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Since I regularly post my pre-market analysis on Twitter and Stock Twits, I will not post my PMA any more here untill I resume trading (paper) - probably in the second half of May after the first half of my May Trading Academy.
In one of two of my posts here I mentioned that May would be my "Trading Academy" month. I designed and planned it for myself about three months before (some time in mid February after the January journal contest).
I wanted to go through it here really thoroughly at first, giving you and myself every detail of my plan, my goals and my accomplishments. But...
I have heard somewhere that "rules are to be disobeyed", well, "plans are NOT to be met".
May 1, I got a bit surprised by my clients who behaved quite naughty despite being warned of my unavailability (one of my friends was horrified to hear that, saying how can I regard my clients as naughty? He would see them as loayal! - well, well). I have been on and off quite a few jobs during the first half of May. The number of requests had faded only slowly...
Here comes the second half of May. I finally started to implement what I planned for, though in very much abbreviated form. I planned to thoroughly plan my "next" trading day and then run the Market Replay in NT. After about three "days" (during one morning) I gave up the "planning for trading" part and just let the Market Replay play. And I found out an amazing thing.
Before I try to explain, I must mention that I have been trading pairs for 1+ year which is a purely mechanical strategy. By nature, that strategy is designed to mostly lose but come out as a winner in the end (in some 80% cases). I spent half a year paper trading before I went live and still get "discouraged" by the losses but nevertheless, I believe (and can see) that my strategy is working.
Now, back to that amazing thing. I am not sure if I am able to express it in words really. After watching Market Replay, regularly placing trades after setups that were according to my rules I found out what every successful trader talks about. I found out that it is all in my head. Trading has (almost) nothing to do with entries and all to do my ability to manage myself and the trade. It is about belief in my system and in myself.
I am not telling that now I am going to be all of a successfull trader. I am far from that since I now have to find out how to get to that "state" of being able to manage myself and the trade. But I have found out one more thing. Trading is extremely BORING...
And that made me think again if that is what I really want to do...
I want to continue till the end of May, learn even more about "my" market as I got really hooked up. I am now really curious about what the market is going to do and when. And that is now probably the only thing that holds me involved. My curiosity. My approach to the markets has changed. I would say completely but am a bit afraid of overstatement...
To sum it up, I am now at a crossroad. I have to find out if my curiosity (one way) will overcome the now expected boredom (the other way).
Congrats to the journal!
And also greetings to compatriot:-)
I hope that the trading academy was fruitful. To the boredom: it think this is actually the great advantage (if you are able to bring it from sim/replay to live trading). It ought to be boring. Trader must not trade on impulse.
You must not feel high after a win and not depressed after taking a loss. Quite many traders fail at that and this is their bane.
One warning: market replay is a nice thing if you want to learn the setup and backtest your plan. But you would have to run it in the 1to1 speed in order to be useful. If you speed it up once in a trade, then you skip all the psychological impacts the open position might have on you.
I have practiced in the past months on replay a lot and I had incredible results on Replay (like profit of 2000 dollars on 6E per day). When I got to live market the results were not so great (i didn't trade 6E live though).
Let us here know how you feel and what other experience have you taken from the "academy".
Exactly . I was very well aware of my watching market replay in fast forward mode... But it was only for "watching" purposes and making printscreens and taking quick notes. Than I re-run it in real mode (well, x2 - according to our kids' clocks ticking here I found out that it is close to reality, probably closer than x1), especially whan I was in a trade. I know that backtesting and fast forward sim trading gives results that are not at all close to reality due to their speed. So I do trade in slow mode.
I had gotten so engrossed in my training that I was depressed yesterday to have to go back to "work" (I am a freelancer) today. Well, reality is fully back with all the e-mails from my clients (I am still very lucky to have them).
I will try to sum it all up during the weekend and post.
Thanks for following me.
Been thinking about integrity lately. The idea that engaging in performance related activity that requires your heart, mind and body to be in sync in order to perform at optimum levels dictates that one operate in extreme honesty with oneself and with …
...Part of a public journal is the accountability to others....but since its anonymous, there's really not that much one can get out of it unless one is first honest with oneself and acknowledge his/her own short comings. Besides, no one wants to step on someone else's toes and offend them by calling them out for things they do that's not in their best interest...
