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Howdy from Texas
I started this adventure a couple years ago, had the economy just devastate two businesses, so trading look like a great alternative, or a start of a new business.
I thought had learned some thing, then blew up my first account. And so I finally found the trading forums, love it here at big Mike's, lots of really good people here.
So this is my first journal, I know I have way too many charts, but I'm trying to sort out the type of trader I am, so don't bash me to bad, and any help to point me in the right direction will help.
I'm not the greatest computer person, but have learned a lot the last couple years, and the Dragon software makes typing much easier. It is Thursday, August 11, 2011. I hope to be able to post some trades and charts, on Friday.
I consider myself a discretional of trader, unfortunately not very good. I have been learning some fibs, market profile, momentum, trending, harmonic balance, and picked up a lot of stuff from a contest at the beginning of summer. My goals are to make around 20 ticks or pips, per day, depending on market. I will bounce around occasionally, but mostly only S&P 500.(16)mostly sim,,but some real.
I don't have any steadfast rules yet, except for confirmation with indicators. I believe consolidation or congestion, happen at whole numbers, like the zeros and fives. So I will play this like a Football game.
So the zeros will be in zones, and the 5 is50 yard line. And 1.5 to 0, or 8.5to 0, will be to red zones,,,( picked that up on an educational video on futures.io (formerly BMT)). So just like football, the goal is to score. (I picked this idea from big mike, on one of his threads), but I think it will help, to see trading as something I really like, I do have a lots of logistics have to work out, but for me I know this will be a blast. Go Cowboys
This is one of my charts,,,probaly my main trading chart,,,most of indicators are thanks to ,Fat Tails,Gomi,Sharky,Cory,Cunparis,BM,,,and all the great people here...and my friend Frank who has help me find tons of info including futures.io (formerly BMT),,,,,,so its time to learn and get good at this.
I will fill ya'll in on what I learned along the way,and what I am learing at this time,,,and explanation of trades,should show my style,and help develop some good rules. But as everyone knows this Journal is currently more for me than anybody else, but I do hope, to help people not make the same mistakes I did,, I am just blue-collar trader, so when you're underfunded you must get very consistent.
My main objective is really price action, if I was you use just one indicator, vwap,with deviations, haven't figured out which is the best timeframe for me. So I know this will be a little screwy at first, but lets see what happens.
The first 4 charts are a little bit out of order, . I did get too early,but it was right at the 9;30,,so I was looking for the high or rotation back to the vwap , or break out of high.got 7.25,, since I'm sim trading. I kept going, but I'm trying to come up with a system.
So we got in around now 9;12, at 1170, and almost got out a couple of times, we got 1178.5 and started retrace so I got out, we went back to 75, we just need in the second time we got up to around 1178 I got out, it did turn out to be a 10 point moved, we made 1180+, so got a little too early, but I did my stop, I just hated to give back anything.so this is chart 4.
2nd or next trade was the 6 e,,, got in at 1214, got out right at the vwap,, and ended up retracing, didn't quite make so get back a few tips.my goal was 1235..
Third trade was on range char,i have been trying to get simple,,this was a great momentem trade,,for 5.25 points,just went right to 85,,,so endzone to 50,,not bad,the second chart,moved stop...and simple on my entry, I got candle was breaking above the five EMA it was above the vwap, Mike's OPV was great, momentum, indicator pull and turned up. I haven't done much with range charts but I sure like the way this worked today.
Please bear with me, hope some of this makes sense, I know I will get much better at it. See you Monday
I am guilty no charts to show,,,because I traded around 40 round turns on the s&p,,,,got hammered on 1st two trades and was down over 400,real money,,,,I always want to start at the bell.,,,and counter trend,,,,and looking for turns,,and ,and ,and,,,,,not good at it..(need to stop till i get better at this)!!lost all of last week(which wasn't much) and,so finished in the hole for monday.
seems like when I go to real money,,,i just forget it all.....back to the drawing board...
Need to get in trade and stay,(but i was wrong like that this morning),Sharky said it best, find trend and hang,,,,
I have done this more than once,,,,i like to trade alot,maybe I need to nothing but momentuem trades?
So nickel and time the rest of week,,,,no more than 3 trades per-day,..including sim...So right or wrong, take my choices of trades with the couple of systems I know....and try to become the cherry picker,,,if I don't start playing smarter,,,the micros are around the corner....Simpler is better,,,,,1 chart tommorrow,,,get notebook out and do home work(the fibs and mp will help),,,journal each trade....and keep this journal going,,,all of this will help.....OUCH,,,Monday sure can suck,especially when I know if had just rebooted,there was money to be made today! Tommorrow
Sorry you had a bad day. The best thing you can do is document it, so you can understand it, and build a plan to combat it in the future.
I always encourage you to share your chart, especially on bad days. The pain you are feeling and desire to not share a chart is from embarrassment of just how bad the day was, and just how foolish your trades were (speaking from experience). Post them anyway.
