That's his problem, he does not have that.
ES day trading journal - my final attempt
- Thread starter hurricane_sh
- Start date
That's his problem, he does not have that.
You have a lot of work to do before you are ready to trade for a living. Your mind is not right at this time. Sorry, but that's my opinion. Tough love.
Rule # 1 for all traders: NEVER trade with money you "can't afford to lose." You already violated that. Stop it!
Almost all of your "rules" above are either "mushy" or just plain wrong for day trading ES.
For example, you want to use profit targets and stop loss orders, yet you say they can be "slightly adjusted." First of all, targets and stops ALWAYS result in lower profit, and secondly, if you must use them, never "adjust" them.
Next, you say max loss is $300 per day, and then go on to say "shouldn't be more than $350 under any circumstances." Is it $300 or $350? Make up your mind and stick to it. Your thinking is too "fluffy" for successful day trading.
And finally, you want to "follow the trend, and trade break-outs." That doesn't work in day trading. Go ahead and try it - again. When you're ready to make money, trade pull backs and fade break-outs - or find a different way, entirely.
I suggest you trade SPY on a simulator account, and limit your position to 10 shares. When you can make $10 per week, four weeks in a row, you'll be able to do something very few day traders can do - win 4 weeks in a row - and furthermore, you'll be ready to day trade ES.
PS: I lost all my money the first time I tried trading. I saved my money and tried again. I lost about half of my stake the second time. It was 14 years before I had a profitable year. Today, I think it could be learned in a year or two. I hope you hang in there until you learn how to day trade. It's a skill that can serve you well - in trading and in life.
"I've known scores of men who were unable to wait to win. They are too impatient. They want to do everything all at once. When I was racing my horses, all over the world I always figured there was plenty of time. I would be out there with them at crack of dawn watching them. And I would see to it that they lost races until their prices were right. I didn't care how long it took. But when they were right, and I knew they were right, I got busy."
Trading is Different than Gambling...stop gambling
Trading is Different than Gambling...stop gambling
i hope you stay at it h....i feel we are somewhat similar.. you are few months in and myself just starting and knowing nothing and developing and cultivating my methods....to know and learn from your mistakes i hope to lessen my own and vice versa.... cheers....
i like to research charts of select companies i pick each day(big boy block trade prices i checked the night before). and i watch "maybe 5" and trade about 3 buy/sells a day(i rarely lose). you seem to trade alot......my technique is you need a personal relationship with each company(research) and the multitude of trigers that will move it and by how much. thats how im starting and i keep a routine and rules. my belief.....you never lose.....you are just paying for your education.......another way i have been very profitable is trading reits in a range.+/- 10 cents(sometimes the trades are a day and sometimes it can take a week)
....also and its been the most difficult......if your down and your worried "sell"...........its not what you "think" you know that gets you in trouble........its what you know for sure thatll make you cry.
i like to research charts of select companies i pick each day(big boy block trade prices i checked the night before). and i watch "maybe 5" and trade about 3 buy/sells a day(i rarely lose). you seem to trade alot......my technique is you need a personal relationship with each company(research) and the multitude of trigers that will move it and by how much. thats how im starting and i keep a routine and rules. my belief.....you never lose.....you are just paying for your education.......another way i have been very profitable is trading reits in a range.+/- 10 cents(sometimes the trades are a day and sometimes it can take a week)
....also and its been the most difficult......if your down and your worried "sell"...........its not what you "think" you know that gets you in trouble........its what you know for sure thatll make you cry.
Thread owner Hurricane ...you are getting some good advice from Steve Alexander and Palindrome saying something about being too eager to trade " they are too impatient'' this is good. Something else is that trading intraday can be good but trading everyday doesn't always go well for me. Non Farm numbers , FOMC on wed., fed minutes , draghi talk ..BOJ soon, those give good opportunities for short term futures.. but every single day can lead to boredom trades ..revenge trades and the like dull low volume will cause drowsiness. Read every freakin book out there(Jack Schwager is good and hundreds of others)...and if you neglect to take a stop loss or are deep under cause u had to take a piss you could always go neutral while you reconsider after emotions have decreased and sobriety returns..ie: long es short ym until you can see properly..by the way if they don't raise wed DX will be a fast short and we could see the usual bottom on QM back to 45 ish or CL..ZN goes the opposite of rates...I'm not saying that those are perfect trades but they are examples of a plan for an event such as wed. Intraday is TECHNICALS, interpretation of MACRO(Bernard baumohl) and interpretation and familiarity of EARNINGS SEASON. Don't be a mindless follower. Another one for starters is John Murphy: intermarket analysis, the correlations are important and a Photo of Winston Churchill above your trading desk wouldn't hurt.
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The best method of learning with capital preservation is:
1) Try out a technique/method on Demo to prove it works over time using the EXACT same rules/discipline you use on live.
2) Move to live after a proven track record on Demo.
3) If you mess up on live, move back to Demo and work on what errors happened, and only go back to the live account with successful trading results.
Most people hate Demo because it feels more exciting trading live, and lacks emotional pressure, so you have to add it. Here's one way, make a rule that you can't trade live until you've had a net positive week of at least 3 out of 5 winning trades on Demo. That gives you a target to shoot for and pressure not to fail.
IB has a Demo system identical to live trading, so the only difference is in your head. Losing those big amounts is a clear sign you need to be on Demo.
Next, you say you started trading this year- this is a field where it can take years for proficiency, and many (vast majority) never achieve that level. To think you've been able to "figure out" trading in just a few months is not very realistic. The market has more "hard lessons" than you have capital, so you have to make the decision on whether to experience them at true cost or on the Demo account.
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Just in case you ever do decide to go neutral on a position or trade even that can be costly.
observe for a few weeks but they mostly move together . Nq will be the exception , that one goes off on its own due to components . es and ym are closely correlated..I m not saying this is a good thing to do but if its one of those days where supports are breached temporarily it can help until you tell. Even for me to talk like this is dangerous , there are rabid savages everywhere..but you asked for help.
observe for a few weeks but they mostly move together . Nq will be the exception , that one goes off on its own due to components . es and ym are closely correlated..I m not saying this is a good thing to do but if its one of those days where supports are breached temporarily it can help until you tell. Even for me to talk like this is dangerous , there are rabid savages everywhere..but you asked for help.
Steve Alexander ..great post I enjoyed reading it.
