Quote from whitster:
personally, i concentrate about 90% of my trade volume on one market (YM).
(i do investing, but that's investing not trading. when i trade, i mostly trade YM)
if you are going to concentrate on one market you must either
1) be able to adapt to different market environments
2) or only trade those days that meet your criteria for trading
iow, many traders like to trade "breakouts" and relatively low volatility/narrow range days like today tend to chop these type of traders into little bits.
but that's because they are trading the wrong way
i LOVE days like today. they are VERY VERY VERY tradeable. you just have to recognize the character of market (i find market profile very helpful for this) and trade the market AS it is, not as you want it to be.
for example, on a lower volatility environment, fade plays are generally preferred, and one can use larger size and smaller stops than one would use in a high volatility environment
thus, risk and potential profit are the same regardless of market environment
if you use a 10 pt stop with 6 contracts in a low volatility environment, you are risking $300 for a stopped out trade. in a higher volatility environment, i might use 3 contracts but a 20 pt stop
you have to trade the market in front of you.
and fwiw, on average only 4-6 days a week qualify as "trend days" (which so many traders seem to like). one man's "chop" is another man's profitable ATM
