Don Miller Trading Style

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benwm

There were a couple of Don Miller threads before that were ruined by idiots, I would like to keep this one professional. I want to discuss his methods, please no more "snake oil salesman" comments, funny as they are, there are plenty of other threads for that.

Don has now finished his excellent two year blog and I don't doubt he makes money on a consistent basis, but how, exactly? Does it just boil down to screen time or can these methods be taught? The 16 hour webinars were pretty interesting, but I'm not willing to fork out $7500 for the more intensive 'Jellies' course.

I am a trend following trader myself but I would like to add some new techniques for trading choppy markets. One of Don's bread and butter techniques is trading the chop after a trend day. What is the best way to trade chop without losing your shirt? Does anyone else trade a similar way and is willing to share their approach? I have never had much success 'averaging in' but I have no problem going down this route on a small % of capital if the day to day gains outweigh the occasional large hit.

Would be great if any of the Jellies could contribute to the discussion...

Thanks in advance and fingers crossed we can make this a worthwhile thread.
 
I thought the deal with Don Miller was that he made 1.6 million dollars trading 600,000 contracts of ES, which works out to about $2.67 profit per contract. Anybody with the same profit margin and not having an exchange seat would have lost money using the same technique.
 
Quote from ChkitOut:

Don claimed he shared "everything" with his readers.

Everything except a simple trade blotter now and then....
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I'm sure on the $7500 Jellie course there would be more details! I think you get see the trades he puts on in real time, but I'm not forking out that sort of money. There was a retired NFL QB who went on the course I think so for that sort of background and financial status it might be worth their while, you know they're probably looking for a hobby as much as anything.

The webinars which I bought cost $1500 and were pretty decent, they made me think about some different things as my approach is so different to what Don is doing, I personally thought it was money well spent, even if I have to admit I have not really found consistency with his methods. I just feel I am missing something...

Perhaps his style doesn't fit my personality, I make money most weeks so its not like I'm a beginner, but I think I can get to another level..
 
Quote from Retief:

I thought the deal with Don Miller was that he made 1.6 million dollars trading 600,000 contracts of ES, which works out to about $2.67 profit per contract. Anybody with the same profit margin and not having an exchange seat would have lost money using the same technique.
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fair point, but the $1.6 million profit is a starting point
maybe we can find something better but alone the same lines

less trades to keep commissions down but same principles
perhaps on a slightly longer time frame?
"DM++" thats the goal..:)
 
Quote from benwm:

One of Don's bread and butter techniques is trading the chop after a trend day. What is the best way to trade chop without losing your shirt?
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Averaging in. Obviously that works 9 out of 10 times and when it doesn't work, Don usually has a big DD, about twice a year. At least that was my observation.
Now he does recognize and trades a few good patterns, but generally he doesn't stay in the position for too long. Personally I think he way overtrades using this style, but if it works for him, more power and profit for him.

I liked his blog not for the trading tips but for his general approach to trading. Can his style be taught? Most likely not, but if people buying his seminars think they got something useful out of it, then everybody should be happy...
 
Quote from Pekelo:
I liked his blog not for the trading tips but for his general approach to trading [/B]
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ditto here

I did wonder about the flash crash though...it sounds like he was long 60 lots about 1/4 of his full size and exited on a pullback
my understanding is that he scales in and only stops out if the "premise is broken" i.e. some technically significant break I guess

but on the flash crash day presumably all technical levels were broken, so how could he exit on a pullback?

i don't have the full picture of course...but I think such details are important...there's always a 10 sigma move around the corner...

I guess my question is, 'how do you average in and avoid the 10 sigma moves against you?!'
 
Yeah, Don said if he were trading his full size during the flash crash it would have been potentially a high 6 figure - low 7 figure loss. Ouch. I think it scared him more than he let on and caused a crisis of confidence. He substantially reduced his position sizes after that. I think it actually makes a good case for just grinding out small amounts day after day with relatively modest sizes. You don't need to make millions to live a good life.

I really enjoyed his blog for his personal story and life insights. One of my favorite videos was when he went out to the boat landing and beach on Cape Cod.

I was really hoping to see him trade a small account and grow it again like he did his main account but I understand how tiring keeping up a blog can be and doing all the other things life demands. Don seems like an all around good guy and I wish him well.
 
Quote from brocklanders:


I really enjoyed his blog for his personal story and life insights. One of my favorite videos was when he went out to the boat landing and beach on Cape Cod.
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that was cool, trading by the beach is the ideal isn't it?
Also liked the tour of his office...I really get a kick out of seeing other trader's multiple monitor setups!
 
Quote from benwm:

I guess my question is, 'how do you average in and avoid the 10 sigma moves against you?!'
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By limiting the number of averaging ins, and having a super-duper "walk away" stop loss. Let's say you can average in 5 times for every 5 pts move, but if it moves against you 30 pts, you let it go and walk away for the day.

You have to make it sure you don't try to make your losses back on that same day....
 
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