NexusFi: Find Your Edge


Home Menu

 





NW Trader's Journal


Discussion in Trading Journals

Updated
      Top Posters
    1. looks_one NW Trader with 165 posts (660 thanks)
    2. looks_two kareem40 with 17 posts (41 thanks)
    3. looks_3 Wizard3ootz with 7 posts (18 thanks)
    4. looks_4 bobwest with 6 posts (16 thanks)
      Best Posters
    1. looks_one NW Trader with 4 thanks per post
    2. looks_two snax with 3.4 thanks per post
    3. looks_3 Wizard3ootz with 2.6 thanks per post
    4. looks_4 kareem40 with 2.4 thanks per post
    1. trending_up 35,308 views
    2. thumb_up 819 thanks given
    3. group 22 followers
    1. forum 227 posts
    2. attach_file 260 attachments




 
Search this Thread

NW Trader's Journal

  #81 (permalink)
 
kareem40's Avatar
 kareem40 
Dallas, TX
Legendary TradeTheBar
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NT, TS
Broker: IB, Oanda
Trading: ES, MES, MNQ, MYM
Posts: 708 since May 2010
Thanks Given: 1,887
Thanks Received: 903

I had a tough day as well Mike. I guess, its one of those days. Have a great weekend.

K

Follow me on Twitter Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Reply With Quote
Thanked by:

Can you help answer these questions
from other members on NexusFi?
Exit Strategy
NinjaTrader
Better Renko Gaps
The Elite Circle
The space time continuum and the dynamics of a financial …
Emini and Emicro Index
My NT8 Volume Profile Split by Asian/Euro/Open
NinjaTrader
NexusFi Journal Challenge - April 2024
Feedback and Announcements
 
Best Threads (Most Thanked)
in the last 7 days on NexusFi
Get funded firms 2023/2024 - Any recommendations or word …
61 thanks
Funded Trader platforms
38 thanks
NexusFi site changelog and issues/problem reporting
27 thanks
GFIs1 1 DAX trade per day journal
18 thanks
The Program
18 thanks
  #82 (permalink)
 
NW Trader's Avatar
 NW Trader 
Seattle WA/USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader 8
Broker: NinjaTrader
Trading: CL, YM, ES
Posts: 305 since Sep 2018
Thanks Given: 495
Thanks Received: 1,084


kareem40 View Post
I had a tough day as well Mike. I guess, its one of those days. Have a great weekend.

K

Yes, one thing the ups and downs have done is to slowly give me the perspective I need and keep the emotions in check, at least to a great extent. This week I do believe I tried to over-think and then over-complicate my strategy and the markets in general. Going to relax, enjoy the weekend and return next week employing the same strategy as I have in the past.

Yes, it was just one of those days for both of us. As long as we both can see that in a positive way it's all good. Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Mike
NW Trader

There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.
Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #83 (permalink)
 
NW Trader's Avatar
 NW Trader 
Seattle WA/USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader 8
Broker: NinjaTrader
Trading: CL, YM, ES
Posts: 305 since Sep 2018
Thanks Given: 495
Thanks Received: 1,084



AndrewQ View Post
I've been following your journal and really admire your perseverance and positive attitude. Looking forward to seeing your progress. Cheers.

I appreciate your comments. Have a great weekend!

Mike
NW Trader

There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.
Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #84 (permalink)
 
NW Trader's Avatar
 NW Trader 
Seattle WA/USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader 8
Broker: NinjaTrader
Trading: CL, YM, ES
Posts: 305 since Sep 2018
Thanks Given: 495
Thanks Received: 1,084

Only an hour to trade before work this morning and I got my week off to a negative start.

Found a trade on CL after it had dropped like a rock from the OR. Hit my first target but then it backed up to my second stop and I ended up with +2 ticks.

Then I took a trade I shouldn't have. I have a counter-trend trade that I sometimes use. It sometimes works on pullbacks and such but it is a high risk, low reward trade but it does have a fairly high probability. Today I tried it on CL but was not fast enough to move my regular ATM targets down to where the should be for this trade. Price moved up to where it would have hit my targets then immediately reversed and hit both stops for -20 ticks. My bad for not moving quickly enough, but also a trade that I should probably drop from my inventory.

No charts today because I didn't have time to file them before I left for work.

Today's results:
2 trades
1 winner: $17.64
1 loser: ($202.36)
Net P&L: ($184.72)

Looking forward to a full day of trading tomorrow. Hope everyone else got off to a good start for a short week!

Mike
NW Trader

There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.
Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
  #85 (permalink)
 
snax's Avatar
 snax 
Chicago, IL
Legendary Price Action Student
 
Experience: Beginner
Platform: Sierra Chart
Broker: Edge Clear
Trading: MES
Posts: 2,170 since Feb 2019
Thanks Given: 9,612
Thanks Received: 9,622


NW Trader View Post
Only an hour to trade before work this morning and I got my week off to a negative start.

Found a trade on CL after it had dropped like a rock from the OR. Hit my first target but then it backed up to my second stop and I ended up with +2 ticks.

