Section 7
- Thread starter trip
- Start date
Friday recap.
I did a mistake exiting the second trade at the mean of the overnight range. It was out of plan.
Looks to me like the next bar would have come all the way back to your entry. I know I would be wishing I sold earlier if I was holding through that next bar. What I see in your chart isn't the mistake, I see that you are 3 for 3 in your trades and ended up with a profitable day!
Thanks K P, that's a good point. I would probably have been stopped out. It's just that I don't have "exit at level where price hesitates" in my plan (yet).
True, I'll focus on that instead.
I mention this because not too long ago, Db pointed out in my journal that I completely missed the opening range and the apex of a hinge, etc. All of this was true of course. But although I am nowhere close to playing my A game, there are very likely enough things that I do see, enough trades that I can take and still be profitable. So although I'd love to be able to capture 80 points from a 100 point day, getting a consistent 10 points I would be delighted with and I would be getting paid to improve the skill set!
I mention this because not too long ago, Db pointed out in my journal that I completely missed the opening range and the apex of a hinge, etc. All of this was true of course. But although I am nowhere close to playing my A game, there are very likely enough things that I do see, enough trades that I can take and still be profitable. So although I'd love to be able to capture 80 points from a 100 point day, getting a consistent 10 points I would be delighted with and I would be getting paid to improve the skill set!
I met a trader who started on the floor of the CME. There was an old timer there who took him under his wing. The old timer noticed when he first started he was making a lot of good scalping trades but as he got more confidence he started to take "bigger" trades and holding longer. The old timer told him something like, "if you think you're too good to bend down and pick up a dollar bill you'll end up broke". Those little trades are more important to consistent profitability than the big ones.
When I started this journal I didn't really know where it would take me or if it would take me anywhere at all. Everyone (or so it seems) thinks a journal is a great tool that will help propel you towards that fleeting goal of consistently profitable trading.
I don't know about that but if it indeed is true I am sure it need not be a public journal. I do keep a much more detailed journal in Excel where I also note personal stuff that I would not like to display in public. I also keep a plan (todo-list) with things that I am working on and stuff I am going to look further into when time permits. I spend large part of my free time and weekends working on this. I am not trying to invent the wheel again - it's basically the "straight line approach" - but I still need to do this work for me.
DbPhoenix just posted an article about keeping a journal. What it describes resembles the journal I keep in private more than what I'll ever be prepared to post here. As I can't take that to heart, and as future posts here would just be more of the same it does not really serve any purpose as I see it.
I've decided to put this journal on hold for a while, maybe indefinitely.
Thank you DbPhoenix for freely sharing your method and your views on trading. I'm forever grateful for that.
I don't know about that but if it indeed is true I am sure it need not be a public journal. I do keep a much more detailed journal in Excel where I also note personal stuff that I would not like to display in public. I also keep a plan (todo-list) with things that I am working on and stuff I am going to look further into when time permits. I spend large part of my free time and weekends working on this. I am not trying to invent the wheel again - it's basically the "straight line approach" - but I still need to do this work for me.
DbPhoenix just posted an article about keeping a journal. What it describes resembles the journal I keep in private more than what I'll ever be prepared to post here. As I can't take that to heart, and as future posts here would just be more of the same it does not really serve any purpose as I see it.
I've decided to put this journal on hold for a while, maybe indefinitely.
Thank you DbPhoenix for freely sharing your method and your views on trading. I'm forever grateful for that.
When I started this journal I didn't really know where it would take me or if it would take me anywhere at all. Everyone (or so it seems) thinks a journal is a great tool that will help propel you towards that fleeting goal of consistently profitable trading.
I don't know about that but if it indeed is true I am sure it need not be a public journal. I do keep a much more detailed journal in Excel where I also note personal stuff that I would not like to display in public. I also keep a plan (todo-list) with things that I am working on and stuff I am going to look further into when time permits. I spend large part of my free time and weekends working on this. I am not trying to invent the wheel again - it's basically the "straight line approach" - but I still need to do this work for me.
