ES/NQ Trading - looking for solutions

[syswizard]

Have to be up all night to trade the HSI....and pay extra for the data feed subscription. Ughh....and ughh.
NQ is more volatile that ES for sure.....but I haven't measured the difference from an absolute standpoint.
I do know that NQ requires wider stops than ES for sure. I still call it "the beast" for it's wild movements at times. Some say NQ is easier to trade than ES. I disagree.

 

[bone]

OK Guys, I constructed this cool spreadsheet that tracks every trade according to the problems identified as follows:
Hesitating Getting In
Ignoring Signals In
Hesitating Getting Out
Ignoring Signals Out
Didn't Flatten bad trade
Stop Loss too tight
Stop Loss too Wide
Lost Concentration
Entered When No Trend
Sold Into Support
Bot Into Resistance
Entered into Choppy Conditions
Revenge Trade
Wrong Bet Size
Exit Winner Too Early
Perfect Trade

At the end of the day, it tallys each problem item and computes what percent of the trades this occurred at.
It allows for multiple problems per trade by entering a percentage instead of 1.0
For instance: 0.7 Bot Into Resistance 0.3 Entered into Choppy Conditions

Those percentages are then maintained by day in a separate sheet.
The dailies are then tallied by month and then year-to-date.
What say ye ?

This is a HUGE step in the right direction for you. Every really good trader I've ever met kept some sort of journal mechanism in order to check his worst impulses and mitigate mistakes.

I would suggest that you add "bored" as a problem if you're day trading as you are. It is quite easy to sit there, staring at the screens, and enter a trade out of sheer boredom. And they almost always never work out.

Also, don't be afraid to log out and not trade in the US afternoon hours (barring a planned economic metric release). I did that for years after analyzing my own trade faults during my prop trading career.

 

[syswizard]

This is a HUGE step in the right direction for you. Every really good trader I've ever met kept some sort of journal mechanism in order to check his worst impulses and mitigate mistakes.

Yep, it's a lot of work, but it's made a difference,. But habits are hard to break. I am still trading the against the trend 20% of the time....and still cutting my profits short a whopping 25% of the time. I am putting in "perfect trades" about 20% of the time....gotta improve on that.

I would suggest that you add "bored" as a problem if you're day trading as you are. It is quite easy to sit there, staring at the screens, and enter a trade out of sheer boredom. And they almost always never work out.

I never seem to have that problem....I am always alert and rarely feel compelled to trade unless there is a signal or set-up to do so.

Also, don't be afraid to log out and not trade in the US afternoon hours (barring a planned economic metric release). I did that for years after analyzing my own trade faults during my prop trading career.

Hmm... you may be right on this....as I have a poor afternoon record for sure....due to choppy and trendless conditions. However, I have made some great trades after 3:30 pm into the close....that's when the market is rockin.
I really, really appreciate the feedback Bone.

 

[bone]

Hmm... you may be right on this....as I have a poor afternoon record for sure....due to choppy and trendless conditions. However, I have made some great trades after 3:30 pm into the close....that's when the market is rockin.

Well, you can always get in an afternoon workout or find some other worthwhile (or not so worthwhile) endeavor to steel away the time until 3:15 pm.

 

[Robert Morse]

E-mini S&P 500 Index Futures update-looks like $0.20/future for CME clearing. HArd to read these things.

 

[AAAintheBeltway]

1) trade must be in the direction of the Trend
2) SMI (stochastic momentum index) must be negative or moving to negative for short trades and vise versa
3) PVO (proprietary price-volume indicator) must have crossed the zero line
Works great in swinging markets....not so much in markets like today....and yesterday.

Considering "Rule 1", how could you possibly be shorting? The urge to fade moves is a killer for newbies.

You're taking 30-40 trades a day? Seriously man, are you just fucking around with us or are you for real? You should be taking one or two trades day at most, and plenty of days no trades.

You need to ask yourself a serious question, ie why are you doing this? If it's to stroke your ego or fill in time during the day or add some excitement to your life, ok, I get it. if it is to actually make money, you need to rethink a lot of things.

 

[syswizard]

Considering "Rule 1", how could you possibly be shorting? The urge to fade moves is a killer for newbies.

WTF are you talking about ? Look at this past afternoon....straight down till near the close.

You're taking 30-40 trades a day? Seriously man, are you just fucking around with us or are you for real? You should be taking one or two trades day at most, and plenty of days no trades.

Listen up - I'm a scalper and short term swing trader. That volume is not uncommon....ask the prop shops. Plus, I'm all-in at $2.03 R/T per contract with Interactive Brokers.

You need to ask yourself a serious question, ie why are you doing this? If it's to stroke your ego or fill in time during the day or add some excitement to your life, ok, I get it. if it is to actually make money, you need to rethink a lot of things.

Like what ? This is the greatest business in the world if you are winning. Right now, I am not consistently profitable which is why I am looking for solutions.

 

[syswizard]

E-mini S&P 500 Index Futures update-looks like $0.20/future for CME clearing. HArd to read these things.

Yeah, right....more profits for the CME...as if they aren't already rich enough.
So equivalently, it's $2.00 for 10 micros vs. $1.18 tier 1 single Emini.

 

[tiddlywinks]

WTF are you talking about ? Look at this past afternoon....straight down till near the close.

Listen up - I'm a scalper and short term swing trader. That volume is not uncommon....ask the prop shops. Plus, I'm all-in at $2.03 R/T per contract with Interactive Brokers.

Like what ? This is the greatest business in the world if you are winning. Right now, I am not consistently profitable which is why I am looking for solutions.

Explaining or defending intraday trading is a futile exercise here in ET.
The style and methods do not fit their trading ideology.
They don't get it! They just won't.

Carry On!

 

[syswizard]

Here is the trading analysis so far for April. Wow, I have a lot of work to do....look at the problem areas...and there are several.
Getting out early is absolutely KILLING ME....and well as selling into support. That happened a lot today.