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I made three trades on Thursday and did trade on Friday. Three losing trades. I broke my rules and micromanaged the trades, and lost as a result. Will be stepping away from positions opened on Monday.
I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and had a productive time trading last week and yesterday.
I made two trades yesterday with MES, both positive. Times are in Eastern Standard Time.
1. Shorted 4690.50 at 3:30:07, stopped at 4686.50 at 3:31:06 for 16 ticks.
2. Shorted 4685 at 4:08:02, stopped early at 4682.50 at 4:10:05 for 10 ticks. Daily profit target hit.
I felt calm about them for the most part. I did think about breaking my rule to not interfere on, an the first trade, as I got a little anxious about taking profit, but ultimately didn't act on the impulse, and it was stopped a few seconds later. RSI was very low when entered, 23, I think, but it felt right.
I wasn't entirely confident about the second trade, I wrote in my journal yesterday that it was semi-accidental. I didn't feel or se anything that told me to exit immediately, but there was a bit more anxiety than the first trade. Nothing close enough to make me exit, though. RSI was around 50, and I thought the price might break down again, which it did. I just checked, and the rally failed at the 55 day EMA.
In terms of following my rules, this was my best day so far, in my opinion. I disabled the visibility of the daily profit and loss tracker on Tradovate over the weekend, taking the advice from one of the threads on trading psychology from here, I think.
Anyway, good luck and best wishes to those trading today, and through the rest of the week.
I've noticed I'm more positive after a positive day than a negative one, my salutations are an example of that. Greetings and farewells are something I should say consistently. I should also continue developing on discipline and emotional stability regarding trading, I can't let myself be caught in a trap and let feelings of failure to affect how I trade the next day. I've made progress, but I still have a long way to go. It's certainly achievable, and I know I'll be able to do it, but it will take time.
I should also start posting these journals on each trading day once I'm finished, rather than waiting a day or two. I need to catch up on logging my trades on the Excel spreadsheet I'm using, too.
Are there any observations, positive or negative, anyone has observed that they would be willing to share? I may be missing something, and I value the input of the folks here, who have ore experience than I do.
Posting in a journal will not make you a success by itself, but it can help. Use it to see what you did that you shouldn't have, according to your own rules, or didn't do that you should have.
The question is always, what were you supposed to do, according to your rules/principles/methods/beliefs/whatever-you-use, and what did you actually do? You need to know that before you worry about whether the rules are the right ones.
If you have rules (you should) and if you follow them and they don't work, that's good information. Now figure out what needs to change in the rules.
If you have rules (you should) and if you don't follow them, you've found the first thing to change: start to follow them. You won't know if the rules are any good if you don't follow them.
If you don't have rules, then there you go: change that first and get some. They can be simple, and should be. Don't worry, they won't be perfect, and neither will your observance of them. But they will help by giving you something to measure things by, and that can be a good start. Having something definite to make decisions by can also help you to keep yourself on an even mental and emotional keel, and will give you something concrete to work on.
It's a slow process. I hope this will help you.
Bob.
When one door closes, another opens.
-- Cervantes, Don Quixote
Hello folks. I know it's been quite a while, I've had a lot of work to do, so I haven't traded the last few trading days to avoid being distracted after what happened last Wednesday.
I did make some trades last week. On Wednesday, the 17th, I made 4 trades. All of them were losers.
Went short at 4686 with one contract of MES. Did have a vibe. Walked to class, and the contract went as far as 14 ticks in profit before rebounding. I had a feeling about reversing my position when it was negative, but did not do so. Stop loss triggered at 4688.00. Went short at 4686.50. Exited at 4688.25 for a loss. Started making trades based on FOMO, and let anxiety get the best of me. Went long at 4686.50 at around 7:19, let emotions and uncertainly get the best of me, reversed at 4686.00 49 seconds later for a loss, then exited the short contract for a loss 1 minute and 6 seconds later at 4688.25 for a loss.
I was pretty distracted that day, and my heart wasn't really isn't, which is something to avoid in the future. I broke four of my rules, not trading distracted, avoiding FOMO, not letting anxiety dictate my actions, and trusting myself enough to listen to the impulses and vibes I can feel from the charts.
On Thursday, the 18th, I went short at 4671.25, but didn’t listen to my feelings or chart indications to reverse. Out at 4673.25.
On Friday the 19th, I went long at 4697.25. Held for nearly 10 minutes. Just sat on my hands and let the position play out. Profit stopped at 4701.25.
