jasinhbca's quest for discipline, knowledge & profits

[jokepie]

Quote from jas_in_hbca:

dang. -2.00 points

mistakes: Not paying enough attention to higher TF, hesitiating at numbers, trading scared.

Mostly decent entries but mismanaged.

I really want to keep the momentum going from last week.

Try this one more time

FLAT CABLE = No action i.e if in a trade do nothing, do not add/close or open new positions

Cable at almost 45 deg. = Enter fear lessly, ignore numbers, add if follow through while/ only if PnL is positive.

Close ONLY when Cable reverses by almost 180 deg.

Apologies for repeating this all again.

GL

 

[jokepie]

Also, higher TF is nice to have but keep it 3/4 time the trading time frame not more or less than that.
But again you have to find your sweet spot.

 

[tihfa]

Quote from jas_in_hbca:

dang. -2.00 points

mistakes: Not paying enough attention to higher TF, hesitiating at numbers, trading scared.

Mostly decent entries but mismanaged.

I really want to keep the momentum going from last week.

fwiw...just add 20, 60, 100 EMAs with 60 and 100 being the higher timeframe trend and then btw 20 and 60 use that as a pullback or congestion breakout area...use 10ema as a trailing stop once the price unfolds in direction of primary 60,100 trend

 

[jas_in_hbca]

thanks JP. Trading scared today. After that last trade i threw in the towel on the day. I agree, 45 degree = strong trend and almost any entry will work. I've got notes and examples on this in my notebook.

180 reversal seems like it might be a little late for my style but i'll keep an eye on it.

Believe it or not i feel like a much better trader than last year. I, mostly, see things better and trade calmer. Now to only back it up w/ positive results.

Thank you !

Quote from jokepie:

Try this one more time

FLAT CABLE = No action i.e if in a trade do nothing, do not add/close or open new positions

Cable at almost 45 deg. = Enter fear lessly, ignore numbers, add if follow through while/ only if PnL is positive.

Close ONLY when Cable reverses by almost 180 deg.

Apologies for repeating this all again.

GL

 

[jas_in_hbca]

Thanks tihfa !

I'll take a look at that.

Quote from tihfa:

fwiw...just add 20, 60, 100 EMAs with 60 and 100 being the higher timeframe trend and then btw 20 and 60 use that as a pullback or congestion breakout area...use 10ema as a trailing stop once the price unfolds in direction of primary 60,100 trend

 

[jas_in_hbca]

Well, i sound like a broken record. Or is the phrase nowadays a broken ipod ?

Trading scared again. Plus I get down a few points then start looking to just book any profit. Ended up missing a nice run because of that today. Then i see how close i was to catching the trades i start overtrading . Traded way too much today in chop.

14 trades. - 11.25 pts

I'm finally starting to really understand the importance of psychology. The edge in my trading , if there is going to be one, is not simply the rules to enter and exit but the combination of system and ability to follow it. I've been spending most of my time studying price action thinking that if i understand it just a little better trading will be easy and profitable. The thing is, i think i know what i should be doing - i just need to do it. Trading is simple but not easy, right ?

At the same time the question i ask myself is am i really making progress or am i just fooling myself by believing i am ? (I'm sure there are a few ET'ers that have an opinion on that.)

It's probably a good time for me to take another break from posting for awhile. The repetition of me pounding my head against the wall is not exactly where I intended this journal to go.

Hopefully i'll be back soon with postitve updates.

Last chart for awhile.

 

[jas_in_hbca]

Quick update. Still plugging along. +15.75 NQ points this week and profitable 4 of 5 days. I've had a few weeks like that and a few where i just blow up and lose 20 NQ pts in a day.

I've finally come to the conclusion and belief that if i am rested, focused and calm then i can make money nearly every day. It's the days when i force and overtrade that are causing the avoidable and large losses.

Now, this week, throughout my trading day I focus on how i'm feeling; frustrated, tired, angry, focused etc. If i'm frustrated , for example, then i take a break and question myself as to why and try to work through it. Basically acknowleding the feelings, try to return to a calm focused state and caution myself to be patient and wait for set ups. Most days i'm calm and focused through out the day with out any issues. I believe if i continue to do this i 'll see managable losing days and more profitable days.

