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Tap In's Corner

  #161 (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


Tap In View Post
Tomorrow:
-Continue work on prime directive: emotionally let go of trades I choose to pass on.
-Keep eye on 6E opportunities
-Continue work on marking or taking trades in real time by visualizing how I would mark the charts at the end of the day. See if I can identify most trade areas in real time.
-If I see an obvious set up on ZN take it. It’s not that costly.
-Stay engaged the entire session.

3/25/15 Wednesday
Live Trades: 0
Days P/L: 0
Sim Trades: 0

No trades today. I really missed on three things today:

1) The whole move in NQ! After the first run down I should have been mentally prepared to take a shot or two on the next significant pull back, even with only one contract. This is a mentality that needs work. Recognize the opportunity, gear up to take the risk. It is worth it because success can snowball on a day like today. One good trade leads to another. Next thing you know you've banked 100 ticks. The flip side is that I lose one or two trades. Reward/risk is huge. I am adding this to my objectives for a while

2) Break of TL in Oil at 10:20. The renewed buying after the second leg retest of the up TL was the clue.

3) Break of TL on ZN at 10:21. The break happened quickly and with conviction after a long consolidation. This should have been a clue for further move to the downside.

The rest was just choppy stuff that would have yielded close to BE.

Objectives:
-Prime directive: The missed move in NQ was a bummer but it didn’t bother me too much. Good progress. I know there will be other days. Having the discipline to let trades go without it effecting me too much is the key to being able to wait for only the best.
-6E didn’t move much today but did give room to move to BE if I had taken all the signals.
-Visualizing the summary chart. Probably didn’t do the greatest job of this today especially in NQ
-Stay engaged. Not great today. I let NQ go mentally and there were plenty of opps to get good returns. I tend to do this with big runs that I am not part of. I think I ignore them as a coping mechanism. I also don’t like the thought of engaging late and losing on a day like this.

Tomorrow:
-Prime directive: let missed trades go mentally.
-Be alert for a potential big trending day as early as possible. Mentally prepare yourself to take one or two shots at the next opp. Remind yourself that it is worth the risk. If the market then turns out not to trend, so be it. These type of days can make up for a lot of waiting.
-Visualize summary chart in real time.
-Stay engaged.

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  #162 (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


Tap In View Post
Tomorrow:
-Prime directive: let missed trades go mentally.
-Be alert for a potential big trending day as early as possible. Mentally prepare yourself to take one or two shots at the next opp. Remind yourself that it is worth the risk. If the market then turns out not to trend, so be it. These type of days can make up for a lot of waiting.
-Visualize summary chart in real time.
-Stay engaged.

3/26/15 Thursday
Live Trades: 1, 1 loser
Days P/L: -$4.90
Sim Trades: 0

One live trade on 6E. Exited at BE minus commission.

Girded myself to take a trade or two when I perceived a possible trend developing. Took one trade, should have taken two. The first set up in 6E did not produce the second opportunity did produce.

Such is trading. A novice trader saves money by not trading. As the trader develops he begins to notice he loses money by not trading.

Objectives recap:
-Prime directive: was able to let go of missed trades including the second opp in 6E.
-Accomplished at least part of the goal of taking a shot in a possible trend.
-Visualized the summary chart but marked a lot of areas that did not work.
-stayed engaged

Only one chart for Thursday

Same goals for Friday

Attached Thumbnails
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Started this thread Reply With Quote
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  #163 (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



Tap In View Post
Tomorrow:
-Prime directive: let missed trades go mentally.
-Be alert for a potential big trending day as early as possible. Mentally prepare yourself to take one or two shots at the next opp. Remind yourself that it is worth the risk. If the market then turns out not to trend, so be it. These type of days can make up for a lot of waiting.
-Visualize summary chart in real time.
-Stay engaged.

3/27/15 Friday
Live Trades: 2, 1 winner, 1 loser
Days P/L: -$9.20
Sim Trades: 0

2 trades, both on NG. Was looking for a strong down move after the consolidation yesterday and the hold below it at the open.

Trade 1: moved against entry 3 ticks, moved in favor of entry 28 ticks. Exited at +1 tick. Looking for a momentum move. Didn’t want to sit through a pull back.

Trade 2: against entry 3 ticks, in favor of entry 25 ticks. Exited at -1 ticks (1 tick slippage). Same idea as the first. Was up 7 ticks and reversed back to entry.

Overall please with my trade judgement and the fact I took a couple of shots. Not concerned about trade management. That comes later. Just looking for a few trades that take off and never look back so I can get some house money to play with. NG might not be the best instrument for that, LOL. Hardest gains are the first gains.

