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Hello, Community. My name is Max. I have been a trader for a long time. I've worked as a prop trader and traded my own money but I am not a good trader. I can safely say this because I don't make any money and, at some point, good traders get profitable. I have the ability to make money, but I don't keep it.
Here are some of my personal issues:
1st - I have too many contracts on at the wrong time.
2nd - I don't always stick to my loss limits.
3rd - My daily preparation is inconsistent
4th - I have another business - that I don't want anymore (but it pays the bills) - and I have limited energy
5th - My methodology is difficult to quantify.
6th - I don't like to journal - mainly because I gravitate to more of a scalper time frame and I don't like getting away from the screens to write on every 2 minute trade.
First, I would like to say that anyone is welcome to ask questions or comment and critique this thread. I have been a member of this forum for a long time but I've existed in the shadow. I have heard the phrase that "When the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change, you will change." I HAVE to do the things I have been unwilling to do in the past or I will be doomed to repeat my failures. This journal is my first step in that process.
I see that at least you have identified many of the issues,
to me those issue sound familiar and very familiar and to the point
TODO ->> work on resolving the issues
My 1$ (or 1M$) question, what is your edge ?
That seems to me a bit fluffy..
Good Luck,
I think 1/2 of the solution to the problem, it realizing there is a problem and what is the problem
you are on a good track in my opinion...
I define my edge as my ability to read market context in the auction market process as well as the ability to see the bull, bear and neutral case.
I trade crude, bond and ES futures. I have issues with patience and if one market is choppy I have one of the others to find opportunity.
The evening before I trade I look over the market in a top-down fashion beginning with the Monthy bar, then the weekly, the daily and 60(for ES and CL) or 120 minute charts(ZB). I have a composite profile on the 60/120 minute chart where I am looking for the shape of the distribution over the last month as well as high volume nodes and low volume nodes. I mark these on my trading chart as points of interest as well as any other prominent naked POCs, low volume areas, or gaps from the RTC profiles over the last 2 weeks. I use this this homework to develop S/R points as well as hypothesis like "I'm short below this." "I want to get long here expecting a test of this." etc.
This just gives me the general landscape to see what looks like the dominant trend but as a short-term trader I have to be careful to trade the here and now and not my opinions - I have in the past gotten stubborn with trading ideas and it has cost me a lot of money. I'm improving but I want to keep the pain of the big loss in my heart so I don't revisit it.
In the morning, I look at the overnight sessions to see how the market traded, the range and distribution type. I glean a few scenarios for the day at this point. Then, I let the market tell me where it wants to go.
I use a 3D market view with a 30 or 60 minute chart that I try to stay focused on as well as a daily profile to see developing POC, low volume, etc. In the past I have allowed myself to get sucked into trades by staring at the DOM with very little consideration of the bigger picture. There was non edge in this for me. As the bear and bull scenarios take shape, I dial down to a 4 minute chart for entry decisions.
RISK
Daily risk $800 per day
Risk per trade $300 - Increasing as I am profitable for the day and decreasing if not.
Entries - I have a few simple entries depending on the type of market.
TRENDING
1) I look to buy a higher high after a pullback (usually to a shorter term EMA) in an uptrend or a lower low in a downtrend.
2) I buy or sell breakouts of ledges or congestion areas.
RANGING
1) Sell at the top of the range
2) Buy at the bottom
Nothing earth shattering but it's simple and repeatable.
ENTRIES I NEED TO IMPROVE UP:
1) When a market transitions from ranging to trending I don't mentally switch gears well.
2) When the market is directional I tend to look for the pullback too much and don't go to the market well.
EXITS
I use 3 contracts. The first I take off at 8 for CL, 4 for ES and 3 for ZB. I then move my stops to true breakeven - not my entry price. The next units target 2R and a runner.
Please feel free to ask me any questions, comment on my methodolgy (or lack of if you feel so.) Thanks in advance.
I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want.
