoke to a different kind of broker, I would have quit and would probably be still working at some to 9 to 5 grind. THANK YOU, MATT.
Anyhow, made about 40 ticks on Cl today. This is turning out to be one of my best weeks ever.
Here are a few things that have helped me improve:
1. RECORDING MY TRADING SESSIONS: This has been a huge help. I watch replays of my trades and since I verbally announce the setup type, stop placement and target..and I can understand the reasons why I took the trade. Also..I can see exactly what my charts and indicators look like prior to a big momentum move. I can see events occurring on order flow tools, volume counts etc. Then, in the future when extremely similar patterns emerge, I know I have a high probability move. I can also see when I make the same stupid errors repeatedly and finally learn to stop doing it!
2. DOING A QUICK CHECKLIST BEFORE TAKING AN ENTRY: On a fast moving, tricky instrument like CL, it is very easy to get suckered into some bad trades. Often it will look like it's spiking up fast..order flow shows contracts coming in..and your brain says I have to get in now!! Then you jump in...and it suddenly starts going the opposite way fast..so you move your stop out to ride out what you think is a small pullback and before you know it ..you're 20 ticks or more down. I call that "Spikefoolery." It happens a lot. But the point is, I try now to run a quick checklist before entering. Some questions I will ask are: Has price already moved well past it's usual ATR,? Are we in a choppy consolidated period? Has price, so far, been making nice swings of 20 to 30 ticks..or is it just bouncy and choppy? Is this a time of day where price usually moves well? Are there any major or minor support and resistance levels in the way of my target?Is the momentum strong enough to break through these levels or is it weak and will probably bounce? Am I trading objectively or has some recent losses caused me to be overly emotional?Is my stop going to easily be hit or do i need a large one where the risk isn't worth it?
There are other questions..but this is an example of my thoughts before entry.
3. RESISTING TEMPTATION AND SAYING NO TO ALL TRADES THAT DON'T FIT MY PARAMETERS- This has been difficult for me in the past, but I am improving in this area immensely. From watching my replays..I know the types of trades that have the highest chance of working out. Now I try my hardest to wait for only those setups.
