Becoming Consistently Profitable!
- Thread starter Tcbjx9
- Start date
Tc,
Before I started trading with a mentor I was net red 8-9/10 weeks.
1. Having a good mentor is important. Alex is a good mentor. I can always
call him up to ask questions about the trades that I did or about market
stuff, which is something that distinguishes Alex from other mentors: his
high rate of accessibility and willingness to help new traders.
2. My losses are smaller, and I always have a catastrophic stop to follow
(at worst) and that I stick to in case the trade goes against me (e.g. the
trigger stop). I don't end up green every day, but nowadays my red days are
a lot smaller than the monster red days I used to have, that could wipe out
a week's profits.
3. Have confidence that the money will come maybe not now but eventually.
Keep a steady, conservative pace. I am sticking with 1-2 contracts (at most
3, which is the size I use for his MaxSpan setup) for at least another month or two to
make sure I can be consistently profitable before I try to increase the
size. For the longest time I was on the simulator, but at least I did not
hurt myself cash wise. I did not know if I could make it off the simulator,
but eventually I was able to.
4. Recognize good and bad setups, and stick with the good ones. MaxSpan has
been consistently profitable so I play it almost every day, and it has
really helped in terms of a steady source of green. Basically, if you play
it like a robot each day you will come out ahead over time. This is not
rocket science but can make your portfolio green each week. My profits are
decent on it but not optimal because I am not playing it as systematically
as I should. In other words, I have recognized it is a good setup and have
developed confidence in it to follow it each day, even if it takes a lot of
heat. Deadzone trades and impulse trades are bad setups. Triggers with the
filters are good setups.
5. Learn what is characteristic and uncharacteristic of the market, and be
an astute observer. Pick apart and analyze your own trades. For example I
have noticed that you can usually get 4-7 points on the YM, but rarely 10 -
14 points. That means you need to scale out most contracts when you have
4-7 and let a small amount go for more. Target 1 is harder to achieve
against the filters, so you are out earlier than with the filters. Writing
the blog and recap of our trading day is like making a personal trading
journal and helps with this aspect (being an astute observer) for me.
6. Proper allocation, go heavier with filters light against.this is still
something I need to stick to and will become more important when I trade
more contracts.
7. Have good trading tools such as reliable trading signals. No other
service I have used had as reliable of signals as Alex issues, or as good of
guidance. If you have no faith in the trading signals from any given room,
it can screw up your own confidence and your own trading too. Confidence is
important to good trading.
I still make a lot of mistakes, such as over-trading and over-allocating
against the filters, but if I screw up I try to make note of the mistake and
learn my lesson from it.
I hope this helps, it is not revolutionary or rocket science, but mostly
common sense.
Jason Chan (bearishtrader)
www.PureTick.Com Administrator
Before I started trading with a mentor I was net red 8-9/10 weeks.
1. Having a good mentor is important. Alex is a good mentor. I can always
call him up to ask questions about the trades that I did or about market
stuff, which is something that distinguishes Alex from other mentors: his
high rate of accessibility and willingness to help new traders.
2. My losses are smaller, and I always have a catastrophic stop to follow
(at worst) and that I stick to in case the trade goes against me (e.g. the
trigger stop). I don't end up green every day, but nowadays my red days are
a lot smaller than the monster red days I used to have, that could wipe out
a week's profits.
3. Have confidence that the money will come maybe not now but eventually.
Keep a steady, conservative pace. I am sticking with 1-2 contracts (at most
3, which is the size I use for his MaxSpan setup) for at least another month or two to
make sure I can be consistently profitable before I try to increase the
size. For the longest time I was on the simulator, but at least I did not
hurt myself cash wise. I did not know if I could make it off the simulator,
but eventually I was able to.
4. Recognize good and bad setups, and stick with the good ones. MaxSpan has
been consistently profitable so I play it almost every day, and it has
really helped in terms of a steady source of green. Basically, if you play
it like a robot each day you will come out ahead over time. This is not
rocket science but can make your portfolio green each week. My profits are
decent on it but not optimal because I am not playing it as systematically
as I should. In other words, I have recognized it is a good setup and have
developed confidence in it to follow it each day, even if it takes a lot of
heat. Deadzone trades and impulse trades are bad setups. Triggers with the
filters are good setups.
