My NQ Journey

[Yass]

I assume you do not mean "Far Out Monthly Options" , so I take it you mean "Fear Of Missing Out".

There is no place for doubt when trading Futures - it can cost you a lot of money, and I know

If you have been looking at the charts I posted today, you will see many issues with trying to catch small moves - and today was a quiet day!

Getting back to the original statement, you must pick an approach and stick with it - I call this "staying on the bus".

In effect, what this means, in order to be consistent (which is required for profitability), you must latch on to an approach that is repeatable, over and over, and do nothing but that - NO MATTER WHAT!

Chopping and changing will not only waste your time, but it will prevent you from learning what really works, thus doing nothing but keeping you going around in cirlces - the majority of readers here will relate to this, even though they are too ashamed to admit it - but I know it is true, because I have learned over time, at great costs sometimes, what works best and what does not work at all - and no matter what way you decide to trade (it has to be valid of course), if you do not "stay on the bus" it is all a complete waste of time, effort and money.

Most speak rubbish - it is as clear as day to some, but as we all know, things rarely change in the world - this is just a fact of life - so one can accept it and stay a part of the crowd, or start to realize that the key to success is not knowledge, but is the application of knowledge in the best way!

In other words - common sense is not all that common!

J_S

This definitely speaks to me, now let me ask the following

How do you stay on the bus?
Logically I know I need to stay on the bus, I remind myself that every day.

But when the market is moving and my emotions take over, the emotional side of me completely drowns out the logical side and my emotions don't care about a bus

 

[J_Smith]

I will give you something to really think about - but this one is not easy for most - you must work out why you should use the TICK when trading eminis, and more importantly, HOW you should use it.

I do not like saying this is advanced stuff, as that is all a load of bollox jargon used by those selling information - but this is stuff that you must understand and the reasoning behind it, as the stock and futures markets go hand in hand.

I was hiding this from the creepy crawlies, but as you are genuinely interested, you need to be aware of this - most will not use it anyway, so it makes not one little bit of difference to me!

J_S

 

[Yass]

So, as you want to try and improve - as it is your responsibility and no one else - what did you see wrong with some of what I said today, or to rephrase it better, what did I NOT say that makes you think that I am only waffling on like most, after all, I did not give you any concrete trades like buy here, and sell there, and so on!

J_S

I think the best thing you did today was to get me to challenge myself on certain things that I didn't think about much before.

I'm not looking for help around detailed setups and executions, everyone is different and just taking someone's advice on buying and selling is cheating yourself. I don't care about short term profits, I want long term growth.

Honestly right now I think I have to stay on the bus with the method I have while making small tweaks. I'll compile my report for this month so I can get a good idea on what I need to change as the data will highlight where I have an edge and where I don't. But what the report won't highlight, and what I struggle with a lot is psychology... haha

 

[Yass]

I will give you something to really think about - but this one is not easy for most - you must work out why you should use the TICK when trading eminis, and more importantly, HOW you should use it.

I do not like saying this is advanced stuff, as that is all a load of bollox jargon used by those selling information - but this is stuff that you must understand and the reasoning behind it, as the stock and futures markets go hand in hand.

I was hiding this from the creepy crawlies, but as you are genuinely interested, you need to be aware of this - most will not use it anyway, so it makes not one little bit of difference to me!

J_S

View attachment 166362

I've never heard of the TICK, does it serve a similar function as the VIX? Why is it worth looking at?

 

[J_Smith]

I've never heard of the TICK, does it serve a similar function as the VIX? Why is it worth looking at?

You will come across the term market internals if you stay in the game - and hear such things as Advance Decline Line, TRIN, TICK, $PREM, Up Vol v.s Dwn Vol, and so on.

You can ignore most unless you are trading millions of dollars - but do not ignore the TICK!

First thing you do is go and read up on it - you will learn about TICK extremes, and, at times this info is very valid - in fact, if scalping it can save you a lot of money if used correctly with bar charts.

Back to the bus

Ok, I am not going to lie, as I have no reason to - here is where I got the term - take note of this document, as it can help you greatly succeed in the trading game - the reason it is so good, is it exemplifies common sense thinking, and I must take my hat off to the Finnish, they have it all worked out!

