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Hey guys! RDK is doing a gauntlet journal and I decided I would join in making one too. I started mine on January 15, 2019. I only trade the NQ, and I only trade 1 contract. While the Gauntlet gives you a "25k" sim account, I look at it more as having a $2,500 account, and I need to double it without it blowing up in my face. I'd never trade 2 contracts on a 2.5k account, so I see no reason to on the gauntlet. But anyways, I am currently up $619, so 25,619. I've been doing very well on this gauntlet, and it is exciting. I'm not pulling down the big profits like RDK tho .
I don't know if I will trade at all today, the NQ action is weird. I don't like it. I am probably just going to sit out for the day.
I also found it useful to set my "trading hours" 8:30-11:30 EST. This way I know when to walk away and call it a day.
Today has been interesting. I woke up around 7:30 AM EST and couldn't fall back to sleep. I usually get to the markets at 8:30 every morning, but I was bored and looked at my charts on my phone, and I knew I needed to be short the NQ. I levitated out of my bed like Agent Smith and over to my pc. I initialized two short positions in two of my accounts. The Gauntlet account got stopped out by only a couple of points before the market tanked around 9:00. So did the other account. Two breakevens. I waited for a pop and entered short on my other account, which is the one I use for taking on a bit more risk, but hold positions longer. That account ended up making $310, and my algorithm(which is currently in SIM testing) made $960 today. I managed my emotions well and followed my plans precisely, no chasing or anything, just calculated risks and mechanical trailing strategy.
+$10 Gauntlet
+$310 other account
+$960 Algorithm
But one thing.
I am struggling with one thing. I would like some insight from any of you. I am struggling to identify my emotional response when the market is MOVING, but it isn't necessarily giving an edge. Do you know what I mean? As I watch my charts, the NQ currently keeps dropping, but it also is creating formidable pushes to the upside. Just kind of chopping around, and then BAM it makes a big drop, and I think "ah man why didn't I see that!" I struggle to realize I am only human and cannot capitalize on every opportunity.
Just remember there is always another move and another day to trade.
There is not one system in the world that will be capable of profiting from all market moves.
My system also misses a lot of good moves during some days, and manages to catch most of them on other days.
I prefer to miss a few good opportunities over being on the wrong side because i wasn't patient enough to wait for a quality setup
I used to have this issue big time. It would cause me to lose focus on my actual trading plan and miss many trades; I was thinking about what could have been a lot of the times. Eventually it went away, but I have really put a lot of effort into just letting go of the useless stuff and focusing on what is important in each moment. Meditation has helped a lot with this. Beyond this, I really studied my trading stats with my plan. I ran monte carlo simulations and ran everything forward. I know that if I can just properly identify entries and exits that fit my plan and manage everything properly I'll make all the money I need and then some. Really knowing this and believing this has also helped a lot.
You don't need to catch every move the market you are trading makes. You don't even need to catch 5% of them really. Just a few each week compounded over time will allow you to trade for a very nice living. Hopefully your trading plan(s) can do this for you (it sounds like they definitely can).
The market has been weird today. There was really no explosive action at 9:30, and then price kind of trickled down, and then ripped back up. I got stopped out at breakeven today on a short in the NQ. I was at one point up 50 ticks, but I was trying to hold on for a larger move before I began trailing. So ending today up $10 on the gauntlet account. The Algorithm lost $80 today, but that's fine and its great to see it utilize its aggressive stops. I stuck to my plan today and perhaps stuck to my rules too well... I did not begin aggressive trailing even though it was clear the bears were getting exhausted... Perhaps I should know when to make a decision to override my rules in a scenario like today.
Gauntlet: +$10
Algorithm: -$80
Other Account: N/A
Sometimes I wish I could trade other markets besides the NQ, on days like today where there is really nothing happening that fits into my trade plan, but I know that would be unwise to jump around market to market, especially when my winrate and R:R is becoming more and more consistent. I have looked at Crude a bit, but it just seems too jerky.
I am trading ES and NQ, ES live and still sim NQ. I plan to add NQ to my live trading after I grow my account balance, allowing exposure to additional risk. I also watch CL and mark trades there but I'm not even at the point of sim trading that. My CL trade plan is very different than my index trade plans.
I think it's a great idea to trade multiple markets. My ES and NQ plans are very similar but there are some differences. I also focus on different time frames so in this way I'm not trading exactly the same thing. If you have a profitable plan trading an equity index you might want to see if it also works on another index. I think CL fundamentally moves much differently than the indices. This doesn't mean that a plan for YM cannot work on CL but the markets definitely behave in a different manner. Beyond NQ and CL, you might consider one of the currency futures later on. These seem to move a little bit more like an index.
Hey guys, some family stuff has come up and I will be away from my trading desk until Feb.11. I talked to the guys at the Gauntlet and they were kind enough to actually suspend my Gauntlet during the duration of my leave. They are such great guys over there.
I missed watching the markets so much. Looks like the NQ had some amazing movement while I was gone
This morning I looked at my charts and really didn't see any opportunites. I felt like the NQ could go either way, and I don't want to gamble on something like that. I did end up taking a short today a bit after the market open, and the trade immediately went in my favor. I set stop loss to a Breakeven, but sadly got stopped out on a gigantic rip to the upside.
I feel really good about today though. I saw opportunity and acted upon it without hesitation, set my stop loss, and then began monitoring the other instrument I watch to look for potential opportunities with that. I still kept an eye on my position and just adjusted the stop when my plan called for it (1:1 R/R achieved). It was some of the best trading I've ever done. I had no nerves, no hesitation, I just immediately acted upon the opportunity. As Mark Douglas would say, I was "In The Zone"
Algo caught the big move in the middle of the night as well.
Account Summary:
Gauntlet: +$10
Algorithm: +$400
Other Account: N/A
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