wed
6/8/2011
6 trades
+18 ticks

the method is working nicely, now, i just have to get better at execution.when it speeds up, i have a hard time, scrunching charts, and moving them up and down, i miss trades..not complaining, tho.there are enough each day that i can catch.today was clearly an uptrend in the am prior to the invent report.i log in here, to get my pics up, and have some dialogue to reflect on as times go on.since i started this journal, there have been plenty of changes, but , happily, not for some time.i honestly feel i have a good approach now, and have finally kicked the countertrend trading.i will take a few here and there, but i like cts when it is an obvious one, when i dont have to think about it.i will say, that i now photocopy some of the days action, some with trades , some with missed trades, and review every night, and during day if i can.this has been so helpful, because it is enabling me to see clearer, and react quicker, just from the repetition.today should have been a 400 to 500 day, but it was green, and i know enough, to be content that i caught some of the waves.
+$150 after commiss

6/16/2011
thursday
13 trades
+ 27 ticks
i havent posted since last week, i think.i made some changes, i took off the 3 min, and the tct...again.i find that, the setups on my entry ch, the 4 rng, speak for themselves.i have been talking myself out of too many trades, by looking at the 3 min.i must say, this has been an angry week for me. i am a firm believer, that in order for me to succeed, i have to act quicker, and not react to missed trades.getting angry and frustrated, is just a sign, that im not ready.my results over the past 2 months have generally gotten better, and they need to continue.i make copies of the days action, and mark out the trades, and there are still too many missed.its so easy to do this in 20/20 hindsight, we all know that.i have been studying as much as i can,because i need to recognize these setups quicker.thats really the problem.there are plenty of opportunities every day with the cl.the studying is definately helping, and today was a good day.there were 2 beautiful trades that i cant believe i missed.no need to post charts now, this is really about staying focussed , and not losing perspective.frustration and anger, are pointless and useless, and counterproductive.i just need to work harder

Mike

6/21/2011
i havent been consistent with my posting, but nevertheless, have been working much more, studying, analyzing, reviewing, oh...and getting the sh%&$# kicked out of me the last 2 days.gave all of my gains back, funny, i recall saying i thought i was getting it together, and being happy.the cl has been tuff, but it is me, gettin off track.luckily still simmin, and, frankly, trying to just stay focussed .i have some off time comin up, and im ready for a break.tomorrows another day

wed
6/22/2011
9 trades, -9 ticks cl
back to business.man what a drag.mon and tues , i lost my mind.literally.20 trades each day..or more.today was kinda weird, as were mon and tues.it feels as tho the follow thru is just shakey.of course, there were a few that were just a little too fast for me.i started doing market replay, to practice a little.i will start posting charts again soon.have some vaca over the 4th of july
cya tommorrow

thurs
6/23/2011
wicked crazy fast selloff day
the am was so fast, i got sucked in, and got tossed a little bit.one thing ive started to notice, is my trading tends to be better once things have settled down a bit.this was apparent for a while, but yest i had a strong finish, albeit a red day
today, after 23 trades, i managed a pos 16 ticks, and, i never crossed the - $250 mark, which for now , trading 1 contract, is my threshold.also, i finished today strong, really focussed on the slingshot, 2oo ma, and really the 3/8ma setups, all trades with trend today.i think mon and tues was just some impatience surfacing, as i really want to get this thing into cash.i need to accept the fact that, grinding out positive $100 to $200 days is really where i need to be, until i can do that consistently, i really dont need any other goals.its not fancy, or pretty, its just working .
i will say, that although i got off track mon and tues, i recognized it much quicker this time, and wed, i was really relieved to get back to business.dont ask me what happened.its ok tho, i was kinda laughin about it today

Hey Bobarian. Digging the journal. One thing I noticed that you might not be aware of is that some days you have a few trades and do well and other days you seem to trade on tilt and have like 23 trades lol. I am at work killing time and I just crunched some numbers on the last 22 trading days you participated in:

Day | # of trades | Trades profit average

1) 3 trades / +3.66 per trade
10) 3 trades / -1 per trade
17) 3 trades / +3 per trade
15) 3 trades / +1.66 per trade
6) 3 trades / +6 per trade
12) 3 trades / 2.33 per trade
16) 3 trades / +6.33 per trade
18) 3 trades / +5.66 per trade
= Average profit of +3.45 ticks with 3 trades intraday

