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I joined the forum specifically to start posting a public journal for accountability, admittedly with some reservations as I mostly prefer to fly under the radar. I'm not on the Facebook or any other social media for similar reasons, so this journal will be my sole contact with the interwebs and outside world. Let's see how this goes...
What do I trade and when do I trade?
EMini S&P futures, from approximately 9am to 11:30am New York time, Monday thru Friday.
What charts do I use, and how do I set them up?
Sierra Charts. 2000 tick.
I use one indicator, the 21 EMA.
I draw trendlines, channels, and ranges to define context.
I use the chart trading feature, I don't use a DOM to enter orders.
How do I trade?
I trade a modified version of Mack's PATs methodology, and over the years I've been influenced by Thomas Wade's videos and a few others. I break from Mack's strict teachings in that I don't go for 4 ticks profit (I go for more), and I don't like some of the setups he teaches. I only take second entries, 99% of the time only going long above the EMA or short below it. I rarely if ever take failures as I've found that looking for them adds a layer of complexity that negatively affects my decision-making. The exception is when there's a failed second entry that's also a second entry in the opposite direction. I realize there are perfectly good setups eliminated by this preference, and I'm OK with it.
My process consists of drawing channels, trends, and ranges to identify context, then waiting for an appropriate signal bar at a key location to enter a trade. I only take trades with very good signal bars, and I use Sierra Charts color bar based on alert condition(s) to highlight them. So basically I ignore the majority of highlighted signal bars unless they happen at key areas where I'm expecting them.
How many trades per day do I take?
Sometimes none, sometimes 5 or more. It depends on what the market give me. I'm done after 2 hours or so 99 percent of the time regardless - my ability to focus all day is long gone.
What's my stop and profit target for each trade?
I typically go for however many ticks the signal bar is, less one tick. Unless the signal bar is very small then I'll go for more. I enter one tick beyond the signal bar with a stop-limit order, my stop goes one tick beyond the opposite side of the signal bar. I use Sierra Chart to draw a small dash above/below the signal bar at my desired profit target, where I drag the profit limit order. At some future point I'll add runners to the mix, but for now I'm still a piker trading a 1-lot.
Am I a good trader?
No. I've been straddling either side of breakeven for about 6 months now. Before that it was over 2 years of aimlessly trying to figure out what I'm doing. Arguably that process is still ongoing.
What do I hope to accomplish with this journal?
Hopefully it will serve as a document recording my progress and evolution on this journey. Mostly the idea is that having people look over my shoulder will hold me accountable for my mistakes & generate improvement.
One trade today, +13 ticks. It was right at 9:31 New York time. Second entry long, right off the lower upchannel line and EMA. There were several other spots that were tempting but I passed for one reason or another. Not a second entry, not a good enough signal bar, etc...
1 trade today. +8 ticks. Second entry short (2ES) in a downtrend off the underside of the EMA. Small signal bar, probably should have gone for a larger profit target, but it came within 1 tick of stopping me out so I didn't want to get greedy.
The downmove turned out to be very large, but I have to stick to my rules: My profit target is always the same number of ticks as the signal bar. In the future when I'm trading larger size my runner will catch the larger move. For now I'll be happy I didn't move my stop or otherwise mess with the trade once entered.
One trade today. +12 ticks. Clearly I need to trade more when my trades are working and less when they're not.
1 17 Trade
Second entry short with a new low of the downchannel expected, possibly another leg matching the move down from the highs. Price broke out of the overnight range but failed back inside.
Another down day, I couldn't get my reads right. 0 for 2, stopping for the day. Since my best winning day is relatively small I don't want my losing days to get out of control. I'll come back tomorrow and fight another day.
