Feedback appreciated. My Journal Begins...

[Turveyd]

Got to agree with Redneck in this, my guess is your reacting to live PA ie the noise, your seeing the price drop quickly so your jumping in short then it's just noise and it's reversing on you.

Slow down, M5 charts aren't slowing you down there blinding you, back to M1 or M2 if you can maybe ??

Did you draw that range on before or after, if before why where you not playing the range ? longs at the bottom shorts at the top, tight SL repeat.

M1 you can see downtrend going on, the tops on your first trades are running into selling, although nasty chart as it's NQ and it's low volume. ( you had the downtrend pegged just rushed entry I see sorry )

Switch to YM, it's smoother, jumps around less, much easier to hold longer basically.

Also, if you move to setting limit orders at a better price then it would stop your chasing on the price and your bad entries, if you'd of slapped in limit orders near where your 2nd dotted blue ish maybe line is then you'd of had 6 - 7 pips on those trades.

Worrying too much about missing a trade perhaps ?? there will always be another!!

 

[Turveyd]

Our conscious brain can only process a few thoughts at the same time. Our unconscious can process many, many things simultaneously (heart rate, breathing, listening, keeping the car going straight etc) Our unconscious is doing things we are not even aware of and is being influenced by things we are not consciously aware of. So, yes need to be careful what thoughts we feed it.

This is an interesting and surprisingly easy read. Nothing about trading though

[/quote]


Agree with this, I've been fighting my unconscious brain for years, sadly mine can't trade, I have to slow it down ignore my instinct to react badly and let my conscious brain trade.

Tired, Stressed, Hungry, Hot, Cold, Busy, my Conscious brain is focusing on that and my unconscious is trading badly, yeah bang trade yeah bang trade, ohhh how did I do, 100% losses ( yesterday ).

Ultimately your a good trader when your unconscious can trade well, while your thinking about something else, it's getting there slowly!!

Damn stupid brain!!

 

[Redneck]

Our conscious brain can only process a few thoughts at the same time. Our unconscious can process many, many things simultaneously (heart rate, breathing, listening, keeping the car going straight etc) Our unconscious is doing things we are not even aware of and is being influenced by things we are not consciously aware of. So, yes need to be careful what thoughts we feed it.

This is an interesting and surprisingly easy read. Nothing about trading though

I'm getting that book

Thank You



And maybe it not directly trading related - but if its in our head - then it's all connected in some form or fashion


RN

 

[Redneck]

Slow down, M5 charts aren't slowing you down there blinding you, back to M1 or M2 if you can maybe ??

He traded like a spastic spider monkey today - and you're suggesting he drop down to an even a faster TF

I do not agree

Obviously it up to JS to decide


RN

 

[jsmacksem]

Before Responding to everyone, I'm going to play observer like I did monday. It helped me see clearly what transpired during execution.

I'm trying to adopt these beliefs and think/say/do them in SIM.

I'm a consistently successful trader because I...

Objectively identify my edges. (for those that aren't aware, my chosen signal is simple, and it's a break out pullback at important levels of S and R)


Trade 1 -> I objectively identified this edge. Market opened. pre mkt support held and price tested yesterdays high, and was rejected. This rejection suggested weakness to me. Price strongly broke previous support on the 955 bar. It had my attention. Price pulled back and tested a 50% retracement of this down move. I entred on the 1005 bar. It was in the middle of the bar, but the had a lower higher then it's previous. Short initiated and in the green two points to be stopped out.

#2 --> Lower highs again on bar 1015. Entered. Identified the edge.

#3. --> No. I didn't. After those two stops, the edge was gone. It's pulled back twice now and gone nowhere. 3 should not have been initiated. 3 is hard to see because it was all inside of one bar. This was a bad trade. Hinge was forming.

#4 -> I feel I still objectively identified my edge. A triangle/hinge just broke to the downside. Bar 1050 tested previous support and failed. Next bar opened, trade initiated and went down about 1.5 pt and then stopped out.

#5 --> No. At this point, I was frustrated. I felt I was identifying the edges. I feel like I'm very blind. Many feel I'm not identifying them, I feel I am.

3 out of 5 trades identified. I want 100% here. There isn't any room for three out of five.

