Techniques for Day Trading the ES, NQ, YM, MES, MNQ, and MYM

[volpri]

Volpri, I read this thread on & off, glance through it as I'm not a futures/intraday trader and the intraday price action explanations are of no interest to me.
Before I continue on further, I'll mention this, I highly respect you and have no beef (opposition) to your trading methods.
But on the subject of; "If I could have my time again, relive my trading life", the one thing that I can't fathom in terms if common sense, is the belief in scalping intraday as a way of life.

I'm an old bugger too, and it makes no logic to me to be scalping nickels and dimes along with the huge amount of labor content.

Seriously, I spend my days looking at the market, mainly because I have nothing much else to do, but I can be away for weeks on end with computer switched off and making money.
I tend to think of longer term trading as passive income, where what you do is fighting a battle each day (slightly exagerated) but it's like an ant scurrying around versus a cat or a dog laying in the porch soaking up sun.

Not everyone is the same but I really like scalping AND scalping doesn’t have to be nickel and dimes. I don’t show size here because what is the use and how is that gonna help or be an encouragement to small traders here on ET? They would just think they don’t even have enough in their SIM account to scalp that kind of size. But what I am showing can work with small accounts or large accounts.

Also scalping can be done in a couple of hours in the morning. Enough to make a handsome living.

Yes, you can have the computer switched off and make money. You can also have it switched off and lose money ..correct?

I am curious what “on average” would you say is a decent DAILY profit for long term Investing like you do with an account your size? $500 day? 1000, 2000, 5000, or more?

But hey I respect your manner of trading or investing. If that is what you like to do. Whatever floats your boat. Life has to be lived and enjoyed as it comes to an end sooner than we would like.

As far as soaking up the sun Cancun is a good place. This is where we stayed the last time I was there. Pretty good beach porch for an ant to scurry around on ROFLMAO

 

[Relentless]

lol... I knew that was coming. Gotta watch out as it can get kind of cultish around here.

You call it a cult.

I call it unprofitable degenerate trolls claiming to be successful traders / investors (unlikely) weighing in from time to time with jealous bouts of impressive stupidity. Oxygen thieves making a strong appearance here lately.

Can OPs of topic squelch specific entities from posting in their threads on ET? Sorely needed.

 

[themickey]

Not everyone is the same but I really like scalping AND scalping doesn’t have to be nickel and dimes. I don’t show size here because what is the use and how is that gonna help or be an encouragement to small traders here on ET? They would just think they don’t even have enough in their SIM account to scalp that kind of size. But what I am showing can work with small accounts or large accounts.

You enjoy scalping, well that's good enough.
If one enjoys that sort of pasttime, very good. So in otherwords time spent is of no consideration. It's obvious to me now from this journal that time on your writings and the detail you go to is purely/largely for enjoyment.
Thanks for explaining. I gotta say, my level of dedication is for long term trading where yours is short term.

 

[themickey]

You call it a cult.

I call it unprofitable degenerate trolls claiming to be successful traders / investors (unlikely) weighing in from time to time with jealous bouts of impressive stupidity. Oxygen thieves making a strong appearance here lately.

Can OPs of topic squelch specific entities from posting in their threads on ET? Sorely needed.

Sheesh, some are sooooooo sensitive about being questioned on intraday trading.

 

[Relentless]

Sheesh, some are sooooooo sensitive about being questioned on intraday trading.

Volpri has mastered a very difficult skillset and is generously taking time from his personal life to teach here for free.

It's a more productive thread when people aren't waltzing in pretending to be respectful and then firing off condescending questions as if they know better (and you don't).

One of the few contributors / threads on ET worth following. A gem among a sea of cess.

Let the man do his thing.

 

[themickey]

Volpri has mastered a very difficult skillset and is generously taking time from his personal life to teach here for free.

100% agree. This is a very good journal, as mentioned I have alot of respect for OP.

It's a more productive thread when people aren't waltzing in pretending to be respectful and then firing off condescending questions as if they know better (and you don't).

You're so sensitive and defensive, makes me wonder whether you are having issues in your trading.

A gem among a sea of cess.

Have you spoken to Baron about how bad you find this site?

Let the man do his thing.

Yes, Volpri is doing his thing and you need to stfu.

 

[NoahA]

I suppose the purpose of all this explanation is to show that further weakness was indicated by

Thank-you very much Volpri. I went through all of your explanations. The funny thing is that given what we see happen over the next few hours, it was actually longs that would have hit targets sooner (not that your analysis was in any way bad of course), and ended up being more correct in the longer term. The real funny thing though is that by shorting and it going against you, forcing you to scale in, the profit is actually bigger. Once the trade goes quickly in your direction, you hit your profit on a small position. So its the trades where you are initially wrong and have to scale in where it seems to make most money.