Then I took a trade I shouldn't have. I have a counter-trend trade that I sometimes use. It sometimes works on pullbacks and such but it is a high risk, low reward trade but it does have a fairly high probability. Today I tried it on CL but was not fast enough to move my regular ATM targets down to where the should be for this trade. Price moved up to where it would have hit my targets then immediately reversed and hit both stops for -20 ticks. My bad for not moving quickly enough, but also a trade that I should probably drop from my inventory.

No charts today because I didn't have time to file them before I left for work.

Today's results:
2 trades
1 winner: $17.64
1 loser: ($202.36)
Net P&L: ($184.72)

Looking forward to a full day of trading tomorrow. Hope everyone else got off to a good start for a short week!

I was getting frustrated with myself because I tended to look for countertrend trades out of habit, I think because of the potential to get in at the beginning of a new swing or trend after a reversal. I noticed I was missing much more safe with-trend entries that were higher probability and had more potential profit since I was closing my trades so early anyway.

What I'm finding is that I'm starting to learn more about reversals because when my with-trend entries do not materialize something funny is usually going on, sometimes a trading-range but other times strong reversals. It is making it easier to study reversal behavior without the pressure to take a trade.

Maybe stepping away from your countertrend trade for some bit of time while focusing on other entries will make it clearer to you when to take your countertrend trade in the future. Just a thought.

Cheers!

Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #86 (permalink)
 
NW Trader's Avatar
 NW Trader 
Seattle WA/USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader 8
Broker: NinjaTrader
Trading: CL, YM, ES
Posts: 305 since Sep 2018
Thanks Given: 495
Thanks Received: 1,084


snax View Post
I was getting frustrated with myself because I tended to look for countertrend trades out of habit, I think because of the potential to get in at the beginning of a new swing or trend after a reversal. I noticed I was missing much more safe with-trend entries that were higher probability and had more potential profit since I was closing my trades so early anyway.

What I'm finding is that I'm starting to learn more about reversals because when my with-trend entries do not materialize something funny is usually going on, sometimes a trading-range but other times strong reversals. It is making it easier to study reversal behavior without the pressure to take a trade.

Maybe stepping away from your countertrend trade for some bit of time while focusing on other entries will make it clearer to you when to take your countertrend trade in the future. Just a thought.

Cheers!

Absolutely right. I think I am seeing these countertrend trades more because, as you say, they usually occur when "something funny" is going on in the trend. Most of the setups I look for are with trend. I have been avoiding the countertrend trades mostly, but I failed this morning and pushed the button. Next time I see one I'll either sim-trade it or at least track what it does for future reference, but I'll keep my real money in my pocket!

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated!

Mike
NW Trader

There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.
Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
  #87 (permalink)
 
NW Trader's Avatar
 NW Trader 
Seattle WA/USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader 8
Broker: NinjaTrader
Trading: CL, YM, ES
Posts: 305 since Sep 2018
Thanks Given: 495
Thanks Received: 1,084

Wow, had trouble getting on here earlier today, some message about a database problem. Apparently all is well now.

Today I was still not in sync with the market. I do feel that I'm getting back to normal, whatever that is, but I'm not quite there yet. It was a negative day with only 4 trades. Actually I had 5 as I did a very nice trade on CL this morning and then discovered I was in Sim mode!

Still getting used to NT8, more on that in a moment. I actually like the fact that I can easily switch from Sim to Live because with TS you basically had to log out and log back in. But it also means I need to check the dang order panel when I start to trade!

I did start with a positive trade in gold, hit my first target for +10 and got stopped out on the second contract for +14, 24 total, so I was feeling good. And that was the last good feeling I had for the morning!



Next I took a PB on CL but it weird from the start. PA was stretched between 2 channels and I thought I was entering on the bottom of the trend channel but in fact what I was doing was entering way too high on a small PB. Because it was a confused setup I should have passed but I didn't, -20.


Finally took 2 trades on ES. First one stalled so I stopped out at BE, losing only my commission. Second trade I went long on what I thought was the end of a complex pullback, but instead the elevator was going down. -16.


Today's results:
4 trades
1 winner: $237.64
3 losers: ($407.08)
Net P&L ($169.44)

If there's good news today it is that I think I've finally got a setup in NT8 that I like. I watched a couple of their videos over the weekend, tried out a couple of the new features and found something I'm comfortable with. Yesterday I did not mention the debacle I had on Labor Day with NT8 that cost me money. I was trying out the Super DOM for ordering and decided to try a few trades. Now, in retrospect, I should have done this in Sim. However, I used the DOM for trading in TS and I was familiar with the setup so I went ahead. I placed an order and then when I went to set the stops the fun started. There is an incompatibility with the scroll wheel settings on my mouse and NT8's DOM. As I tried to get to my stops the DOM looked like an out of control slot machine with prices wildly scrolling this way and that. In my panic of trying to get it to stop I actually managed to add more contracts to my order, and in the wrong direction - of course!! By the time I could hit the Close button I was down an embarrassing amount of money. Not the fault of NT8, let me be quick to add. I figured out what was wrong, went into the software for my mouse and changed the scroll wheel settings and all was well. Well, not my account, but that's on me. So, that's my little sad story to remind everyone to Sim trade the heck out of ANYTHING new!

