Early exits are killing me.

Quote from Fast_Trader:

lindq, and others thanks for the help.

Over lunch I will post my trades and maybe you guys can look into them and find some other issues that I might not be seeing. I will also analyze all my trades from this week and come up with an average percentage stop-loss that would have kept me in.

-FastTrader :)
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Although...I would caution you that this recent market is not going to give you a realistic study over time of where your profit targets should be. I've left an incredible amount of money on the table after hitting my targets, and I'm sure others have as well. Are you using any software for backtesting?
 
Nope, no back-testing. Only real-time forward testing/trading. I realize I will continuously need to tweak the system based on market conditions, but I can live with that.

-FastTrader :cool:
 
I'd rather leave some on the table by exiting later, if that's more profitable then setting a target and leaving too early, which is what I found in my case. Whatever works better for you, of course, but I found that I shouldn't decide when enough is enough. Certainly, a longer timeframe sets it up better to afford that "luxury" of overstaying. Rather than set a target, you can get out when you want if you see reasons to.
 
Quote from rttrader:

my .02 cents worth,

A very good friend helped me by setting up most of my charts in "tick" bar format I agree with the previous poster that looking at higher time frames really helps "me" in my identifying where I take profits and where I cover loss's or more specifically very simply looking at resistance and support.

The time frames I use are ; 100 tick bar, 400,800,1600 and 180min tick bar charts.

It turned around my trading for me, it may not be applicable to every trading style though.

rttrader
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Are these tick bar charts for stocks or futures? I had a hard time finding a good tick bar chart for stocks because the volume of each stock is so different.
 
downtick -

I'm sorry I didn't clarify that point it is for e-minis (futures). I focus on NQ and ES currently, although I am extrapolating this to FOREX and Eurex instruments as well, using TradeStation.

I hope that clarifies it.

rttrader -
 
First, always use a trailing stop. Second scale out of your trade. Don't concern yourself with commissions, the concern is a proper exit.

A 1,000 share trade does not have to be done as 1000 x 1000 while you are learning. It is okay to go 500 and then 500 and then exit 500 300 and 200.

Record each trade, why you entered the trade, what you expected to happen, what happened and how you managed the money on the trade.

Review your journal.

Early exists are from a lack of confidence. The more you trade, the more you learn and the more confidence you should have.

Howard
http://www.tapetactics.com
 
You need to ask yourself why you got into the trade in the first place. It sounds like you do not have an adequate gameplan or a rational justification for being in the trade, that is why you are cutting out so quickly. If you know why you are in the trade and why you will get out of the trade this will happen less. Also, remember that trading is not a perfect science. You will always remember the "one that got away." That may also be something you need to get over.
 
tradealot, I don't remember or even try to remember the "ones" that got away. Doesn't matter to me.

Anyways, as promised, here are my morning trades:

Buy CVTX @ 30.41 8:41:43 AM
Sell CVTX @ 30.44 8:42:45 AM

Buy NVLS @ 35.87 8:45:01 AM
Sell NVLS @ 35.82 8:47:45 AM

Buy BRCM @ 24.55 8:52:58 AM
Sell BRCM @ 24.61 8:58:23 AM

Then I was off to my day job. Came home for lunch and scalped the Q's real quick:

Sell QQQ @ 30.07
Cover QQQ @ 29.97


That's it folks. Any analysis on my morning trades. Keep in mind I can only trade the first hour of market open (today only the first half hour since I had a work meeting in the morning)

Thanks in advance for any insight.

-FastTrader
 
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