This reminds me of the excellent post you made a while back about the the relationship between different type of risks and probabilities and how a low risk and high probability event is.... ummm.... I forget what. LOL But I have it saved somewhere.

Anyway, the point I want to make is that as good as your explanations are for what made you short, I still almost prefer, or see, the long trade as more viable. But, as is the case with most of the charts, either position almost seems to work. I almost think that you can justify any trade you take since its never 90% clear where its heading and if the bulls or bears are willing, or will win on any future bar. If initially wrong, you scale in, and its that scale-in that turns it profitable. And if you realize the direction is really wrong, you're very good about doubling up and switching sides.

So I think this is where the real strength is of your "system". Here you were shorting after 5 bear bars, which is many ways is incredibly risky. Had you gone long, you'd be right sooner rather than later. But by going short and scaling in, you turned that into a profitable trade. Like you say, you want to have a naked chart at hand so that your brain is open to other possibilities as well, and I certainly see the bull case here just as easily as your bear case. I bet that on a different day, you could have perhaps turned this into an example of going long and turning a profit as well. (And especially when I read your last post about the nested channel, which is clear with your yellow lines, and therefore shows you shorting at the bottom of the channel)

So I can't help but be looking for the common element here. If you could make money with going short, as well as going long, perhaps the magic sauce isn't about trying to figure out exactly what will happen next or justifying through analysis where its going, but rather what you will do with a position that you are in. In other words, if I just blindly gave you a position, it appears to me that you would have the skills to either stick with it, fix it (via scaling), or very quickly get out and change sides.

That to me is the magic. Not being right about your analysis and initial entry, but knowing what to do about the position you find yourself in to turn it into a profitable trade. Its good to be right about the direction of the market, but its more important to be profitable after the trade is closed.

 

[Relentless]

100% agree. This is a very good journal, as mentioned I have alot of respect for OP.

You're so sensitive and defensive, makes me wonder whether you are having issues in your trading.

Have you spoken to Baron about how bad you find this site?

Yes, Volpri is doing his thing and you need to stfu.

On ignore with the rest of the tools.

**EDIT: Sorry @volpri for the off topic banter.

 

[themickey]

On ignore with the rest of the tools.

 

[volpri]

Thank-you very much Volpri. I went through all of your explanations. The funny thing is that given what we see happen over the next few hours, it was actually longs that would have hit targets sooner (not that your analysis was in any way bad of course), and ended up being more correct in the longer term. The real funny thing though is that by shorting and it going against you, forcing you to scale in, the profit is actually bigger. Once the trade goes quickly in your direction, you hit your profit on a small position. So its the trades where you are initially wrong and have to scale in where it seems to make most money.

This reminds me of the excellent post you made a while back about the the relationship between different type of risks and probabilities and how a low risk and high probability event is.... ummm.... I forget what. LOL But I have it saved somewhere.

Anyway, the point I want to make is that as good as your explanations are for what made you short, I still almost prefer, or see, the long trade as more viable. But, as is the case with most of the charts, either position almost seems to work. I almost think that you can justify any trade you take since its never 90% clear where its heading and if the bulls or bears are willing, or will win on any future bar. If initially wrong, you scale in, and its that scale-in that turns it profitable. And if you realize the direction is really wrong, you're very good about doubling up and switching sides.

So I think this is where the real strength is of your "system". Here you were shorting after 5 bear bars, which is many ways is incredibly risky. Had you gone long, you'd be right sooner rather than later. But by going short and scaling in, you turned that into a profitable trade. Like you say, you want to have a naked chart at hand so that your brain is open to other possibilities as well, and I certainly see the bull case here just as easily as your bear case. I bet that on a different day, you could have perhaps turned this into an example of going long and turning a profit as well. (And especially when I read your last post about the nested channel, which is clear with your yellow lines, and therefore shows you shorting at the bottom of the channel)

So I can't help but be looking for the common element here. If you could make money with going short, as well as going long, perhaps the magic sauce isn't about trying to figure out exactly what will happen next or justifying through analysis where its going, but rather what you will do with a position that you are in. In other words, if I just blindly gave you a position, it appears to me that you would have the skills to either stick with it, fix it (via scaling), or very quickly get out and change sides.

That to me is the magic. Not being right about your analysis and initial entry, but knowing what to do about the position you find yourself in to turn it into a profitable trade. Its good to be right about the direction of the market, but its more important to be profitable after the trade is closed.

Like I have said before money can be made on most anyone of the 81 5 min bars of the RTH’s session. Going short at the bottom of a bear channel is for martingaling. Otherwise, going long is fine too but in bear channels shorting in top 1/3 is higher probability than going long in the top 1/3. If martingaling I start start shorting in the bottom and keep adding as the position goes against me betting any Bull move will fail and PA will give me a quick profit. but it should always be remembered bear channels are bull flags on a larger TF (continuation patterns) so when there is a really good successful BO of the top then long is the way to be. But until then any thing to make money.