My Trading Quest - Can I be Profitable in 90 Days?

[eRESULTS]

Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 36 Days …

It is surprising how quickly you lose your edge after having time away from the market!

Actions I took today:

• Traded 1 trade-in Sim … profitable
• Reviewed the market from open on Monday until close on Tuesday to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES

Potential ES Trades

ES performed well, providing many setups for entry.

The profitable trade I took in sim was at 7:20 am.

The trade was a Long entry ETX and DTX setup.

Just to recap what the setup was:

The ETX Setup can be seen at the bottom of the entry bar (reversal) with the Green box and the blue solid square in it. The ETX also requires 2 other setups. One is the orange inside the box has an orange line extending right (Paw) and the second is the white line below the paw which is already existing, before the setup bar and continues right.

The DTX Setup is simply a double TX (Green box and the blue solid square in it) which occurs at a similar price level within 30 bars.

The green line in the bottom window shows that a DTX is forming/has formed.

If you do the sums you will see my profit was $ 100 – commission. (1 contract)

I did not record several DTX trades as they occurred in the coil chop. As I wasn’t sure of the rules around the coil chop and DTX I left them out of the stats. I did notice that most of them were profitable.

I will review the videos and notes to clarify this for tomorrow.

Slippage Question

Some people ask about slippage in the live market … I find as long as the liquidity is good on the bar then it is rare for me to have slippage on ES. This is more important on NQ as it often has low liquidity on the bar and slippage in and/or out can be a problem

Potential trades – ES





I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

 

[eRESULTS]

Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 35 Days …

Still finding my feet …

Actions I took today:

• Traded 1 trade-in Sim … Breakeven – commission
• Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
• Reviewed my rules

Potential ES Trades

Plenty of News today. My rule is to not trade 5 minutes before or after news and open of markets

ES performed OK considering and provided 8 valid setups for entry.

On the spreadsheet below you will see that I identified 9 trades not 8.

The first trade was a trade I would have taken but actually was not a valid trade. I had my chart zoomed in too far and did not notice that the price action was in a range. My entry would have been in the middle of the range. My solution to prevent this is to first have my chart zoomed out more then I did or have a second zoomed out chart so I can see the bigger picture. Secondly, I need to remember to look left before I take a trade.

Sim Trade

The trade I took in sim was at 7:23 am.

The trade was a Long entry TX-T and TD setup.

Just to recap what the setup was:

The TX-T Setup can be seen at the bottom of the entry bar (reversal) with the Green box and the blue solid square in it. The “-T” means that it is with the trend. The trend can be seen below as a green histogram.

The TD Setup can be seen by the 3 colored faces below the bar previous to the setup bar.

How did I crash this trade?

The trade was very slow-moving and it moved to the 7 ticks (official target) two bars after entry before moving back to below the entry. I tried to drag the target on the chart, from 8 ticks to 7 … when I let it go, it took me out at entry!!!!!

As you can see, the price then went up over 12 points.

My mistake …

Potential trades – ES

Resources:

One of the podcasts that I enjoy listening to is called The Trading Coach Podcast by Akil Stokes.

I do not follow his trading methodology but enjoy his concepts on his coaching podcast.

They can be found on a heap of podcast sites or on Youtube.


https://anchor.fm/thetradingcoachpodcast



I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies

 

[eRESULTS]

Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 34 Days …

Interesting day and good learning …

Actions I took today:

• Traded 1 trade in Sim … to profit
• Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
• Listened and learned in the Trading Room about trailing stops and going for larger targets

Trading Room

As my head is still tender and it affects my focus, I spent most of the trading session (3 hours) listening and watching Darrell explain how to trail stops and go for larger targets. He used an additional chart which he calls a simplicity chart.

Darrell and a number of people in the room had great success using this method. Darrell trades using multiple contracts and was up $22,000 in less than 20 mins using this method. Note, Darrell often trades with between 2 and 30 contracts so don’t get lost with the $$. The lesson to me is that he has faith in the method to risk the contracts he trades and it appeared to work for others in the room. I then need to learn the method (simple) and test it to see if I can make it work for me.

I will not spend time incorporating this method in my trading until I am consistently profitable with the scalper setups and targets. It definitely looks like it has promise.



Potential ES Trades

ES provided 16 valid setups for entry. 4 were losers!!

Sim Trade

The one trade I took in sim was at 11:13 am.

The trade was a Short entry ETX-T.

Potential trades – ES





Resources:

Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.

I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …




I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

 

[eRESULTS]

Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 33 Days …

Not many trades …

Actions I took today:

• Traded 1 in Sim … to profit … on review it was not valid!!
• Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
• Lost data (Internet issue) early so didn’t watch much of the US market session

Potential ES Trades

ES provided 2 valid setups for entry. 1 Winner

The day was interesting in that the market moved from one area of clustered movement to another area of clustered movement.

