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Papa's Trading Journal

  #431 (permalink)
 
papa15's Avatar
 papa15 
Wake Forest, NC
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts, Investor RT, Ninja Trader
Broker: VanKar
Trading: NQ
Posts: 520 since Sep 2009
Thanks Given: 583
Thanks Received: 1,248

This week started off good, well great actually. I did 11 trades this morning. Ten were winners and the eleventh was breakeven. Gross was 85 ticks. I used the 4 RenkoEnhanced and 10 RenkoEnhanced charts on Sierra Charts today. My intention was not necessarily to trade this many times, but things were clicking so I kept going. To be honest, it was on simulation but the trades were by my rules.

I do like NT, no doubt about it. But if you happened to see my post on the thread "Anyone Running Ubuntu" you know that Rithmic worked with me last week to figure out why the Rithmic data feed would not connect with Sierra Charts running on Ubuntu (under WINE). Late Friday, a diagnostic program from Rithmic was able to connect to their servers, and the programmer told me he would incorporate the lessons learned/fix into the next API from Rithmic to Sierra Charts, probably this week.....so I may be able to run Sierra Charts on Ubuntu soon.....I am not sure if anyone else cares about that, but for me, it is very exciting to see alternatives developed in the trading world....any way for the rest of this week I plan on using the Sierra Charts setup just in case....

My focus is on:
1. Avoid the opening chop.
2. Honor stops
3. Ensure reward > risk on all trades
Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Started this thread

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  #432 (permalink)
 
papa15's Avatar
 papa15 
Wake Forest, NC
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts, Investor RT, Ninja Trader
Broker: VanKar
Trading: NQ
Posts: 520 since Sep 2009
Thanks Given: 583
Thanks Received: 1,248

I considered going back to cash today but decided to hold off a bit longer.....I didn't sleep real well last night. I woke up well before my usual time and just could not go back to sleep. I started looking at the pre-market and did a few "practice trades" to "warm up"....it is a good thing I don't trade pre-market with real money....

During the morning hours I continued working on my dual chart setup. The 10 BR gives me the direction and then I look for entries on the 4 BR. I was 16 for 19 for 84 ticks gross. I feel more comfortable with this method each day. I am not sure when I will go back to cash but it will not be too long.

My focus is on:
1. Avoid the opening chop.
2. Honor stops
3. Ensure reward > risk on all trades
Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Started this thread
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  #433 (permalink)
 
Big Mike's Avatar
 Big Mike 
Manta, Ecuador
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Swing Trader
 
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Do you have a specific goal in mind before you are 'allowed' to go back to cash? To prove to yourself that your methodology does in deed work --- so that if you begin to lose money on cash, you won't be tempted to change methodologies but instead focus on psychology and execution?

Mike

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  #434 (permalink)
 
papa15's Avatar
 papa15 
Wake Forest, NC
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts, Investor RT, Ninja Trader
Broker: VanKar
Trading: NQ
Posts: 520 since Sep 2009
Thanks Given: 583
Thanks Received: 1,248


Big Mike View Post
Do you have a specific goal in mind before you are 'allowed' to go back to cash? To prove to yourself that your methodology does in deed work --- so that if you begin to lose money on cash, you won't be tempted to change methodologies but instead focus on psychology and execution?

Mike

Mike
I have already met the goal I had set...Last night I was asking myself if I was ready and I just did not feel like it was the right time, so when I woke early this morning, it just re-enforced my decision to wait another day. I am not in a rush this time. Too often in the past I felt that if I was not trading, I was missing out, so I jumped in and paid the consequences.

My method is sound. My application of it works, for me. The setup is something that I have tweaked to fit me and my style of trading and I am very comfortable and confident with it.

But I know success is not found in a setup, a method, or an indicator. It is mainly between the ears, or in the heart. I have worked on that, and continue to work on it and I am sure I will have to for as long as I trade.

My focus is on:
1. Avoid the opening chop.
2. Honor stops
3. Ensure reward > risk on all trades
Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Started this thread
  #435 (permalink)
 
papa15's Avatar
 papa15 
Wake Forest, NC
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts, Investor RT, Ninja Trader
Broker: VanKar
Trading: NQ
Posts: 520 since Sep 2009
Thanks Given: 583
Thanks Received: 1,248

I did trade cash today. I was very cautious, but am pleased with the results. I ended up 12 ticks gross on 6 trades. Four were winners, 1 loser, and 1 breakeven. I did not like price action on a couple of the winners and cut the trades short, but subsequently they did go on to full profit targets. I still am happy. I made the decision based on what I saw and took action. Hindsight may appear better than real time, but money goes in and out of your account based on real time actions and if my judgment at the time was to get on the sidelines, so be it.

Part of the reasons for the extra caution today was 1. first day back to cash in a while 2. Was trading before the oil inventory report and market action was a little more back and forth than normal 3. On one of my trades, the SC chart trader left the profit target and stop loss lines on the chart and I was not able to clear them. They did say pending cancellation, but I was a bit concerned about what would happen if price reached those levels and I just let trading cease for a bit. The lines did go away eventually.

I will continue to work on trade management and execution.