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/feb/23/change-life-helsinki-bus-station-theory

http://www.fotocommunity.com/info/Helsinki_Bus_Station_Theory

J_S

 

[J_Smith]

I think the best thing you did today was to get me to challenge myself on certain things that I didn't think about much before.

I'm not looking for help around detailed setups and executions, everyone is different and just taking someone's advice on buying and selling is cheating yourself. I don't care about short term profits, I want long term growth.

Honestly right now I think I have to stay on the bus with the method I have while making small tweaks. I'll compile my report for this month so I can get a good idea on what I need to change as the data will highlight where I have an edge and where I don't. But what the report won't highlight, and what I struggle with a lot is psychology... haha

Be very careful - for years I would not let go of fancy ideas and fancy setups, all based on what others told me worked best, but like the bus article, it was only when I had experienced 3 major losses did I wake the fuk up - and that is exactly why I know that "never listen to anyone else, as it will just cost you money", is so so true.

However, a wiseman listens but does not act foolishly on the information - this is what sets aside very clever people from the ordinary thick egits - "I wish I knew then what I now know"!

There really is no substitute for experience - but if one can listen to those who have already wasted thousands and thousands of dollars learning the realities of trading, then it is common sense that they can use this info to save themselves thousands and thousands of dollars!

But beware, you are talking to one who openly stated, many times..

"the only thing I know, is that I really know nothing"

J_S

 

[J_Smith]

If you were to ask me, I would say go with the ES instead of the NQ - namely due to ES being traded by the real professionals, and when you look at charts you want to look at ones that professionals trade - so, I am switching to ES charts for this reason - as I think it is best.

Of course, you can stick with NQ, as that is what YOU like, but there are subtle differences that you will see compared to ES - and ES gives a clearer picture with SPX chart to cross reference against.

Below is all you need for daytrading the ES or NQ - there is one other screen for order entry, but leave that for now.

J_S

 

[Gotcha]

To the OP,

Just a word of advice. Before you start thinking that you stumbled across some saint who wants to help you by saying how easy it is to trade the market, ask him to show you where his trades are... all of them... each and every single entry and exit for at least a few weeks/months in various market conditions. There have been plenty of trading gurus on ET who apparently know everything about trading and yet cannot produce any evidence that they actually trade.

I'm not saying any of his advice is bad, and I haven't even read it in detail, but every single time I actually come across a poster who shares some of his stats when it comes to his trades, there isn't really any magic there, no firm conviction of where the market is going, no predictive ability. It sounds like this js guy seems to suggest that he has it all figured out, and if this is the case, his log of trades should back this up with huge wins and hardly any losses, which is most certainly not the case.

So instead of wasting time just throwing out everything you wanted to do and follow him, or anyone for that matter, ask them to see how profitable they are, ask them to see their trades, and then decide if what they are showing you is in fact how they trade. You will be very surprised how you quickly hit a brick wall.

 

[J_Smith]

Read my posts CORRECTLY - first Gobshite has arrived as predicted

Tell you what, why don't I show ye all my bank account statements, deeds to my property, and anything else ye ask - after all, it is the internet, and ye are entitled to them..lol

Let the OP make up his own mind bout what I say and post - how bout you post some charts and explanations, or are you the master Gobshite who says everything and does nothing.

It is the OP' s thread, and he now has a decision to make - he either tells you to fuk off, or me - this is the true test, let's see how serious he really is!

J_S

 

[Gotcha]

Let the OP make up his own mind bout what I say and post

And he is supposed to do this how... by looking at your perfect hindsight charts? Show me how you take trades each of the times that price approaches one of your levels and then we have something to work with.

It is the OP' s thread, and he now has a decision to make - he either tells you to fuk off, or me - this is the true test, let's see how serious he really is!

So you're already diverting attention from the real issue. This isn't about telling me to fuck off, or telling you to fuck off, this is about showing why you are qualified to be giving advice.

You think he has to prove how serious he is by telling one of us to fuck off? I can see that you desperately want to divert the attention away from having to show how your actual trades, which is always the first biggest red flag.