Please help me fix my #1 trading problem - I keep getting messed up in chop

[Laissez Faire]

Become more selective about your trades.

A big lesson for me (and one I'm admittedly still am learning) is that you shouldn't be in the market all the time. You need to learn to sit on your hands for hours and just wait and observe. Only trade when you get a good signal.

 

[KCalhoun]

Become more selective about your trades.

A big lesson for me (and one I'm admittedly still am learning) is that you shouldn't be in the market all the time. You need to learn to sit on your hands for hours and just wait and observe. Only trade when you get a good signal.

exactly right & easier said than done. i overtrade.

3 tips:

a) now i ask myself, "do I have an edge in this trade, yes or no?", meaning strongest outlier clean charts only

b) is S&P outside prior days range, and the chart I'm trading? out days are best

c) time of day here 20 years daytrading & same: 9:35-10:15am ET best timeframe; i get shaken out often if i trade 1-3pm so i try to avoid it.

 

[yc47ib]

Stop chasing the markets, you never know if a trading day is going to be volatile or not.
Wait until the market reaches a level you feel comfortable with, take the trade, set a stop and a target and just let it run. If it doesn't work out over time you need to go back to the drawing board and adjust your strategy.

The market is never wrong, only traders are.

Actually, traders are not wrong either, they make the mistake of revenging when misread the market.

 

[murray t turtle]

Actually, traders are not wrong either, they make the mistake of revenging when misread the market.

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LOL. I never called it revenge trading.But getting oversize, trying to make up for losses doesn't work.LOL Actually a top trader[ interviewed by jack schlager] had the solution = ''stop trading''

BUT don't try the ''stop trading '' with DAL, AMR, Bear Stearns, LEH, they went belly up bankrupt...………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

[SimpleMeLike]

So last time I talked about chop, one trader on here recommended by looking at the 1st hour's range. If it is very large range, then I can assume a non choppy day or something like that...

Anyways, the first 2 hours was relatively huge, so I assumed we would be getting the same kind of moves.... An opportunity presented itself for counter-trade so I took a short at arrow marked below. My target area was the white line area which where I would cover and possibly rethink of going long based on market action at that level.....
(Which actually did end up happening but overnight when I am sound asleep)
However, it took 5+ hours of chop and I actually ended up getting in and out a ton of times which chopped my P&L into pieces. It didn't even reach the target by the close, so I just gave up by close although market was going towards my direction.

What exactly am I doing wrong?? If I see a market is chopping beforehand, I usually don't waste my time with it unless I see a breakout waiting to happen..... But if a market is MOVING, like the open yesterday on Russell, I expect the same movement until the bell closes??? And maybe I don't realize I am in chop since I have the recent movement in my most distant memory???

Someone please help me from chop....Once I get away from this #1 mistake, I can really improve my results, thank you.
View attachment 208007

heavenskrow,

I do not see any chop on your chart.

You entered a trade short. Next thing and only thing you can do from there is wait to get stopped out or profit target to hit.

I think you was being impatient expecting the market to go to your profit target very quickly like the run up earlier. Unfortunately, day trading does not work that way.

Now if you want to put a time stamp on your trades if they do not hit target by X amount of time, that is fine too.

 

[trader99]

So last time I talked about chop, one trader on here recommended by looking at the 1st hour's range. If it is very large range, then I can assume a non choppy day or something like that...

Anyways, the first 2 hours was relatively huge, so I assumed we would be getting the same kind of moves.... An opportunity presented itself for counter-trade so I took a short at arrow marked below. My target area was the white line area which where I would cover and possibly rethink of going long based on market action at that level.....
(Which actually did end up happening but overnight when I am sound asleep)
However, it took 5+ hours of chop and I actually ended up getting in and out a ton of times which chopped my P&L into pieces. It didn't even reach the target by the close, so I just gave up by close although market was going towards my direction.

What exactly am I doing wrong?? If I see a market is chopping beforehand, I usually don't waste my time with it unless I see a breakout waiting to happen..... But if a market is MOVING, like the open yesterday on Russell, I expect the same movement until the bell closes??? And maybe I don't realize I am in chop since I have the recent movement in my most distant memory???

Someone please help me from chop....Once I get away from this #1 mistake, I can really improve my results, thank you.
View attachment 208007

This morning in NQ is the real definition of chop. The picture you had above still has some continuation.


Look how tight that range is. But in theory, one could buy the lower range and sell the upper range. But it's all hindsight.

 

[murray t turtle]

This morning in NQ is the real definition of chop. The picture you had above still has some continuation.


Look how tight that range is. But in theory, one could buy the lower range and sell the upper range. But it's all hindsight.

View attachment 210873

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QQQ looks about the same/chopSlop; its 10:51 CST,.
Looks like QQQ is uptrending again, today;
+ above open price,
+last close price/eod,
+200 day moving average . NOT a prediction. Based on hindsight + year$ of Stock Traders Almanac/Hirsch,