I day trade ES for a living, and am living proof that it is possible to make weekly income in this game. For me, 2500 ticks is the sweet spot because most of my entries are around the open.
In the past I would do something similar to you, after a successful 8 tick scalp would turn it off for the day. As soon as the daily profit target was hit, I'd be done. Of course there were days when every single entry would have been profitable... however there were also plenty of days where stopping after the first win preserved the winning day stopping it from turning into a losing day.
Over the years, the number 1 thing that has helped me with only taking perfect entries has been switching trading to a server. Personally I use NinjaTrader, but it works with any trading software.
I have my NT charts running on a VPS, and have coded my entry rules to send my phone an alert when the chart is beginning to form a possible entry. Then I remotely login to the server from my phone to monitor the chart formation manually.
With trading on a VPS, I no longer miss perfect entries. But the most important part is that I no longer have to sit in front of the computer all day. We all know staring at a chart all day is extremely draining (especially if you're not making money).
Ideally a better programmer would automate the entries and run that on the VPS. But I found fully automating entries very difficult. Even though the entries are rules based, there is still a discretionary element which I cannot seem to code, at least not in live trading/back tests. Perhaps the discretionary element is my edge.
Would highly recommend checking out https://www.ninjamobiletrader.com/
I'm running on their lowest tier 4 GB RAM server, and it is perfect for day trading the ES. From market open for the first 30 minutes I connect to the server using my home computer for maximum focus. Then after that I shutdown my home computer while NinjaTrader is still running on the server and I've got a custom indicator that sends me alerts when the chart is beginning to form for my entry rules. I'll run errands during the day, and enjoy the day, but if I get a perfect trade alert I easily pull up the server on my phone and place the Limit order with the attached ATM strategy using my phone.
Now that the entry rules are running on the server, I've thought about expanding to multiple instruments in the same way, and will probably upgrade to the 12GB RAM server for higher performance.
As you said, if your main problem is fear from losing trades, the problem might be with the discretionary component to your entry rules. You fear that it worked for the first winning trade, but sitting at your computer all day is exhausting and makes sticking to your rules difficult for replicating it throughout the day. Give https://www.ninjamobiletrader.com/ a shot, you won't need to sit at your computer all day. They've been very reliable for my day trading, and it's a Windows Server so you can install any software you like without limitation, not just NinjaTrader.
In the past I would do something similar to you, after a successful 8 tick scalp would turn it off for the day. As soon as the daily profit target was hit, I'd be done. Of course there were days when every single entry would have been profitable... however there were also plenty of days where stopping after the first win preserved the winning day stopping it from turning into a losing day.
Over the years, the number 1 thing that has helped me with only taking perfect entries has been switching trading to a server. Personally I use NinjaTrader, but it works with any trading software.
I have my NT charts running on a VPS, and have coded my entry rules to send my phone an alert when the chart is beginning to form a possible entry. Then I remotely login to the server from my phone to monitor the chart formation manually.
With trading on a VPS, I no longer miss perfect entries. But the most important part is that I no longer have to sit in front of the computer all day. We all know staring at a chart all day is extremely draining (especially if you're not making money).
Ideally a better programmer would automate the entries and run that on the VPS. But I found fully automating entries very difficult. Even though the entries are rules based, there is still a discretionary element which I cannot seem to code, at least not in live trading/back tests. Perhaps the discretionary element is my edge.
Would highly recommend checking out https://www.ninjamobiletrader.com/
I'm running on their lowest tier 4 GB RAM server, and it is perfect for day trading the ES. From market open for the first 30 minutes I connect to the server using my home computer for maximum focus. Then after that I shutdown my home computer while NinjaTrader is still running on the server and I've got a custom indicator that sends me alerts when the chart is beginning to form for my entry rules. I'll run errands during the day, and enjoy the day, but if I get a perfect trade alert I easily pull up the server on my phone and place the Limit order with the attached ATM strategy using my phone.
Now that the entry rules are running on the server, I've thought about expanding to multiple instruments in the same way, and will probably upgrade to the 12GB RAM server for higher performance.
As you said, if your main problem is fear from losing trades, the problem might be with the discretionary component to your entry rules. You fear that it worked for the first winning trade, but sitting at your computer all day is exhausting and makes sticking to your rules difficult for replicating it throughout the day. Give https://www.ninjamobiletrader.com/ a shot, you won't need to sit at your computer all day. They've been very reliable for my day trading, and it's a Windows Server so you can install any software you like without limitation, not just NinjaTrader.
Hello everyone!
I have been in this game for over 13 years now. Ever since I graduated high school I was faced with the reality of the biggest crash since 1929, the 2008 crash. I was fearful and upset that it was just my luck to enter the real world at the worst possible time. However I was curious as to how it happened and how I could have seen it coming....Ever since then, I got hooked into the game knowing that I can prevent myself from being a sheep and also profit from it.
Long story short- I've had a roller-coaster equity curve this entire time. I've had success only to be knocked down quickly. Long story short, the problem was that I did not respect risk management nor aware of it even. I've since been more focused on risk management, discipline, etc....and now would like to publicly journal a challenge for myself..
The balance on my futures account as of the close 2.1.2021 is $1,593.44
The goal is to consistently make a few ticks a day until I get to 5k, where I will then start increasing size.
Right now my main product of focus is the ES on 1min. I have an auto liquidation set to 30%. (However thinking of increasing the % a little bit).
Right now the main problem I am having is that if I am green for the day, I don't take another trade for the "fear" of giving back all my profit for the day and going red. However today, due to this "fear" - I missed 2 entries that would have been about 8 points minimum. Every trade should be independent of itself and it is something I am trying to work on.
P.S. If anyone can help me with this Excel file, it would be greatly appreciated. I need to change the gain/loss but it's not calculating correctly. I am an excel noob so please forgive me
