What are your Trading Breakthroughs?

[9999]

Quote from slapshot:



You see, you can't consistently follow rules that you don't truly believe in and don't really want to follow.

Thank you! This is absolutely golden for me as well, and I learned it the hard way.

 

[fbutera101]

10yrtrader,

I totally agree with you. That book totally changed my life quite some time ago as well. That is the first book I recommend to every one of my students. It just about the best $20 you could ever spend on a trading book.

Quote from 10yrtrader:

Something that I know that has helped me the most has been the book "Mind Over Markets." Its all about how to use the market profile. I looked at the markets a lot differently after reading and soaking up the knowledge in that book. I use Ensign for charts now, and they have the Volume Histogram, which is basically a Market Profile. I like this tool a lot, it really helps me see what I feel are the true "internals" of a market. I recommend reading Mind Over Markets.

Also, I have been trading so much better now that I do not rely on ANY outside sources for price levels, ideas, anything like that. I do my own analysis and trust my knowledge and perception. This is very important. I have been meditating in my life for a few years now, and recently I have started to meditate for 5 minutes in the morning before the open. This has helped me focus on MY intuition and has also helped me stay centered and AWARE (of the market, of my intuition, and of my emotions).

Also, another breakthrough is not trading big ger than normal when I am down!! I have felt terrible stress before when I used to do this, a lot of times the losing days would get worse and worse, and I would feel terrible. Now I have a longer term perspective, and am OK with taking small losses, and know that winning days, no matter how big, add up nicely.

 

[Cheese]

Quote from Razor:
What is DOM ?

Depth Of Mud.
Measures the amount of mud stuck to buyers and sellers.
Enables everyone to do lots of skidding around in the mud.
Bible for some, though.

 

[slapshot]

Quote from nzbryant:


How did you move into tdg? Stack of cash or did you start on a shoestring?

Small shoestring accounts blown up over and over. After it happened for about the 5th time, I stopped trading real money.

Then I used IB sim for about 8 months and actually developed a style/edge/system/whatever - mostly it was about stripping off all squiggley indicators - price action and volume only, with the occasional trendline or S/R drawn on by hand to watch particular levels. After many many hours of staring at tape, I began to see the truth.

Mostly what I do is look for retests of price levels and note how the market is trading/printing. Most times I can spot what is a breakout or a fake and trade accordingly. Or a good place to re-enter a trend.

I use the DOM not really for bid/ask quantities but for the character/size of the prints as price is approaching key levels.

Best wishes,

Paul

 

[Cariocas]

Well folks, this oldtimer had his breakthrough after scrolling the charts in the 'right' direction . When eyeballing (crude backtesting) new indicators or techniques I used to scroll back in history from right to left - they all looked pretty & easy on the charts. Later on, anything new I'd like to check out went through the first litmus test: scrolling the charts to the right - big difference.

Cariocas

 

[Willleung]

This would be a good post to start a "how to get your balls back" or "how to have balls if you don't have it to begin with" tread

Quote from AMT4SWA:

I was as scared as Bambi during hunting season, trading 1 lots in the ES. This fear really started to piss me off because I could feel how it was FILTERING my judgement. Every damn little tick against me had me trying to re-evaluate the whole reasoning for my trade entry...this went on for MONTHS. Then one morning just after the market open, thinking of all the fear I had from previous trade days, I said F@%& THIS! I then entered a 10 lot ES position (I had never done more then 1 lot before), set my target at 1.5 pts and a stop at 1.5 pts. I said to myself, "are you scared now...you better be!", and I forced myself to sit on my hands and let the trade play out one way or the other...I literally stood back from my PC so I could not mess with the keyboard and I forced myself to overcome the fear. I did this all day and I made +2.75 pts for 10 ES for the day after commissions. I was so amazed at the end of the day, but I was totally mentally wiped out. The PROCESS to manage my fears started that day, and I will always see that day as a major turning point in my trading. FEAR kills in trading, and you will NEVER become profitable without some way of removing your fears from your reasoned thoughts during trading activities. The best way I can describe what happens when FEAR rules your trading, is to think of your "reasoned thoughts" on one side of a long row of constantino wire. A pile of money is sitting on the other side of that constantino wire...FEAR is the constantino wire, and to get to the money your "reasoned thoughts" get ripped to shreds in their attempt. You must remove the FEAR (constantino wire) from your pathway to the MONEY, so that your "reasoned thoughts" have a chance.

Good Fortunes!

Chris

BTW, there are two ways to remove your FEAR in trading. You can do the daily snip-snip and remove small sections of that constantino wire until one day you have a clear path. The other way (the method I prefer), is to slide a "Bangalore" under the constantino wire (FEAR) and blow the $hit out of it.....your choice!

 

[cashmoney69]

Quote from lindq:

My greatest breakthrough came when I fully realized the value of sitting on my hands, doing nothing.

Once I gained this discipline, it helped me to stay out of impulse trades based on news events, and to give trades I was in the time they needed to develop into winners.

That has worked, but also you have to just jump in, because if you keep waiting for that one last news event, or MA crossover, or some other confirmation, you'll miss a good opportunity. You have to feel comfortable with uncertainty.

 

[xtrhvydty]

I once broke through my office door with a head butt, does that count?

 

[bjg]

1. Realising the value of following your own rules. It's fun and interesting to listen to others, but NEVER let it influence your trading. Of course it depends on your system, but I've been most profitable when I've ignored reports and indices etc.

2. Cutting losses.

3. Patience as well. But if you know your system well, you'll know when it's time to open/close a trade.

 

[sulli]

Quote from xtrhvydty:

I once broke through my office door with a head butt, does that count?

If you were in a trade, then yes.

If you were pretending to be Chuck Norris, then no.

If you were pretending to be Chuck Norris while in a trade, well...I just don't know? - you may need help!