I predefine the risk of every trade, AND I completely accept the risk or I'm willing to let it go.

Trade 1 --> Risk was 3 pts. Accepted it, and I took it. Was the stop too close? If it was, and should have been above the 1000 bar, the risk would be too high. (talk about this in a moment)

2 -> yes.

3 -> NO. why not? Stop was too large. It wouldn't fit my money management if I were to go live. I didn't completely accept the risk of this trade yet I still put it on. And hoped. Not good.

4 -> yes.

5. yes, even though the trade was out of frustration.

I act on my edges without hesitation or reservation.
I feel I did this. I was in tune from the start, and saw the market filling a gap from yesterday, and it did that. Price ranged first during it's pullback instead of a clean downward move. If anything I should mention here, it's that I traded too much.

I pay myself as the market makes money available
Not much to add here. Weren't any opportunities to employ this I suppose.

I constantly monitor my susceptibility for errors.
My errors...are stops placed to tight? If so, how can I trade my signal in a fashion that still limits the risk I need to have per trade? Can I try entering at the top of the high pull back bar? BUT! What I ahve learned and continue to remember is that no amount of technical analysis and method tweaking is going to do anything if I'm not working on the mental analysis.

So like I said previously, trades 1 and 2 were smooth. No emotion. I identified two trades that I would take tomorrow. Trade 3 became frustration, because I kept asking myself, "how are you going to do this live, if you continue taking these hits?"

I understand the absolute necessity of these principles of consistent success, and therefor I never violate them.

I do not understand fully, in my core, the necessities here. I do with my head. But head knowledge is completely different than heart knowledge, or "living-it-out" knowledge.

1. Only take those trades with objectively identified edges.
2. Figure out how to risk less, with or without tweaking method?
3. Study more to learn why I'm not staying neutral. I started the day very neutral. I was proud of identifying that first trade. Trade 3 and the neutrality vanished. I was no longer just the guy clicking the mouse.

 

[jsmacksem]

Here's my assessment (and please tell me if I got it wrong)

I assume red/ blue arrows entries.., white arrows exits


I only see 4 trades on the chart - 3 shorts.., 1 long


The first 2 shorts

Entered in middle of the bar
Stop place not just past where the trade would have broken down..., but dead nuts at that point




RN

Yes red/blue in, white out. I can annotate by hand if it helps in future. TS just has a simple setting I can turn on to show trades.

The 3rd trade is actually intrabar hidden behind trade 2.

Is it wrong entering in the middle of the bar? The bar didn't swing down yet, and my sell order was a point beneath where it opened. Price swooped me in and went down. Then stopped out. Middle of bar bad?

Your saying stop should be a tick above 1000 bar? Risk is too large. Skip trade then?

3rd short

Not a good trade - it between a DB.., and the range previously created - basically a no mans land

I saw the DB. I also saw the 1050 bar immediately reject previous support. Still no mans land? That support turning resistance, plus DMTL suggested a nice pullback short entry.

4th (long)

Entered into resistance (probably frustrated the shorts up to now were failing so went long out of that frustration)


No idea of the bigger picture / not taking the bigger picture into account
Stops improperly placed
Frustrated
Entering haphazardly (impatient I suspect)
Not following any sort of methodology / approach -let alone planning each trade out

Out of all this - likely the emotions were all over the radar


Like I said - tell me if I'm wrong

Yes on 4th.(5th) If stops are improperly placed, then that means more risk. Or that means tweaking the signal entry to try and get closer to the top of the bar. (for shorts)

I thought I was following a method, identifying my signal? I planned each trade and each plan got stopped out. Emotions weren't over radar until after the stop out on trade 4 at 1055.

 

[jsmacksem]

Our brain – your brain.., my brain…, who’s ever brain

Will listen and play out exactly what we tell it

You tell it;

Trade the method and screw the results

Coffee, ding dongs, cigarettes, and mountain dew

Just kidding


All in the same breath


Your brain will listen…, then take the path of least resistance - every time

We are hard wired to resist changing

=========================


Am I being a hard ass / picky bitch – damn right I am (feel free to confirm this w/ J..., or Slugar)

And based on today’s trading – you need to be (called raising one's game / nutting up)


RN

I'm definitely agreeing with you. I have to be very careful about what is coming out of my mouth.

