Trading on "Instynct" (NQ)

Quote from Rashid_G.:

Schaefer.... You are still around? Wow.. Many of us are like relics of ET.. Rightly said.. The root of my problem is an inability to accept THE true stop so I end up with stops that are sure to be taken. The larger stop, though unimaginable to the fearful trader actually rarely gets reached but I simply can't/won't accept it... Then I readilly accept lots of little ones.

As BMW said, once you enter Hotel ET, you never leave.. Just take breaks..
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Yep, I'm still around and kicking :D

Just sim it for a couple of months, and you'll see what I'm talking about. I may have to take your slot, and let you humiliate us for a change.

Schaefer
 
Quote from bmwhendrix:

Instynct, I have been watching the first 30 minute opening range following your tip, and it is very interesting how often that range becomes a support or resistance level, just like today.

I am now looking for a long entry to run back to top of range.
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The 30 minute opening range is interesting because most days the high or low of the day is printed during this window of time. But I think that prev HOD/LOD (regular trading hours) is monitored by more market participants than anything else. For example look at today's action at the Prev HOD (2317.75), When we broke above it at 7:52 pst, price pulled back and buyers stepped up twice at 8:05 and 8:15pst but it failed. Regardless though you could've bought it at that level for some nice 5+pt scalps. Then once we broke down below it sellers came in three times 9:41, 12:24, and 1:04pst.
 
Quote from Rashid_G.:

Guys,

I have decided to stop trading for a while. Yes today was bad but nothing terrible. However I am continually stepping over dollars (my work) to pick up pennies (trading). The only way to keep at it would be to trade significantly more contracts but even a 1 contract trade is scary to me, preventing me from applying even the simplest of systems. 1 contract or 5 contracts takes the same amount of time.

Until financially I can comfortably trade multiple units with 15m bar stops (5 to 10 pts.) I shouldn't and won't trade. 5k per contract about right... Need to build capital to such a level.

Hard decision but the right one...
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Typed this out last night but was hesitant to post it. Well what the heck...

You just need a break from trading.

I get this feeling that you subconsciously treat trading the same way you treat a normal job. If you only have 2 hrs to trade before work, you will force yourself to trade as much as possible to try to get the most out of those two hrs.

In a normal society we work a regular job and get paid an hourly wage based on how many hours we put in. In trading we get paid solely on our performance, the market doesn't care how many hrs we sit in front of our monitors. The lifestyle of a trader is vastly different than that of a normal person working a regular job and I'll be the first to admit that it took me a while to get used to this way of life. There is more freedom in this business than any other. I use to feel guilty and down right useless because after the market closes at 1pm my time, I've got nothing else to do. But slowly I started to understand what it means to be a trader in the broader sense and how that role plays in my life.

My point is that we try to apply our normal way of life to the trading world which is totally counter intuitive, and that's why trading is so hard. We are used to having control over alot of our exterior environment. If you want coffee you turn on the coffee maker. If you wanted to listen to music you press the power button and music will most likely come out because you did something to affect that change. Same thing with the TV, you changed something in the environment for the TV to turn on.

In trading you can't control what the market will do. No matter how much you want price to go in a certain direction after you entered, there is nothing you can do to make it go in that direction. This is where the normal everyday life gets in the way of trading, and the root cause as to why we engage in revenge trading. When we have a loss, the natural tendency is to try to get that money back as soon as possible, just like the natural tendancy to press the power button on the stereo when we want to hear music. And we both know the most probable outcome from both of those events.
 
Good points Instynct. The right mindset is very hard for me to keep. After a day of watching the market when no good setups occur, I feel like I just wasted a day. And toward the end of the day I feel compelled to knock out a few widgets like any good productive worker should, usually taking low quality setups. It is true that many of the characteristics that made us successful in other careers, work against us in trading.
 
Instynct,

Excellent points. To tell a newbie you get paid more for doing less... Most will say fantastic! where do I sign? Then they start to trade and life changes..

Will SIM from December on and if I can put in a successful (meaning relaxed.. not money) few weeks, return to cash. I keep harping about the system I want to trade... MAYBE it is not the miracle I am thinking it is.. maybe it is.. Until I find out I can't calmly trade it. Also need to distinguish between a stop not to lose money and a stop that negates a signal.

Trade Well..
 
Well was down about 300 early on but made it back and then some. I think my bad trading vibe of the last week or so has just capitulated and flushed out. Time for the equity curve to head back up.
 

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