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A Cowboy's Trading Journal


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A Cowboy's Trading Journal

  #1 (permalink)
 bmtrading9 
Atlanta, GA, USA
Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: MC and Jigsaw
Trading: ES, MES
Posts: 1,833 since Mar 2013
Thanks Given: 3,001
Thanks Received: 2,159

This journal is long due, I am trying to improve my trading. I think documenting the journey would help me to achieve my goal.

My Mindset – I want to buy low and sell high (that makes me the one always fighting the TREND)
I will be very uncomfortable/fearful/dreaded BUYING at highs i.e breakouts or buying at all-time highs or near all-time highs or 52 week highs. At the same time I am very comfortable SHORTING at highs and needless to say that was not at all a good idea in last five years.

I will be very uncomfortable/fearful/dreaded SHORTING at lows.

I don’t mind averaging down in the HOPE of getting back to breakeven and in the process of going thru hell lot of pain
and mental agony and missing the meat of the move by selling the position once I am at break even.

I always enter the trade a bit early and get out of it a bit early (This is direct result of position size and leverage I
understand that).

This makes me the guy who always looks for mean reversion.

What I learned so far

One can fight the trend if he/she have huge margin but with small account you simply cannot.

I need a stop-loss preferable mental one because hard stop-loss always gets me (I mean literally every time).

Be fast and adaptive to the changing markets.

I MUST follow a method and stick with it and that method must include a stop loss.

My Method (Still developing)

Combination of Buying/Trading Value, trend following, monitoring market internals and mean reversion.

Tools selected - Auction Theory using mainly Volume Profiles (Different time-frames), sometimes Market Profile using
range bars and HA candles for visualizing trend.

Platform – TOS ( I tried other platforms somehow I keep coming back to TOS so going to stick with it even though
it’s not great for Volume Profiles but I think it’s not that bad).

Future improvement – Will try to incorporate Volume Foot Print chart and cum delta volume to identify reversals
(But might have to wait for TOS. I can go to NT or Market Delta but both needs monthly subscriptions to data and
platform so not ready for that yet).
---------------------------------

I started this journal on August 15th, 2015 seeking freedom from my bad habits in trading specially

1. Counter trend trading (Looking for mean reversion trades)
2. Loss aversion (Fear of taking losses)

What I learned so far from all these good folks like @Inletcap, @Big Mike, @tigertrader, @rahulgopi, @Pariah Carey, @bobwest, @choke35, @Narcissus, @GruttePier and numerous others on FIO

CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING so what is CONTEXT? If we simply do a google search we will find numerous examples etc etc but there is no
fixed definition of context related to trading so each one has to find there OWN definition of context to get better at trading.

So for me CONTEXT means finding what is DRIVING the market at the bigger level and at the day to day level.
There can be numerious driving forces but KEY is to find what is the driving factor NOW and using that in your trading.

Few examples of driving forces are Central Bankers, QE, OIL correlation, USDJPY correlation, BONDS correlation,
Small caps correlation, Banks, Techs etc. KEY IS FINDING WHICH ONE IS RUNNING THE SHOW NOW.

---------------------------

In TRADING everything is WORK IN PROGRESS so don't take anything RIGID and one must be flexible and adjusting all the time
And
It's not about the METHOD it's all about your MIND and EXECUTION

Update - 10/30/2020

Deleted method because it's not relevant anymore.

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  #3 (permalink)
 bmtrading9 
Atlanta, GA, USA
Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: MC and Jigsaw
Trading: ES, MES
Posts: 1,833 since Mar 2013
Thanks Given: 3,001
Thanks Received: 2,159


Swing Trading Method

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  #4 (permalink)
 bmtrading9 
Atlanta, GA, USA
Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: MC and Jigsaw
Trading: ES, MES
Posts: 1,833 since Mar 2013
Thanks Given: 3,001
Thanks Received: 2,159

Short term/Day Trading/Intraday Trading Method

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  #5 (permalink)
 bmtrading9 
Atlanta, GA, USA
Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: MC and Jigsaw
Trading: ES, MES
Posts: 1,833 since Mar 2013
Thanks Given: 3,001
Thanks Received: 2,159

Place holder for future post

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  #6 (permalink)
 bmtrading9 
Atlanta, GA, USA
Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: MC and Jigsaw
Trading: ES, MES
Posts: 1,833 since Mar 2013
Thanks Given: 3,001
Thanks Received: 2,159

Had short bias on ES/YM on Friday but didn't took it because of weekend...looking for reversal this morning somehow missed but took a short on YM at 17465 went up to 17489 but now at break even...looking for VPOC at 17430 or stop out at highs.

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  #7 (permalink)
 bmtrading9 
Atlanta, GA, USA
Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: MC and Jigsaw
Trading: ES, MES
Posts: 1,833 since Mar 2013
Thanks Given: 3,001
Thanks Received: 2,159

Right now some internals are improving and I am getting nervous...

Reasons to enter a trade

1. Too fast rise
2. In a range market try to fade at top

Reasons for nervousness

1. Going against trend

2. Afraid it might become a trend day

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  #8 (permalink)
 bmtrading9 
Atlanta, GA, USA
Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: MC and Jigsaw
Trading: ES, MES
Posts: 1,833 since Mar 2013
Thanks Given: 3,001
Thanks Received: 2,159

Can't handle pressure so put a hard stop at 17490 (Might not be a good idea) don't want to risk much.

This is what I want to control and I am hoping by this journal I will get some help.

Edit: Market internals are all over the place...might still be a range day

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  #9 (permalink)
 bmtrading9 
Atlanta, GA, USA
Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: MC and Jigsaw
Trading: ES, MES
Posts: 1,833 since Mar 2013
Thanks Given: 3,001
Thanks Received: 2,159



Stopped out while at gym...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Lost 25 points on YM, not a big dent but this is what I need to control...

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  #10 (permalink)
 bmtrading9 
Atlanta, GA, USA
Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: MC and Jigsaw
Trading: ES, MES
Posts: 1,833 since Mar 2013
Thanks Given: 3,001
Thanks Received: 2,159


I am back short YM at 17481 and ES at 2095.75 ideally I want these two close below in next 30 mins or else again I have to take a bite and call it a day...

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Last Updated on January 6, 2021


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