AHG - Profitable Strategy for Struggling Traders

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Quote from macattack:

In the past couple days I've lost on almost every trade. Today almost every trade was immediately a loser. It was amazing, but nothing I'm not used to. If I put a stop order in I can pretty much guarantee it will get hit. If I try to hold a trade and let the profits run it reverses so fast I can't get out with any profit. If I take a quick profit to avoid a reversal it keeps running for another 10 points. I'm lost, dazed, and confused.

Anyway I'm attaching 3 charts from today which were losers. Can someone tell me why I should have avoided them?

1st Chart: Bought retracement
2nd Chart: Plan was to let the profits run, but that didn't work
3rd Chart: Entry was wedge breakout, and failure of double bottom. Nice......not !

Amazing enough I haven't lost any money yet...........yet being the important word. I need to turn this around right now.
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You mention that it reverses so fast that you can't get out with a profit. I think the problem is that you're using the Prophet charts which doesn't have tick/volume charts. You're missing out on a lot of information within those minute bars and need to be able to break it down into more discrete timeframes if you're going to intraday scalp/swing trade IMO. If you weren't day trading and swing trading for days/weeks then minute charts would suffice then.

I had never used tick/volume before and didn't think they would make a difference but started using them after following Anek's thread. I think Anek previously mentioned that using tick/volume vs. time charts is like the difference between night and day. After having used tick/volume charts for a few days now I have to concur that statement. Find a good charting application -- I use NinjaTrader which is free for sim trading and use OpenTick which charges a low exchange fee for the data feed.
 
Quote from cchili00:

1st trade looks ok to me, although I'm not quite sure why you got stopped out. Seems like there was enuff room to grab a few pts, before it pulled back, or at least take a BE.
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Ah,

Ok very clear now. You are using the 123 reversal the way StealthTrader mentioned way back in the beginning of the journal. I can easily see the entries now.

Do you always use 3 min charts, or is this something new? I saw that you mentioned the ES was somewhat new to you still.

*EDIT - sorry this was supposed to quote Chili's response to my questions!
 
I am overwhelmed with the dedication some guys put into this and your an example of it. Let me know if I can be of asistance. Happy holidays to you too.

P.

Quote from hwkaiser:

I attempted to complete my notes on Piscuy by Christmas, however, I under estimated Piscuy's contribution and will only be able to complete my notes after the Christmas Holiday's. For those who would like to review the generous contribution Piscuy has shared with us prior to my update, please find attached a rough draft of my notes.

For those more familiar with Piscuy's style, I would greatly appreciate any suggestions, modifications or corrections you may have, so that they may be included in the update. Please PM me with any suggestions you may have, thank you.

Thank you again Piscuy for your generous contribution, and to you Anek for providing us with such a truly rare and wonderful opportunity. It is very much appreciated,

Wishing everyone health and happiness this Holiday Season.
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Quote from carbtrader:

You mention that it reverses so fast that you can't get out with a profit. I think the problem is that you're using the Prophet charts which doesn't have tick/volume charts. You're missing out on a lot of information within those minute bars and need to be able to break it down into more discrete timeframes if you're going to intraday scalp/swing trade IMO. If you weren't day trading and swing trading for days/weeks then minute charts would suffice then.

I had never used tick/volume before and didn't think they would make a difference but started using them after following Anek's thread. I think Anek previously mentioned that using tick/volume vs. time charts is like the difference between night and day. After having used tick/volume charts for a few days now I have to concur that statement. Find a good charting application -- I use NinjaTrader which is free for sim trading and use OpenTick which charges a low exchange fee for the data feed.
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Quote from cchili00:

1st trade looks ok to me, although I'm not quite sure why you got stopped out. Seems like there was enuff room to grab a few pts, before it pulled back, or at least take a BE.
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I don't get the "grab a few points" idea. How do I know when to grab a few points and when to try and hold on for a bigger gain? There are many times I'll have a gain to start with, but it just vanishes in what seems like a millisecond.

