switching gears to Price Action via SLA

Hi Gears,

As someone who has gone through this process - and believe me I was no quick learner - I recommend working on maintaining a consistent state of mind that assumes that a failure to trade correctly is based on your early progress using the method, NOT your emotional shortcomings. Stress affects your memory, and so "not following your rules" happens much more frequently when they aren't second nature. Therefore, if you are still tweaking your rules, you should expect execution errors in the heat of the moment. Your mind isn't sabotaging you, you just need more methodical, consistent practice.
 
Hey gears have you read Douglas trading in the zone. I'm thinking it comes down to confidence in the system. Realistically NONE of us would be on et if there weren't some issues we needed to resolve
 
Papa_Geo said:
Hi Gears,

As someone who has gone through this process - and believe me I was no quick learner - I recommend working on maintaining a consistent state of mind that assumes that a failure to trade correctly is based on your early progress using the method, NOT your emotional shortcomings. Stress affects your memory, and so "not following your rules" happens much more frequently when they aren't second nature. Therefore, if you are still tweaking your rules, you should expect execution errors in the heat of the moment. Your mind isn't sabotaging you, you just need more methodical, consistent practice.
More...
I am working on it. It's hard to be like a duck and let things roll off my back, but I am working on it. The rules of the plan are not extensive. They are actually quite simple and straightforward - it's executing them where I get in to trouble. If I follow the rules every time, I either do well or minimize my risk. Both of those outcomes are acceptable/desirable to me.

But you are correct - I do need more practice. Thanks for stopping by.
 
slugar said:
Hey gears have you read Douglas trading in the zone. I'm thinking it comes down to confidence in the system. Realistically NONE of us would be on et if there weren't some issues we needed to resolve
More...

I have not yet read that. I have a lot of reading ahead of me and that's certainly on the list.

As I'm working on "re-languaging", I'll skip a derogatory comment about the number of issues I have. :D As has been my mantra in recent days, I'm going to keep plugging away.
 
niko said:
Given that things are gaining momentum, and current members have the time to daytrade i would like to propose that each one of us defines a goal for next week, one goal is enough, not trying to become billionaires by next friday, just learning how to do 1 new thing right. Some of you will want to improve observation skills, some of you are trying to decipher how to enter, some of you (like me) are stuck on scratching, some of you are trying to hold on to it for longer, some of you are trying to understand AMT and how to SAR. So why dont we all set one goal and post it, that will make us accountable to each other, and will also allow those members who have been able to solve something to help those in need.

Well, that´s just an idea, if you think is bad, just dump it. If not just post.

My goal for next friday is to have scratching solved.
More...

I never committed to a goal and think feel that I need to do so.

My goal is to trust my supply and demand lines and not exit a contract until they are compromised - not just barely touched or poked outside a tiny bit - a true compromise. If I'm going to use a line as a guideline/rule, I don't get to cherry pick when I follow the rule. Why have a plan if I'm not going to execute it?
 
Journaling is for accountability and putting oneself out there for assistance and when necessary, critiquing.

Glad you've posted a goal, slugar!
 
Today started out with a range - and a fairly small one at that - about 15 points. I'm not well-versed enough to be trading REVs so I sat back and watched.

In the CWS world, I could have taken a long which would have triggered at 0952, but at that point, price had gone out the top of the range, down through the range and was rejected at the bottom heading back up - INTO the range. BUT - I just wasn't feeling it yet as I haven't had enough time seeing this behavior so I didn't want to force an entry and I'm trying to treat simming as I would live trading.

Price did get above the range and trended a bit. The way down was a bit choppier (random spikes through the SL) and I wasn't clearly seeing who had the ball - buyers or sellers - so again, it was best for me to stay outside the fray.

We'll see what tomorrow will bring.
 
Today was a hodge podge kind of day for me. I ended up doing alright, but I made a ton of mistakes along the way.

The overnight was a fairly tight range. I'm not necessarily comfortable trading them, but get caught up at times in the movement and want to be in. This is dangerous, I know. My general approach is to enter with 2 contracts with a stop at 1 point beyond my entry. The idea is that the good trades will go. If you're stopped out, it isn't one of the better trades.

1. My first entry was due to price pretty fluidly going outside the range boundary. I entered on a RET within the bar. I was able to draw a DL but the pullback got to me and I exited. Very first trade and I didn't follow my own rules.

2. The DL was broken and a LH followed. A RET in the opposite direction occurred and I followed price down. Very slight pullback and then price just motored to the OL area. Because I had just violated my own rule of not waiting for the DL to be broken, I wanted to wait for the SL to be broken. Then I realized how price was moving (up) and how it had touched the OL area like a hot stove and determined that reading price trumped my rules - so I exited.

3. Then things got a little sticky. Entered on a RET, got rid of my stop, eventually exited. Entered again and was stopped out. Entered a 3rd time and was again stopped out. Price kept moving up, but my entry point wasn't a great one. May seem like overkill to get in, but a sticking point for me is re-entering after a losing trade. I'm trying to desensitize myself.

4. The REV around 1030 after the HL was pretty much textbook SLA. And I got nervous and wanted more info for my entry. The SL had been broken, a swing high established and then a LH. Then price moved back up and higher than the swing high. I entered on the RET after that. Goes back to the price risk vs info risk. With the previous scratching I'd done, I guess I was looking for more information.

5. I exited that trade prematurely. Thought I was reading price in that the bar was like a spike - went up and immediately down - almost like a rejection. Being that I entered with 2, I should have exited 1 and ridden out the other. But I didn't. Time to look for another entry.

6. Because of my incorrect decision earlier, I was trying to find a good entry where I wouldn't be immediately scratched. It took a while, and I made some panicky herky jerky moves along the way. After I'd make a less than stellar exit, I was determined to get back in so that when pressed again, I'd have another opportunity to do the correct thing - follow my rules.

7. My last exit annoys me the most. Yes, I exited 1 at the DL break. But I should have waited for a swing to be compromised but I didn't. I keep learning to trust some basic rules, but I violate them much more than I should. More replay needed.

I took a step or two forward today with regard to re-entering, but with not following my rules, I still have quite a distance to go. As always, I'll keep plugging away.
 
Today was pretty much a combo day - range and FOMC.

Prior to the open, price had been edging up for a few hours. At the open, usually the big guns take care of business and then things sort of go on their way. This morning, things did not seem orderly to me. Price was jumpy and would spike here and there. A range developed between 35 and 50.

In the CWS world and if I were more confident, I would like to have looked back and taken a short around 1001/1003 and a long around 1015/1016. The behavior of price (of course in hindsight) just kind of screams out that change was imminent. For instance, the range had been established after price couldn't get above 50 at 0948 (after the prior attempt at 0941) and it marched pretty much untouched down to 35. Then it turned right around and headed back up to 50. Same price of 0948 was met, RET, price tried to make a HH and couldn't, DL broken. How many more signs does one need?

So it heads back down toward 35. Movement is a little more herky jerky, but it does get down there, there's a RET, a HL, a pop up, and an SL cross. Again - how much more does the market have to tell me before I take the trade? Are RETs easier for me to see and trust? Sure they are. Ranges can be more difficult - no doubt. But - when prices gives a road map of what it's doing, it's best to listen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top