I was talking to someone the other day, and mentioned how I'm paying more and more attention to those things. I've actually caught myself 5 or 6 times in the past week thinking poorly of myself. I stopped it. I told it to shut the fuck up and reminded myself of who I was. So I understand. I'm working hard there too, I really am.

There was an old thread here, about a guy who literally woke up every morning with 3 two liters of orange soda, a carton of Pall Malls, and his tasty cakes. And then he threw his money at the market. I don't remember who it was, but it was good satire. I found it humorous and wanted to share a piece. I should have added way more spaces between screw pnl and the humor, and just kidding.

I didn't mean to associate the two.

 

[jsmacksem]

Got to agree with Redneck in this, my guess is your reacting to live PA ie the noise, your seeing the price drop quickly so your jumping in short then it's just noise and it's reversing on you.

Hey TD. I didn't jump short. I waited patiently for a pullback entry after a large price drop through a support level.

Slow down, M5 charts aren't slowing you down there blinding you, back to M1 or M2 if you can maybe ??

Did you draw that range on before or after, if before why where you not playing the range ? longs at the bottom shorts at the top, tight SL repeat.

M1 you can see downtrend going on, the tops on your first trades are running into selling, although nasty chart as it's NQ and it's low volume. ( you had the downtrend pegged just rushed entry I see sorry )

Switch to YM, it's smoother, jumps around less, much easier to hold longer basically.

Also, if you move to setting limit orders at a better price then it would stop your chasing on the price and your bad entries, if you'd of slapped in limit orders near where your 2nd dotted blue ish maybe line is then you'd of had 6 - 7 pips on those trades.

Worrying too much about missing a trade perhaps ?? there will always be another!!

m1 m2, m60, m3000, there all shit if I can't adapt a trader's mindset to trade them. I want that. The mindset. Then I'll trade any time frame anywhere. Until then, the steady slow 5 works.

What range? at open? After open? I didn't draw a range, just plotted support and resistance areas. Then, price decided to range between them.

I use limit orders, and I didn't chase. If I didn't, I don't recognize it and need to work on this.

 

[Redneck]

First..., way too many questions to address all at once

So allow me to frame up a few




It appears - you were trading context..., sort of - meaning you expected the DMTLs to hold - so you took a middle bar trade

Few issues here

Your context was light

Never trade context - trade the PA supporting the context

Context may be there - but if the supporting PA not - then can't expect the context to hold

==============


The first context is a range pullback - the stop.., for a short inside this range needed to be just outside the top range

=================

Once price broke out..., to the down side of this range - the bottom of the range became R

Then price made a DB - so now you have S (the DB)..., and R (the bottom of the range) - essentially another range - but - a small one.., and...

Why did price stop going down after the RBO down - we don't know...,

What we do know - this is a warning flag

So until PA shows signs of resuming the down move - we sit on hands for any shorts

================

So..., price then pulls back hard - to almost the top of the aforementioned range - but not quite

==============


I won't not woulda..., coulda..., shoulda this - that is useless


What I will say...,

Price made a range

The stops for your shorts were inside this range - not outside

Price BO down out of this range - but then put in a DB - and created another.., tighter range - a warning

You shorted this


Think of yourself as ping pong ball getting bounced around

Is it wrong entering in the middle of the bar?

Depends

If you're trading momo - no

If you're trading straight up PA within context - then more than likely yes

Instead trade referencing the closing of a given bar

(1) I thought I was following a method, identifying my signal?

(2) I planned each trade and each plan got stopped out.

(3) Emotions weren't over radar until after the stop out on trade 4 at 1055.

(1) You either were..., or were not following you method

If you thought you were - then you were not

(2) Sure doesn't look like it

(3) Fair enough





See if this attachment makes sense

RN

 

[Turveyd]

He traded like a spastic spider monkey today - and you're suggesting he drop down to an even a faster TF

I do not agree

Obviously it up to JS to decide


RN

Easier to see the direction, doubt he is trading the TF anyway he might as well just have the price line moving on a black screen.