Objectives recap:

-Prime directive to let missed trades go generally went well. Still feeling twinges of regret so I will continue to include this in objectives. Certainly helps during the day to remember this as an area of focus.
-Recognizing potential trends and taking some shots. Mission accomplished, just on the wrong instrument. Same attitude in CL results in 60-80 ticks this morning.
-Visualize summary chart. OK overall, missed a bunch in real time on CL.
-Stayed engaged: yes. May soon drop this as an area of focus because it is coming naturally to pay attention all session.

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Started this thread Reply With Quote
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  #164 (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

Weekly summary 3/23/15 to 3/27/15
Live Trades: 3: 1 winner, 2 losers
Weekly P/L: -$14.10
Sim Trades: 0

Balance starting the week: $2956.04
Current balance: $2941.94

Beginning account balance from first live trade on 3/10/15: $3000.00
Withdrawals: $0
Deposits: $0
Total Gains/losses from beginning: -$58.06

Takeaways from the week:

-The self control to not let missed moves emotionally effect me is vital to being able to wait for the best trades. If I am constantly lamenting "what could have been" I will get impatient and take inferior trades. This will continue to be my prime directive until I no longer have to think about it.

-When price telegraphs a potential trend day move, mentally gear up to take at least one or two shots to test the hypothesis. The reward/risk is well worth it because the day can snowball, with one trade leading to another. This week's example was NQ's 400 tick move on 3/25/15 Wednesday

-Further to strong trend day moves, be prepared to take opportunities right up to the end. I have a tendency to mentally "check out" when I miss the first two or three opportunities. I think it is some sort of coping mechanism. Stay engaged and be ready for opportunities that may appear later in the day. These will come after larger consolidation areas (1-1.5 hours). In NQ this week one could have picked up 130 ticks in the last 1.5 hours of the session.

-When clear opportunities appear on ZN they usually work, so it is worth taking a shot.

-Getting more accustom to live trading. Just need a few winners to get some breathing room.

attached are the week's log and Friday's account statement.

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  #165 (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

3/30/15 Monday
Live Trades: 0
Days P/L: 0
Sim Trades: 0


No trades. Not much energy or trendiness in the markets today. Wait for better action. Marked some nice areas though in spite of it all.

Abbreviated summary today but wanted to get the charts up for future review.

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Started this thread Reply With Quote
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  #166 (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

3/31/15 Tuesday
Live Trades: 0
Days P/L: 0
Sim Trades: 0

No trades. Another day of unclear action. There were a couple of areas but in general it felt like guessing.

Objectives recap:

-Prime directive to let passed or missed trades go emotionally: Good today

-Be ready and willing to take a shot or two if a market shows strong trending: No markets showed this today, so this didn’t apply

-In strong trends it’s not over till it’s over: no strong trends so this didn’t apply

-When ZN does something obvious take a shot: I missed on this today. ZN showed some strong swift buying at 6:42. I saw it and immediately thought, “get ready for a long on the next set-up”. The action then went into a deep pull back which was confusing and kind of scared me out. In hindsight it is clear where I should have gone long. There were actually two chances. Missed a good run but was able to let it go emotionally and chalked it up to experience.

Getting out of the gate is taking a while but I continue to remind myself that this is only the beginning and it’s a long haul. No need to rush it. Be patient, get some cushion, and build confidence slowly. With $1000 of house money I can take a few more calculated shots on the set ups I see every day.

Tomorrow’s objectives:

-Prime directive: let passed or missed trades go emotionally

-Be ready and willing to take a shot or two if a market shows the signs of a strong trending move.

-In strong trends it’s not over till it’s over. Keep taking shots

-When ZN does something obvious take a shot

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  #167 (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


Tap In View Post
Tomorrow’s objectives:

-Prime directive: let passed or missed trades go emotionally

-Be ready and willing to take a shot or two if a market shows the signs of a strong trending move.

-In strong trends it’s not over till it’s over. Keep taking shots

-When ZN does something obvious take a shot

4/1/15 Wednesday
Live Trades: 2; 2 losers
Day’s P/L: -$272.30
Sim Trades: 0

Took two live trades, both on 6E, and as fortune would have it, neither went anywhere. I am not unhappy about my choice other than that they didn’t work. Both were valid and could have produced.

Trade 1, 6E: 3 ticks in my favor, 21 ticks against. Exited at -11t

Trade 2, 6E: 2 ticks in my favor 25 ticks against: exited at -10t

My main focus to let missed trades go emotionally was severely tested today as CL and GC made strong trending moves. There were many places to get on board, while I was mucking around with 6E. I briefly got upset then quickly caught myself and resumed analysis. With this small account I will need a bit of luck to get out of the gate with some winners. Today didn’t have it.

