The ideal would be to add the winners for example buying 5 contracts, then 3 and then 1.
(But for that you need a good trend, something that does not happen many times in the indexes)
But we usually do just the opposite by adding the losers, we buy 1, then 3, and then 5.
Then the price does not go in the desired direction, we do not admit the error and inevitably the account explodes.
Thats the big problem.
I have won for 13 days adding the losers but today they killed me.
I have lost everything I gained in 13 days and more. One thing is clear.
You have to have a daily loss limit.
They have advised me that my daily loss limit is the average of my winning days, what do you think?
Or maybe, should I change systems?
Although actually entering ES and immediately being in profit and then adding winners is next to impossible, price usually always pulls back before making the expected move.
The context is very important. I learned from Brooks that he often takes a look at the 15 minutes, hourly, daily, sometimes if necessary weekly and monthly chart while trading the 5 minute chart on Emini SP.
The daily chart shows a parabolic wedge with first a 9 day bull bar buy climax, something happens once every 2-3 years, then one bear bar, then another 7-8 day bull streak, and Wednesday was really a climax (if you traded live, you know what I am talking about). A correction of 10% or more is more and more likely. Even though he is still trading longs intraday when the PA is calling for longs on the 5 m chart.
But the reverse onto short is in a blink of the eye, if you are trading a 5 m chart. On a day like Thursday and Friday, Volpri's revenge trade will play well. The key is when you enter a long, you plan three things, where is your stop (actually before you enter, it is very easy to spot the perfect location of the stop), if the market goes there, that means the current trend (always in long), is over; and that better also be your spot for reverse, and then, where is your target when you are correct; and if you reversed, where is your target to get out in case the market reverse back fast to give you another slap on the face.
Sometimes I am lazy or too complacent to do all three, especially the reverse trade (normally my stop trade is bracketed in, I just need to adjust it to the last major low), and once in about 10-20 trade, something like Thursday happens, I miss the beginning leg of the down thrust, which is the most profitable one. For Thursday, people need to trade fast the stupid, do not look for bottom, have at least a small position in the right direction (down) and just ride it.
When I have a winning position, I found I tend to read the PA more objectively. When I have a position on the opposite side, I tend to subjectively always look for reversals, which are always minor compared to the size of the trend.