5. Learn what is characteristic and uncharacteristic of the market, and be
an astute observer. Pick apart and analyze your own trades. For example I
have noticed that you can usually get 4-7 points on the YM, but rarely 10 -
14 points. That means you need to scale out most contracts when you have
4-7 and let a small amount go for more. Target 1 is harder to achieve
against the filters, so you are out earlier than with the filters. Writing
the blog and recap of our trading day is like making a personal trading
journal and helps with this aspect (being an astute observer) for me.
6. Proper allocation, go heavier with filters light against.this is still
something I need to stick to and will become more important when I trade
more contracts.
7. Have good trading tools such as reliable trading signals. No other
service I have used had as reliable of signals as Alex issues, or as good of
guidance. If you have no faith in the trading signals from any given room,
it can screw up your own confidence and your own trading too. Confidence is
important to good trading.
I still make a lot of mistakes, such as over-trading and over-allocating
against the filters, but if I screw up I try to make note of the mistake and
learn my lesson from it.
I hope this helps, it is not revolutionary or rocket science, but mostly
common sense.
Jason Chan (bearishtrader)
www.PureTick.Com Administrator
When your mind is ready the money will come
http://www.scienceofgettingrich.net/action.pdf
*Ignore the sales crap halfway down the page*
http://www.scienceofgettingrich.net/action.pdf
*Ignore the sales crap halfway down the page*
Tcb, i am not inclined to try and give you specific advice as to how to profit from trading futures-- i trade only the ER2. But here are a few suggestions re how to get started on the right foot, and i am going to assume you are trying to trade the index futures and not commodities.
1. Pay attention to the first poster, Whitster, the advice/comments he/she gives is correct and knowledgeable. Look up the other Whitster posts and read them.
2. Go to the puretick website that Jason Chan gave you. These guys are for real and one of the very very few trading websites that will not intentionally just rip you off. The filters Jason is talking about are things like the market internals, other correlated indexes, a few key technicals, and time and sales. You will need to learn how to read and interpret all of these "filters ".
3. There is a lot of pure crap posted on ET. learn to identify it and ignore it.
4. Probably start with something like YM and not the EB, the Russell is too volatile for beginners and will scare the daylights out of you.
5. Read, study, and trade with paper money first. If you can't make money trading paper you won't be able to do it with real money. Paper trading has been knocked by many as being unrealistic. Ignore those folks. Trade paper first, with realtime data of course, until you are consistently successful. Only then, attempt to trade with real money, just 1 to 2 contracts, until you are successful, then you can scale up a bit. But always be aware of risk and pay strict attention to money management. You must be very disciplined.
I've been in this racket for more or less forty years, i don't know any of the folks who post on ET personally, and the folks at Puretick don't know i exist, so i have absolutely no personal interest in the suggestions i have given you. Just want to encourage you to get started in the right direction.
1. Pay attention to the first poster, Whitster, the advice/comments he/she gives is correct and knowledgeable. Look up the other Whitster posts and read them.
2. Go to the puretick website that Jason Chan gave you. These guys are for real and one of the very very few trading websites that will not intentionally just rip you off. The filters Jason is talking about are things like the market internals, other correlated indexes, a few key technicals, and time and sales. You will need to learn how to read and interpret all of these "filters ".
3. There is a lot of pure crap posted on ET. learn to identify it and ignore it.
4. Probably start with something like YM and not the EB, the Russell is too volatile for beginners and will scare the daylights out of you.
5. Read, study, and trade with paper money first. If you can't make money trading paper you won't be able to do it with real money. Paper trading has been knocked by many as being unrealistic. Ignore those folks. Trade paper first, with realtime data of course, until you are consistently successful. Only then, attempt to trade with real money, just 1 to 2 contracts, until you are successful, then you can scale up a bit. But always be aware of risk and pay strict attention to money management. You must be very disciplined.
I've been in this racket for more or less forty years, i don't know any of the folks who post on ET personally, and the folks at Puretick don't know i exist, so i have absolutely no personal interest in the suggestions i have given you. Just want to encourage you to get started in the right direction.
Just buy futures and walk away. At the end of the day your golden.....
It takes time and experience to know your tools and how and when to use/not use them etc., but after many years of trading numerous instruments for a living, one thing has never changed for me - the most painful trade psychologically is the best to make, while the most peaceful trade is the most dangerous.
I agree with whitster.
Reading this book will help you greatly . It is a must read for every trader. Read the reviews if you want other opinions on how helpful it is.
http://www.amazon.com/Disciplined-T..._bbs_sr_1/002-3746762-8266452?ie=UTF8&s=books