Objective’s recap:

-Prime directive: tested today as I took some losses while watching great moves elsewhere. I knew this type of thing would be the ultimate test. Thinking back however, I was more upset that the two trades I took went essentially nowhere. Elsewhere I am consistently marking areas that have good movement. Is it really that hard to take a trade that at least moves enough to get to BE?!

-Identify trend and take a shot or two. Failed miserably on this. GC was screaming trend when I opened the platform. CL after inventory also was yelling trend, especially with some big orders sitting on the offer.

There is mentality in play here that must be overcome. It will change my trading. I have all but eliminated the urge to counter trend trade so that’s not a problem anymore. However, the underlying mentality is still there. It goes something like this:

“price has already made its best move. It is too late to get in now. You will be risking top or bottom ticking. It will turn around soon. Wait until a change in direction and start with a fresh move.”

200 ticks later I am left wondering what might have been. I simply must take more risks in the direction of trend until it proves itself over. The trend direction will indeed change in my face at times, but I simply have to accept this risk. The payoff is just too big to ignore.

-In strong trends keep taking shots until it’s over: again, failed miserably as detailed above

-When a ZN set up looks obvious take it. It will probably work: failed in this regards as well. Great set up at 8:31. Energy was very slow and I had already lost on two trades. Couldn’t get myself to click in.

All in all a bummer of a day. I need to keep a positive attitude the next couple days and focus on my objectives.

Tomorrow’s objectives:

-Prime directive: let passed or missed trades go emotionally

-Be ready and willing to take a shot or two if a market shows the signs of a strong trending move.

-In strong trends it’s not over till it’s over. Keep taking shots

-When ZN does something obvious take a shot

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Started this thread Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #168 (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 2015
Live Trades: 11: 3 winners, 8 losers

Starting balance for the Month: $3000
Withdrawals for the month: $0
Deposits for the month: $0
Month’s P/L: -$58.06
Ending balance for the month: $2941.94

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: -$58.06

Of the 11 trades, 3 were clicking errors and 8 were deliberate trades.

Regarding the 8 deliberate trades:

75% reached .67R before -1R
50% reached 1R before -1R
50% reached 1.33R before -1R
12.5% reached 2R before -1R

Average winning trade was 1.93 X average losing trade

Trade stats and account summary attached

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  #169 (permalink)
 lancelottrader 
west palm beach florida usa
Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: ninja trader
Broker: Optimus Futures/ Rithmic
Trading: NQ
Posts: 1,112 since Oct 2011
Thanks Given: 1,113
Thanks Received: 5,386


Tap In View Post
4/1/15 Wednesday
Live Trades: 2; 2 losers
Day’s P/L: -$272.30
Sim Trades: 0

Took two live trades, both on 6E, and as fortune would have it, neither went anywhere. I am not unhappy about my choice other than that they didn’t work. Both were valid and could have produced.

Trade 1, 6E: 3 ticks in my favor, 21 ticks against. Exited at -11t

Trade 2, 6E: 2 ticks in my favor 25 ticks against: exited at -10t

My main focus to let missed trades go emotionally was severely tested today as CL and GC made strong trending moves. There were many places to get on board, while I was mucking around with 6E. I briefly got upset then quickly caught myself and resumed analysis. With this small account I will need a bit of luck to get out of the gate with some winners. Today didn’t have it.

Objective’s recap:

-Prime directive: tested today as I took some losses while watching great moves elsewhere. I knew this type of thing would be the ultimate test. Thinking back however, I was more upset that the two trades I took went essentially nowhere. Elsewhere I am consistently marking areas that have good movement. Is it really that hard to take a trade that at least moves enough to get to BE?!

-Identify trend and take a shot or two. Failed miserably on this. GC was screaming trend when I opened the platform. CL after inventory also was yelling trend, especially with some big orders sitting on the offer.

There is mentality in play here that must be overcome. It will change my trading. I have all but eliminated the urge to counter trend trade so that’s not a problem anymore. However, the underlying mentality is still there. It goes something like this:

“price has already made its best move. It is too late to get in now. You will be risking top or bottom ticking. It will turn around soon. Wait until a change in direction and start with a fresh move.”

200 ticks later I am left wondering what might have been. I simply must take more risks in the direction of trend until it proves itself over. The trend direction will indeed change in my face at times, but I simply have to accept this risk. The payoff is just too big to ignore.

-In strong trends keep taking shots until it’s over: again, failed miserably as detailed above

-When a ZN set up looks obvious take it. It will probably work: failed in this regards as well. Great set up at 8:31. Energy was very slow and I had already lost on two trades. Couldn’t get myself to click in.

