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Tap In's Corner

  #471 (permalink)
 
Tap In's Avatar
 Tap In 
Bend, OR
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts
Broker: Global Futures/OEC
Trading: NQ, CL
Posts: 948 since Feb 2013
Thanks Given: 2,162
Thanks Received: 2,082

For the record, trading in the combine and live will be confined to CL. I watch YM for correlations but do not anticipate taking any trades in YM.

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  #472 (permalink)
 
lemons's Avatar
 lemons 
Tallinn, Estonia
 
Experience: Beginner
Platform: SC
Trading: NAS100
Posts: 959 since Nov 2010


Tap In View Post
I did not know that. Thanks! I use the Sierra Charts data because of its thoroughness when using order flow. Do you know if I would have to pay another data fee for the the second Sierra copy?

You will pay only for TST combine fee of your choice.
When you sign up for combine choose T4/CTS as trading platform.
After you get login info from TST ask them to allow Sierra Charts login to T4/CTS.

Also you don't need to pay for second data feed.
You will be shearing the same data feed with multiple copies.

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  #473 (permalink)
 
Tap In's Avatar
 Tap In 
Bend, OR
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts
Broker: Global Futures/OEC
Trading: NQ, CL
Posts: 948 since Feb 2013
Thanks Given: 2,162
Thanks Received: 2,082


Not my best effort I'm afraid. I was not able to get Sierra Charts set up with TST over the weekend so I had to wrestle with the Ninja DOM, which was a bit awkward. Took three trades, two of which would have done nicely had the fills not been so poor, as I was spooked out before fruition. Also, admittedly, I passed up the best part of the day and waited until late to take a couple of the trades. On the positive side, as least it doesn't feel as bad as losing real money!

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  #474 (permalink)
 
Tap In's Avatar
 Tap In 
Bend, OR
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts
Broker: Global Futures/OEC
Trading: NQ, CL
Posts: 948 since Feb 2013
Thanks Given: 2,162
Thanks Received: 2,082


SamuelClark View Post
Care to explain?

What part? That was written a long time ago.

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  #475 (permalink)
 
bobwest's Avatar
 bobwest 
Western Florida
Site Moderator
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Sierra Chart
Trading: ES, YM
Frequency: Several times daily
Duration: Minutes
Posts: 8,162 since Jan 2013
Thanks Given: 57,343
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Tap In View Post
What part? That was written a long time ago.

That was just a BS'er trying to fill his quota of 10 posts so he could plug something. Mike stopped him.

They believe they are so smart, but it doesn't work too well....

Bob.

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  #476 (permalink)
 
Tap In's Avatar
 Tap In 
Bend, OR
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts
Broker: Global Futures/OEC
Trading: NQ, CL
Posts: 948 since Feb 2013
Thanks Given: 2,162
Thanks Received: 2,082

Finally got the Sierra charts working for the combine. I got a bit of a reprieve from the first two days losses in Ninja on Monday and Tuesday because they reset the combine to switch platforms. So I started from zero Wednesday. @TopstepTrader were very accommodating.

6 trades Wednesday for very slight gains. Two losses today. Bad trade location as price was running into a highly traded previous area. Should have waited for it to clear the area one way or another, which it finally did to the downside. Got skeptical after the losses since my read of footprint has been showing a lot of false signals lately. I've never seen so many large orders in the market as there have been the past few weeks, on both sides of the DOM. This tells me there is a different level of player active in the market at this time pushing price around. My signals are getting run over.

That said, after the two quick losses I got skittish and failed to trade some good areas that produced nice results. The reason I started the combine was to trade with less fear of blowing out real money. I need to gird up and get on with it. The daily goal for the near future will be to trade right up to my max daily loss limit if necessary ($500) without going over. At around $70 risk per trade this gives me about 6 net losses. Of course, the goal is to gain, not lose, so I hope it will not be necessary to push it that far. It is simply not acceptable to stop trading after only two losses. If I am taking good quality set ups 6 net trades should be plenty of maneuvering space. If it's not, something is wrong with my trading, at least for that day. While I am interested in passing the combine, the bigger goal is to trade with more freedom. If that means resetting until I get it, so be it

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  #477 (permalink)
 
Tap In's Avatar
 Tap In 
Bend, OR
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts
Broker: Global Futures/OEC
Trading: NQ, CL
Posts: 948 since Feb 2013
Thanks Given: 2,162
Thanks Received: 2,082

Monthly Recap March 2016
Live Trades: 4
Month’s P/L: -$228.40

Starting balance for the Month: $3068.57
Withdrawals for the month: $0
Deposits for the month: $0
Ending balance for the month: $2840.17

Beginning account balance from first live trade on 3/10/15: $3000.00
Total Withdrawals: $0
Total Deposits: $0
Total Gains/losses from 3/10/15: $-159.83

Only four live trades in March because I shifted focus to a TST combine.




I started this journal during the last contest so figured it would be a good time to re-commit to honor Big Mike's efforts and this latest contest.

I haven't been journaling for a while because, quite frankly, I wasn't sure where to take the journal next. No real progress was being made in my trading and it seemed I was repeating the same things over and over. Also, there was a bit of embarrassment in the fact that I had essentially gone nowhere for so long. So, I took a break from the journal to experiment with some things privately away from public judgement.