Despite the losses during the middle of the week, last week was the first week I finished with both a positive expectancy and a profit. The gain of my average winning position during the week was slightly larger than double the loss of my average losing position. The profit wasn't much, but is does show that I'm making progress. I'm less concerned about profit and more about managing my emotions and obtaining a positive expectancy at the moment, and I'm slowing improving my expectancy on the year.
I'm looking forward to any input or feedback any of you may have. I appreciate all of the help and advice the community has given me over the past few weeks. My best wishes to you all.
It's been a while. I haven't traded very much. I traded on Thursday, December 2nd. 6 losing trades, 1 winning trade. I broke my 5 trades a day rule. Hesitation and a refusal to listen to my feelings hurt me with my losers, and I didn't reverse or close positions when I should have.
I made two trades today. Went short at 4697.25 at 11:24:20, and was stopped out at 4699.25 for a loss 21 seconds later. I saw and felt a drop approaching, but mistimed my entry. I nearly reversed the position, but was stopped out before I could, and the drop I thought would happen did so a minute or two later.
I went short at 4707.75 at 12:59:40, and was stopped in profit 4703.75 for 5 minutes 33 seconds later. I just held the contract, even through trade anxiety, which was somewhat difficult and didn’t make any rash moves.
On January 19th, I went short at 4580.50 at 1:27:38, and was stopped in profit at 4576.50 for $20 at 1:29:25. Felt a downward vibe. The tape was still signaling a downward swing.
On January 20th, I Went short at 4534.50 at 3:05:21, and was stopped in profit at 4530.50 for $20 at 3:07:15. I made the trade primarily based on order flow, specifically selling pressure.
I also went short at at 4512.50 at 3:26:28, and was stopped at my daily profit target for $10 at 3:28:15. That was partially a vibe trade, and partially based on order flow.
This week was more even, but still had progress. I'm including a list of errors I use in the journal I keep on Word. People often don't account for the cost of them, so I will.
E1 – Entered a trade due to FOMO
E2 – Took a trade outside of plan (Told myself I was going to get long/short and got short/long because I missed the long/short)
E3 – Got long and clicked the sell at market button.
E4 – Got long because somebody else I respect and know got long.
E5 – Hesitated in taking a position.
On January 24th I made 5 trades.
I went long at 4281.50 at 1:25:42, and was stopped out at 4279.50 for a loss of $10.00 plus commissions at 1:25:46. I was in the bathroom, trying to use order flow, but didn’t really feel a vibe, and market volatility was extremely high.
I went long at 4311.75 at 2:11:07, and was stopped out at 4309.50 for a loss of $11.25 plus commissions at 2:15:18. I tried to track order flow and such again, and had a FOMO moment. Error 1.
I went long at 4334.50 at 3:23:32, and was stopped in profit for $20.00 minus commissions at 4338.50 at 3:23:47. I used order flow and feelings, but also finally stopped hesitating and actually made a logical position based on the chart and RSI instead of FOMO.
I went long at 4367.50 at 3:41:36, and sold out for $3.75 in profit at 4368.25 at 3:41:46. I had a little bit of FOMO, entered late, but took profit quickly before position collapsed. I shouldn't do that again, it went against my chart indicators and order flow, and I had a weird vibe. Error 1, 2 and 3.
Finally, I went long at 4404.75 at 3:59:4, and was stopped out at 4402.75 for a loss of $10 at 3:59:52. This was a FOMO trade, and I should have just sat on my hands and not traded. Obviously hesitation is still a major issue I'm experiencing, but I'm getting better. Error 1 and 5.
Today I made 1 trade near the end of the trading day. I went long at 4399.25 at 3:48:21, and was stopped in profit at 4403.25 for $20 minus commissions. This position was based on my general vibe, the feel of the market, and on order flow information. I sat on my hands and waited after taking the position, even though I was slightly anxious about the trade and thought about reversing it. I’m making progress here. Of course, I did miss a a further long position shortly after due to hesitation, so I still have work to do, but I feel I'm getting better.
The end of the trading day today marked my second consecutive profitable week, and my third in January. I'm thinking about increasing my daily profit target from $30 to $50 depending on how I trade next week. I believe I can meet that now on my good trading days.
They can be simple, and should be. Don't worry, they won't be perfect, and neither will your observance of them. But they will help by giving you something to measure things by, and that can be a good start. Having something definite to make decisions by can also help you to keep yourself on an even mental and emotional keel, and will give you something concrete to work on.