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AJ's Journal

  #121 (permalink)
 
tderrick's Avatar
 tderrick 
Nashville, Tennessee
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Ninja / Jigsaw / 9G
Broker: AMP / CQG
Trading: NQ, YM and ES
Posts: 1,588 since Sep 2010
Thanks Given: 4,260
Thanks Received: 2,532

Well, this month is my one year anniversary trading. I've learned allot. Mostly, here at futures.io (formerly BMT).

Yesterday was a turning point for me. I realize now that I will never be a successful trader unless
I change one thing... myself.

I have had two character flaws my entire life - Impatience and a temper.

Both killers in trading.

The chart below exemplifies both points.

First of all, I was trading way too early. I know to let the market settle down a bit after the open. I just knew there was going to be a run... Impatience.

After a few losers in a row I got mad because I realized I was being impatient and went out
to feed the horses and cool off... my temper.

I come back and the beautifully smooth run was complete... all the way to the profit target I had picked out.

Now comes rage. How could I have been so stupid as to leave!!??

I took a couple more trades out of spite. Even though I knew it was going to consolidate there for a while.

I lost more than money yesterday. I lost a little self-esteem. The dollar amount pales in comparison.


The entire saga yesterday occurred because of one thing. Me. My poor character.


Who would have thought that trading would actually try to make me a better person.


So today, at my one year anniversary, I make a stand against myself. I have written a check to my
broker to get my account back to square ( I promised myself if I slipped back into my old habits I would
fill my account back up and start over. I will not draw down a second account to 50%) This is my second
misfire with my freshly funded account.

I am going to make a conscious effort to eliminate impatience and anger from my life. Not only will I
become the person I have always wanted to be, I will become a good trader.

I have a good technical base under me now. I can look at a chart and know, pretty much, what PA is
doing and where it may go and what it may do when it gets there. I need to find my trend, make one
trade with a stop that is clearly out of the way of PA and wait. When I return, I will give myself two
attempts per trading day at identifying and sticking with a trend. With my stops where I want them.
If I lose twice, that would be just at my loss tolerance for the day.


So today begins my Sophomore year at Trading Tech U. This semester - emotional control.

I have downloaded a month of Market Replay and will be studying perfecting entries into, and exits out of, trends.

I do not want to scalp. I want to be a trend trader. One good trend with multiple cars would
fund my entire week or month. I live modestly.

Can I sit and wait for a real trend to form, even if it means not taking one trade all day because
the market is in a trading range? Can I control my temper when I see that I was wrong about a trend
and it Comes all the way back and stops me out - Twice?

We shall see.... This is about more than trading. This is about life in general. Can I be a good person?


I'm taking a few days off before starting my Sophomore year.


AJ
Nashville, Tennessee


"Life On The Edge of SR"
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  #122 (permalink)
 
tderrick's Avatar
 tderrick 
Nashville, Tennessee
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Ninja / Jigsaw / 9G
Broker: AMP / CQG
Trading: NQ, YM and ES
Posts: 1,588 since Sep 2010
Thanks Given: 4,260
Thanks Received: 2,532

Been doing a lot of research in methods, etc. until my brain hurts. I am paralyzed by knowledge at this point.

I've gone from a lot of indicators, to hardly any and now back to quite a few MA's just to keep me from
overtrading by filtering out 90% of the day.

Definitely struggling on finding a method to settle on. Obviously, no cash on the line during this stress test.

I want to keep it simple.

I think I'll stick with the 5 / 15 min chart with 20 / 50 ema's for a while... I like the FTZ Sharktrend also. The Yellow Dots
help remind me of chop.

I guess these aren't indicators per se, just finding the right combo of MA's. I still base my entry / exits off PA as
it approaches S/R.

I like having a panel for Volume and a panel with the 10/30 EMA trick.

I just feel tired right now. I feel like I'm moving too far away from just reading PA with one MA and SR

My simming is 50/50, but I'm testing all the time also, So I guess this isn't bad. Just can't seem to find a
consistent edge.

