Big Mike 

Some suggestions... 1) If you are trading more than 1 lot, put one on at regular spot, and then when you feel like you should exit with a small winner --- ADD at that point another lot. This will help your mind change habits. Another way to do this would be to simply prove to yourself that you are losing money by exiting prematurely, document at the moment you exit the trade the exact reasons you did so - and later review and confirm that that was the wrong thing to do. You could set a concrete rule that every trade will either be a full stop or a full target, but such a rule should only be used for a few days or weeks to break this habit of exiting prematurely because ultimately you need to manage your trades after you've learned to overcome this. 2) Number two is easier. Just set a new rule that you cannot take another trade until at least 15 minutes or 30 minutes has passed. This will also help you to not prematurely exit, because you will know you are not allowed to get back in. Again, this is only to break the habit - but ultimately this rule cannot exist going forward. You need to simply have the willpower to do the right thing, and if you know that you are acting impulsively and overtrading at the open, then you have to simply think of that each time before you put the trade on, and ask yourself if you are repeating the mistake... Mike

Big Mike 

BTW, these are simple suggestions but they usually work best. Keep it simple. You can also use positive reinforcement like if you don't take all 3 trades at the open and later feel it was overtrading/impulsive trading, then reward yourself with something that you are not allowed to have unless you hit this accomplishment. Doesn't matter what the reward is, so long as it is something you enjoy. Mike

aztrader9 

Well I'm no expert to be sure....but I have that same problem, but I am getting better. I think the thing that has helped me the most was to really realize that impatience was killing my trading career. Impatience to get in and once in, impatience to get out. Both must be managed. So I started focusing on one single trade set up and forcing myself to just take that one, no matter how long it took to set up, then take it and then walk away from the screen. This is NOT a recommended long term strategy, but almost every time I came back, I would be up or the trade was over....I am using fixed targets btw. Then I realized it was only a few minutes at most that I had been gone and the trade was just fine. So now I am forcing myself to just sit on hands while waiting for a set up, some times I actually sit on my hands, and once in a trade, I force myself to take the loss or the target. Whichever comes first. Thats hard and sometimes the PA tells me to get out but I have simply been taking the hits to just make sure I really honor the demand for patience. Lately though, I've started cutting those losers short, when PA says its over, its over and just get out.....But those are PA driven decisions, not emotion driven decisions. Hope that helps...cheers....

All very good comments.

I used to do some of those actually when I was trading live. It was about the only way I would stay in a trade!

I had forgotten I had gotten up and walked away. It was funny though, my wife would be next to me and I would say, "Ok, you manage it, I am hungry... see you!"... She would say, "What, no you deal with it..." but she would manage it for me until I got back and I knew she wouldn't scale out. But, if the roles were reversed, I would have her out before she got back.. and she would frown...

Considering my targets are discretionary, you are right. I used to set full targets and I was successful, but now I just chicken out.

Ok, setting full targets or full stops, AND, getting up and taking breaks between trades.

I wonder what this will do to my temporary profitability. Should be interesting....

That is nice to type into the title bar.

Today, I still did not do what I came to do, but I did a bit better. This will take some practice, much like anything to defeat those bad habits.

I will not include the CL trades today as that was really just my 'distraction' during TF trading. However, I kept thinking, "Well if oil is up, then maybe the TF went back up..." so maybe not the best distraction but it filled the need to keep looking at charts.

Trades:

1. +3.0 points, it was a nice setup, I waited a little bit after open but hit it a tad bid late, but good enough. I scaled too early, but much later than I wanted to! Once it started bouncing around, I decided to put my stop lower. I expect more down but it could retrace a bit which I didn't want to eat those points.

Video

Nice start to a nice weekend



Mike

Just something I noticed lately is that I am trading better on days I get up at 3am then on days I wake up at 5am. The live markets are doing better for me then the replays. Whereas my wife is suffering from the opposite effect...

Hi Blue ,

i have question regarding your entry

1. Do you use market order / or stop limit ? it's fast market and takes time to calculate which entry you want to enter ? so i think market order will enter you best ?

2. what is the most important MACDBB timeframe you confirm with at the entry time ? 377 or 610
i mean do you confirm your entry at 144 with another timeframe ( 377 or 610 ) do you have such a rule ?


thanks

Ron

ronbary 

Hi Blue , i have question regarding your entry 1. Do you use market order / or stop limit ? it's fast market and takes time to calculate which entry you want to enter ? so i think market order will enter you best ? 2. what is the most important MACDBB timeframe you confirm with at the entry time ? 377 or 610 i mean do you confirm your entry at 144 with another timeframe ( 377 or 610 ) do you have such a rule ? thanks Ron

Ron,

Great questions. It all depends really to answer your question and after trading the charts for some time you get a feel as to which one you want to focus more on then others.

