Steal away. No secrets here...
Notice that the losses were during the lunch time. FWIW.
Notice that the losses were during the lunch time. FWIW.
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Trading on "Instynct" (NQ)
- Thread starter Instynct
- Start date
-600 roughly for the week, on my laptop so no attachments. Still bleeding cash but I have not given up. Sorry for being MIA, I just needed time to ponder about wtf is going on with me. Being away from ET is like peace and quiet, sometimes it feels good to be away, but I will always come back because know I always enjoy being around traders.
Quote from Specterx:
Perhaps you could elaborate on this?
In my humble opinion, psychology is vastly overrated as a driving factor in day-to-day results. The reason is that confidence and 'good' psychology are a consequence of favorable trading results, which come from following a bulletproof trading plan with every base covered and without any leaks. Poor trading results will hit your confidence and psych, but the results themselves are a consequence of deficiencies in one's trading plan. In both cases the strength or weakness of the plan (and secondarily things like screentime and experience) is the driving factor, not trader psychology.
Psychology matters when you're deciding where you want to be on the risk/effort vs. reward continuum (how much drawdown can you tolerate, what timeframe or holding period suits you best, etc.) but IMO is almost never the culprit when it comes to unexpected drawdowns or underperformance.
In your case it seems pretty clear-cut, your trading plan simply does not have an adequate set of rules to deal with this low-volatility, HFT-driven bull grind. ES and NQ are always hyper-efficient with miniscule available edges, on days like today the available edge is basically zero - but as always, there's still the opportunity to lose significant amounts of money. When humans return to the market and the PA displays pace, rhythm and all that good stuff, as on Wednesday, you consistently do fine.
Once you realize what the problem is, you can develop a solution without bothering with visualizations, meditation, inducing Zen states or any of that silliness.
Specterx, this one of the more logical and clear thinking post Iâve read in a while, thanks for taking the time.
Thereâs no doubt that every point you make is the truth about trading especially with regard to executing a bulletproof plan. These are all points I cannot dispute with. But no matter how leak proof your plan is, you will make mistakes, run into days where the market makes no sense whatsoever, and take big hits. My point about the psychology of trading is that I think some people are more prone to take things personally than others, which is a ticket to further destruction of the account if they cannot control it. Some of this can be attributed to the person living and reacting to the life and childhood that they were dealt with early on that is carried on to their adult life. I donât want to get into my childhood life but Iâll just say it was a shitty environment and leave it at that. Of course Iâm not using my circumstances in life as any excuse, and just like a lot of things in life, it can be fixed. This is the part of the psychology that I am referring to.
Yesterday I created what I think are 3 solid rules that will help me turn things around while still continuing the same method of reading price. I will share those rules in time when they prove profitable. One of the rules is a more general type that requires quick reaction and instinct guided by experience to execute it properly.
So for now Iâm just going to let my edge and will to survive lead the way from here. I will post my full results regardless if my account goes to zero or 100k.
Quote from Redneck:
Instynct
Before one can soar â as a trader â one needs to learn how to fall... and fail
Let goâ¦. and do what you must
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At firstâ¦, as you are now â youâll fight itâ¦
After all it goes against everything inside you⦠everything you want to achieveâ¦.
It is absolutely counter to everything a human is brought up to believe⦠and that Sir - is exactly what you are fightingâ¦
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In society â success begets success⦠failing is just not an optionâ¦.
Losers, in the worst possible descriptor of society â are flat F'n failures (and something to be avoided at all costs)
OTOH
In trading â failing (losing small.. and losing as often as necessary) is exactly what begets successâ¦
And the better one can fail (take small losers without being phased⦠yet continue trading what they see)⦠the more successful they become
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Some say trading is not psychological⦠well I'm here to tell ya - some also donât know shit from apple butter
Food for thought Sir
RN
RN, the quality and substance of your post is one of a seasoned trader as itâs quite obvious that you have been through it all in the trading business. I remember exchanging some post with you in Illiquidâs journal regarding nurturing your human side. A light bulb went off in my head after reading what you wrote. And then just yesterday when I decided to come back to ET after a week to spend some time and think about what is causing my trading woes, I run into this Thread:
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=237397&perpage=6&pagenumber=1
I was instantly reminded of what we talked about a couple years ago with regard to nurturing the human side and separating it from the business side. Feed your body with things you enjoy doing outside of market hours, and come into trading a more content person and fully accepting of all the BS that the market dishes out, in order to reap itâs rewards in the end.
In my situation it is as if there is this losing mentality that has had a grip on me. This bastard wants me to see 10 pt unrealized winners turn into losers (yes that has happened recently)⦠enter a long entry before price has come to me and get out right where I know buyers will step up because itâs too painful to hold on⦠buying at the top of the run instead of waiting for a pullback because of the fear of missing out⦠I can go on but I think you get the picture.
Itâs been about a week since your post and I believe Iâve reached bottom, or at least getting real close. Iâve not considered myself a loser in your definition, just someone in the process of becoming a winner. I can do better than this. Be patient with me, as Iâm a slow learner. Take care and thanks for your post.
Quote from bigarrow:
Hi Instynct, what do you think you need to do or change to make the final step?
Besides my 3 rules, change my line of thinking and let that losing mentality go. Not sure how long that will take but Iâll be around for as long as it takes. No plans on changing the PA reading process, but rather just my perception of trading, and perhaps the perception of myself. Iâve had this winning mentality, but have lost it recently and now trying to get it back.
Quote from jas_in_hbca:
Your conscious and subconsious are not aligned, in my completely uneducated opinion.
Do you do any visualization exercises ? Do you replay in your mind trades that you missed or mucked up and in replay you did everything right ?
When i trade , been weeks now, i try to spend a few minutes every morning visualizing success or correct , relaxed trading. It's not a quick fix but part of the steps to success, IMO.
Iâve looked into visualization exercises back in 2008 and while Iâm not sure if they work or not, I certainly did not spend enough time with the exercises to find out. But I think if you execute a plan with an edge and rack up winning trades, no matter how small they are, it leaves a far more long lasting impression in your mind than any visualization exercise can do.
Quote from Instynct:
Besides my 3 rules, change my line of thinking and let that losing mentality go. Not sure how long that will take but Iâll be around for as long as it takes. No plans on changing the PA reading process, but rather just my perception of trading, and perhaps the perception of myself. Iâve had this winning mentality, but have lost it recently and now trying to get it back.
Good luck on getting there, looking forward to seeing you successful in your trading.
Even though price opened below prev LOD, looking at the 60 min and daily bullish structure, I had zero inclination to short. Was just looking for long setups today so in hindsight I was on the right side of the market. Only thing is I could not find a decent entry as the pull backs were too shallow. Result is 5 trades during the lunch period with little to show for.