My rules with ES, prevent me from trading during, in or out of Coil Chop.

The Coil Chop, in this case, is described as a series of 3 bars where the bars are either up-down-up or down-up-down. I highlight this Coil Chop movement with an indicator at the bottom of my chart. In the chart below you can see the three red thick bars at the bottom left of my chart.

Sim Trade Taken but not valid

The one trade I took in sim was at 10:00 am.

The trade was a Short entry NTX-T and also a DTX-T.

Why was this trade not valid?

If you look from the left side of the start:

• price action is sitting in between 2 white lines (MM) and at the bottom of the page, you will see the red blocks for Coil Chop.
• price then moved up out of the coil chop area and then back down to the bottom of the clustered area
• again price moved up out of that zone to create a double top and a sell signal.
• price then moved back into the zone.

The question is … would this trade be a possibility trade or a probability trade?

Question on why I track the trades during the 24 hours

I have a number of reason for tracking the 24 hours:

• to see if the system works at all times during the day
• work out which is the best TOD (time of day) to trade
• I can review using TOD and explore different stops and target levels
• it gives me more practice at identifying the setups

Potential trades – ES




Resources:

Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.

I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …


I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

 

[eRESULTS]

Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 32 Days …

Sunday and Monday Markets …

Actions I took today:

• Computer issues so I did not trade!!
• Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
• Reviewed videos on the setups

Potential ES Trades

ES provided 7 valid trades and potentially profitable for the day.

Most of the trades appeared between 3am and 10am.

Potential trades – ES



Resources:

I always enjoy resources from Dr. Van K Tharp.

Take his free test to see what type of trader you are.

It has been based on the research of over 5000 traders.

It only takes 4 minutes …

https://tharptrading.com/trader-test


I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn

Disclaimer:

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

 

[eRESULTS]

Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 31 Days …

Not many trades again … NQ was fast!

Actions I took today:

• Traded 1 in Sim … to profit
• Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
• Had data issues (stopping) around the open!!
• Listened to the Trading Room where Darrell called a number of trades from the Simplicity Chart

Leeloo Trading Evaluation – ceteris paribus

If all other things are equal (ceteris paribus), then I will be back trading the Leeloo Evaluation Account tomorrow.

Potential ES Trades

ES provided 5 valid setups for entry. 4 Winners.

Four of the five trades occurred between 543am and 1042am.

Sim Trade Taken to profit

The one trade I took in sim was at 5:43 am.

The trade was a Long entry EL (Elevator) trade.

You can identify the elevator trade clearly in the chart below in the third indicator box from the bottom. The white indicator on the red box. The white is the elevator and the red is the coil chop indicator.

In previous posts, I have said I do not trade in, out, or back into coil chop. This is the one exception were the price breaks out from the coil chop.

Potential trades – ES




Resources:

I hope you tried the Van Tharp Trader Test that I posted yesterday.

Here is the link again … just in case you missed it.

https://tharptrading.com/trader-test

Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.

I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …





I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

 

[eRESULTS]

Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 30 Days …

More migraines, trading my Leeloo evaluation account, fast NQ, Slow ES, and 30-year bonds …

Actions I took today:

• Traded my Leeloo Evaluation Account …
• Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
• Listened to the Trading Room where Darrell called a number of trades from the Simplicity Chart

Leeloo Trading Evaluation

I started my trading day with another migraine!@#.

When I started I noticed I missed a couple of ES trades (5:08 and 6:06).

As ES wasn’t giving trades, I watched ES, YM, NQ, and 30 year Bonds to see how they were trading.

30 Year Bonds presented 2 trades that I just scalped to see how it responded (Profit +$62.50)

Then I notice a trade in NQ setting up and quickly entered it … (Profit +$75.00)

I then noticed that the NQ chart was still in Sim!!!

Ok, good practice

ES did not give me any entries during the time I was watching.

Total Profit in Leeloo = $62.50 – commission

Leeloo Goals

With 30 days left in this challenge, my goals in the 30 days are:

• Be profitable. That means to average $200 per day in the last week of the challenge
• Pass the evaluation and become funded

Potential ES Trades

ES provided 6 valid setups for the day . 6 Winners.

Potential trades – ES




Resources:

Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.

I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …

I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn

 

[eRESULTS]

Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 29 Days …

I struggled mentally today …

Actions I took today:

• Traded my Leeloo Evaluation Account …
• Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES

Leeloo Trading Evaluation

Today I struggled mentally!

I still have a headache from yesterday’s migraine. This stress intensified my underlying fears of missing out and losing. This was reflected predominantly in my emotions while I was trading.

I managed this extra stress by:

• identifying what it was and that I why I was feeling this way
• reviewing the setup to ensure that it was valid as per my rules
• reviewing the active trade to see if the reasons for entry were still valid
• after the trade, reviewing the trade again to support that my process was valid

Todays Trading

I have been looking at markets to see which is the best to trade at present.

