Trading on "Instynct" (NQ)

Most successful traders that I know of trade multiple non-correlated markets instead of just one, which means more opportunities for them. They have also have well defined setups, and know exactly when they will enter and exit. Equity traders have the most opportunities since there are thousands of stocks to choose from.

I trade only one market and that is NQ. I also look at aapl, ES, and YM for support and resistance, but they are all correlated markets to one degree or another. There inlies my problem… I don’t have enough opportunities to trade, and I end up trying to make up the lack of opportunities by trying to find more setups throughout the day. From a practical standpoint, I believe this has been an issue for a while now.

One might ask, well why not look at other markets to find more opportunities? Personally I like focusing on one market and staying glued to it tick for tick to gauge market sentiment. Furthermore, I currently I have (4) 19” dell monitors and every inch of desktop space is used up. If I wanted to look at crude oil and currencies, I would have to add at least a couple more monitors. Right now I feel what I have is more than enough data for me to look at. Not only that but I would have to update my video card, and possibly other hardware such as ram and maybe even a new processor to handle more monitors and more data.

So what is my solution for now… Be more patient and expect to trade less, a lot less… but with more size.



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Today should've been my day, but I couldn't execute properly for whatever reason. I was prepared to short the hell out of this market given the jobs number and where we opened. 60 min support levels were vulnerable which means big profits. Well it is what it is. Theres always next week right? Sucks.

Time to throw something on the grill and enjoy my weekend.
 

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Quote from Instynct:

Most successful traders that I know of trade multiple non-correlated markets instead of just one, which means more opportunities for them.
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Instynct,

Haven't been on ET since I left a while back to Forex. Only in the past Month have I started to get some traction digging myself out of a small hole.. Yes trading multiple markets is a great idea, especially if you don't have multiple setups types you look for. I watch 3 pairs which helps avoiding trading chop just to trade. A pair goes "bad" from time to time but there always another trending well.

Also due to the adjust-ability of risk Forex allows, my average hold time is over 5 hours.. This risk flexibility allows me to do what I have always preferred, Swing trading to a degree. Basically the idea is to KEEP A RUNNER, even if a small one since REALLY great entries occur infrequently it is paramount I remain exposed to a possible large move.

I think every entry represents risk... therefore I need to reduce the frequency of entries.. i.e. under-trade.

It is possible to TRY and locate the low or high area for the day in NQ.. I always tried it when it was reasonably clear around 10am or so. The idea is keep 1/4 or 1/3 for, say, 50% of recent daily ATR or a far out important price level... The runner is to get to B/E and be left alone and potentially stranded for the day. I never had enough capital to do this as you need at least 3 units..

Seems a fine balance between scalping and intra-day swing trading. Just a thought.
 
Quote from Rashid_G.:

Instynct,

Haven't been on ET since I left a while back to Forex. Only in the past Month have I started to get some traction digging myself out of a small hole.. Yes trading multiple markets is a great idea, especially if you don't have multiple setups types you look for. I watch 3 pairs which helps avoiding trading chop just to trade. A pair goes "bad" from time to time but there always another trending well.

Also due to the adjust-ability of risk Forex allows, my average hold time is over 5 hours.. This risk flexibility allows me to do what I have always preferred, Swing trading to a degree. Basically the idea is to KEEP A RUNNER, even if a small one since REALLY great entries occur infrequently it is paramount I remain exposed to a possible large move.

I think every entry represents risk... therefore I need to reduce the frequency of entries.. i.e. under-trade.

It is possible to TRY and locate the low or high area for the day in NQ.. I always tried it when it was reasonably clear around 10am or so. The idea is keep 1/4 or 1/3 for, say, 50% of recent daily ATR or a far out important price level... The runner is to get to B/E and be left alone and potentially stranded for the day. I never had enough capital to do this as you need at least 3 units..

Seems a fine balance between scalping and intra-day swing trading. Just a thought.
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I do a similiar strategy with my 3 lot positions except I look for obvious price levels, usually previous pivots either on the intraday chart or 60 min. 3 lots seem to be my comfort zone.

Game plan for today: look for short set ups to retest the lows if prev LOD holds. If we break above prev LOD and hold I'll be looking for some longs on the short covering rally to 2644. Break above that and next stop is 2656
 
Had good control over the losses and my edge carried me through the week. Tuesday should've been a winner but I had to leave early for some other obligations. By now it is clear that if I control my losses and stay aside when I should, then I can make some money by the end of the week. That has been my achilles heel for a very long time now. Mondays are usually my weakness so thats my focus for tomorrow, trade lightly if not skipping the day.
 

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Quote from artfartdart:

are you still trading 2 up?
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Yes, but sometimes price takes off and doesn't allow me to add a second or third lot, in which case I just trail and take the profit.
 
A quick update on my trading for the week so far. On monday, if I had done things correctly, I would've been up anywhere from 200 to 400 bucks, instead I placed my stop on my initial trade too close and got hit, to the tick, before price continued its ascent. Took a couple more trades and made the same mistake, then called it a day. -150 or so (on my laptop so don't have the exact figures)

Tuesday, I mismanaged a nice trade going for me. And after the mishap, continued the same mistakes on the next few trades and ended the day about -250. I had to leave early again for some stuff so, who knows, maybe If I had been able to trade the whole day I might have made some profit.

I am ok with these losses, as they are not big compared to when I had those mini melt downs and losing 1k+. The question now is, will the market give more opportunities the rest of the week, and will I have the skill to do what I need to do to make it a positive a week? We'll have to see, but so far I'm doing a good job managing my losing days.

Some day, I want to write a post about managing your trading day, especially the losing ones. Because I believe that is the key to longterm success.
 
7 contracts traded so far. Came in this morning with the conclusion that shorts were the way to go.

Very choppy action, every time price broke for new lows buyers stepped up to push it right back up. Just gotta take what you can get, and above all else, protect your capital.
 

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