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It wasn’t big but it was my first profitable day so pleased with that.
I started off early in the London session with a long position looking for the chance of a breakout, but all I got was a retrace to 61.8 and then it faltered, so I scraped out with a couple of ticks profit. Was still thinking higher and because of that, I didn’t ‘trust’ 2 excellent sell signals, so I missed the trades. Market fell and as I look back I say to myself, I must trade what I see, trade my setup, and be more open minded and aware of what is ACTUALLY happening. Setups are profitable opportunities that I have developed over time and I need to tune in better. Saying that, I awoke very tired this morning, so a small profit is an acceptable outcome for the day.
The next trade was a sell that I was ready and waiting for and I entered carefully. My MAE was 3 ticks and I entered on the rise after a strong push but the exit was poor as I allowed myself to close out much too soon, having incorrectly interpreted a buy signal.
After that the market got crazy and fast and later my mouse crashed, so I had to go out for a new one. This afternoon (0822 CT) the internet went down for 2.5 hours. P&L was $180
Not available for the start of the London session, where the shapes and setups appeared to favour my style. There was a fantastic 5 wave move hitting fib targets with 5 thrusts in the 5th. By comparison, the US session was range-bound and deceptive to me, as I felt the structure/state (15min) and other longer term charts could have supported a sharp rise, the 5th wave high earlier possibly being a wave 1 or at least an A. Those days when CL went up more easily than down seem far away now :-) I had 2 trades - 1 loss, 1 profit and decided to step aside for rest of day. Again, I had a (slightly longer term) view on the market that was not reflected by my main trading chart (5min). I didn't trade what was there, I traded what I expected and they weren't the same thing and it doesn't work!! It's not easy facing up to this in public but it's the second day in a row when I have not traded what was in front of me. This is a mistake I should not make twice (especially after hearing Scotty last night). P&L was -$180
TST screenshots of performance to date are posted above.
I have started to make some necessary changes during this week, as I face up to the realization that I have some issues which are causing me to under-perform. My trades are NOT a reflection of the opportunities that I can see and that I call my setup: I am passing on many trades and making others that are not in my setup. I have also realized that I have become fearful of losing and even of trading at all. On Monday 29 Sept, I reduced my size on a trade in CL from 2 to 1, but it did not affect how I performed.
I have decided that instead of trying to trade CL starting at 0800 BST (=0200 CDT) and going through to 1700 (=1100 CDT), I now want to revert to trading NQ during RTH at least to the lunchtime break. I made a few tentative trades on 3 days and although I think I am ‘seeing’ the market well, I am still not trading it properly. This has led me to realize therefore that a more substantive change to my mental attitude and trading plan is needed. Week commencing Oct 7, I aim to work on this. If I prepare and do not trade at all this week, I will have 20 trading days remaining out of which I must trade 12. I believe that the best use of my time is to ABSOLUTELY determine what I need to do, how to do it and how to be in the best frame of mind for it.
I am leaving it late to start growing the account but I am where I am and I will do my best.
I was in a similar situation. Not able to execute what was right in front of me, as my plan was unfolding. Now I tell myself only one thing - "just do your job" when its time to execute. Just these words - "do your job, you cannot control the market, only your actions". Worked for me in terms of execution.
I am not consistently successful yet but I tell myself "so what if it takes 20 combines to get it right, at least its keeping me honest for a small premium". I am on my 8th combine now - 3 of last 4 have rolled over, 2 are in progress.
@iNeo Thanks for your comment and what you say is sensible and right and I know I need to do that. I try to go deeper and resolve the issue that holds me back and then step on the pedal. I will take the week off to strengthen and flesh out my plan and my thinking and come back next week with a better more robust plan of ACTION and with the resolve and determination to put it into practice.
Appreciate your comment.
Was looking at your combine comments and I notice you get some great profit runs: 30c/60c in CL and I saw a 19.5 profit in NQ on that big up day and an 8.00+ pt trade in ES! IMO, if those setups repeat consistently 2 or 3 times a day and you can identify them and fine-tune the entries, all you will need is to gradually build size to make the break through. I am sure you will have also thought that, but you are looking good from where I stand.
Keep up the good work (it's good enough) and be patient..
Best
I feel the need to finish off this journal. Although I did not write here, I did keep my own journal going. I suppose it was too personal to write in public.
I got off to a bad start and I did not complete the required number of trading days or make a profit.
What I realized as the Combine progressed was that I had not put in place, in advance, a plan for every eventuality as per Suzanne B’s suggestions in her webinars at TST.
I have signed up for another Combine starting 25 November and below are a few improvements I plan to make.
I now have a Wi-Fi hot spot back up in case of failure of my wired internet connection.
I now have a better plan for time management (trading hours and time away from screen).
I was very appreciative that John Hoagland took the time to review my Combine. He highlighted my need to concentrate more on my R:R ratio. I had focused too much on trading out at ~1:1 with the intention of replacing (scalping). I need to look for a more distant target using set-ups probably off a longer time-frame chart, so looking for more of a position trade.
I know that tick charts are helpful for fine-tuning the entry and that they will always lead the longer time-frames, but what I have fallen down on and now (re-)learnt is that, for what I am trying to do, I should restrict my use of the tick chart to fine-tuning when the signal is generated off my main TF – 5min, and better still when 15 min is also favourable.
From listening to others, and from my own experience, I plan to get involved in the first 2 hours RTH and make a couple of choice trades and then step back (and maybe away).
BTW, I have found the educational input from TST to be superb and I feel I am growing as a result of it.
The chat rooms are friendly and everyone is on the same page—aiming to help each other improve.
I look forward to my next Combine and good luck to you if you are doing one.
I am not sure the public journalling worked for me, so I do not plan to journal here.
