It's good to hear from you. This morning I exited my short because it looked like it was going to come back and take out the highs. Now it looks like it's just going to drift sideways for awhile. Being honest with myself, I really don't see too much potential on the long side this afternoon, and I wouldn't want to be long above 1510. Yesterday the market was fond of 1509, so I wouldn't be suprised to see that, but if I had my choice I'd take a good short entry over a long.
NQ Trades RT
- Thread starter AFterburner
- Start date
It's good to hear from you. This morning I exited my short because it looked like it was going to come back and take out the highs. Now it looks like it's just going to drift sideways for awhile. Being honest with myself, I really don't see too much potential on the long side this afternoon, and I wouldn't want to be long above 1510. Yesterday the market was fond of 1509, so I wouldn't be suprised to see that, but if I had my choice I'd take a good short entry over a long.
Well I'm not going to lie. I did do one more trade right before 2:00 and I did hold it past 2:00. The good news is that I came to my senses and got out at a half point loss. I also managed to not trade after that, even though I was dying to go short after 2:30. So I'm counting it as both a failure and a success.
Tomorrow I will be done by 2:00. If it means that I have to close a trade out at a loss at 2:00, then so be it. If it means that I cannot initiate trades after 1:45, then so be it. I'm going to make a concerted effort to be done by 2:00 each day until I feel that I have the necessary discipline. Actually, that statement is not correct. I'm going to be done by 2:00 each day until I've PROVEN that I have the necessary discipline.
All in all, today was a pretty decent day. I grossed 5 points on 3 trades. I also feel like I'm starting to regain my composure.
Tomorrow I will be done by 2:00. If it means that I have to close a trade out at a loss at 2:00, then so be it. If it means that I cannot initiate trades after 1:45, then so be it. I'm going to make a concerted effort to be done by 2:00 each day until I feel that I have the necessary discipline. Actually, that statement is not correct. I'm going to be done by 2:00 each day until I've PROVEN that I have the necessary discipline.
All in all, today was a pretty decent day. I grossed 5 points on 3 trades. I also feel like I'm starting to regain my composure.
I think this was pretty accurate. I might try adding viewpoints like this throughout the day. It would be interesting to see what would happen if I used these comments as a trading plan. I think it would probably add some structure to my discretionary methods. If I could get to the point where I either had to trade by my documented outlook or update the plan accordingly, I think that would be a good thing. I'm going to need to think about this some more, but so far it sounds sensible. I would probably update the commentary after each trade so that it remained accurate.
I'm afraid that my discipline just wasn't at that level yet.
I remember in your first journal, you talked about how there are often big moves around 2:30 CST. Which is true. So maybe this is in the back of your head, making it hard to follow the 2pm rule. Rule breaking: happens when we don't truly believe in the rule.
The last half hour oftentimes proves very favorable to trades that are already solid winners. Conversely, if a trade has been experiencing a heavy loss, it will likely only get worse in the final half hour.
The problem is that this market has neither the momentum nor conviction to make this true anymore. So rather than a final burst of momentum into the close, the market seems to just retrace.
The craziest thing is that I originally had a fear of holding after 2:30 because of losers that would get out of control. I then managed to get over that. Now I have a fear of holding after 2:30 because the market doesn't have the same momentum it used to. I can't win.
BOT 1488 OPEN 09:46:56
I might have to give this one some extra time. I probably should have waited on my entry, but we'll see.
I might have to give this one some extra time. I probably should have waited on my entry, but we'll see.
SLD 1493 CLOSE 10:40:06
I held this trade for almost an hour. It was a pretty good trade, but it feels like there is just too much resistance. I'm going to take a break to calm my nerves..
I held this trade for almost an hour. It was a pretty good trade, but it feels like there is just too much resistance. I'm going to take a break to calm my nerves..
There was an incident around 11:15 that has made me afraid of going short. The market was at approximately 1489 then dropped to 1486. I was just starting to think about selling when it ran right back up to 1489. I haven't been able to pull the trigger on a short since then.
I think I'm going to call it a day. It doesn't look like anything is happening, and I would hate to jeopardize today's profits.