I’ve started a 10-day $30K - $1500 Target TST Combine. I will only be trading CL.
So I decided to start a journal; I’ve had my shares of heartaches and growing pains. And it came as a no surprise that most of my losing trades/days/weeks/months were mostly a by-product of lack of discipline and emotional un-stability. I sure “plan my trade” but barely “trade my plan.”
So this journal is about to keep me honest and accountable; and prove to myself that I’m overcoming my trading demon.
I want to pass this combine; for that reason, I’ll be ultra selective about my trade and keep my daily target on a tight leash. That is why I’ll also take my other setups on Ninja sim.
I want to thank @Big Mike for having a site like this; @PandaWarrior and @VinceVirgil for inspiring traders like me to have a journal.
A BIG thanks to @mrmuggins for unselfishly mentoring me and to @Fat Tails for creating and sharing studies and his knowledge. I hang around at the forum of @mfbreakout, learning a LOT from his journal and a number of successful traders who share their insight.
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Trade # 1: Premature entry at the open for a breakout; almost got stopped out (maybe market-makers would’ve taken my 2 contracts on “live” account) but ADN-low zone held like a champ. I should’ve gone with 1 contract with the intention of adding on the pullback.
Trade # 2: This was a better entry in a confirmed trend up. Was trigger shy on the TST account. Right now, barring a parabolic move, I’m incapable of holding for more than 25-30 ticks of move.
Trade # 3: Accidentally pressed something, exited with 1 tick of loss.
Ninja and TST Trades:
Trade # 3 (#1 for TST): Counter trend short but liked the location and basing although I had an eye on 95.38 - 95.40 area
Trade # 4 (#2 for TST): One of my favorite setups on the 30-sec chart.
I hope to minimize my mistakes tomorrow.
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Cant say there havnt been a couple of rough spots on my journal, but, overall, the experience has been terrific.
I don't understand why everyone dosnt start and maintain one. Actually, I do know why. Most people are lazy. I am lazy as well. But no matter how lazy I am, I know the value of documenting what I do...writing it down...taking notes.
Congratulations, and by starting a journal, you have put yourself in the top 5 % of all traders. Coincidentally, only 5% of all traders actually are successful.
Is there a direct correlation?
VV
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Yesterday I had a losing day, $450-ish. I was supposed to minimize my mistakes, instead I magnified it. What happened? I was biased bullish and I had evidence to believe but when the structure changed, my hard head didn’t make changes. So I took a few counter-trend and by the time I realized it’s time to short every rally, I was near my daily max loss.
Today I closed on the green $600-ish. I must have to put together a winning streak; can’t be playing ping-pong with win-loss.
I documented today’s trades on the chart without few scratches I had. I need to get acclimated with T-4 platform better. I tried to move my target or stop-loss, ended up cancelling it; got freaked out as I couldn’t institute one. Eventually I figured it out (I think) but I shouldn’t be trading if I’m not fully comfortable with the platform. Those minor scratches- wins-losses are messing up my percentages and taking out precious $5 per round-trip.
I’m not pleased with some trade entries and most trade managements. Need to do better.
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Hi ECT, good luck with your TST. Looking forward to your progress. Nb, I took one the trades you took today, but held on for a larger amount than you did. Try holding out for more when you are trading in the direction of the intra day momentum (daily trend), rather than scalping for 15 ticks, it will make a big difference.
Good Luck
Dudley
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"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result" - a way to describe my current trading. Took another full loss yesterday, pretty pathetic.
Bounced back today with $800-ish. A couple of feel-good trades, there were few more opps after my last trade, but kind of checked out mentally.
This is alarming. At the end of the first week, 5 days of trading, I'm up $640 with 3 out of 5 winning days. But at this pace and alternating win-loss day, I won't reach my combine objective. Mathematically, I've got 5 days to make $860. Even though I may pass this combine, I remain extremely unhappy about my trades, discipline, psychology etc. I need to stop making the same mistakes and improve.
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I didn't trade today; barely had success in the past trading in the split volume day, not sure if there is a proper term for that kind of day. Instead, I adjusted, marked my charts, fingers were itching a couple of times to pull the trigger but stuck to my plan. In the past, I had the mentality that I always had to trade. After CL dropped like a rock, the old-me was upset for not taking the trade. The new-me harshly replied, " Lets get real. I would've captured no more than 30 ticks on that move and then started to look for counter trend long and gave back all the gain and possibly more."
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Soul searching time. Full losing day, the disturbing pattern continues.
At the very least, this TST combine is harshly showing me the difference between "what-I-think-of" vs "what-I-am" as a trader. And the findings had been discouraging but I'm not throwing in the towels yet. To quote from signature of @Silver Dragon "Life's real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up."
At this point, after 6 days, alternating win-loss days and being up $170, it is probably realistic for me to earn a rollover. Even if I pass this combine, I'm not ready for prime-time yet.
Today I'd been anxious and impatient after not trading since Friday. I planned my trade but didn't trade my plan. I need to instill this signature line from @runner in my head "Patience is not the ability to wait, it is the ability to maintain the right attitude while waiting."