If you promise yourself you will always post your chart, no matter how ugly or bad, then you will instantly start the process of holding yourself accountable. And if you know ahead of time your chart is going to be made public at the end of the day, it has a powerful psychological reaction or response and will almost certainly help prevent you from making some of the worst trade decisions, as you think them through instead. The reasoning is "if I take this trade, and post the chart later, will it be a good trade? I mean did I follow all my rules, or is this a really dumb trade?". If you can say that YES, you did follow your rules, then you can be proud to take the trade. Whereas if you know that you are just randomly clicking buttons, revenge trading, over trading, and in general have lost all control over reasoning and trading your plan, then maybe the act of publicly posting the chart will reign you in a bit.
Tomorrow is a new day. The best thing you can do is prepare for it. Learn from your mistakes. And build a specific and detailed plan to combat them.
Even though you are a Cowboys fan.....I suppose you being from Texas, that minor sin can be forgiven....the analogy works.
What Cory said, sim as though it were real is the best advice I can give. As all great coaches say, you will play the way you practice. So if sim is just play time, you will lose when it comes to playing for real money.
Run your drills, run your drills, run your drills until you are sick of them and can do them in your sleep. Then go play ball with live money.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, Leonardo da Vinci
Most people chose unhappiness over uncertainty, Tim Ferris
Howdy all
good advice from everybody, I need to find what I was doing before the markets really went crazy, I should have been doing this Journal a while back, I have had about a month straight without a losing day on sim. But I didn't do a good job tracking it, so I know journaling is a very good key to this, and simplifying it will help.I have been playing with vwap and the devs.more study and practice.
So we're back to sim trading again for quite well, took my three trades this morning, one winner, two losers, learning how to do this is adventure also, so got rid of most of the charts I have saved, put them in a file, so the ones I am hanging on to I can find and comment on. I believe I'll start putting notes on the charts that will help
*Learning how to do this ,sothese are out of order again,, first trade showing is a loser I got in a little early looking for the bounce off the value area, set a stop just above the first deviation when it kept going that direction, , stoped me, yhen turned around went to the vwap. I know that has happened to everybody ,,,believe I lost about three points
second trade was my winning trade of day, got in at 94 even and out at 01 .25, this is the type of trade should be patient and look for daily, I had realized that we where in value area from previous day, and the odds of filling that value area is high. The problem is, with real money probably would've gotten shaken out this, this did retrace back to one tick of my breakeven stop, and when I took this shot I was up forward three points, ended up with over five points,so would I had stayed?it sure worked out,,
The third trade was someplace in between their, I started out good ,,,,look like a good pullback, but I know this turned into losing trade. I have to start keeping better records. I know I'll get better at this quickly, I believe am looking just for momentum and price action, it did turn out to be a losing day, not by much.
This is the best trade of the day, I realized today I am much better at sim than real money
the other thing I know, from the trade before this, that I should wait for that9:00,and 9:30 range, the high or low is generally put in, and you are looking for rotation or breakouts
,what's the market trying to tell you, and where are the strong magnets
I had a fair trade going before this one, where it was before 930 Central and I should've taken the money, instead it triple topped, and stop me out at breakeven, I am not showing this trade. Second trade is really what I have been trying to accomplish.
So there is 4 charts, pretty much from beginning to end.
First chart shows entry, when I realized we was going to rotate back towards Vwap,leaving POC. And headed back to overnight highs (white line)back to zero(1200.00), and was coming from 5 area, (which seem to be more turning points than the 0.) Did get in little bit late, but that's when the brain came on
2nd chart, I moved my stop, was looking at the 400 chart, which I normally play fibs on, I had found that it bounced at dev, and went to 50% level, which would've been a good place to add contract, it did go to my -23% fib target. But I was in for the long haul everything looked great (would been a good entry on any trade)
, the question is would I have gone to just first deviation and got out?, (I really don't know if I can do real money, it really is like sitting down hundred dollar table, or something close to.) More on that later.
but we stayed ,,,,looks promising,probally make the 5"s(95 area)
3rd chart, shows we have gone from first deviation, with the skew to the downside, came from POC through vwap, my 5 whole # area,or 50 yard line,then to first lower deviation, passed through redline which is high of value area yesterday, and towards my target. Which was 1990, which I front ran 2 ticks(9.50), which was POC of yesterday also. To my surprise since I like putting in my stops myself, I had a sell stop, instead of buy stop(oops). I guess I tipped the broker.
So this was a touchdown, from one end zone, to the other. Now I know this was Sim, I got out early, I really did think it would go to the second deviation and fill the market value of yesterday.but chickened out.even on sim
Fourth chart shows that. And of course if I continued playing, the bounce, another five-point move. The S&P seems to like these five-point measured moves, I'm sure big-money is not looking at ticks.and we keep bouning off yesterdays low value area (green line)also,,,where will it go?
see you all thrusday, also the Dragon software is kinda weird, you really have to watch what it is typing, so I hope most of this makes sense.
OUCH,,,Monday sure can suck,especially when I know if had just rebooted,there was money to be made today! Tommorrow