When I say best, I mean:

• a tradable speed of the market
• liquidity in the market
• sufficient number of trades
• setups being respected

So I have been watching ES, NQ, YM and 30 year Bonds

Todays Trades taken in Leeloo Account
ES – 3 trades – see description below – Total Loss -$187.50
YM – 1 winner, 1 loser = Net $0
ZB – 2 winning trades Total win $52.50

Total Loss running in Leeloo for 2 days = $-31.90

ES Trades

Trade 1 – 5:11 am

The entry was a valid Enhanced TX against the trend.

The bar before the entry was at 5:00.01, setup bar was 5:11:03, Entry bar was 5:35:22 and the next bar was at 5:53:31.

So you can see how slow the bars were closing. After entry, the price moved up and down that bar a number of times giving no feeling for direction and was sitting in between the two white (MM) lines.

My decision to move the stop to just above entry was based on the length of time in the trade, that price movement was ranging between the top and bottom of the bar and that price action was sandwiched between 2 lines (MM).

Trade 2 – 9:22

I entered a valid NXT Trend trade at the close of the 9:22 bar and as the bar had not hit the target and it was getting close to the market open, I closed the trade for a 1 tick profit.

Trade 3 – 10:02

This trade was a valid NTX trade with the trend that just failed!!

Looking at the chart, there was a possibility for the price to want to move down to the blue line (settlement). I will watch this type of occurrence to see the validity of my observation.

Resources:

Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.

I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …

************​

I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

 

[eRESULTS]

Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 28 Days …

Friday and I made a massive mistake …

Actions I took today:

• Tried to trade with Leeloo and had a major technical problem! …
• Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES

Leeloo Trading Evaluation

Today I had a major technical problem which caused me to lose approximately -$741 !!!

I entered a trade on my computer and nothing happened … I waited and then not seeing my trade entered on the chart … It would appear that I pressed the enter button a couple of times!!!!

The result was that the chart then started moving except now it is -$500, then it showed -$741 and I exited.

So how did this happen?

Apparently, my computer had become frozen at about the time I entered. I assumed that I had not hit the button correctly so hit it again after waiting for a few seconds. It would appear in my haste I hit it a couple of times. The data then started rolling and the rest is history.

This has happened before and my solution was not to enter again if my first click did not enter the trade.

It happened so quickly, I didn’t even think the chart was frozen.

I now need to develop a better process so this will not happen again. I will also review and see if I can do something to prevent the freezing from occurring.

Potential ES Trades for today

Naturally, I did not trade for the rest of the day.

You can see below that I have split the potential trades into two sections. The top is my normal section showing Potential trades.

I was looking for a better way to reduce mistakes – how to record and review the trades that are Potential Trades but have some reason not to take the trade.

Knowing when NOT to enter a trade is probably more important (or at least as important) then the trades I enter. It will help me change my focus when reviewing the market.

I will try this format to see if it will help me review when NOT to enter trades.

If anyone has any ideas on the best way to approach this then please let me know.



Resources:

I enjoy a number of podcasts. One I regularly check out is the Chat with Traders Podcast.

Check out Aaron’s latest “Best of Trading Psychology”



199: Best of Trading Psychology, Pt. 1

Watch this space for more resources that I find useful. ​

I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …



I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

 

[eRESULTS]

Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 29 Days …

Sunday/ Monday Trading with limited opportunities …

Actions I took today:

• Traded my Leeloo Evaluation Account …
• Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES

Leeloo Trading Evaluation

I find it hard when the markets are not giving good signals so I need to work on my patience and go back to trading other markets on these type of days.

Todays Trading

As you can see from my spreadsheet of potential ES trades, there were only two trades that I considered valid. The problem with these days is if you have a loss it makes it very hard to recover.

My first trade was a trade on review was obviously Not Valid.

As I could not see any setups on ES, I took some trades on NQ and YM.

Todays Trades taken in Leeloo Account
ES – 1 Loser -$212.50 and commission
YM – 1 winner, = Net $50 – commission
NQ – 1 winner = $50 – commission

Total Loss Leeloo for today = $-112.50 – commission

ES Trade

Trade 1 – 5:50 am

The entry was NOT a Valid Enhanced TX against the trend.

The reason I chose to take the trade and not follow my rules is that I keep hearing Lori in the trading room say that when you have the white line (MM) sandwiching the setup bar then they are more powerful trades.

My lesson is that I am to test any modifications to my trading playbook. This is already in my playbook and I lost because I didn’t follow my own rules.

Trade 1 YM – 9:51

I entered a valid NXT Trend trade that went to profit. +$50 – commission

Trade 1 NQ – 10:15

This trade was a valid ODD trade that went to profit. +$50 – commission

Resources:

Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.

I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …

*************************​

I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any of these companies.