I use a buy/bid, sell/ask limit order. I wish Ninja had an order system like Tradestation where it could be bid+1, or ask-1 etc.. So, what I do is I allow it to move 1 tick if touched (ATM strategy) as that helps me get filled a bit better.

I have to admit, the 233 rarely gets looked at except to correlate between 144 and 377. I personally put a lot of emphasis on the 987 and 1597 for correlation to decide if I think I can get 3+ points.

Horst is a big fan of the 440 or so tick and it is a great middle ground between them. The key is to not put so much emphasis on ONE, but learn how to see how they all flow together and create a 'code'.

It is kind of like Morse code in the sense that you see part of the picture with each MACDBB, but by looking at them all, they should lend a clearer picture to which direction it is going. Sometimes it is totally unclear, but then you use the Fib's and price action to help understand where it will most likely go.

If it goes to here, then this would be an area where it will probably find significant resistance/support etc..

Sorry if this is unclear, but there is no magic with this system except lots of chart time and adhering to the guidelines etc... Where I have fallen off the wagon is with the previous impatience by not following through on my trades so I can make real profit and exiting after a few ticks.

I decide to move past the impatience, and I will find myself trading less, holding longer and profiting more. After that, back to live and making 3K - 10K per day.

A lot of people think that is not possible and I disagree. People do it, but they just aren't on forums bragging about it or selling indicators etc..

Hi Blue ,

i know what you mean there is no replacement for screen time .

1. I have also the buy bid / sell ask option i will test it . this is sound better and safe then Market order ?

2. Do you trade out of your charts or using the DOM ? i know this also depend on your experiance and self preference.


3. You said Horst like the 440 ticks , for confirmation before each entry , i think i will try using 377 tick as my confirmation for the entry i will give it a try

the idea is the following :
before each entry on the 144 , i want to see the MACD turn the same direction and same color for the MACD
on the 377 , this will confirm momentum on higher time frame ( almost multiple of 3 ) like many traders using

4. can you explain how you identify : "3 slide bar" , or "2 slide bars" pattern ?
what is the rule for this pattern ?


thanks

Ron

ronbary 

Hi Blue , i know what you mean there is no replacement for screen time . 1. I have also the buy bid / sell ask option i will test it . this is sound better and safe then Market order ? 2. Do you trade out of your charts or using the DOM ? i know this also depend on your experiance and self preference. 3. You said Horst like the 440 ticks , for confirmation before each entry , i think i will try using 377 tick as my confirmation for the entry i will give it a try the idea is the following : before each entry on the 144 , i want to see the MACD turn the same direction and same color for the MACD on the 377 , this will confirm momentum on higher time frame ( almost multiple of 3 ) like many traders using 4. can you explain how you identify : "3 slide bar" , or "2 slide bars" pattern ? what is the rule for this pattern ? thanks Ron

1. NEVER DO MARKET ORDERS.....

2. I used to trade DOM which is what Henry one of the inventors of the system does, but I found the chart to be much easier. I don't need something jumping up and down.

3. 377 is great in a way because if everything lines up, you should at least get a point of 'safety' in your trade to decide what it may be doing. I personally like the 987/1597 combo as they are close in ticks and for me it seems to clearly get 3 2-3 points pretty easily before it hits back on that rail (1597) and lower band (987)....

4. Well, 3 bar slide is just a bar that has slid evenly down the hill or up the hill in the direction you believe it will go. Basically Lower Low (LL) and Lower HIGH (LH) on each bar to make a nice clean picture. Double bar is where one bar shoots up, then another bar shoots up but find significant resistance at that level as well and closes down at the opposite end.

I suggest reading up on a great many other chart patterns as there are dozens, but my favorites are Head & Shoulders as the targets are perfect places to put your exits and Wedges/Triangles/etc....

All good stuff.... I am no expert, just what I have been taught and continue to see.. Oh, I really like trendline bounces, but this system is hard to use them except from longer term timeframes....

Hi Blue ,

can you point or have link to good Chart patterns site .

do you recommend reading "Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar" by Al Brooks is this also working with ticks bar price action or this book only for time obars with candalsticks ?


thanks

Ron

ronbary 

Hi Blue , can you point or have link to good Chart patterns site . do you recommend reading "Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar" by Al Brooks is this also working with ticks bar price action or this book only for time obars with candalsticks ? thanks Ron

Good question, I do not or have not read any Al Brooks books. I have read some online about his methods, but I guess I don't see how his analysis is exceptional over anything else I have read, but it is good to read and learn some things from what ANYONE teaches. People who read it think they have read the holy grail typically though, so maybe it is worth it.

There are hundreds of threads and books on the subject.

Chart Patterns, commodity and stock chart patterns, charting, technical analysis, commodity and stock price chart analysis, stocks, futures and options trading

Chart Patterns - ChartSchool - StockCharts.com

Master these... I actually need to go back through them and do some homework.