2) 4 trades / +3.25 per trade
3) 4 trades / +7 pts per trade
13) 5 trades / -3 per trade
9) 6 trades / +1.66 per trade
19) 6 trades / +3 per trade
11) 6 trades / -1.5 per trade
12) 8 trades / -1.75 per trade
= Average profit of +1.23 ticks with 4-8 trades intraday

21) 9 trades / -1 per trade
7) 9 trades / -.11 per trade
8) 10 trades / +1.7 per trade
5) 11 trades / -1.9 per trade
4) 12 trades / + 2.25 per trade
20) 13 trades / +2.07 per trade
14) 16 trades / + 2.28 per trade
22) 23 trades / +1.43 per trade
= Average profit of +1.19 ticks with +9 trades intraday


These are just some numbers and you can get numbers to say anything, but I personally think you might be overtrading every now and then. Based on what I see, you make twice as much money with 3 trades a day then you do with 4 trades a day and three times as much than when you make +9 trades a day, (and that is before I factor in commission costs) Just something you might want to keep in the back of your head for the future...

Anyways, I enjoy the journal, and I am definitely subscribed. Keep the trades coming!

thanks bremudan option, and yes, youre observation is correct.i titled hard mon and tues.i do realize the low tick avg of my winners, and this reflects my atm strategy.typically i have a 6 +5 stop gain, and a profit target of 10.recently, i started to switch around again, with a 5 +2 , to give it room, and a 16 tick stop gain.ultimately, the 6 +5 , with the 10 tick stop gain has worked the best.in the 3 months that i have had the journal, i have made some big changes, and the pics reflect that.my goal was to dial in specific , hi % entries with the trend.i have finally shed the countertrend impulses, which was necessary.the reality, is , my trading in general, has gotten better, but still needs work.too many missed trades, usually because the cl is too fast at the moment, or i just miss the trade.all i can do at this point is work harder, stay focussed, and no more tilting!i grinded out 3 weeks of decent tradind, and gave it back in 2 days.the market loves that.for now, i will continue trading 1 contract, and will do so until i go back to cash, and continue in a positive way.again, thanks for the comment,bob maughan

ok, back for monday
6-27-2011
6 trades
+9 ticks
afew missed opportunities, i dont really regret any of the trades, so thats good.i have been spending some time in the cl room, which i like.for a while , ive been goin back and forth with the 3min and 5mibn for my long rtange ch.today, i tried the 13 range, and i think it gives a better in dication of trend, that is usable.we will see,m 1 day doesnt draw conclusions, so, i will use it this week.i did miss a nice ct, i just dont really have a good entry for it.with the 13 range , it would have been clearer.this week, i would like to just grind out some gains, and take a break next week for the vacation(i will have my copies of charts tho, which i will study)
also, bermudan did some work, on my results, and they speak for themselves...the days that have 20 trades, tend to not end well.thanks bermudan, i had over 40 trades on mon and tues, and that was just a tilt.new week, no problem.got some pics again, will try to keep up with them.my boys turned 3 this month, and its impossible to do my journal with them here, as they break my chops like there is no tomorrow, and, they are potty training, so i got that goin for me!i guess the distraction is good tho, because at this stage of my trading, all tho cautiously optomistic, i know the perils of dwelling on charts for too many hours a day(atleast for me)
peace

6/28/2011
5 trades +7 ticks
changed my atm to 4 /be,getting a full stop after market goes +4 , we will try this for now.so many times, i go 6 +5, and leave alot on the table.my profit target for now is 10 ticks.
today, 1st trade was a gift to the market, same as yest.had 2 be, 1 +10, and a +5.
a tricky day, as we had mostly fractured setups, which are more risky.i did miss a few, and i am starting to get used to the 13 rng, when we get a setup on 13 rng, look to be aggressive on 4rng.cl was folowing ym.today, which is annoying.i like the action off of the 13 rng setups, and i got stopped on 1st trade, i thought i had enough room to squeeze it, went +4, then -8.no problem.
pretty slow all together
check the pics