I have to agree with BROTHER Daniel on this one to a great degree.
Speaking for myself and many other traders (Brethren) I have worked along side of, at the end of the year, the difference between a good year and a not so good year boils down to really a handful of days.
Take out your worst (for example) 7-10 days, or your best 7-10 days, and it is day and night.
Of course, this is for much more a truism for us "non-scalper" style traders.
In the environment we have been stuck in now for a long while, I find that even I, a "position builder" style trader have had to adjust to try and eek out a few bucks on a more consistent basis, like BROTHER Candle implies is his method. But over the years, it has been more feast or famine on a day to day basis.
Truly, if I could have just been able to take my one best day of each month of the past 8 years I have been "daytrading" (overnighting mostly), I would have cleared more than I did overall. So obviously, there is not a lot of room given to miss the great opportunities.
Each of us has our own style. For me, it was the big swings. Each day has a great impact on the year.
This style definitely NOT recommended for the self- funded trade from home guys. But as a firm trader, this is what worked for me and my "unindicted coconspirators". Win big, lose big, and be right just a fraction more frequently than wrong.
Probably not the way to trade right now, (and I do not). But it was more fun and more exciting when that approach was feasible. Hope those days return before I am too old to push the buttons. And of course I hope I have the buying power to take advantage if those times do return.
So I think Dan's point is well taken. While these days I (for all practical purposes...everything is relative) no longer "swing for the fences", it is important to grab the rare opportunities...to step it up relative to the norm..... when they present themselves.
On Thursday, I found myself pretty much frozen out waiting for a significant dip that just never came. So in the last hour I had to do what I do in those situations. Start nibbling on the long side. (Usually this in itself will cause a dip.....timing is everything
). But at some point you have to "get on the train". As it worked out, I just kept adding and adding. Very important to take advantage of a good mark. So even though I was very late to the party, I was still able to capitalize on the day. It is crucial to keep in mind that when you have a very good mark, it is time to add. Particularly in the last hour or less of the day. You have room to get out if the momentum dies, or even if there is a reversal.
Of course many will disagree. They will grab the good mark and sell into strength. Which is what I would also do early in the day. But the closing hour is a different animal. We have not seen this kind of close in a long time, so caution and a great degree of healthy doubt prevented me from really loading the boat as I would have in an up trending market, still, since this adding to winners in the last hour is my consistent strategy, I was able to capitalize at least enough to have a far better than average day (average over the past few months).
Again, as Mark Douglas said in "Trading in the Zone" you need to be fearless (as opposed to reckless). So a good mark allows this. These are opportunities. Recognize them, and cash in on them. They aren't that common these days.
A rule of thumb for us who have been together for years is a 1% mark is a green flag. Always add to to this kind of unrealized profit. Because a 1% mark is clearly only going to be seen when we are in a very strong (or weak on the short side) momentum situation. Golden opportunities.
Peace,
rs7
Speaking for myself and many other traders (Brethren) I have worked along side of, at the end of the year, the difference between a good year and a not so good year boils down to really a handful of days.
Take out your worst (for example) 7-10 days, or your best 7-10 days, and it is day and night.
Of course, this is for much more a truism for us "non-scalper" style traders.
In the environment we have been stuck in now for a long while, I find that even I, a "position builder" style trader have had to adjust to try and eek out a few bucks on a more consistent basis, like BROTHER Candle implies is his method. But over the years, it has been more feast or famine on a day to day basis.
Truly, if I could have just been able to take my one best day of each month of the past 8 years I have been "daytrading" (overnighting mostly), I would have cleared more than I did overall. So obviously, there is not a lot of room given to miss the great opportunities.
Each of us has our own style. For me, it was the big swings. Each day has a great impact on the year.
This style definitely NOT recommended for the self- funded trade from home guys. But as a firm trader, this is what worked for me and my "unindicted coconspirators". Win big, lose big, and be right just a fraction more frequently than wrong.
Probably not the way to trade right now, (and I do not). But it was more fun and more exciting when that approach was feasible. Hope those days return before I am too old to push the buttons. And of course I hope I have the buying power to take advantage if those times do return.
So I think Dan's point is well taken. While these days I (for all practical purposes...everything is relative) no longer "swing for the fences", it is important to grab the rare opportunities...to step it up relative to the norm..... when they present themselves.
On Thursday, I found myself pretty much frozen out waiting for a significant dip that just never came. So in the last hour I had to do what I do in those situations. Start nibbling on the long side. (Usually this in itself will cause a dip.....timing is everything
). But at some point you have to "get on the train". As it worked out, I just kept adding and adding. Very important to take advantage of a good mark. So even though I was very late to the party, I was still able to capitalize on the day. It is crucial to keep in mind that when you have a very good mark, it is time to add. Particularly in the last hour or less of the day. You have room to get out if the momentum dies, or even if there is a reversal. Of course many will disagree. They will grab the good mark and sell into strength. Which is what I would also do early in the day. But the closing hour is a different animal. We have not seen this kind of close in a long time, so caution and a great degree of healthy doubt prevented me from really loading the boat as I would have in an up trending market, still, since this adding to winners in the last hour is my consistent strategy, I was able to capitalize at least enough to have a far better than average day (average over the past few months).
Again, as Mark Douglas said in "Trading in the Zone" you need to be fearless (as opposed to reckless). So a good mark allows this. These are opportunities. Recognize them, and cash in on them. They aren't that common these days.
A rule of thumb for us who have been together for years is a 1% mark is a green flag. Always add to to this kind of unrealized profit. Because a 1% mark is clearly only going to be seen when we are in a very strong (or weak on the short side) momentum situation. Golden opportunities.
Peace,
rs7