Once i get a bit more consistency then i'll increase to 2 contracts and scale out of one at + 4 points. Based on reviewing my results i generally end up with more profits over what i'm doing now. So even though my losses are twice as big on losing trades it's more than made up for by locking in some 4 point gains. This week that strategy would have resulted in + 31.25 pts. I haven't switched to doing this yet because the bad weeks would have turned in to absolutely horrible weeks. Scaling up is my incentive to staying calm, focused and consistent.

I've started meditating again. I think it helps.

Oh, the other problem i'm working on is that i become too cautious after i book , for me, decent profits. Yesterday i was up 6 pts after 2 trades and i ended up passing on other good trades. i'll figure that one out eventually.

Next week only trading a few days then leaving on vacation for a week.

 

[jas_in_hbca]

Update:

Week ending: 7/20/12 + 9.25 pts
: 7/27/12 Vacation in Oregon. 8 nights. Beautiful State.
This past week 8/3 -14.50 pts


Looks like it's going to take more than calm focus to book some profits.

My exits continue to be a problem for me. Yesterday for example 1 trade with MFE of 3 closed for a -.50 loss, another MFE of 3.75 closed -1.25, another MFE 8.50 closed at + 5.75. (That last one i can probably live with.) I do not have a set strategy about moving stops to BE. Seems pretty basic that i should have one.

In the past I've talked about trading 2 contracts and automatically exiting 1 at +4. I'm starting to realize this is not likely going to work. What i do think will work is entering with 2 contracts and exiting 1 at the first price stall or after a quick large move. So rather than a fixed 4 pt target, exit based on PA. So maybe i can lock in some of the 3 pts gains and then exit the other at worse BE or hopefully larger profits. I'm almost certain that for my style and my psychology i need to scale out of trades.

Thursday i had a nice sell entry that was + 7.50 after 1 minute so i exited to book profits. I know that a strong move like that should have continuation but i felt i've seen too many profits reverse on me. That trade was a perfect example where scaling out would have worked well. I could have easily made another 10 pts and if i was even more patient 20 more pts.

I also know about myself that i am holding some trades too long hoping for more gain so that i can make up prior losses faster. The first step in solving a problem is being aware of it. That's where i'm at on that.

Re-reading myself it sounds like I need more defined exits rules. Going forward i'll be working on that, working on continued calm, focused trading and looking to soon add another contract in order to scale out.

I have some other thoughts on the traders learning curve which i may post tomorrow.

 

[jas_in_hbca]

Week end 8/10/12 -.75 NQ pts
Last week +13.75 pts

Tried a couple trades last week entering with 2 contracts as i've talked about. It's not the magic solution to getting great exits but i still think it will offer the opportunity for better trade management by scaling out.

Here's my beliefs/thoughts on the traders learning curve:

When I started my public journal I thought there would come a time when after a period of study and screen time I would have a trading epiphany. I would overnight go from losing to consistent wins. I wanted to be able to document that a-ha moment that has eluded me for years. Now I believe there will be no magic moment of clarity. That’s O.K. My belief now, and has been for a while, is that learning to trade is a process of gradual improvement. (That is, as long as I am reviewing and making notes and not just passively watching the screen.)

A few years back I was trying to learn, for me, a difficult guitar part. (The intro to Johnny B. Goode). I‘d practice the 7 second intro very slowly at least 50+ times a day. I figured that after a week I would gradually work it up to speed and be able to play it easily. Nope. Got it right only about 60% of the time. About that time I read on a guitar website that it can take several months of practice for the brain to build the neural pathways needed to play something consistently correct. I kept practicing and gradually i got better. After a couple months I was able to play it almost every time without mistakes.

So, that’s kind of how I’ve viewed trading. There’s the time needed to learn the actual mechanics and the time needed to internalize that information. There may be physiological limitations as to how quickly one can do the latter. I don’t know if this is completely accurate but this belief does reduce my occasional frustration and gives me the patience to persevere. I’ll also add that I believe trading is more difficult to learn given the emotions involved and the uncertainty of the markets.

Maybe next year my beliefs will change but for now the path is, study and practice, study and practice, over and over again. I fully expect this will lead to continued gradual improvement and greater profits.

 

[jokepie]

There will be many A-ha moments !

Just like the guitar episode, it needs time... think of a pilot with first cert. of a single engine plane ... gotta put up hours before a Boeing 747.

I remember a quote from reminiscences of a stock operator :
"When you learn what not to do, you begin to learn what to do."

There are many jewels in that book, I recommend it for the 6th and the 7th read... can't make it clearer than this.

GL.