Making of a method

[game]

Rethinking Trade 1:

Looking at the chart again I see that this Range of mine was not really a range - at least not one warranting an early reversal try off the bounce from R.

I had drawn the horizontal line from the day's high and this caused the perception of a range.

Trades had occurred at the so called range boundary only once - at 8:31. Most of the transactions occured below - from 2842 to 2846. That was the real range.

This should have been a long on the continuation of the breakout upon retracing.

Got to be careful of lines. Look at where trades take place instead.

 

[game]

Net: 0

http://www.sierrachart.com/image.php?l=1368809996180.png


Trade 1:
Premise: Range Reversal + RET

Missed Opp 1:
Premise: Uptrend + RET

Missed Opp 2:
Premise: Reversal + RET

 

[Ghost of Cutten]

Game - how often do you trade? You may find that massively reducing your trade frequency and only waiting for your top 20% of setups will improve your P&L.

 

[game]

Quote from Ghost of Cutten:

Game - how often do you trade? You may find that massively reducing your trade frequency and only waiting for your top 20% of setups will improve your P&L.

That would be a nice place to be - knowing what constitutes the 20%. I am in the process of recognizing the universe of 100% so that I may be able to determine the 20%. No substantial data yet - just observation.

How do you determine the top 20%? I can see looking back at trade history and selecting those trades that contributed the most to profitability. Is that it? Or is there something more to it?

 

[deaddog]

Quote from game:

Net: 0

http://www.sierrachart.com/image.php?l=1368809996180.png


Trade 1:
Premise: Range Reversal + RET

Missed Opp 1:
Premise: Uptrend + RET

Missed Opp 2:
Premise: Reversal + RET

RET: what does it mean? I know it will be simple and I'll probably get a headache when I bang my forehead when you explain it.

 

[game]

Quote from deaddog:

RET: what does it mean? I know it will be simple and I'll probably get a headache when I bang my forehead when you explain it.

Oh that's just a fancy way of saying pullback. Retracement (RET).

 

[game]

Net: -2.25

http://www.sierrachart.com/image.php?l=136883433386.png


Trade 1:
Uptrend + RET
Strategy error: Overlooked that 3019 was PDH because of no prep.
Tactic error: entry too far from RET trough.

Trade 2:
Reversal + RET

Trade 3:
Downtrend + RET
Tactic error: 1) entry too far from RET peak 2) late exit - when a trend is overextend I have to be very quick in getting out if price fails to move towards prior low. This was a 12 point run. Either I don't take overextended trends without a compelling reason or I get out quick if it does not work. No use giving time to overextensions.

Trade 4: Uptrend + RET
Tactic error: entry too far from RET trough

Trade 5: Uptrend + RET

Trade 6: Reversal + RET

Trade 7: Downtrend + RET

Things to do:

Need to develop a S/R awareness routine to prepare for each replay.
Set down some guidelines for max allowable entry distance from RET boundary.

Goal for now is to stop making strategic mistakes and eventually to stop making tactical mistakes.

 

[dbphoenix]

I suggest you stop keeping track of points. It serves no purpose and diverts your attention away from trading correctly.

 

[game]

Quote from dbphoenix:

I suggest you stop keeping track of points. It serves no purpose and diverts your attention away from trading correctly.

I will stop posting points for now. However, I am still aware of them while practicing since they show up on the screen.

 

[game]

http://www.sierrachart.com/image.php?l=136890047667.png


Missed Opp: Being slow and tentative led to miss.


Trade 2:
Strategy error: A strong 6 point run going back into R created by the previous swing. These factors warrant a slowing down so that the RET can form.

Opening up the hourly chart and noting down PDH, PDL and the general zones of action over the last few days helped with perspective.