Iterative Refinement

[Spydertrader]

Quote from ljyoung:

I may be wrong if I misinterpreted what Jack said or if he misspoke and I, not knowing this, believed what he said.

I encourage you to seek to understand what The Market says. No additional tools needed. Strive to 'see' through your own eyes. No need to try to grab every single tic - just to know the right side of the market. Start with a well annotated chart, and in a relatively short period of time, you'll begin to 'see' these things in action without ever averting your eyes from the ES.

- Spydertrader

 

[Padawan]

Quote from Mr_Black:

This is one more sample. I trade GBP/USD or EUR/USD to choose the better currency pair i am looking at EUR/GBP to see which one is stronger or weaker. If i have up tape like in this sample i callibrate RTL and LTL from 1hr time frame to 15 min or 5 min to find entry point .

Thanks, Mr_Black. A few questions if you don't mind. What do you mean by "calibrate"? How does one compare the "strength" of one pair to the other? Back in Spyder's JH Futures Journal, you mentioned using a volatility indicator to replace volume based on bar range. Does that tool still assist you or have you moved on to solely making pair comparisons? Any and all assistance you can offer is most welcome and much appreciated. Apolgoies for all the questions. I love Fx, but she doesn't love me back.

In other news, glad to see you all trading well. Congratulations. Couldn't watch the market live today, but I'm excited about the replay and SIM that's about to happen on this end. Cheers!

 

[ehorn]

Quote from Spydertrader:


I recommend not trying to 'gather it all in' by adding additional tools which may or may not add value to your trading....

I've posted it before, and I'll repeat it below....

Focus on the low hanging fruit. Once you've harvested the easy to reach stuff, then, you'll find its time to move on.

- Spydertrader [/B]

I am seeing improvment and I am anxious to further my skills. Maybe too anxious, which is why I am seeking additional tools. I will dwell on your insight into Jacks long-standing approach and re-consider my need to focus on my "focus" and improved mastery of the fundementals (the low hanging fruit).

Thanks for the words of wisdom.

P.S. Thanks for the compliment too - I guess deep down, I was a bit disappointed with my execution. The trades did not look clean and tidy at all - Rather like I was scalping as opposed to smooth-flowing SCT (which I envision as the ideal). There is an undeniable simplicity and elegance in Price and Volume alone. Your words conveyed a message to me which I will focus on.

 

[cnms2]

The "bottom line" seems to be the ultimate judge of your skills, but I believe that in the actual stage of my learning it can be misleading, especially when it shows profits.

I think that it's more important that when I review my trades I find out / recall as few as possible situations when I gambled, I hoped, or I ran away scared. I am satisfied when I followed my rules.

In contract bridge it doesn't matter if you win or lose a hand, it matters how you compare with the other players that played the same hand.

In trading, most of the time I can't do this objectively, so I use two other criteria for evaluation:

- I compare the number of points I made with the high-low range for the period I traded.

- I record all my trades, making notes if for some of them I used different rules / tools, then periodically I look back comparing and averaging my results over all kind of days: trendy, range bound, high / low volatility, etc..

 

[Haroki]

Quote from FerdinandAlx:

Today I made my first trade in a Hershey stock.

To test the waters I decided to start out small. I bought 1000 EMKR @ 12.94.

I got mine late in the day, about 1 hr before close. Been lurking for several days, waiting for a change in market conditions.

12.71.

 

[ehorn]

Quote from cnms2:

The "bottom line" seems to be the ultimate judge of your skills, but I believe that in the actual stage of my learning it can be misleading, especially when it shows profits....

Thanks for your comments cnms2 - I agree with your assessment. I find it an interesting topic for discussion - measuring success in application of Jack methods.

I remember Jack writing something about the expected ROE in applying SCT - (which I read to mean one who is understanding and properly applying the principles at each varying level(s)) can expect 50% as beginner, intermediate 75%, and expert >=100% ROE daily. Funny how when I first read that I remember being floored!

