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Personally, my math or prgramming skills are not strong enough to comment on automated trading. When I hear automated trading, I only think of LTCM, and the Nobel Prize winners that cratered in the late 1990's, Scholes and Merton.
December 27th, 2011. Today is my wedding anniversary. Married 25 years to the day. Happy after all these years.
Tight Trade range on the CL today. Might be a very slow week, as it is the Holidays in North America.
First trade hit my stop at -9.
but took 9 more trades in keeping with my plan, and it went reasonably well. Was patient with my signals, din't get anxious, and I felt I managed my trades very well. Seemed very easy today.
Ended up positive for 86 ticks.
I am making progress, as I am only averaging 1 negative day evey 5 or 6. And looking over the down days, i realized that it has nothing to do with the market, and everything to do with my attitude on those days. It is a very small sample, but for now, I am not going to make small adjustments to build consistency.
Was an up and down day for me. I wasnt trading what I saw, but rather, what I thought I should see, which is different. Had to reset Ninja Trader, as it was giving me some lip. Some kinda bug saying I had a trade Pending when i didnt have any such trade. Anyway, I fixed it without losing my records.
Had 2 questionable trades where i moved my SL, and it was a mistake, so I was down 13 and 12 ticks. In both cases, I had moved my SL, because I didn't see what I thought I saw. That is called forced intellect, or false rationalization. More like an oh oh, trade.
Embrace your losses! What a concept. If you welcome a loss, in the correct matter, it serves to clarify your objective, helping one to focus more efficiently on the goal at hand, ultimitely to achieve and remain profitable. Profitable trading is a continuing journey. Money is the byproduct of successful trading.
Even though I finished in possitive territory, I felt I wasnt successful in a couple of areas.
I took a couple of ill advised trades that were not well planned. As such, I overtraded. i intend to focus on no more than 10 trades maximum, and I traded 4 more than that.
I only trade 2 setups on and only slight variations on both. I review support and resistance levels as it pertains to volume and momentum.
I dont hold a position long, as i am only looking for 25 to 40 ticks daily. Thats on the CL. On the ES, I was looking for 12 to 25, but the CL is more volatile. As some have noted, watching a 5 minute on the ES is like watching paint dry. I think it reasonble not to swing for the fence every time you get up to the plate. Hit lots of singles, and you will score runs.
Had one real nice trade that ran for 29 ticks. I managed that trade well. But that one trade was the bulk of my gains for the day. The 2 poor ones cost me 25 ticks.
Well, traded punches with the market, as I expected a tight trading range day. and it was...up till the petroleum Report, then something happened.
Anyway, I am at my office computer, therefore, all my trade information is on my home office computer. I have 3 computers, 2 laptops and a desktop desktop is my trading computer, 3 monitor setup with a broadband connection. 150mps. Will post the details later. Later.
Am positive for the day. I let my chart speak to me...and It worked out fairly well before 11:00 am. Then I had to shovel my driveway. (6 inches of snow last night, good thing I have an all wheel drive SUV) Shovel isnt the right word. I have a snow blower.
Traded for an additional 90 minutes after 11:45 est. Garyd had posted a chart of interest with some commentary, so I looked at his assessment and I thought it was reasonable, so I trade it. Seemed to go well, nice trend that I was able to capture a part of.
i am growing fond of the routine of trading. I have my foolish moments, but all in all, I feel that I am making progress daily, a little at a time.
A few weeks ago, Mike suggested to only change 2 things every 2 weeks. At first, it seemed impossible, there was so much stuff to adapt to in trading. I come from an investment background, so i was familiar with using a computer to make trades real time. But never was price so important as with day trading.
At first, i found it difficult to stick with that suggestion, but now, I cannot think of doing anything different. After all, if it works, stick with it, why change it? Besides, charts, indicators, setups is all the mechanical aspects of trading, and while important, risk management, money management and psychology of trading are much more important.
I also get why many traders do not post their financial results. No-ones buisness, and besides, just because i make $$ a day, dosn't mean you can. And who wants that responsibility. If someone tries to trade like you, and fails, which is highly likely, who wants to live with that responsibility. Unless of course, like every webinar, you post a disclaimer before you make any comment.
i also dislike the saying that as a trader, you have to blow up and account before you will truly learn how to trade. Or, you have to learn how to lose, because if you dont know how to lose, you cannot learn how to win. How does one define loss? in day trading, i have not blown up my account, but, I have lost money investing. Quite a bit. Does this count? Or do I have to lose the money trading.
I am at the office, with my 5 minute chart on my laptop, talking to my assistant, and I see a second entry on my chart off a strong bull bar, so i place an entry, and I move my stop to 9 ticks, but I get stopped out on the pullback. but I am not fazed, I immediatly get back in at 2 ticks above my stop, and I get another 33 ticks.
So for the entire morning, I am bashing my keyboard for 10 ticks, and in the span of 12 minutes around lunchtime, I net 42 ticks.
Thanks for your comments. Funny thing, never read the book, however, i am a former Judoka (practicer of the art of judo), and you cant get more Zen like than that, so that comes through in my journal.
Its pretty stream of consiousness stuff, and i try not to overcomplicate things.
I was making an analogy to "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"... but same diff really... have a look at those spreadsheets and see if could be helpful... the one in my post is somewhat complicated... I borrowed and then modified it from someone much more skilled in Excel than I am.