The second trade marked on the chart was a classic set-up I learned from @mrmuggins; sadly I drew, recognized the setup but failed to execute properly.
Tomorrow is another day!
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Hi ECT, sorry to hear about your travails today, however, I do not understand how you had two losing trades if you took the short after the basing and the long after the Squat bar reversal. Did you have your stop loss too close to the price action?
Patience is waiting for the right set up and executing properly. And the reversal at the LOD with the 5 min squat DD bar was worth waiting for, even in a small range day like today.
Here are my 1 & 5 min chart. You will notice I took the 5 min screenshot once I had seen the 5 min squat bar (so not in hindsight). I then used the 1 min chart to wait for an impulsive breakout and engaged on the retrace back to the basing zone of the RPM bar.
So be patient and wait for the right set up, and executing without thinking.
Also, do not trade inside congested zones or else you will continue to ping pong between winning and losing days. So don't diddle in the middle.
Regards,
Dudley
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I felt (feel) the same way. I see a lot of similarities between your combine and mine. I too had alternating winning and losing days and then a big 100 tick day and I passed the combine. I knew I was not ready to trade live without any consistency but I still started my live trader prep and lost on the first 3 days and that crushed my confidence. At that point I just stopped trading the LTP account. Since then I have been practicing on a different combine while my consistency and confidence builds back. There is no point getting funded otherwise.
Sorry I rambled without anything constructive but just wanted to say that I can identify with your current situation. I guess the only solution is to refine, practice, rinse and repeat until there is consistency.
Thanks for chiming in; I read your journal and remember your post at @mfbreakout's thread after you passed with a bang! I might trade the next 4 days conservatively and try to get a rollover unless I get layup-like setups everyday.
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1. Loss control...Never lose more than around 1/2 what you normally win...but in no case should you get close to your loss limit...seeing that on your pnl is tough mentally. Quit at around -250 to -300. Easier on the emotions for the following day.
2. Hold your winners....sounds easy, hard to do sometimes....you are trading CL, it moves in 50-100 tick legs....with around 30 tick smaller legs before pullbacks and when its in a trading range...not always but often enough you should be looking for 30-50 winners. No exception.
3. And the third key...yes I said two but there are three....stop trying to kill it every day. Make 200-500 a day and keep it. They want to see you can hold onto your earnings.....not that you can make $1000 a day. Be smart about this. A combine is a numbers game that's rigged against you. By winning early and holding onto your gains, you win the mental battle. Do that several days in a row and sure enough you start thinking like a winner....
without being a snob or a know it all here, you should really listen to me on this one.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, Leonardo da Vinci
Most people chose unhappiness over uncertainty, Tim Ferris
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After alternating win-loss for the first six days, I finally had a streak, losing one that is. Two more losing days essentially eliminated me from the combine as 55% or greater winning days are required. To get a free rollover would’ve been nice. I signed up for another 10 day combine with starting day on Nov 25th.
I knew adjustments had to be made; so I printed out, thought long and hard and implemented most of it from @PandaWarrior’s post:
Today marked the halfway point of my combine.
First the positives:
I put together five small winning days in a row averaging $200 a day. Despite the meager amount and trading sloppy for last two days, it did wonders for my confidence. Mathematically, I need to make $500; for which I have 5 days to trade; to have the required winning percentage, I need one more winning day.
I had been disciplined and followed my plan for the “most part.” With the exception of today where my draw down was over $250, most days’ draw-downs were no more than $120.
With the exception of the second day, all of my winning trades were between 8 to 12 ticks. I know it is considered scalping the noise but I did not take those trades because it had only 12 tick potential setup; most of my winning trades went a lot further without me and I was fine with that. Panda’s #2 is next on my improvement list.
Now the negatives:
With the first combine while I alternated winning and losing days for 6 days, now I find myself doing that “intra-day.” For past two days, I had taken more than 5 trades per my plan; traded 2 contracts, then switched to 1 contract after losing trade to not hit daily “mental” limit; then switched back after a winning trade. End result, most of my losing trades were with 2 contracts while the winners were with 1 contract. I feel confident going into every morning to eke out a small winner but this grind-out days and winning ugly, which I brought upon myself is getting to me. I must admit that I was a little carried away after seeing some of the funded traders’ combine how they had some break through days.
Anyway, I don’t want to lose pretty either but I need to slow down, and not chase every swing. Slow and steady wins the race.
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Just trade one lot. You don't need to trade more than that to win the combine and more importantly, you shouldn't trade 2 lots until you can afford to take two-three trades with a 2 lot on and have them all be stop outs and still be above your threshold for winning the combine. Winning with one and losing with two is suicide.
I know, I tried that plan as well.
I didn't trade 2 lots until I was over 2k in profit and those were loser trades.
Good job on the rest though. It's tough to win and your close.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, Leonardo da Vinci
Most people chose unhappiness over uncertainty, Tim Ferris
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