The studies continue.


AJ
Nashville, Tennessee


"Life On The Edge of SR"
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  #123 (permalink)
 
redegenerated's Avatar
 redegenerated 
España
 
Experience: None
Platform: NT
Trading: 6E
Posts: 131 since Jun 2010
Thanks Given: 301
Thanks Received: 81



tderrick View Post
Been doing a lot of research in methods, etc. until my brain hurts. I am paralyzed by knowledge at this point.

I've gone from a lot of indicators, to hardly any and now back to quite a few MA's just to keep me from
overtrading by filtering out 90% of the day.

Definitely struggling on finding a method to settle on. Obviously, no cash on the line during this stress test.

I want to keep it simple.

I think I'll stick with the 5 / 15 min chart with 20 / 50 ema's for a while... I like the FTZ Sharktrend also. The Yellow Dots
help remind me of chop.

I guess these aren't indicators per se, just finding the right combo of MA's. I still base my entry / exits off PA as
it approaches S/R.

I like having a panel for Volume and a panel with the 10/30 EMA trick.

I just feel tired right now. I feel like I'm moving too far away from just reading PA with one MA and SR

My simming is 50/50, but I'm testing all the time also, So I guess this isn't bad. Just can't seem to find a
consistent edge.

The studies continue.

well, today we feel the same.....i still don't know if it good or bad

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  #124 (permalink)
 
PandaWarrior's Avatar
 PandaWarrior 
In the heat
 
Experience: None
Posts: 3,165 since Mar 2010
Thanks Given: 6,329
Thanks Received: 13,404


redegenerated View Post
well, today we feel the same.....i still don't know if it good or bad

I agree....

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, Leonardo da Vinci


Most people chose unhappiness over uncertainty, Tim Ferris
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  #125 (permalink)
 
tderrick's Avatar
 tderrick 
Nashville, Tennessee
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Ninja / Jigsaw / 9G
Broker: AMP / CQG
Trading: NQ, YM and ES
Posts: 1,588 since Sep 2010
Thanks Given: 4,260
Thanks Received: 2,532

I woke up feeling good about things. I gave myself two trades live to work on
the emotional control and to practice under fire. I firmly believe you MUST trade live money as often
as possible after you learn the ropes, to learn the emotional aspect of both making AND losing money.

Anyway... I saw a classic setup in the YM forming - a failed move below the close of the previous day
leading to a test of the high. I came in a little early on a pull back that was stronger than I expected.
I quickly bailed for a small loss. Re-entered after the pullback stabilized for a nice 10 tick winner. My profit
target was the Previous day high, (green Line) but it seemed as the market was starting to consolidate, so
I exited near the newly forming channel top.

One win
One loss

+ 3 ticks...

Emotion in check. Even though PA was choppy, I think the read was solid. It usually does test that high
and probably still will... just a bit too much of a battle in PA for me.


Back to some Market Replay...


AJ
Nashville, Tennessee


"Life On The Edge of SR"
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  #126 (permalink)
 
tderrick's Avatar
 tderrick 
Nashville, Tennessee
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Ninja / Jigsaw / 9G
Broker: AMP / CQG
Trading: NQ, YM and ES
Posts: 1,588 since Sep 2010
Thanks Given: 4,260
Thanks Received: 2,532


tderrick View Post
Been doing a lot of research in methods, etc. until my brain hurts. I am paralyzed by knowledge at this point.


I want to keep it simple.

I think I'll stick with the 5 / 15 min chart with 20 / 50 ema's for a while... I like the FTZ Sharktrend also. The Yellow Dots
help remind me of chop.

The studies continue.

oops... Made a mistake. The yellow dots indy I like to help me keep out of chop is the DoubleMA Paint.
That, along with the SharkTrend really help me to identify a true trend.

I'm starting to develop two trading methods I call inside and outside. Outside is when everything is lining up
for a good trend. Then I will look for 20+ ticks. Inside, is when my indys are signaling a channel, then I will
look for a 10 tick trade between two S/R lines.

