Trading on "Instynct" (NQ)

Jas,

I think most of us feel a sense of loss when we see the mkt take off without us. Something that seems to help me mentally is an analogy to fishing.

A school of fish may swim all around the fisherman's boat and he catches a few, perhaps seeing them jumping all around him, even as he heads back for shore. You will never catch the whole school, and you only need one or two to live. He is content with his catch and the opportunity to come back the next day. (violins playing in the background) :p
 
BMW,

Spoken like a true trader. It does come down to realizing that regret messes w/ the head. As long as we can land some fish nearly everday then all is good.

Nice job today ! Wishing you a great year !
 
My perspective regarding daily goals is that they smooth out your equity curve over time, and trading results really only matter over the long haul, eg. monthly, yearly etc. If I feel this daily goal improves my trading over say a three month period, then I will continue to stick with it indefinitely. Consistency builds confidence, and that's huge for me. Pulling in the big money is not dependent on trying to catch the whole move from top to bottom, or trying to catch every trade signal or opportunity. Pulling in large profits will come solely from increasing the order quantity, and that can only happen after a lengthy record of consistency.
 
Quote from jas_in_hbca:

Profit goals are tricky for me. (maybe if i had more profits it would be easier). I've thought that if I were up say 12 pts then took a 1 pt loss then I stopped for the day i'd be rather frustrated if the market then offered another 10 or 20 + pts.

More...

Put it this way... Lets use an arbitrary goal of $1000/day... It is far more ideal to trade 5 contracts and pick up 10 handles by going after 30% of the day's opportunity (cream of the crop setups if you will) and reach your 1k target... than to trade 1 contract and have to go after every single setup that the market offers for that day. But in order to trade size you need a consistent record to prove to yourself that you can trade profitably.

Once you reach this point in trading, fustration from watching the market taking off another 10 or 20 pts will be a thing of the past.
Ever watch the S.W.A.T. team conduct a sting operation on TV? They rehearse their routine over and over, and when it's time to bust the criminals they execute the operation quickly and flawlessly. When you walk into your trading room you will know exactly what you need to do, execute flawlessly without emotions, reach your objective and come back the next day to do it again.
 
Minor down day. I'm having a hard time staying focused on the market as I end up doing other things or leaving my desk out of shear boredom while waiting for my entry price.
 

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I've always had a swing for the fences mentality w/ stocks. worked sometimes but not enough for me to hold on to that view anymore. No doubt it still effects me to a some degree.

I do agree w/ you and BMW that shooting for a consistent target is a good idea.

Quote from Instynct:

Put it this way... Lets use an arbitrary goal of $1000/day... It is far more ideal to trade 5 contracts and pick up 10 handles by going after 30% of the day's opportunity (cream of the crop setups if you will) and reach your 1k target... than to trade 1 contract and have to go after every single setup that the market offers for that day. But in order to trade size you need a consistent record to prove to yourself that you can trade profitably.

Once you reach this point in trading, fustration from watching the market taking off another 10 or 20 pts will be a thing of the past.
Ever watch the S.W.A.T. team conduct a sting operation on TV? They rehearse their routine over and over, and when it's time to bust the criminals they execute the operation quickly and flawlessly. When you walk into your trading room you will know exactly what you need to do, execute flawlessly without emotions, reach your objective and come back the next day to do it again.
More...
 
man is it me or does this feel choppy and slow.

waiting to see if this HOD B/O holds. possible long entry around 2329/30 but not sure as it feels weak.
 
Crazy day, went on a roller coaster ride with the PnL. Started during the globex session as I saw a nice long setup and started the morning up nicely, down by 8am, then worked my way back to some profits. I basically scratched and chopped myself to death. You know you overtraded when you pay more in commissions than your net take home:) I was hoping to transition my trading towards taking less but more quality trades this year so today feels like a step back for me. But a small profit today none the less.
 

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