nimble in baseball a single is a one base hit and a homerun is over the fence and you run around the 3 bases and back to home plate,hence hitting a single or hitting it over the fenceQuote from nimble:
Woke up very early in the morning to sell the gap down.
System said signal was late, and I decided to wait for next signal. It turned out short at open and out in an hour would have been a great trade. Missing this trade was a real shame because it was a high odds trade and I would have played many contracts (it is one week's worth of normal trading
I waited and waited and finally 3 hours later, the second signal came and I took it. It was good trade nevertheless, but back to ordinary small size.
In retrospect, I could have played the trade late, with reduced contracts.
Have a good weekend.
Maintaining discipline
- Thread starter nimble
- Start date
Shorted at open, closed before report. That left 1/2 profit on table. It was a late signal, so I should not have done the trade. But I had a very strong feeling we are going to flush so in some sense, this was a gamble. And I should have gambled all the way with the trailing stop.
Bought an hour later. Sold at gap fill, left 1/2 profit on table.
Today trailing stops would have worked very well. I need to start paying attention to "taking profit too early". Breaking this rule is becoming quite a costly practice, making the difference between a great day to a good day.
Done for today, even though very tempted for another long.
Bought an hour later. Sold at gap fill, left 1/2 profit on table.
Today trailing stops would have worked very well. I need to start paying attention to "taking profit too early". Breaking this rule is becoming quite a costly practice, making the difference between a great day to a good day.
Done for today, even though very tempted for another long.
Missed first signal of the day because I decided to wake up late.
Took the second signal, and closed out for very small profit. Did not "take profit" and left 2/3 profit on the table.
The system's rule is to trail stop, but I think I need to experiment a little on which days I should take profit and which days I should trail.
The gambler in me says, lets have some fun with Fed ho hum. The other says "Have you not learn your lesson?"
Right now, the decision is to "leave it alone". I will probably spend the next 1.5 hours pacing back and forth Om....
Took the second signal, and closed out for very small profit. Did not "take profit" and left 2/3 profit on the table.
The system's rule is to trail stop, but I think I need to experiment a little on which days I should take profit and which days I should trail.
The gambler in me says, lets have some fun with Fed ho hum. The other says "Have you not learn your lesson?"
Right now, the decision is to "leave it alone". I will probably spend the next 1.5 hours pacing back and forth
Om....Messy trading today. First of all, system says this was a low odds day so I should not have traded. But the gap down made me think we will have more to go.
Waited for 45 minutes for first short. Earned a few points with small size.
Then my hands got itchy and I went long because my second day trade system had a long signal. Partly, I thought we had gone too low too fast since yesterday's high so I had a long bias after the first flush.
Then the second short signal from main system, and because I was long I hesitated. I exited the long with a loss and entered the short late.
Then we bounced. Got stopped out of the short.
I entered long again and this time with no signal what so ever (I need lunch by now), and of course, stopped out.
The 2, 3, 4 trade erased all of my good profits from first trade and took me to a loss for the day.
Then came the short signal from main system in the last 1/2 hour. I again broke a rule and took the short (I am not suppose to trade after bond close).
After all the action for the day. I have a grand total of 2 ES points profit for the day. The market moved 20 odd points since open my dear...
Waited for 45 minutes for first short. Earned a few points with small size.
Then my hands got itchy and I went long because my second day trade system had a long signal. Partly, I thought we had gone too low too fast since yesterday's high so I had a long bias after the first flush.
Then the second short signal from main system, and because I was long I hesitated. I exited the long with a loss and entered the short late.
Then we bounced. Got stopped out of the short.
I entered long again and this time with no signal what so ever (I need lunch by now), and of course, stopped out.
The 2, 3, 4 trade erased all of my good profits from first trade and took me to a loss for the day.
Then came the short signal from main system in the last 1/2 hour. I again broke a rule and took the short (I am not suppose to trade after bond close).
