Maintaining Self Discipline

I'm wondering if the trading I did yesterday had a part in losing self-control today. Yesterday I took a lot of trades, not to get winners, but working on the mechanics of how to get in and move to BE...

Did that undo the habit I've been trying to form for selective trading only?

Something to think about.
 
studentofthemarkets said:
I just don't like buying at the very highs. Price will sometimes take a little breather and that's where I try to get in, but still keeping with the trend direction.
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If you have a system that's momentum based than your not flying blind, but If you just use chart price plots than you can just play the long or short side by using previous lows or highs.
 
Zodiac4u said:
If you have a system that's momentum based than your not flying blind, but If you just use chart price plots than you can just play the long or short side by using previous lows or highs.
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I like my system. I'm starting to wonder if some of my problems are because the NQ is so volatile that I am not comfortable trading it. It's nice when I catch the momentum, but I have to be very exact to get it to work with a small stop loss, like I prefer.

I'm actually looking at YM charts right now. There are reasons I chose the NQ over the YM to trade. The candles are much more precise with NQ, and YM is more random. NQ trends nicer and farther. YM ranges more. But perhaps the YM fits me better. I wanted to be in the NQ partly to eventually trade trends, but after today, I'm not so sure I want to be a trend trader. It's hard to find right when they happen, and I might always be missing out, like today, almost got it, but the break didn't happen until after I had to quit for the day. It could be that the YM might be easier to do scalping on....like 3 to 15 min trades....maybe even longer, but if I set my goal to being a consistent scalper, and sometimes catching a trend, the YM might be better. Maybe I'm just dreaming again. However, it's what I'm looking into right now. Will likely trade the YM the rest of the week and see how it goes.
 
studentofthemarkets said:
I'm wondering if the trading I did yesterday had a part in losing self-control today. Yesterday I took a lot of trades, not to get winners, but working on the mechanics of how to get in and move to BE...

Did that undo the habit I've been trying to form for selective trading only?

Something to think about.
More...

Every day will be different, the vehicle being traded is an extension of the mind of the traders who trade it, when understanding patterns, you just trade patterns, when understand dips, you just buy dips, when understanding tops, you just sell tops, but once you go beyond the pattern, you will succumb to the whims of the traders who chase entrees.
 
Zodiac4u said:
Every day will be different, the vehicle being traded is an extension of the mind of the traders who trade it, when understanding patterns, you just trade patterns, when understand dips, you just buy dips, when understanding tops, you just sell tops, but once you go beyond the pattern, you will succumb to the whims of the traders who chase entrees.
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Thanks!
 
studentofthemarkets said:
I like my system. I'm starting to wonder if some of my problems are because the NQ is so volatile that I am not comfortable trading it. It's nice when I catch the momentum, but I have to be very exact to get it to work with a small stop loss, like I prefer.

I'm actually looking at YM charts right now. There are reasons I chose the NQ over the YM to trade. The candles are much more precise with NQ, and YM is more random. NQ trends nicer and farther. YM ranges more. But perhaps the YM fits me better. I wanted to be in the NQ partly to eventually trade trends, but after today, I'm not so sure I want to be a trend trader. It's hard to find right when they happen, and I might always be missing out, like today, almost got it, but the break didn't happen until after I had to quit for the day. It could be that the YM might be easier to do scalping on....like 3 to 15 min trades....maybe even longer, but if I set my goal to being a consistent scalper, and sometimes catching a trend, the YM might be better. Maybe I'm just dreaming again. However, it's what I'm looking into right now. Will likely trade the YM the rest of the week and see how it goes.
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One of the weird phenomena's of learning to trade, you end up learning about yourself, and to succeed as a trader you have to get past yourself, get past those quirks that are holding you back, don't narrow your point of view, expand your point of view and stay away from comfortable, there is nothing comfortable about being successful as a trader. That comfort is what keeps us from pressing the trigger at the right time.
 
studentofthemarkets said:
I like my system. I'm starting to wonder if some of my problems are because the NQ is so volatile that I am not comfortable trading it. It's nice when I catch the momentum, but I have to be very exact to get it to work with a small stop loss, like I prefer.

I'm actually looking at YM charts right now. There are reasons I chose the NQ over the YM to trade. The candles are much more precise with NQ, and YM is more random. NQ trends nicer and farther. YM ranges more. But perhaps the YM fits me better. I wanted to be in the NQ partly to eventually trade trends, but after today, I'm not so sure I want to be a trend trader. It's hard to find right when they happen, and I might always be missing out, like today, almost got it, but the break didn't happen until after I had to quit for the day. It could be that the YM might be easier to do scalping on....like 3 to 15 min trades....maybe even longer, but if I set my goal to being a consistent scalper, and sometimes catching a trend, the YM might be better. Maybe I'm just dreaming again. However, it's what I'm looking into right now. Will likely trade the YM the rest of the week and see how it goes.
More...

Indexes can lead or lag, Its all about their stock earnings. I agree that sometimes a personality will like the price flow of one vehicle over another. You have to find what works for you, often times people will try someone else's style, that style may not be the right fit, trading is personality based, what works for one, may not work for another.
 
Deciding against the YM because it's less structured than the NQ. I wouldn't really mind having a larger stop loss on the NQ if I felt confident that I was going to get trades that justify having a larger stop loss. For now, though, I plan to try the premarket NQ as well as the RTH and see how it goes.

Also, today's losses were completely a result of a lack of self control. Even the first RTH trade today was not one of my set ups. Even though I was trying to trading according to my set ups, and there are certain rules I follow for them, there aren't that many of them that happen throughout the day, and so I guess I began trading according to what I thought the market would do.

I keep making the same mistakes over and over.
 
Actually, after comparing the structure of the premarket NQ with the RTH YM, I think the YM looks like my set ups are easier to read on it. The structure isn't as neat as the NQ, but it does have patterns that I'm looking for, and it has less volatility than the NQ. So, I might begin trading the YM after all.
 
studentofthemarkets said:
Actually, after comparing the structure of the premarket NQ with the RTH YM, I think the YM looks like my set ups are easier to read on it. The structure isn't as neat as the NQ, but it does have patterns that I'm looking for, and it has less volatility than the NQ. So, I might begin trading the YM after all.
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Not sure what you mean by structure?
But I do like the NAZ with the Heikin-Ashi 10mn chart, put on your V-wap and see that green candles when it closes firm above the V-Wap.
 
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