Micro E-mini Madness (2% per day)

[jl1575]

Some of the mistakes in trading that I have done are: 1) counter trading when the trend is quite obvious, but kept thinking that the run was close to end; 2) revenge trading and 3) try to make something out of nothing, that means when there is barely any tradable window/opportunity, but just try to enter some trades out of boredom.
I recalled reading somewhere someone was making millions a years, but what he said was that 70% of the profits were from just a few trades among the year when market trended huge and he placed sizable, and most of the time he just waited and did nothing.
Yesterday apparently was a very sustained uptrend day, as lots of heavy weight stocks gained big and stayed that way most of the day.
I think you have the technical skills to make it back and gain more next week.
You have been quite consistent, so a couple of down days wouldn't change that.

 

[sstheo]

sstheo,

I have returned to trading live at just about the same time as this journal came along. I have restarted several times in my life. Your discussion has been insightful and full of what "they" say. You have all of the right things to say.

For me personally it is a battle to learn how to live my life while treating trading as a job. I have always had another job alongside my trading and I have resolved that my goal is to not quit my job and to trade full-time...but to always do both. I feel my time working at my "non-trading" job gives me the perspective that I need to look fresh at the trading session each day.

I have constantly had to stop trading to get more funds from working to add to my trading account. I have now turned this around and have found a few edges that work. The challenge is to differentiate "trending days" from "non-trending days".

I think that what "they" say is a necessary part of growth but I have eventually morphed into putting it all together and finding the right "fit". He He I guess I have been picky as it has taken me a lifetime. It comes down to the actual screentime trading live and surviving long enough to build up those hours. This is where I am at now. I am a trader for life and will always come back if I lose again.

I want to know how you feel? I mean really feel? You had a tough week. How is your big picture? Where are you heading? Will you make it this time? You have posted much about this in this journal but what if you lose? Have you resolved that you are really a trader? I think you are and that's the only reason I have spent so long on this post.

I believe there are many lurkers here and posters here in this thread rooting for you. There are so many points in this journal that I identify with.

Carry on Trader.

ES

Thanks for the candor. I wish you success with your trading for sure. It is a tough gig!

Time for my own candor-- If anyone actually came to me before they had sunk thousands into this racket and sincerely asked me "Should I become a trader?" I would say "Fugedaboutit! The game is rigged and you have to fight your emotions every hour. I think you might possibly even become a misanthropic recluse (humanity hating hermit). Go get a job, exercise, eat well, love your wife and life your life with family and friends. Smile and be happy. You will be much more fun to be around if you aren't constantly worried about every tweet and tariff and fed funds interest rate twist."

Am I a crabby dude? You know me well enough from 50+ journal pages to know I am not. But I can see the slippery slope just off to my right a few feet. The drop off the cliff is a long one...

If I lose this account, it wouldn't be anything too far out of the ordinary. I would just wait until I have some new funds and try again. The challenge is that my wife is growing impatient. She keeps waiting for the payoff. So even with a small account there is pressure to perform. Perhaps this is as it should be... it is training for the next step.

I can get there.

 

[Overnight]

...

I can get there.

I know you can as well. Never give up. Cold dead hands, and all that. Look to my journal for inspiration (?) maybe? I'm finally getting back into the groove. One more hump to get through next week on the RL side though. :-\

 

[sstheo]

Some of the mistakes in trading that I have done are: 1) counter trading when the trend is quite obvious, but kept thinking that the run was close to end; 2) revenge trading and 3) try to make something out of nothing, that means when there is barely any tradable window/opportunity, but just try to enter some trades out of boredom.
I recalled reading somewhere someone was making millions a years, but what he said was that 70% of the profits were from just a few trades among the year when market trended huge and he placed sizable, and most of the time he just waited and did nothing.
Yesterday apparently was a very sustained uptrend day, as lots of heavy weight stocks gained big and stayed that way most of the day.
I think you have the technical skills to make it back and gain more next week.
You have been quite consistent, so a couple of down days wouldn't change that.

Well, it seems I am not alone with #1! I can honestly say I have overcome #2 and never had a problem with #3. I thought I had #1 licked, but NO. Very quickly, the "break of two" is my rule for this situation where I think the trend is about to reverse big time. I am looking for a break below the two most recent small support levels if the trend is up, or a break above the two most recent small resistance levels if the trend is down. I will post more about this because it is clearly the common theme. And I bet it is not just the two of us!

Interesting info about the 70% figure. Was he swing trading?

Can I make it back next week? I don't know. One thing I have learned is rushing things is just a recipe for disaster. If it takes me two or three weeks but I keep going, then it is okay I think.

 

[digitalnomad]

For the next 6 months, I am going to try to earn 2% per day

I think you shall not

 

[Overnight]

...
Can I make it back next week? I don't know. One thing I have learned is rushing things is just a recipe for disaster. If it takes me two or three weeks but I keep going, then it is okay I think.

I think it is very important to keep in perspective the market sentiment, when trying to determine the direction in which to scalp. Unbeknownst to me, there seemed to be some sort of "confirmation" of sorts on the Phase one trade deal before the market open yesterday? I was unaware of this, so I had no bias. Thus my very conservative nature in my few trades yesterday.

Had I known of the extra progress, I would have been more loose in my stops, and not sweated pullback as much as I was.

I tell you, this trade war has the markets on edge the likes of which I've never seen in my 5 years of following them.

Now, remember, Wed is Fed day. Be cautious on that day of trading at the 2PM hour. Expect a crummy market from ETH open until 1:45 PM ET.

 

[Overnight]

I think you shall not

Man, you get a game penalty for that one. That is fucking rude to say that in the guy's own journal. Sheesh.

 

[digitalnomad]

Man, you get a game penalty for that one. That is fucking rude to say that in the guy's own journal. Sheesh.

2% a day? It’s detached from reality. Why hide the truth and encourage him to crash and burn?

 

[Overnight]

2% a day? It’s detached from reality. Why hide the truth and encourage him to crash and burn?

https://www.elitetrader.com/et/threads/micro-e-mini-madness-2-per-day.335221/page-53#post-4949190

 

[jl1575]

[QUOTE="sstheo,

Interesting info about the 70% figure. Was he swing trading?

[/QUOTE]


I think so, and also he has a large fund that enabled him to bet very heavily at times when he figured it was safe bet and the trend would last for a while (maybe a few hours to a few days).

For small account, maybe you still need to scalp, however if you can catch bigger trades, it probably save you a lot of anxiety and stress in wiggling out a few bucks during the range period. ES (MES) normally would have 2 to 3 days when there are big or small trends that can be more reliably traded while half of the week would be mostly range bound and hard to make points. I recently adopt a more relaxed strategy and on Friday I actually made about $4500 on different accounts trading stock (TSLA) options (AAPL, SPY) and Emini and even MNQ (shown below) and was able to catch the main trend and exit the emini and Micro before noon. But for the option and TSLA I just let them run longer as they seemed sustained through the day (closed all the option later in the afternoon, but the TSLA stays in IRA account). One Micro as below showed more than 200 ticks gain (I got some similar gains in recent days) but it cold be probably just lucky.