After all the action for the day. I have a grand total of 2 ES points profit for the day. The market moved 20 odd points since open my dear...
A vivid description of how to screw up what was a very easy trend down day... (in hind sight)
I have done much worse many times, ending a day like this with a huge loss averaging down and doing plenty of unplanned trades. So if there's any consolation for myself, this is an improvement.
The funny(and I think good) thing is right now I don't feel anxious or mad, I feeling pretty neutral: "I made 3 mistake plays today, and missed a good day. I will have more chances other days." Perhaps I wouldn't be so relaxed if I had incurred a big loss for the day.
Lets hope tomorrow morning, I can keep focused on tomorrow's signals, and learned from today's mess.
I have done much worse many times, ending a day like this with a huge loss averaging down and doing plenty of unplanned trades. So if there's any consolation for myself, this is an improvement.
The funny(and I think good) thing is right now I don't feel anxious or mad, I feeling pretty neutral: "I made 3 mistake plays today, and missed a good day. I will have more chances other days." Perhaps I wouldn't be so relaxed if I had incurred a big loss for the day.
Lets hope tomorrow morning, I can keep focused on tomorrow's signals, and learned from today's mess.
nimble,
Actually today was a tough day for day trading: The gap down created hope of a rebound, as you can see from the first few minutes... the down trend was a slow and hesitant one, it did not give too much confidence to sellers, but it was surely a slow and painful death for buyers who jumped in at market open... the breakups were tempting but did not go far, entering them late would only be stopped out...
Dow down 350, sounds like a god-sent gift, but the reality was very different, only some day traders know it.
By the way, I like your posts very much.
3 trades today. Today is a relatively high odds day. So larger than usual size.
First short one stopped out at small loss. If I had broken rule and taken profit I would have had quite a good few points.
Second short. A few points, full size. I got greedy so I loosened my trailing stop, and took 1 point less profit.
Third short, I didn't expect it so early so I left my desk. Came back, and still decided to go in late with only half size. Got a few points. This trade I tried very hard to follow system's trailing stop and not take profit. Left 1/3 profit on table.
Was very tempted to short again betting on a last hour plunge, but decided to keep the happy day intact.
First short one stopped out at small loss. If I had broken rule and taken profit I would have had quite a good few points.
Second short. A few points, full size. I got greedy so I loosened my trailing stop, and took 1 point less profit.
Third short, I didn't expect it so early so I left my desk. Came back, and still decided to go in late with only half size. Got a few points. This trade I tried very hard to follow system's trailing stop and not take profit. Left 1/3 profit on table.
Was very tempted to short again betting on a last hour plunge, but decided to keep the happy day intact.
Hi 4D,
I am glad you read my journal and actually enjoys it
I do often think about my journal these days when I make trades, like "This is going to suck if I write this on my journal." That thought sometimes stop me from doing something unplanned.You are right. Yesterday Thursday was not easy. At the beginning of the day. Every lower lower is only one point lower, and we bounced relatively big.
If I had shorted high I would have had more confident, except that's not how I trade usually. Shorting lows got me scared because this was a low odd day based on my main system.
I think yesterday was the first time I mentioned my second system. I have found that the second system did pretty well on days when the main system has low odds. I have traded these two systems together about a month now, and yesterday was one of the few days I got myself confused. Usually, I trade one system on one day, and use the other one as confirmation. I don't go switching back and forth like a headless chicken like yesterday.
It all comes down to "how clear I was in my execution". Regardless of the market, yesterday I was not clear headed. Why? I think a small part could still be because I missed shorting the Fed bounce (even though it was a decision). But mainly, I think it is simply due to lack of sleep. End of week, especially Fridays are not my strong days (it is very appearent in my P/L)
Have a good weekend
PS. In case you find useful, not all gaps should be faded. I think this person has good data on gaps.
http://www.masterthegap.com/
Yesterday was not a gap to be faded.
Cheers,
Nimble