We shall see....


AJ
Nashville, Tennessee


"Life On The Edge of SR"
Follow me on Twitter Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Started this thread Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #127 (permalink)
 
tderrick's Avatar
 tderrick 
Nashville, Tennessee
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Ninja / Jigsaw / 9G
Broker: AMP / CQG
Trading: NQ, YM and ES
Posts: 1,588 since Sep 2010
Thanks Given: 4,260
Thanks Received: 2,532

Tried one more trade for breakout during the NY session.

I thought my stop would be safe under the high of the Previous day line, but no go. Entered on good
pullback so my loss was small. This probably will move up slowly, but it is a bit too choppy for me.

-2 ticks for the whole morning excursion. Good battle experience. Thinking better under fire.

This is my "Training Wheels" 5 min chart. I will eventually just get back to one MA.


AJ
Nashville, Tennessee


"Life On The Edge of SR"
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  #128 (permalink)
 
tderrick's Avatar
 tderrick 
Nashville, Tennessee
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Ninja / Jigsaw / 9G
Broker: AMP / CQG
Trading: NQ, YM and ES
Posts: 1,588 since Sep 2010
Thanks Given: 4,260
Thanks Received: 2,532

Well... this is more like the old days...

Three for three in the TF (When of course one would have worked) for 10 ticks. I haven't seen a trend
like that in the YM in weeks.

More testing is required, but I think I may be sticking with the TF.


AJ
Nashville, Tennessee


"Life On The Edge of SR"
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  #129 (permalink)
 
tderrick's Avatar
 tderrick 
Nashville, Tennessee
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Ninja / Jigsaw / 9G
Broker: AMP / CQG
Trading: NQ, YM and ES
Posts: 1,588 since Sep 2010
Thanks Given: 4,260
Thanks Received: 2,532

Well, I've come back home.

After my crisis of confidence, I went from trying a bunch of indicators and having a chart that looks
like modern art, to what I feel most confident with - One MA, my hand drawn S/R lines, Prior day OHLC,
volume and the glorious 5 and 15 minute candles I have grown to love.

Here is what I hope most everyday will be like.

Three trades , Three wins, based on PA as it moves across MA and SR lines.

I like trading between 9am and 11am on the TF. If I can't reach my profit target in that time,
the market just isn't there on that day and I will quit. Two hours of hard focus of reading every
candle like a book is about all I can muster before I start drifting.
The Japanese candlestick bar is an amazing invention. So much market info in a 5 and 15 minute package...
wonderful....

As I have stated before, I can live quite well on $200 a day and the TF makes that very accessible.
I may be engineering music just for fun in the very near future.

I'm going to get a few more $grand in the account and study TF market replay until I can Make 2 points
a day in my sleep before I return to live trading. I want my confidence to be unshakable this time around
and practice is the only thing that can do that. I have the money loss fear syndrome behind me now and
I can just trade when I return.

Thanks to all for the help... you know who you are!!

"The future's so bright, I have to wear shades"


AJ
Nashville, Tennessee


"Life On The Edge of SR"
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  #130 (permalink)
 
tderrick's Avatar
 tderrick 
Nashville, Tennessee
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Ninja / Jigsaw / 9G
Broker: AMP / CQG
Trading: NQ, YM and ES
Posts: 1,588 since Sep 2010
Thanks Given: 4,260
Thanks Received: 2,532


One more trade developed...

I thought of an analogy of the way I trade...

Think of it as commuting to work. You are traveling to a place you have been before and coming from
a place you have been before.

When I draw my SR lines from the previous week or so, They are like little commutes.
I don't target between the places but exactly on the places.

... just like driving right into the parking lot. Right on the dime almost everytime... wierd....

the only time I feel lost is when there is breakout into new price... It's like a rocket ship leaving
earth. I have no SR Lines - no bearing... I end up just watching, lost...


AJ
Nashville, Tennessee


"Life On The Edge of SR"
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