I would suppose DbPhoenix would not mind if you asked some questions in the original "If you can draw a straight line" thread. I prefer not to get PM's since most of the ones I got in the past were from dumbass trolls.
EDIT: I see that the original "If you can draw" thread is closed. Maybe you could ask the questions here in this thread. Don't forget that DbPhoenix is the best person to send your questions to. I'm just a follower. He's the master
Ok.. I will. I do hope that I am not a dumbass troll.. LOL... I have a running list in my journal of those people who are because sometimes the names are similar and I want to make sure whose posts I should read or just glance over.
1. My questions are more of a personal nature, hence why I wanted to PM you, but I certainly understand why you turned the PM off so I will ask here. Feel free to answer only some or none at all. I have already PMed dbphoenix and hence why I am working my way through the threads. I feel like I was being torn in different directions, not knowing what to focus on, and seeing your posts have inspired me. I keep watching stocks, then maybe think FOREX is a low cost way to start learning, and then I see these great threads on Futures, and so this is partly why I am torn.
First the dumbest question. I just opened up an IB account and I see you trade with IB as well. I'm in Canada and went with IB because the other broker I have up here does not have OCO orders. I had dreams of following the trading of a great thread on here by a guy named "geez" who put on trades and just walked away. He had a win rate of 50%, but used a profit:risk ratio of 2:1 so the statistics of it brought home the bacon.
Anyway, I noticed you said in one thread that you use a free platform and you get free data. I am a bit confused because IB will give you free data or charge only $10 a month if you don't do enough trades, but they also state that for CME Futures, floor based prices are $85. Does the free package included real time NQ quotes? I am currently getting a 5 or 10 minute delay which is just fine for learning, but will need real time of course for when I put money on the line. You'd be surprised how difficult this stuff is to google so when I came across your thread it really piqued my interest. My charts don't look anything like yours... are you using the IB data and order execution with another charting platform? (ie. your headers are all different and color schemes don't match, unless maybe you really personalized yours)
2. Since I am still on your posts from August/Sept 2013, this may already be answered, but were you able to quit by end of year as you wanted in your regular job?
3. Another great thread on here was from a guy named Lescor who finally sat down and figured it all out after losing for 8 years. He is doing more of an automated approach it seems, but still manages to pull in 300k to 800k a year. He does have some losing months though.. maybe 10k or 20k loss for the whole month, but then next month he may be up 50k or 60k so it doesn't worry him. He understands the nature of probability. So I wonder if you have a string of loses? I suspect that a hands on approach like watching price has a few bad trades but at the end of the day, those traders who know what they are doing end up positive. So perhaps 2 or 3 bad trades in a row might be just part of the random nature of outcomes, but if you have at least 5 or 6 trades a day then is it possible for every day to end up positive?
4. Are you still trading just the NQ and doing things as you have done them? I read db say somewhere that it gets more complicated then what is presented in the straight line threads, but if you can make $1000 a day doing what you are doing, I figure there is no need to fix something that isn't broken.
Hmmm.. I think that's it. I really kind of just wanted to talk to a someone who is real, someone who doesn't have the experience that db has, and to find out if you were having a lucky streak initially and hence if you have had to adapt in some way. Thanks for your time!