In my trade setup on NT8 I ended up not using the SuperDOM anyway. It didn't seem to add anything to my method at the present. I also tried out their Equivolume bar chart. I really like the idea but I missed the volume chart at the bottom and sometimes the low volume candles were so thin they were almost nonexistent. I may give that another try in the future but for now I'm comfortable with what I've got.

Work obligations will keep me out of the market tomorrow so I hope everyone had a great day today and that you make a killing tomorrow!

Mike
NW Trader

There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.
Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #88 (permalink)
 
NW Trader's Avatar
 NW Trader 
Seattle WA/USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader 8
Broker: NinjaTrader
Trading: CL, YM, ES
Posts: 305 since Sep 2018
Thanks Given: 495
Thanks Received: 1,084

Work and other stuff has been interfering with my trading so my trading has been sporadic, my journaling has been sporadic, but one thing has been constant: my losses. Not sure what to attribute the (hopefully) temporary reversal but it is of enough concern to make me switch over to micros for awhile until I get this sorted out.

Next two weeks are going to see increased demands on my time from work ("supposed" to be part-time!) so I don't expect things to improve until probably October. In the meantime I'll continue to post when I can and will get back to posting my charts as well. And, maybe by then I will have sorted out where I stubbed my toe on my strategy and will have corrected that as well.

In the meantime, I'll monitor the community as often as possible (thanks for the mobile app, @Big Mike!). Just didn't want anyone to think I'd given up and disappeared!

Mike
NW Trader

There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.
Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #89 (permalink)
 
NW Trader's Avatar
 NW Trader 
Seattle WA/USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader 8
Broker: NinjaTrader
Trading: CL, YM, ES
Posts: 305 since Sep 2018
Thanks Given: 495
Thanks Received: 1,084

My "part time" job has been interfering with my trading for the past two weeks and it looks like it will be another week before things settle back into some sort of routine. While that first bothered me, what I have found is that the time away gave me a much needed break from the keyboard so that I can reorganize myself.

I mentioned to @kareem40 recently that I had gradually drifted away from what was originally a fairly straight-forward PAT strategy. I would have a bad day, then read about some other trader's success with some indicator, or see a video about some exit strategy and the first thing you know I'm not trading my own strategy anymore. And, to be clear, it wasn't "my" strategy to begin with, but one I had learned in a course that seemed to be relatively good. When I sat down and analyzed where I was at, I was surprised at how far I had drifted from my strategy.

So what this break has done is allowed me to drag out my books and re-read parts of them, clear off all the extraneous BS from my charts and try to get back to basics. I've only had a little bit of time to trade and have switched back to Sim while I sort this out. I am only trading YM, GC and CL in the RTH and 6Y, GC and NQ in the Asian session when I have time for that. It takes time to keep the charts updated with S&R so I may give up the Asian thing altogether at some point. This morning was the first morning in a while that I could actually sit through the open of RTH and stay a couple hours. I managed 7 trades, most okay, and ended up +$310. But, it's Sim, and you can't pay your bar tab with Sim! I have found the Replay feature in my new NT8 platform really helpful in this rebooting exercise. TradeStation didn't have that and it's helpful to be able to practice through the RTH open, for instance, at 8 o'clock at night.

Bottom line is that while I am missing the actual trading, I feel I am making very good use of the "off" time and am feeling confident about returning to regular trading and my Live account in another week or so. When I do I'll again post my charts and results as we go along.

Happy trading everyone!

Mike
NW Trader

There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.
Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
  #90 (permalink)
 
kareem40's Avatar
 kareem40 
Dallas, TX
Legendary TradeTheBar
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NT, TS
Broker: IB, Oanda
Trading: ES, MES, MNQ, MYM
Posts: 708 since May 2010
Thanks Given: 1,887
Thanks Received: 903


Welcome back Mike. I have and still have tendencies to move/look around as well. I think the biggest problem is that trading has been, and still is, the hardest thing I tried to do; successfully. Most methods would work long term as long as you have a method/rules in place. At times, markets changes and nothing works. This is not the method or you. You are going to lose money no matter what you use those days.
Good luck and I think you are in very good hands sticking with PATs for a while. I look forward to your new posts soon.

K

Follow me on Twitter Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Reply With Quote
Thanked by:




Last Updated on June 11, 2020


© 2024 NexusFi™, s.a., All Rights Reserved.
Av Ricardo J. Alfaro, Century Tower, Panama City, Panama, Ph: +507 833-9432 (Panama and Intl), +1 888-312-3001 (USA and Canada)
All information is for educational use only and is not investment advice. There is a substantial risk of loss in trading commodity futures, stocks, options and foreign exchange products. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
About Us - Contact Us - Site Rules, Acceptable Use, and Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy - Downloads - Top
no new posts