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  1. I

    Sincerely asking for Help

    I know you didn't wake up watching euro and s&p futures when you were 16 -- my question is, why not trade stocks? There are hundreds of liquid stocks to trade, which equates to many more possible setups (however you define them). Why focus on singular markets where you are constantly competing...
  2. I

    Whats the point having a NASA like control center?

    I would prefer more screens, I currently use 4. I might have 8 or more positions simultaneously and end up having to stack MM boxes over charts for lack of screen space. If you just trade a single market then you wouldn't need too much visual real estate -- makes sense?
  3. I

    Linking with Lightspeed?

    Are there any quote providers that link fully with Lightspeed, or is that just an inherent deficiency of the platform? I used to trade on Anvil where you could just drag and drop each market maker box onto its own chart in esignal - lightspeed can only be linked to one chart at a time. Is this...
  4. I

    Price Action

    All I can say is that there aren't too many elements of the tape to use -- best make good use of them all (if you're drilling down that close on your time frame that is). There's alot going on between bid, ask, price and time, it's up to you to triangulate and see where things may lead. This...
  5. I

    Pre Market information

    Are you talking in real-time or just a compilation of prior session's pre/post market movers? There are a bunch of sites like nasdaqtrader.com have most active lists for afterhours by volume, or "hot" stocks based on news. But I'm guessing you're looking for something more specific?
  6. I

    Price Action

    I agree there's no consensus on what defines PA, but for me I never thought price action had anything to do with charts, or more specifically, charts are not needed to trade price action if the time frame is short enough (intraday ~ a week). For me it's all tape -- just bid/ask/last and a...
  7. I

    Through the Looking Glass

    P/L for week 3/19/10: +11k on 260k shares traded -6, +3, +3, +3, +8 Monday was the tail end of the most recent bender; it was one of those low points that really make you think long and hard about what you're doing. My pattern has always been to do my best trading after a severe drawdown...
  8. I

    Is it really necessary to trade 100K-300K+ shares a day to make a living trading?

    Tight is all relative. I think most of the high volume is done in liquid stocks with relatively larger positions; it's not hard to do half a million shares if you're trading say BAC or GE at 5-10k shares a clip. As long as you can get out of your position with decent slippage, a tight stop...
  9. I

    Is it really necessary to trade 100K-300K+ shares a day to make a living trading?

    I think you're just thinking about it the wrong way. Don't worry about averages: per share, per day, per year etc. Just worry about your setup. I've had 5-figure days trading less than 20k shares, but it goes the other way too. Profit per share is more a function of the price and volatility...
  10. I

    Is it really necessary to trade 100K-300K+ shares a day to make a living trading?

    I may not post the numbers like the rest but definitely you don't need to be trading that much volume to make decent money. My best days (trading-wise, not necessarily numbers-wise) I trade under 50k shares, 2k max per position.
  11. I

    Creative ways to salvage a vertical spread.

    The problem with math and logic: how much more logical can you be vs everyone else? Old news is worse than no news at all.
  12. I

    Creative ways to salvage a vertical spread.

    The universal fix-it-all: sell premium + pray.
  13. I

    Through the Looking Glass

    RN says it better. :)
  14. I

    Through the Looking Glass

    Instynct, by no means are you intruding. In fact it sounds like you are describing my usual emotional pattern to a T. I hate starting the morning with losses; even worse, knowing I had a decent first hour and realizing I've gone into red by lunchtime. This is why I would never look at my...
  15. I

    Through the Looking Glass

    The way you've describe your method -- mechanical entries with tight initial stops while adding size when profitable -- and your strict adherence to pre-trade capital preservation seems on the surface very different from my approach. But change "mechanical" to "discretionary" and we would...
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    Through the Looking Glass

    RN, I want to thank you wholeheartedly for what you've written and apologize for the delayed response. Your post cuts right to the heart of the issue; anyone who's been at this for a number of years will recognize the sincere and simple honesty in your words. What struck me most...
  17. I

    Through the Looking Glass

    Stubborn is a kind word, it's arrogance at the worst times to believe I could always afford it. And maybe I could, monetarily -- but it's cost me more than just market tuition, I've come to realize.
  18. I

    Through the Looking Glass

    redneck, I think what you are talking about here is psychological but by no means mumbo-jumbo -- and that is confidence in oneself as a trader. I can sense that confidence in yourself even as you acknowledge the market's innate uncertainty; this is the place where I want to be consistently...
  19. I

    Through the Looking Glass

    Futures expirations coincide with the lull months of earnings season, so yeah the idea is that my volume should go down. Normally I need to "work" hard to hit a million shares for these months.
  20. I

    Through the Looking Glass

    With the question quoted above, it seems as if you're thinking I meant "short" as in getting out of positions too soon before they work out? By "short" I just meant cutting losses before they get out of hand ie reacting faster to situations where I am mistaken, instead of sitting on losers...
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