My focus is on:
1. Avoid the opening chop.
2. Honor stops
3. Ensure reward > risk on all trades
Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Started this thread
  #436 (permalink)
 
papa15's Avatar
 papa15 
Wake Forest, NC
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts, Investor RT, Ninja Trader
Broker: VanKar
Trading: NQ
Posts: 520 since Sep 2009
Thanks Given: 583
Thanks Received: 1,248

Was able to trade this morning. The speed/movement of the market really was outside my comfort zone, but I trusted the setups and they worked. Had 1 loser, 1 b/e, and 5 winners of various sizes....when all said and done was up over 15 ticks, so I am happy.

The 10 better Renko did a good job of keeping out of the worst of the chop and with the trend. It did its job today.

The day has to be short as I am off to the chiropractor again.

My focus is on:
1. Avoid the opening chop.
2. Honor stops
3. Ensure reward > risk on all trades
Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Started this thread
  #437 (permalink)
 
gulabv's Avatar
 gulabv 
Dallas, TX
 
Experience: Beginner
Platform: Ninjatrader
Broker: Zen-Fire
Trading: ZN, 6E
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Good trading papa15! I am a visual person would you please consider sharing a chart or two if time permits??

  #438 (permalink)
 
papa15's Avatar
 papa15 
Wake Forest, NC
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts, Investor RT, Ninja Trader
Broker: VanKar
Trading: NQ
Posts: 520 since Sep 2009
Thanks Given: 583
Thanks Received: 1,248


gulabv View Post
Good trading papa15! I am a visual person would you please consider sharing a chart or two if time permits??

Charts are attached. The use of the 4 better Renko has been covered previously. The way I use the 10 better Renko is I look at the green line in the bottom panel. It is the difference between the CCI and the CCI average in panel 2. If the difference is greater than 0, look for longs on the 4 bR. If the difference is negative, look for shorts.

My focus is on:
1. Avoid the opening chop.
2. Honor stops
3. Ensure reward > risk on all trades
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	CL512.png
Views:	177
Size:	101.1 KB
ID:	38521  
Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Started this thread
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  #439 (permalink)
 
papa15's Avatar
 papa15 
Wake Forest, NC
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Charts, Investor RT, Ninja Trader
Broker: VanKar
Trading: NQ
Posts: 520 since Sep 2009
Thanks Given: 583
Thanks Received: 1,248

Have you ever felt you had taken one step forward, only to take two steps backwards? That is sort of how I feel today. I came into today feeling confident in the trading method and setup and sure that if I just stuck with the plan all would be ok come the end of the day.

I don't trade the pre-market (usually), but I do watch the market to get a "read" on it. Just at the open, it appeared to me the market was ripe for a short, and sure enough it did drop right at the open. I felt a little more confident. I let the selling subside, waited for my indicators to indicate a long setup on the retrace, entered and was promptly stopped out. Given the market's behavior the past few days, this did not worry me too much. I saw another long, entered and promptly adjusted the price target in order to recoup the previous loss; this was the beginning of a series of errors I committed. I should have just stuck to my plan, taken my normal profit and pressed ahead. As it was, the market showed me 11 ticks profit, my stop automatically adjusted to breakeven, and the market promptly hit it and then started back up. I was out of the market, but I was not going to miss this move, so I re-entered but much higher than I should have. Market teased me by one tick, then rolled over. I was not going to take a full loss on this little retracement, so I gave it a little more room, and then a little more,....I finally threw in the towel. In the past, I would have walked away then, and a good case could be made I should have, but I took a little break, caught my breath, and went to work. I stuck to the gameplan, did a bunch of trades, and significantly recouped my prior losses. With the market as fast as it was, I was very quick to exit with profits, so the size of the winners was small. I did take one more full stop out and a couple of breakevens, but overall made up a good bit of the loss.

In reviewing the morning, the fundamental error was moving the profit target on the second trade. I was in a mindset of recouping the loss as quickly as possible, and was going to do it on that move. When the second trade stopped out at breakeven, I just jumped in without really reviewing things. My trade management from that point on was absolutely abysmal and something that I don't want to repeat. I really thought I had gotten past this point, but the proof is in the pudding, not in what I think.

After that, things were a bit better but really, the market was too fast for my tastes. I did look at 6E some today and I think I may give that instrument a go as long as oil stays in its current mode.

I also found myself looking too much at the CCI-CCI average difference and reading divergence off of it; the divergence that I should use is on the CCI itself. I removed the CCI-CCI average from the 10 renko chart to prevent this from happening again.

I am posting the charts of the open, but that is all I am going to make public.

My focus is on:
1. Avoid the opening chop.
2. Honor stops
3. Ensure reward > risk on all trades
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	CL513.png
Views:	157
Size:	105.5 KB
ID:	38582  
Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Started this thread
  #440 (permalink)
 
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 bluemele 
Honolulu, Hawaii
 
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papa15 View Post
I was out of the market, but I was not going to miss this move, so I re-entered but much higher than I should have. Market teased me by one tick, then rolled over. I was not going to take a full loss on this little retracement, so I gave it a little more room, and then a little more,....I finally threw in the towel.

Papa,

This may seem harsh, but I see you falling back on some 'tendencies'. The 2 steps backward to me seem to be not sticking to your PT's and Stops. That is it!

I got some good advice from Mike and Co. and I wonder if when you hit the entry, you turn your chair around and meditate or stare at the wall until you hear Profit Target Hit or Stop hit or whatever?

You moving your stops is the bigger concern to me as that has been your main issue for some time.

Just trying to help.

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