For the past several months I have been working with order flow tools, specifically footprint and refocusing on cumulative delta, in an effort to better read market context and time entries for maximum probability. I am cognizant of the danger of switching methods too often, but in this case do not think it is a wholesale change from what I have been doing over the past year and a half, but rather a additional tools to hopefully give myself a better chance. My basic analysis and top down processes are the same, as detailed on the summary page of the journal, but I have long felt there was a level of visibility missing from my market analysis that caused decision making to be too random and undisciplined. In short, I have felt my edge was too loosely defined and inadequate to make money consistently over the long haul.

During this time I have focused exclusively on trading oil rather than the six markets I was watching previously. As others have shown, oil moves enough on a weekly basis to make a good living, but there are pluses and minuses to trading only one instrument. I miss the opportunity to jump on strong momentum moves that seem to pop up daily on at least one of the instruments. One can almost always count on something moving. However, if one is trading six instruments with a smallish account, the daily max loss can be hit very quickly with a string of loses over several instruments. In addition, it is very difficult to focus on smaller nuances like footprint, if for nothing more than a lack of screen space. I have also been studying and observing some other trader's techniques here on FIO that I may incorporate into my trading. More on that as it develops.

With that said, I have settled in to watching only oil, without much regret for what might be happening elsewhere. I am less anxious about missing things, I can take more trades without fear of blowing out the day quickly, and can become more intimate with the movement and tendencies of this one instrument. In addition, after getting TST funded, there is a $85 per instrument per month fee, so one instrument at this time is enough.

I would like to say that these changes have made a difference to my overall PnL, but they haven't, yet. As one can see in my combine results the only direction my account has been moving lately is backwards. While I have this feeling deep down that I am on the right track, the inconsistency to enter the market at proper moments while jumping in at less opportune moments has not led to stellar results. I do believe that I am at that point in my trading career where poor psychology is holding things back. This needs to be of utmost focus going forward: how to stop yo-yo-ing from days of great market movement, taking no trades, to days of taking many trades and little market movement. I need to break the cycle.

As for this current combine, since I am so far in the hole I may just put on three contract trades for the hell of it to either blow it out and re-set, or get it back to level quickly. Here it is:


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  #478 (permalink)
 
Tap In's Avatar
 Tap In 
Bend, OR
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts
Broker: Global Futures/OEC
Trading: NQ, CL
Posts: 948 since Feb 2013
Thanks Given: 2,162
Thanks Received: 2,082

4/4/16 Monday
Combine Trades: 5
Day’s P/L: $81.61

Five trades. Four were BE. Of the four at BE, three would have been full stop outs, so exiting was the right choice. Generally took trades in the right direction but wrong timing. This is the challenge trading with small stops, but that’s what I do so I need to time things better.

The best trade traveled +41 ticks but I exited at 10t on a retracement. Hard to hold the good ones when so many others go nowhere. Improved entries on a higher percentage of trades will make it easier to hold these.

Total Reasonable movement of each trade:

Trade 1: +8t, -16t
Trade 2: +6t, -18t
Trade 3: +3t, -14t
Trade 4: +9t, -5t (Went +9t, then -5t, then +58t. However, because of the +9t move, I would have moved to BE and been taken out before the big move)
Trade 5: +43t, -0t

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  #479 (permalink)
 
Tap In's Avatar
 Tap In 
Bend, OR
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts
Broker: Global Futures/OEC
Trading: NQ, CL
Posts: 948 since Feb 2013
Thanks Given: 2,162
Thanks Received: 2,082

4/5/16 Tuesday
Combine Trades: 1
Day’s P/L: -$63.68

Today was a range traders dream but it made me uncertain, so I stayed out except for one trade that had the look of a quick 10-20 tick move out the top of the large channel.

Barely hanging on to the combine. Waiting for a good day to put on 3 contracts to either blow out or make up ground quickly. Hopefully tomorrow, one way or the other.

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  #480 (permalink)
 
bobwest's Avatar
 bobwest 
Western Florida
Site Moderator
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Sierra Chart
Trading: ES, YM
Frequency: Several times daily
Duration: Minutes
Posts: 8,162 since Jan 2013
Thanks Given: 57,343
Thanks Received: 26,267



Tap In View Post
4/5/16 Tuesday
Combine Trades: 1
Day’s P/L: -$63.68

Today was a range traders dream but it made me uncertain, so I stayed out except for one trade that had the look of a quick 10-20 tick move out the top of the large channel.

Barely hanging on to the combine. Waiting for a good day to put on 3 contracts to either blow out or make up ground quickly. Hopefully tomorrow, one way or the other.

Kudos for the courage to be in it and take the risk of trading almost every day.

The Combine is not easy, and it exposes all a person's issues and weaknesses, as well as allowing them to use their strengths. I can't tell you how often I have done much less well than you are so far. Although your max Drawdown is getting closer, you have been reasonably consistent, except for only two or three days that had larger losses, which will happen.

I would say to just trade as consistently as you can, take all or most of the trades that your vision of the market tells you are reasonable, and accept the outcome, up or down.

There is a danger in playing it too safe -- which, frankly, has been one of the things that I think has stood out in your journal over time (this is not a criticism; I mean it only constructively) -- and there is another danger in shooting for the moon in a large gamble.

Steady works, as does committing to the trades you see and letting them play out for you, however they do.

I think your Combine is very credible. Many (me included) have done worse, and you are definitely still in the game.

Good luck and good trading with it.

Bob.

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