Technical Strategy
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The Day
Today we had a rather sedate inverted saucer, with the siren song of bars 55-65 amply recompensed by the two nice moves that followed.
For my debrief, I will see how I measured up against the eponymous Traders A and B, given that my goal today was to mimic the latter.
(n.b. end of Friday included to preserve context)
<img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=2222380>
Today we had a rather sedate inverted saucer, with the siren song of bars 55-65 amply recompensed by the two nice moves that followed.
For my debrief, I will see how I measured up against the eponymous Traders A and B, given that my goal today was to mimic the latter.
(n.b. end of Friday included to preserve context)
<img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=2222380>
Biofeedback
I was glad the EmWave finally arrived, and moreso, that the setup was quick and uncomplicated. Less than an hour after I unpacked it, Iâd â at least briefly â worked through all of the main functions and felt comfortable using it during the market day.
Itâs surprisingly inconspicuous. Just a lightweight plastic-encased sensor that clips onto the earlobe, and after wearing it awhile, you almost forget itâs there. Itâs empowering to see that green bar rising, and, while your state can literally shift from green to red in a heartbeat, itâs reassuring that the meter can be returned to green with just a few seconds of slow, deep and deliberate breathing.
They suggest a Quick Coherence Technique, which consists of three steps:
I also noticed that a relaxed posture with minimal arm or trunk movement facilitated staying in the Zone.
Now, the last time I consciously regulated my breathing for a sustained period, and at repeated intervals was when I went scuba-diving after a long hiatus. But itâs safe to say that Iâve never regulated my breathing for close to seven hours. In particular the 4/8 breathing in the last fifteen minutes, which felt, quite literally luxuriant, gave rise to beautifully balanced waveforms and an abiding sensation of freshness and calm.
I look forward to future sessions with the EmWave.
I was glad the EmWave finally arrived, and moreso, that the setup was quick and uncomplicated. Less than an hour after I unpacked it, Iâd â at least briefly â worked through all of the main functions and felt comfortable using it during the market day.
Itâs surprisingly inconspicuous. Just a lightweight plastic-encased sensor that clips onto the earlobe, and after wearing it awhile, you almost forget itâs there. Itâs empowering to see that green bar rising, and, while your state can literally shift from green to red in a heartbeat, itâs reassuring that the meter can be returned to green with just a few seconds of slow, deep and deliberate breathing.
They suggest a Quick Coherence Technique, which consists of three steps:
- Heart focus â focusing on the heart, then the center of the chest
- Heart breathing â picturing the breath flowing into and out of that area
- Heart feeling â associating positive feelings
I also noticed that a relaxed posture with minimal arm or trunk movement facilitated staying in the Zone.
Now, the last time I consciously regulated my breathing for a sustained period, and at repeated intervals was when I went scuba-diving after a long hiatus. But itâs safe to say that Iâve never regulated my breathing for close to seven hours. In particular the 4/8 breathing in the last fifteen minutes, which felt, quite literally luxuriant, gave rise to beautifully balanced waveforms and an abiding sensation of freshness and calm.
I look forward to future sessions with the EmWave.
Debrief
My slightly unusual debrief pits me against two fictitious traders, Trader A, cream of the (2nd-division) crop, and the good ole reliable workhorse, Trader B. To recap, we're trading the sub-fractal (aka faster fractal) traverses, Trader A carving razor-sharp turns to rapturous applause, and Trader B chugging behind the pack on the end-of-bar RTL breakouts.
Given that until very recently I hadn't co-ordinated precise annotation and sequencing nor acknowledged the strength and intimacy of the relationship between the ES and YM, I opted to leave the glory for the racing ace and tailgate Trader B, to make sure that I could make every turn, with certainty if not panache, and without careening off the track. After all, the tracks I'd grown accustomed to were slow and simple, and the cars underpowered.
I needed to feel comfortable in this division.
(n.b. I'm the imaginatively titled Trader C)
<img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=2222813>
My slightly unusual debrief pits me against two fictitious traders, Trader A, cream of the (2nd-division) crop, and the good ole reliable workhorse, Trader B. To recap, we're trading the sub-fractal (aka faster fractal) traverses, Trader A carving razor-sharp turns to rapturous applause, and Trader B chugging behind the pack on the end-of-bar RTL breakouts.
Given that until very recently I hadn't co-ordinated precise annotation and sequencing nor acknowledged the strength and intimacy of the relationship between the ES and YM, I opted to leave the glory for the racing ace and tailgate Trader B, to make sure that I could make every turn, with certainty if not panache, and without careening off the track. After all, the tracks I'd grown accustomed to were slow and simple, and the cars underpowered.
I needed to feel comfortable in this division.
(n.b. I'm the imaginatively titled Trader C)
<img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=2222813>
All in all, pleased with the result. Took a couple of turns wide and early, but recovered, and later in the race, got caught up in the moment, sucked into B's slipstream and overtook him on the final stretch.
Much more importantly, I felt that I unquestionably belonged with these drivers and remained both serene and highly focused for almost the entire race.
Now I can begin to tune the engine and hone my skills.
(n.b. all entered long at the close of bar 3, exited at the close of bar 81)
<img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=2222829>
Much more importantly, I felt that I unquestionably belonged with these drivers and remained both serene and highly focused for almost the entire race.
Now I can begin to tune the engine and hone my skills.
(n.b. all entered long at the close of bar 3, exited at the close of bar 81)
<img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=2222829>
There is another Trader (call him/her "D") which trades using only the 5M ES chart and which may have taken 2 trades today given the signals provided from the P/V relationship and the sequences. This is the trader who trades the 5 minute fractal only (Not the faster fractals... Yet).
Enter short @ bar 1 [close-of]
Reverse Long @ bar 70 [close-of]
Exit @ Bar 81 [close-of]
This is 1 entry, 1 reversal, and 1 exit (for this day) which was ~1.4X ATR. Just wanted to include it for posterities sake and as a possibility for consideration. Of course, this is a slow velocity (5 minute fractal) compared to some others which could be applied. But it helps to keep the RHR quite low while a trader learns to integrate the finer tools (On their way to Trader "A")
Quote from ehorn:
There is another Trader (call him/her "D") which trades using only the 5M ES chart and which may have taken 2 trades today given the signals provided from the P/V relationship and the sequences.
This is 1 entry, 1 reversal, and 1 exit (for this day) which was ~1.4X ATR. But it helps to keep the RHR quite low while a trader learns to integrate the finer tools (On their way to Trader "A")
Absolutely. But then again, there's also Trader E, who just trades the long channel diagonal (1 trade) for ~1xATR. As Jack might say, the 'use it or lose it' phenomenon applies. Bodybuilders might call it the principle of progressive resistance. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi might have some comments too.
Operating on the subfractal level, I feel I'm learning at a markedly higher velocity.
It's easy to misconstrue an elevated heart rate. A number of factors can cause that, including the aforementioned deconditioning, fatigue and caffeine. Heart rate alone is a very crude measure of anxiety. The biofeedback device measures coherence and calm in a far more sophisticated and accurate manner.
In all sincerity, all day long, I was as calm as if I were diving with dolphins in the Red Sea.
On a final note, we all know there are a couple of notches beyond Trader A.