DbPhoenix just posted an article about keeping a journal. What it describes resembles the journal I keep in private more than what I'll ever be prepared to post here. As I can't take that to heart, and as future posts here would just be more of the same it does not really serve any purpose as I see it.
I've decided to put this journal on hold for a while, maybe indefinitely.
Thank you DbPhoenix for freely sharing your method and your views on trading. I'm forever grateful for that.
I do pretty much the same thing you do. I have a much more detailed notebook journal IRL. I realized if I wanted to have an effective journal I couldn't post it on-line because I just am not willing to reveal that much of myself publicly.
I also agree that the work needs to be done regardless of how simple DB makes following the rules seem. How big of a stop to use (if using a non-structural stop), how close to draw the lines, where to place one's entry etc. - needs to be figured out on one's own - at least as far as I can tell.
I also think this work - even if it just confirms what you already know - is a big factor in removing fear from the equation.
All that being said I believe the journal we keep here still serves a purpose. By keeping this journal we have a lot of eyes on our work and sometimes one of those eyes will point something out that we have completely missed.
All the best.
I very much agree with this. We ultimately don't know who anyone is, so my gut feeling is that if you don't want to put something in the journal because of what everyone else will think who doesn't even know you, could this perhaps be a sign of ego creeping into your trading too much?
If you are fully confident in your abilities to guide your own progress then this may not matter nearly as much, but as Green says, one of those eyes may point something out to you that haven't seen yourself.
Hey Trip - rather than clutter the SLA thread I will post here if that's okay. Db made the comment that he sees tons of lines being posted that are extraneous and possibly counter-productive.
I've tried it both ways - not drawing the lines and drawing the lines. I prefer the second. I think I will always draw lines. I don't think there is anything wrong with doing so. I mark ranges and hinges so that I stay out of them or am at least aware of them. I draw 50% retracement lines. I look at more than just the minute chart to trade.
I can't keep all of the levels in my head. I like to zoom into a 1 minute chart and if I don't also have another time frame up I will lose the plot. It takes a glace at a 10 minute chart to remind myself where we are in a trend. I found myself missing this with only 1 chart up. Perhaps they are training wheels that will some day come off but as of now I prefer them.
I see no reason why drawing lines means you aren't paying attention to price action. Each trader can figure out whether the lines are hurting or helping them.
As for horizontal lines - although they aren't a part of SLA - I still draw them. I draw only major horizontal levels on daily charts (3410 for example). I haven't had a lot of success on other time frames. Marking horizontal ranges and their means seems like a good idea unless you can remember all important price levels as time unfolds. My mind isn't capable of that so I draw horizontal lines.
As Db constantly reminds us - trading isn't a team sport. Don't throw something in or out unless it makes sense to you.
I've tried it both ways - not drawing the lines and drawing the lines. I prefer the second. I think I will always draw lines. I don't think there is anything wrong with doing so. I mark ranges and hinges so that I stay out of them or am at least aware of them. I draw 50% retracement lines. I look at more than just the minute chart to trade.
I can't keep all of the levels in my head. I like to zoom into a 1 minute chart and if I don't also have another time frame up I will lose the plot. It takes a glace at a 10 minute chart to remind myself where we are in a trend. I found myself missing this with only 1 chart up. Perhaps they are training wheels that will some day come off but as of now I prefer them.
I see no reason why drawing lines means you aren't paying attention to price action. Each trader can figure out whether the lines are hurting or helping them.
As for horizontal lines - although they aren't a part of SLA - I still draw them. I draw only major horizontal levels on daily charts (3410 for example). I haven't had a lot of success on other time frames. Marking horizontal ranges and their means seems like a good idea unless you can remember all important price levels as time unfolds. My mind isn't capable of that so I draw horizontal lines.
As Db constantly reminds us - trading isn't a team sport. Don't throw something in or out unless it makes sense to you.