Do you even enjoy trading?
- Thread starter michael21
- Start date
Have a passion for it. Trading as an independent is more fulfilling than as a prop.
If can be boring at times - so consider isolating the times of day when you trade the best and take the other times off. I have obvious profitable patterns in my trading that can be correlated to certain market phases. So, I only trade about 1-2 hours per day. Best of luck.
If can be boring at times - so consider isolating the times of day when you trade the best and take the other times off. I have obvious profitable patterns in my trading that can be correlated to certain market phases. So, I only trade about 1-2 hours per day. Best of luck.
What's not to enjoy about trading. You can make it what you want it to be. Im finding that one of the biggest setups for me is patience and goal setting. Holding off the marginal trades and waiting for the odds to tilt in my favor (or my percieved favor, lol). I don't want to write about my results in detail because I'm a little superstitious but I have been setting a goal of about 5 pts/day in my ES daytrading and have been seeing it with regularity. What has worked for me this time around (yes I've blownout before) is setting a goal, hitting it and then turning off the machine! If I keep going it can turn into a slot machine. It's really sounds overly simplistic but that is one thing that is helping me tremendously. Much like getting into a car turning over the ignition putting it into drive without a destination, just driving. Kind of an uneasy, uncertain feeling isn't it? Where do I stop? Where am I going? It's also such a reassuring and rewarding feeling that the days work is done booked & banked and the rest of the day is mine. The most empty feeling in the world is watching a positive day (especially if goal is already hit) turn into a loser. That doesn't bode well for good headspace the next day. As well as seeing the goal get hit continously brainwashes my psyche into to believing that is something I expect to see everyday and will cause my subcontious to see those expectations/targets met. I don't trade with stops (I hit the flat button when I know Im wrong) but have a level of total negative equity loss where I will call it a day and turn everything off. I trade mostly by PA, order flow and intuition. IMHO all indicators are lagging garbage, price is the only true (leading) indicator. Mostly scalp trade for 1-2 pts per trade scaling in on most postions and like to be done by noon. Kind of a ranting post, hope this helps someone. 
Thank you, for the best post, please read and reread
Quote from zman7854:
What's not to enjoy about trading. You can make it what you want it to be. Im finding that one of the biggest setups for me is patience and goal setting. Holding off the marginal trades and waiting for the odds to tilt in my favor (or my percieved favor, lol). I don't want to write about my results in detail because I'm a little superstitious but I have been setting a goal of about 5 pts/day in my ES daytrading and have been seeing it with regularity. What has worked for me this time around (yes I've blownout before) is setting a goal, hitting it and then turning off the machine! If I keep going it can turn into a slot machine. It's really sounds overly simplistic but that is one thing that is helping me tremendously. Much like getting into a car turning over the ignition putting it into drive without a destination, just driving. Kind of an uneasy, uncertain feeling isn't it? Where do I stop? Where am I going? It's also such a reassuring and rewarding feeling that the days work is done booked & banked and the rest of the day is mine. The most empty feeling in the world is watching a positive day (especially if goal is already hit) turn into a loser. That doesn't bode well for good headspace the next day. As well as seeing the goal get hit continously brainwashes my psyche into to believing that is something I expect to see everyday and will cause my subcontious to see those expectations/targets met. I don't trade with stops (I hit the flat button when I know Im wrong) but have a level of total negative equity loss where I will call it a day and turn everything off. I trade mostly by PA, order flow and intuition. IMHO all indicators are lagging garbage, price is the only true (leading) indicator. Mostly scalp trade for 1-2 pts per trade scaling in on most postions and like to be done by noon. Kind of a ranting post, hope this helps someone.
Thanks dolphin. Here is another post I read recently on ET from an experienced trader. It basically reiterates what I just wrote. I'm thinking this is an integral part of the grail that all of us are seeking (maybe its a bigger part of the grail?) That is making it, keeping it and then having the patience and discipline to walk away. I think anyone with a minimal amount of screen time watching the DOM and having an understanding of S/R should be able to do 1-2 pts a day consistently, there's the starting point. Anyway here is the post from Handle123...
"All the years I been trading, with proper experience can make 2-4 points consistently, but that's it doing volume and best to own or lease a seat, and either quit or reduce contract size after goal is made. But it takes years to understand this. All I ever hear from others is how much they left on the table. Takes so much patience and being able to accept that smaller daily average is how to make money in this game. Trading same size all day will eventually wear you down. Make it early in morning and quit. Start with a one lot and build up, and enjoy your life after you make it."
"All the years I been trading, with proper experience can make 2-4 points consistently, but that's it doing volume and best to own or lease a seat, and either quit or reduce contract size after goal is made. But it takes years to understand this. All I ever hear from others is how much they left on the table. Takes so much patience and being able to accept that smaller daily average is how to make money in this game. Trading same size all day will eventually wear you down. Make it early in morning and quit. Start with a one lot and build up, and enjoy your life after you make it."
the thing i never really understood when people say i scale in to make a point or 2 is what if you're right on your first buy? or your second?
then you're getting that point with small size so it doesn't really make any sense to say i made 2 points today because you may have done it with 1 contract today and 10 tomorrow??
maybe im missing something...