All in all a bummer of a day. I need to keep a positive attitude the next couple days and focus on my objectives.

Tomorrow’s objectives:

-Prime directive: let passed or missed trades go emotionally

-Be ready and willing to take a shot or two if a market shows the signs of a strong trending move.

-In strong trends it’s not over till it’s over. Keep taking shots

-When ZN does something obvious take a shot

I was wondering how you manage to give 100% focus to several instruments at once. Do you have something that automatically generates a signal when a setup occurs? I have found two instruments is the maximum I can give my attention to and trade at full ability. Generally I will at least use a price alert that chimes when certain price levels are reached. That way if I am focused on one instrument I don't miss something important happening on the other. I also have an audible order flow indicator that sounds when something serious is happening.

But to really tune in with the market and it's particular movement at any given moment, I have to be really focused on it. Almost like the concentration that a fighter pilot would have. Just glancing at several charts quickly wouldn't work for me. There is a rythym and flow to an instrument..especially when price is about to do something significant. That flow can also be read when it's chaotic or choppy. If my attention was diverted to several instruments at once, I don't believe I would be able to tune into that movement properly.
Just wondering what your personal technique is for monitoring several markets at once? If you've already covered that in previous posts, pardon me for asking again.

Failure is not an option
Reply With Quote
  #170 (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



lancelottrader View Post
I was wondering how you manage to give 100% focus to several instruments at once. Do you have something that automatically generates a signal when a setup occurs? I have found two instruments is the maximum I can give my attention to and trade at full ability. Generally I will at least use a price alert that chimes when certain price levels are reached. That way if I am focused on one instrument I don't miss something important happening on the other. I also have an audible order flow indicator that sounds when something serious is happening.

But to really tune in with the market and it's particular movement at any given moment, I have to be really focused on it. Almost like the concentration that a fighter pilot would have. Just glancing at several charts quickly wouldn't work for me. There is a rythym and flow to an instrument..especially when price is about to do something significant. That flow can also be read when it's chaotic or choppy. If my attention was diverted to several instruments at once, I don't believe I would be able to tune into that movement properly.
Just wondering what your personal technique is for monitoring several markets at once? If you've already covered that in previous posts, pardon me for asking again.

Good question, thanks for asking. It would be ideal if I could speak from authority as a profitable trader. Unfortunately as of now I am not, so everything I say should be taken with grain of salt.

A famous golfer was ask how he stayed focused for 5 hours during a round of golf. His reply, "I don't. I only focus for about 30 minutes, the time it takes to hit about 70 shots."

I think of myself as a blunt force trader. Not much nuance, just going after the low hanging fruit. My set up criteria is pretty well define and easy to spot at a glance. The rest of the time I am waiting. It is rare that more than one market is setting up at the same time. When this happens I will focus on the market I think has the best chance of delivering. My feeling is that, across six varied markets, there are more than enough obvious trades every day to make what I want to make. Kind of like you, I would be pleased as punch to average about $1000 per week on single contract trades. I think that is doable.

I am not a tape reader so I don't need to watch time and sales too closely. I use T&S is to gauge market energy. It alerts my peripheral vision to a market that is waking up.

I am primarily a trend trader, using structure as a guideline. The way I use structure and draw trend lines quickly qualifies or disqualifies a market for a possible upcoming trade. Once I have created structure in a market I simply wait until a set up develops. If a market is in a range I ignore it. When it gets to the edges I pay attention. When the set up criteria is met I will hone in on the price action and watch how price reacts when it breaks and closes outside a triggering trend line. This is the moment of truth when I really need to be focused and it can be a few seconds to 10 minutes. Outside of these moments I spend my time continually scanning the 6 markets drawing structure, trend lines, channels, and horizontal lines as the day unfolds. It sounds like a lot but it is pretty low key until I get in a trade. It keeps me engaged and helps avoid boredom.

The thin blue and red arrows on the charts are drawn in real time and represent trade entry possibilities. As you can see I am able to identify quiet a few, more than enough everyday to satisfy my goals. The thicker blue and red arrows are hindsight areas that weren't real clear in real time. I usually see these areas in real time, but do not correctly visualize their potential.

It is quite possible that focusing on just one instrument would be more effective, but at this time, the way I analyze and trade the markets, I do not feel that is the case. In the past I traded only NQ and CL and experienced lots of down time when nothing was happening. I gradually added more markets as I got more comfortable.

Hope this helps. By the way, I like the way you think about trading. Please keep posting (though I tend not to watch video recaps. It's a time thing. I understand that it is helpful to you though, which is the most important thing).

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Last Updated on December 28, 2019


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