It is an eye opener for me, though I have been aware of it for some time already but did not know how to put it in words... I am afraid but I do not see any benefits in posting here since it is (i) anonymous and (ii) no one wants to step on my toes...
I am frustrated because of my inability to be accountable for myself. I do all that PandaWarior mentions in his post. I am not honest with myself and do not do what I said I would. My trading academy was a disaster not because of my clients but because of my lack of discipline. I was engaged in the markets for only two weeks which is painfully insufficient and not doing what I planned to do.
The only thing that I have not lost is the determination. I will try to learn...
I am sorry that the academy didn't work as expected. My question here is why have you chosen the FESX before all? 10 € per tick is IMO too much size for the beginner. Is that mr. Podhajsky & Nesnidal influence?
I am not competent enough to give my own advice, but I would heed @Big Mike s advice to decrease size. Once you get confident with smaller, you can increase size afterwards.
It helped me personally tremendously ( going from NQ to M6E).
As far as I know, the two guys (or rather one of them) has started trading FESX only recently (or am I mistaken?), I have been focusing on FESX for all the time (four years). The reason is family. I have time only in the morning, I am unable to trade and run around various clubs with three kids in the afternoon...
Also, my orientation in fx futures is zero and I am pretty scared of spreads, pips etc. ))
However, I am not really unhappy about the market as it did not do anything bad (and hopefully will not) to me. I am just purely inconsistent by not doing even the things that I plan for myself. So my question is How can I build confidence in daytrading when I do not even try? Only after I start fulfilling my plans as to the trading, can I say that the market does not fit me. I remember posting somewhere that I try to reduce my risk as much as possible and looking for an ideal entry. But I would probably do it in any market. It is just my lack of confidence because I am not really active. Or maybe I am so much risk averse that trading is not for me. Or rather daytrading. So I am now researching other options.
Well, in any case, my head is spinning .
Thanks again.
Hana
I have been reading a lot during summer (well, I have been reading a lot my whole life )...
Maybe I am just getting old but it seems that the recent books have much more profound effect on me than the ones that I read in the past.
To be specific, in June and July I covered The Talent Code, Talent Is Overrated, Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People and now I have started Ari Kiev's books.
Both books about talent gave me an idea why "dreaming" of success will not help .
Seven Habits gave me an idea of what is really needed to be done.
and Ari Kiev just slaps me in my face with his books...
Again, to be specific on my last point, Ari Kiev gives name to all things that I suffer from. He makes me cry...
I am not able to trade because I am so afraid of failure. It seems that currently, I am not able to detach my own value from my trades' results so every failure in trading (SIM not live) leads to my sense of lower value.
Also, I have not been able to share my failures. The reason is that I am not able to take responsibility for my results. And there is more that right now, I cannot recall that fast to write about.
I have decided to do something about it, but that was here already many many times with me. I do not know whether I will ever be able to do anything but the truth is that I have probably become obssessed with my inability to turn my plans into reality.
I do not want to promise anything. I will just keep on trying. It seems that this is my life motto that I do not want... (and an answer comes immediately to one's mind: "Change it." Well, I know how but currently am not able to.)
Hana
Last Friday was a very balanced and narrow day formed just below a POC of a new short-term range. The Friday close was near the newly formed high of the day indicating a possible way up. The market may test the high of the range after testing the low without success.
From the long-term point of view, we are nearing the hight of a large range that has started about a year ago. The whole current up move has been accompanied by raising delta as well as uptick. The sharp fall on August 2 seems to had been a dip to shake out weak hands and use the opportunity for buying. All dips in price from that time seems like they have been accompanied by buying (limit orders), however Friday was the first day of selling. That seems quite obvious because of the near high of the range.
Tomorrow we will see if the market still needs to build some volume and balance or wether it indeed wants to test the high (near 2550) of the range. And of course, it may also head south and fall back. Only tomorrow will tell .
and hello and all the best to you, too.