MissTick's ES Trading Journal

There is an indicator available for Ninja that will put out an alert when it reaches a certain price level, so what I do is set the indicator so an alert(s) is activated when it closes in on a s&r/pivot level.

So lets say ES is at (hypothetically speaking) 1175, set price alerts at 8-12 ticks away from the next two daily/intraday support and resistance levels. This way the alerts can monitor and tell you when to really focus on the best time to pay attn to the chart(s) and look for a trade.

here is the link for the free indicator download, watch the video first to get an idea of how it works :)

http://www.sixfiguretrader.com/free-price-alerts-ninjatrader-charts/

** I'm not affiliated in any way shape or form to the website that offers this Ninja indicator, I found it a while back when looking for a free price alert indicator for NT7 on the internet.
 
Hello SnakeEYE,

Thank you for your input.

I haven't at one point said that I was an expert... I know I am learning and I know it won't happen overnight... But if I work hard enough I believe it will happen eventually.

MissTick
 
It is more important to be fresh while you observe as it is to observe every minute. There are some very good traders that make it a point to take lunch away from the screen and also get at lest 15 or 20 minutes of fresh air and sunshine during the trading day.

If there are 15 or 20 worthwhile setups in ES in a week and you are only at the screen for 80% of those that is not a problem. What you do with that 80% is the key.

Quote from MissTick:

So yesterdays trading... or lack there of...

It seemed I missed every opportunity that presented itself yesterday, if I wasn't doing some research I was making a cup of tea, but one way or another I have to make sure I am looking at the charts for every second of the trading day from now else I will continue to miss opportunities.

Does anyone else ever face this... what is your remedy... is it just a question of focus?
More...
 
mmm nothing for me again today... I am off out in the minute so can't trade this afternoon.

On my shortest chart there look to be good entries after the fact... but unfortunately on the 5 minute and 15 minute which I use to try and identify setups it has been quite ugly...

Is that just me?

Am I doing the right thing by using the 5 and 15 to identify setups snf then using the 2 for entry or should I look for setups on the 2 when the others aren't offering anything up?
 
You should not "shop" for setups by using multiple time frames. Instead you should pick a time frame -- the 5 minute is the old standby -- and potentially substitute the 3 minute at the open or on days when the bar size is simply too large. Your job is to observe a market -- a market being a contract (ES) in a time frame (5 Min.) -- and, through relentless observation of its price action, train yourself to take "your" setups when they coincide with acceptable trade location. It is hard to do and after you become more mechanical at taking those setups under acceptable conditions it is then harder still to manage them. Understand that taking trades in a mechanical fashion is not only a good thing but, like muscle memory for an athlete, essential for truly superior performance..

I am not suggesting that alternative methods will not work but what I have described is a great deal easier and generally more reliable than trying to search multiple charts in the quest to find "a" trade. Observe your market in your time frame. Be aware of trade location: Are you 4 ticks from the days high and would you need a successful (and doubtful) breakout to profit? Be mindful of support and resistance. Be in tune with those elements throughout the day and be patient.

Good trades -- not always winners -- but good trades with solid risk/reward ratios that you can profit from over a large enough sample will knock on your door. When they knock take every last one of them without over thinking. It is a winning formula that I try to execute daily. As I have said it is hard to do but over time it gets easier bit by bit.

QUOTE]Quote from MissTick:

Am I doing the right thing by using the 5 and 15 to identify setups then using the 2 for entry or should I look for setups on the 2 when the others aren't offering anything up?

[/QUOTE]
 
Hello Swan Noir,

That sounds very logical. But would it be possible to take my lead from say the 5 minute chart and then drill down into the 2 minute chart or similar to look for my entry.

Or are you saying that I should just really get to know one chart and ignore the rest?

KR

MissTick
 
Unless you are planning to scalp for, lets say, a one point profit (which I do not recommend) the smaller time frames tend to produce less reliable signals. There is a reason why most successful intraday ES traders with targets of two, four and more points use the 5 minute chart as their standby. The setups off the 5 minute are simply more reliable than off the two minute.

Again, many good traders do use three minute charts at the open. You should realize that there are only a limited number of really good setups in really good trade locations on any given day and to try to "manufacture" additional opportunities by using the lower time frames has a price: That price is taking entries that will have a higher failure rate. To sum it up, YES ... I am suggesting you get to know one chart, the 5 minute chart, and ignore the rest. A year or, even better, two years from now you can get more creative.

If you are trying to scalp for a point -- something very, very few novices succeed at -- then it becomes a different conversation. BTW, you should understand. I am a marginally profitable ES trader. I do it full time for about the minimum wage and have thousands of hours of screen time trading real money. I am pleased that although the profits are tiny they are consistent and, in recent months, beginning to grow. The pieces are beginning to fit together and I anticipate my returns will continue to grow. This is a hard business to learn. We all look to complicate it when we start and we all figure out sooner or later that it doesn't work that way. Here's hoping you find that out sooner.

Quote from MissTick:

Hello Swan Noir,

That sounds very logical. But would it be possible to take my lead from say the 5 minute chart and then drill down into the 2 minute chart or similar to look for my entry.

Or are you saying that I should just really get to know one chart and ignore the rest?

KR

MissTick
More...
 
Hello Everyone,

After a weekend of study, research and play I have taken the advice to stick to one chart for the time being. I have also been looking at the YM and NQ and have decided that for a beginner the NQ seems to move a little more harmonically, so I will be sticking with that in the beginning to try and get my system together (does anyone think that is a bad idea?)

I have also played round with my charts and have come up with the 4 range bar as one that seems to give the cleanest signals. I took the advice in the quote from Nodoji to go through the charts manually and look at every setup. I did this and am quite happy with what I have come up with so far.

So it is the 4 range bar with 3 EMA's the 20, 60 and 100. I am basically going to play bounced off of these in strong trends and reversion to the mean during range bound periods.

If this sounds stupid please let me know, but from my research this weekend, this seems to yield the most reliable setups.

I am also going to go for a positive risk reward of 1.5 - 2 per trade.

I also intend to exit a trade or at least some of it if I reach a prior support or resistance before the trade has fulfilled its full target.

Has anyone else experimented with the different indexes?

MissTick
 
First trade....

So I have been watching the charts this morning and saw a nice looking short setup occur on my 4 range chart.

All of the indexes were trending down, I got a pull back to my EMA's which also happened to coincide with a previous level of support which became resistance. I then got a reversal pattern and entered. The Trade took about 8 minutes but hit my profit target of 4 points on the NQ.

Not a bad start, but perhaps I shouldn't be trading until the US open? What do you all think? Can I trade during the European session, or is this dangerous?

I look forward to you comments/advice etc.

MissTick
 
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