Ultimately, I see measuring success as "knowing you know". In other words, asking myself questions like:

How well did I perform the MADA, log, debrief?
How much of the day (if any) was I "see" ing?
How much of the day was I was front-running?
How much of the day was I anticipating vs. reacting?
What did I learn (right and/or wrong)?
What am I lacking (appropriate self-assessment)?

It has been my intention to focus on these measures - with the expectation that the bottom line becomes a natural and ever-expanding product.

P.S. I love the game of golf. I typically play the game much better when I have very few swing thoughts and I am calm and at peace (kinda to the point where I don't care so much about the result as much as the love of the game (or the journey as Spyder calls it). I focus on executing each shot to the best of my ability and let the scorecard take care of itself.

I can really draw alot of parallels between the game of golf and trading.

 

[TIKITRADER]

Quote from Pr0crast:

I believe for me this is an issue of simming vs. live... I didn't have this problem on the sim. Now, I'm quicker to bank profits, but I know that after I get more live experience under my belt, it will be much easier to keep these hold decisions objective.

When I did "get back in," I managed to pick the VERY BOTTOM TICK of a 7 point bar that then retraced intrabar 3 points before continuing. When I was 2 points in the black I had had enough and decided to call it a day at +5.

First of all 5 ES points live, that is awesome!
I have found that I have experienced a shift in live vs. sim, at least for myself, that has happened.

I feel it is part of the learning curve. A year of growing has passed, and a beginning has started. I feel I have gained a solid understanding of the method.
In no way does that mean I can perform a solid execution of the method as an SCT expert.
As in any field, it will take years of work to advance to a level of expertise.

The part that is rewarding is feeling really good about having understood the trades that were taken.

A huge part of learning is who I am when faced with fear and greed.
These emotions are very real. It is being true to the method and honest to myself, that is part of my growing as a student of SCT.
Greed . . . there is a little sting when holding a wide range 5 minute bar and it starts to pullback.
Fear . . . goes hand in hand with greed.
That is where being true to the method comes in, and fear and greed must be sidelined.

Time and experience toward this method, is gold.

Congratulations to all the very successful trades that have been posted, excellent work.

 

[cnms2]

One cure for those (fear & greed) is reducing your "bet" size to the level where they (almost) disappear, then let compounding play its trick. If 1 contract is still too high, trade SPY, although your costs will be a little higher.

Quote from TIKITRADER:

... A huge part of learning is who I am when faced with fear and greed. ...

 

[guavaman]

Quote from TIKITRADER:

A huge part of learning is who I am when faced with fear and greed.
These emotions are very real. It is being true to the method and honest to myself, that is part of my growing

I am still on the simulator. Having blown through two accounts to date (pre JHM) I do not see the logic in going live until I have internalized this method to a sufficient degree and then can execute it with consistent success. This does not mean to be consistently profitable. This means to be able to see the right side of the market either when it is happening or before hand, execute a trade at optimal (or near optimal) points and then follow the precepts of the method to a proper exit.

Of late I have begun to be profitable on a more consistent basis. However, this is not the same as being consistently profitable as a result of my ability to consistently see the right side of the market, execute and manage the trade in strict accordance with the method.

Currently I find myself fighting the old habit of scalping even on a simulator. I find it very fine line between holding a trade until the predetermined parameter's have been met and sitting on my arse while all the profit earned has disappeared and I am under water. Either I am committed to be patient for the trade to develop or I am trigger happy to exit at the first signs of a retrace. I am not saying that these are the only two scenarios, but it seems more times than not that is the case because in both cases when I resolve to do either; I am not entirely focused on what the market is saying but instead I am looking for supporting info to buttress the case for my trading desires (be patient and hold or protect points).

Today I was profitable, but like most days like this; I take little satisfaction because I really didn't follow the method once a trade had been taken. I am too focused on protecting gains because for whatever the real reason(s) when I am not, I end the day at a loss and feel like dog excrement because I wasted another chance to better myself and improve my skills as a trader of JHM.

 

[nkhoi]

Quote from guavaman:

... I find it very fine line between holding a trade until the predetermined parameter's have been met and sitting on my arse while all the profit earned has disappeared and I am under water...

turn off the P/L display or put a tape on it.