Just another journal

+$20

1st trade short from 975, met strong support and exited too late, +2.25.

2nd trade is a mistake, shorting despite strong support, -1. 3rd trade is also a mistake, going on a low probability long, -0.5.
 
Have been reading some of the other journals for a while and reading yours without replies made me finally register.

FWIW, i am not sure who you are trading with but if your commissions are not too high, it may be better to trade SPY instead of the ES. WIth one ES being the equivalent of 500 shares SPY, you would have the ability to pick up smaller positions and scale in and out so it may be easier to hold some for the larger moves until you see a reversal(like in your July 15 entry). if you are already used to the moves of ES, no worries as their undulations are identical.

Also, you might check out NoDoji's journal as she and quite a few others are throwing out trading gems and tiny niblets at least every other page.

Good luck and keep on, keeping on:D
 
Thanks for taking the time to register and reply, Myshkin, I appreciate your encouragement.

I do think scaling out is a good idea, although the brokerage I use for ETFs is rather expensive if I were to trade a size of 20-50 intraday. Scaling out would be a good option to have, if eventually this works out and I add funds to the account.

Nodoji's journal is interesting indeed and one of the first threads I read whenever I log in to ET, and will continue to do so.
 
The past two weeks have been a torrid time. I've been thinking about what went wrong, and I still am.

Some things changed in my trading mentality during this time, and perhaps the main reason for this is because I have made some cash elsewhere. Somehow, when you know the bills will get paid, it becomes a different ball game altogether.

When your survival is no longer under threat, and you are no longer trading with a dwindling bank account, you start taking the wild shots instead of the bread-and-butter shots.

I should trade under more pressure. I think I was way too relaxed and gave myself too little pressure. I allowed myself to break all the rules. I felt I could afford to lose some and no wonder it turned out that way!
__________________________________________________________

Every trading session, I shall start by reading these points.
1) Shut down rule. The maximum day loss is non-negotiable. I shall shut down trading software immediately when day loss limit is reached, and take a shower or go for a walk.

2) Apply the filter. Before the bell, I shall clearly mark the area on the chart where trades are not allowed. It is ok not to trade. Most of the mistakes happened in this area. More trouble than it's worth. Trades in this area are not allowed!

3) Get angry. Get worried. The comfort zone puts you in a slow, sloppy state of mind, vulnerable to losses. It is simply not true that I can afford to lose.
__________________________________________________________

Summary of past two weeks:
Total no. of trades = 14
Wins = 2, +3.25
Losses = 12, -11 or -0.9 per loss
Breakevens = 0
Mistakes = Lost count

Total points gained = -7.75
Comms = -1.75
Net = -9.5

Week 1: +1.5 (+$75)
Week 2: +5.5 (+$275)
Week 3: -2 (-$100)
Week 4: -7.5 (-$375)
 
On the bright side, I think Weeks 1 & 2 prove you CAN do this!
Trading the SPY might help, for now.
I tried the ES, and deduced it doesn't work for me.
I like the way the NQ moves, and it works very well for my method and my "trading personality".
 
Quote from BlueDiamond:



Some things changed in my trading mentality during this time, and perhaps the main reason for this is because I have made some cash elsewhere. Somehow, when you know the bills will get paid, it becomes a different ball game altogether.

When your survival is no longer under threat, and you are no longer trading with a dwindling bank account, you start taking the wild shots instead of the bread-and-butter shots.

I should trade under more pressure. I think I was way too relaxed and gave myself too little pressure. I allowed myself to break all the rules. I felt I could afford to lose some and no wonder it turned out that way!
__________________________________________________________

Every trading session, I shall start by reading these points.
1) Shut down rule. The maximum day loss is non-negotiable. I shall shut down trading software immediately when day loss limit is reached, and take a shower or go for a walk.

2) Apply the filter. Before the bell, I shall clearly mark the area on the chart where trades are not allowed. It is ok not to trade. Most of the mistakes happened in this area. More trouble than it's worth. Trades in this area are not allowed!

3) Get angry. Get worried. The comfort zone puts you in a slow, sloppy state of mind, vulnerable to losses. It is simply not true that I can afford to lose.

I find the "angry or worried" of your number 3 a bit perplexing but as MacQuaide had said, whatever is a good fit for your personality. I like to be calm as it helps me see what the market is giving me more objectively. If I am too emotional about it, I tend to make poor decisions and for me, I trade much better when I am not worried about the money. However, I know a couple of very good traders that curse stocks all the time and one will occassionaly throw stuff across the room. Again, develop a trading style that fits your personality.

If you have a system, develop the discipline to stick to it as much as you can or if you are more discretionary, try to have an exit in mind before you get in to serve as a guideline of some sort.
It is probably wise to cut yourself off at a certain $ amount per day but I have been frustrated more than once by getting stopped out three times, not taking the fourth and of course, it rips in my favor and would have made up for all of the stops and then some.

If possible, I would get an account with someone with reasonable commissions so you can trade smaller size of SPY instead of ES. I guess I already said that but I started years ago trading index futures and drained my account quickly, moved to SPY, QQQQ, DIA, developed some confidence and am just now getting back into working with ES, NQ, and YM (still bugged out by the moves of ER2 turned TF).

Good luck and try to keep your account alive long enough to learn this biz enough to be consistently profitable. You are 50% right now apropos of weeks up:down so you know you can do it, just keep your losses small and your profits large:D
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