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Hello Traders, I plan on starting a trading journal here. I feel it will be good thing for my trading as it keeps you responsible and honest. And avoid doing crazy things that may or may not work.
I have licenses for Jigsaw trading tools and Multicharts, but I decided fund an account with Tradestation for Micro Index trading. I used to use candle based charts but I then moved to footprint charts and was
doing well with them. But now with Tradestation I will have to adapt to the chart types they provide. So I will say that I will probably be using a 5 min chart and a 15 min candlestick chart.
In regards to the indicators I am going too use i am not sure. I just feel like trying something new and break out of my old mold. I usually use cyclical studies but sometimes cycles are broken especially in multiple time frames. I usually make my own indicators and have posted some in the elite section.
I am doing this journal more in the spirit of self mastery (in regards to trading) but if I can help some of the newer traders out there then that would be great.
Its not good to have ideas of where the market is going but instead follow the market as it is. And wait, wait, wait, until the opportunity presents itself. Then jump in. And when your in be aware that anything can happen.
I finally got my account resolved with Tradestation. I went with Tradestation because I could not afford Ninjatrader with the order flow suite right now. But now I know that what isn't so good about Tradestation, it is that they throttle their data, or at least their level 2 data.
Anyhow so I traded on Friday. It wasn't pretty, I felt like a gunslinger out there in the wild west. I lost a quarter of my account. And now have the long weekend to reflect on what I have done. Sometimes when you think you are smart and your not. You need to die or be like an old man, in other words boring. I guess what I am trying to say is maybe slow and boring is good. And fast with action is not. That's all for now.
Today I was up at 1 am and I traded the European session. I traded the Euro and the ES. And I was doing really well I quickly did about 15 trades and I was up $1300. Then towards the end of the European session I took a nap and then came back for the US session. I focused on the ES in the morning and it was very erratic and volatile to the point I found it untradable. I don't know how anyone would make a profit trading it during the US session. If you can then my hats off to you. So my plan from now on is to trade the European session. I like the euro and the es during those times. And also I am looking for other instruments that I can try and trade just instruments that move in a logical manner or observable patterns.
That's all for today. Thanks and happy trading everyone.
I feel the exact opposite about ES US vs EUR sessions. The overreactions of the moves and the algo shakeouts provide opportunities for really good entries and chances to jump in with the momentum and make $ quickly before the ride stops. When it's barely moving at night I have a harder time defining entry points and Risk/Reward estimations. Gotta be quick on your buttons though. Also, the news has had a dramatic influence on US stocks lately. China says something to put pressure on US in trade war = sell. Trump puts tariffs on a new country = sell. Powell says anything = buy. Of course there can be a mix of these things going on at once and you have to determine what is likely the more powerful force at the moment. You still need charts and good trade timing though. I'm not a great trader or anything, but I am good at pattern recognition and have been profiting from these things lately.
Thanks LittleFinger for the reply. I was trading with the Jigsaw Daytradr software for these trades. I am trying to just use the Dom and not rely on charts. My conclusions are not definitive, I am still going to trade both sessions but be more careful during the US session. Today during the US session I lost 13 trades in a row. So I know something wasn't working with the way I trade but I didn't feel bad nor did it affect me psychologically. I just accepted that its different to trade the US session for me. This is for a TopStep Trader combine and not live money by the way. My combine survived and is still active, wish me luck for tonight and tomorrow.
I couldn't imagine. How do you estimate how far price will move?
I think price action displayed in 5m increments via candlesticks is invaluable for short term decision making. I look at 1m, 5m, 1hr, 4hr, 1d to get all my levels and price patterns. I also use volume profile on multiple time frames. The DOM is great for the day's volume profile (if that's an included feature), but not having a point of reference for where price has been would be like stumbling through the woods on a pitch black night for me.
I'm impressed you've found a way to make that work.
The Jigsaw Daytradr software has everything to show you the auction process level by level price by price. It is not just a regular dom, I would say it is more sophisticated than that. It also has a heatmap chart option where you see the bid and ask getting hit and large volume orders hitting the market. Its different for sure. Its the type of software prop shops use along with the reconstructed tape. You can combine it with charts so it could be a one two punch. I have spent many years looking at charts but now I am trading with this new or different approach. I will post my results here for tomorrow.
I blew out my account trading the micros but I learned a lot of things. Well I learned a very important lesson and that is to not trade the open or the first few hours of the day session. I am actually not a bad trader but if I trade during the open I don't stand a chance. So I trade in the afternoon and at night. And so far so good. I am doing a combine with TST and things are going really well maybe I will post some screen shots and what I am doing later.
The way I am trading is through cycles or multi time frame cycles. using the lowpass filter cycle indicator I posted in the elite section. Cya around.
Btw, I am using TradeStation and not Jigsaw platform anymore.
I wasn't aware that today Wednesday the futures market would close at 12:15pm. So I left a position open by mistake and didn't close it at the end of day. Will this disqualify my Top Step combine? I was doing pretty good. Oh well I guess lesson learned.