When I do "grab a few points" the trade ends up running for 10 more. Right now I'm getting small gains, small losses, medium losses.

I'm using minute charts because I can't find any good charting software that will work at my office. Everything is blocked. I need to quit. I don't think the charts are causing my losses. I can look at the charts after all is said and done and I see where I should have got in and out, but in real time it looks completely different.
 
Quote from jack411:

Ah,

Ok very clear now. You are using the 123 reversal the way StealthTrader mentioned way back in the beginning of the journal. I can easily see the entries now.

Do you always use 3 min charts, or is this something new? I saw that you mentioned the ES was somewhat new to you still.

*EDIT - sorry this was supposed to quote Chili's response to my questions!
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Yeah, I've been using 3min charts lately, was suggested to me by Piscuy. Is slow enough that you have time to watch the setup build, while still providing enough opportunities. Was also watching a 610 tick today, courtesty of an Anek suggestion :)
 
Quote from macattack:

I don't get the "grab a few points" idea. How do I know when to grab a few points and when to try and hold on for a bigger gain? There are many times I'll have a gain to start with, but it just vanishes in what seems like a millisecond.

When I do "grab a few points" the trade ends up running for 10 more. Right now I'm getting small gains, small losses, medium losses.

I'm using minute charts because I can't find any good charting software that will work at my office. Everything is blocked. I need to quit. I don't think the charts are causing my losses. I can look at the charts after all is said and done and I see where I should have got in and out, but in real time it looks completely different.
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Are you trading more than 1 contract? If so you can exit the 1st contract when momentum slows down to lock in some profit. Then use the 2nd contract to let it ride. If it comes back, you take a BE on it, and you still got something. If it keeps going then even better. One thing I think a lot of people struggle with is trying to figure out which trade to hold and which to take quick profits. My honest opinion is that it's very difficult to know this, almost impossible. So is better to do the same thing every time, and just accept that this is the way you trade. Whether that be going for a bunch of singles, or trying to hit the homerun. Just be aware of what each entails (i.e. gonna strike out more often swinging for the fences vs. taking lot of small pieces but often seeing lots of money left on the table. Get comfortable with one and go with it. Or as I suggested earlier, split the trade into two parts. In either case, don't let a profitable trade go negative. Exit break even worst case and look to re-enter.
 
Quote from cchili00:

Are you trading more than 1 contract? If so you can exit the 1st contract when momentum slows down to lock in some profit. Then use the 2nd contract to let it ride. If it comes back, you take a BE on it, and you still got something. If it keeps going then even better. One thing I think a lot of people struggle with is trying to figure out which trade to hold and which to take quick profits. My honest opinion is that it's very difficult to know this, almost impossible. So is better to do the same thing every time, and just accept that this is the way you trade. Whether that be going for a bunch of singles, or trying to hit the homerun. Just be aware of what each entails (i.e. gonna strike out more often swinging for the fences vs. taking lot of small pieces but often seeing lots of money left on the table. Get comfortable with one and go with it. Or as I suggested earlier, split the trade into two parts. In either case, don't let a profitable trade go negative. Exit break even worst case and look to re-enter.
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Yeah, maybe that is the trick. Either concentrate on holding trades for large gains or concentrate on taking pieces out of a trend. Right now I switch back & forth and it seems I usually pick wrong. Right now I'm only trading 1 contract because I suck. Looking at charts after hours I can see everything so clear, but in real time I don't know what on earth I'm thinking. When I look back at the trades I took once the market is closed it is unbelievable to me that I took some of them. I'm pretty sure I'm not retarded, but I'm beginning to have doubts.
 
Quote from cchili00:

ES scalpin for the day...+11.75 on 9 trades. Hmmm, I think there's something to this 123 pivot stuff :)
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That looks easy. Nice.
You should sit with me and watch some of my trades throughout the day, then you can learn how hard it should be.
 
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