Jasper's Last Stand
- Thread starter jasper6
- Start date
I have the same problem you do. I took mine off at 788.5 and I'm lightly kicking myself since it went to 791 (so far). Of course if we reverse, I'll likely get short about where I took it off so it would have been a wash...
I trade 2 lots frequently. Build a log of the maximum gain all your entries could have achieved (go back through past days charts or just compile going forward). Then you can determine what the average max. gain is and set your target for 1 lot near that level for every trade you enter. For the other lot, just ride it until you get a volatility flip. The stop for both lots can be the volatility stop line.
I have been having the same issue where I cut out of a nice trend early. I only scalped just over a point so I am worse than you guys this morning. One thing that I am working on using are price channels and moving averages to create a trailing stop. If I paid attention to them this morning instead of getting worried that I was going to give it all back I would have stayed in until 789 or so 
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Another thing I am trying is to take off most of my contracts at a predetermined point and let the rest run with my entry as my stop or just below it. I would still take some profit but stay in the long trend with some contracts as well.
Anyway, still toying with different ways to exit better to stay in these nice long days instread of taking a small piece out of the middle.
.Another thing I am trying is to take off most of my contracts at a predetermined point and let the rest run with my entry as my stop or just below it. I would still take some profit but stay in the long trend with some contracts as well.
Anyway, still toying with different ways to exit better to stay in these nice long days instread of taking a small piece out of the middle.
Glad I'm not alone with my exit problem. I think it comes from all the times I have seen a position go a little my way and I held for the bigger move only to get stopped out. Then I feel like a moron for not taking the point or whatever off the table.
Thanks for the thoughts on multiple contracts and exits. I'll look into that and check out the thread.
Thanks for the thoughts on multiple contracts and exits. I'll look into that and check out the thread.
This is exactly why I take most, if not all, of my contracts out at a specified profit target and then look for a possible re-entry. You are not going to catch the big wave all the time, but psychologically for me, it's much easier to take a trade and exit and then look for a re-entry later.
Another problem I have is getting ahead in the morning and then not wanting to take any more risk that day. Mainly I don't want to feel like a moron by turning a winning day into a losing one. Obviously I miss a lot of opportunities this way. I do find, though, that I trade best the first two hours of the day and I get "tricked" a lot more often in the PM. I also find my best days are usually ones with just a single trade. My worst days, and deepest holes, have 8-10 trades. Probably too much trying to get back to even and the loss of control that goes with that.
I do the same too when I make a nice hit in the morning just after the opening. I often am hesitant to go back in and give it all back. It is probably a confidence issue since if you are 100% confidence in your approach then you would only go back in on strong signals and make more money over the long run (i.e. some days you wold give back profits and most days you would add to profits.)
It makes sense but it is still hard to implement. However, I am more comfortable taking the rest of the day off if I hit it nicely in the morning. What I do is I watch the charts and make notations of when I would enter a position or not and then watch it in real time. So even though I do not go back in with real money, I am still studying the chart and working on my entries and exits. Some of these paper trades are profitable meaning I would have made more money and some turn against me meaning I would have lost (not necessarily 1:1 of course). But even though I am just doing it mentally, the exercise still helps me work on my entries and exits while preserving my day's profits.
Over time, the more you do that, the more confidence you will have in your approach and then you WILL start adding more positions in the afternoon or throughout the day and should still see net positive days. I do not mind sitting out at times as it is teaching me some discipline ( too much overtrading in the past).
So I no longer cringe when I see great entries in the PM after I made some money in the morning. I know that if I keep studying them and keep gaining consistency then I will start taking those other entries and overall hopefully raise my net winnings.
EDIT: For example I missed an entry now on the er2 breakout lower but that is ok since it is easier to study it with no cash in lol. It would have rattled me a bit as it would have moved a point against me before moving lower so I prefer seeing it now than jumping in on it and sweating it out.... so even if you decide not to trade anymore for the day, it does not mean the work is done. I still study the charts.
It makes sense but it is still hard to implement. However, I am more comfortable taking the rest of the day off if I hit it nicely in the morning. What I do is I watch the charts and make notations of when I would enter a position or not and then watch it in real time. So even though I do not go back in with real money, I am still studying the chart and working on my entries and exits. Some of these paper trades are profitable meaning I would have made more money and some turn against me meaning I would have lost (not necessarily 1:1 of course). But even though I am just doing it mentally, the exercise still helps me work on my entries and exits while preserving my day's profits.
Over time, the more you do that, the more confidence you will have in your approach and then you WILL start adding more positions in the afternoon or throughout the day and should still see net positive days. I do not mind sitting out at times as it is teaching me some discipline ( too much overtrading in the past).
So I no longer cringe when I see great entries in the PM after I made some money in the morning. I know that if I keep studying them and keep gaining consistency then I will start taking those other entries and overall hopefully raise my net winnings.
EDIT: For example I missed an entry now on the er2 breakout lower but that is ok since it is easier to study it with no cash in lol. It would have rattled me a bit as it would have moved a point against me before moving lower so I prefer seeing it now than jumping in on it and sweating it out.... so even if you decide not to trade anymore for the day, it does not mean the work is done. I still study the charts.
I have this same exact problem. Even though I cut my profits short, I'm also preserving capital by taking the money off the table. But I went one step further, and now on a lot of my trades, I dont place stops. It hasn't been that big a problem yet, and whether or not it will ever be is yet to be seen.
I dont know how futures work, but if you walk away from the computer, sometimes that helps.
cm69
Cash - that is a slippery slope my friend in my opinion. Trading without a hard stop is asking for a swift kick in the butt real quick. And trading w/o hard stops in futures could be account suicide since 1 bad trade can wipe you out.