What Really Counts Getting Started

@Gotcha
Thanks for the reply. Lets see if others reply.

Now i will rattle the cage: You will ALWAYS MAKE MORE MONEY by short term trades than by long term trades. Providing you are skilled in entries...exits...and taking SL's.

I will rattle the cage even more. Profit optimization REQUIRES short-term trading.
 
pinabetal said:
@Gotcha
Thanks for the reply. Lets see if others reply.

Now i will rattle the cage: You will ALWAYS MAKE MORE MONEY by short term trades than by long term trades. Providing you are skilled in entries...exits...and taking SL's.

I will rattle the cage even more. Profit optimization REQUIRES short-term trading.
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I do completely agree with this, in theory. I remember reading somewhere that the estimate of the length of a coast between points is usually 3 times as long as the distance between points if a straight line was taken. This was similar for rivers as well. So since the movement of price can sometimes be seen like a snaking river or coastline, then it can be said that there is absolutely more profit potential by catching every twist an turn on the way up to 10 point move, but in order to capture this, I think you have to be extraordinary. If you're perhaps collecting 5 NQ points every day, its possible to grab a bunch, even if the entire move is only maybe 20 from top to bottom, but it still requires precise entries, very small stops, the ability to get it right very often, and perseverance.
 
pinabetal said:
@Gotcha
Thanks for the reply. Lets see if others reply.

Now i will rattle the cage: You will ALWAYS MAKE MORE MONEY by short term trades than by long term trades. Providing you are skilled in entries...exits...and taking SL's.

I will rattle the cage even more. Profit optimization REQUIRES short-term trading.
More...
What a load of BS but I tend to agree with it.
 
volpri said:
What a load of BS but I tend to agree with it.
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Hey @volpri , are you going to get around to answering my question about your trades? I seriously mean no disrespect, but I'm simply curious if the trades you posted are all the ones you have taken, or if you have taken more but haven't showed them. The other poster was suggesting that you could have a high win rate, which is possible, but I've never seen trade stats that show win rates like this. Usually, there are more entries, and quick exists, even if there are nice profits in there. But I would imagine its still hard to nail a greater than 80% win rate when your stops is so small and your profits were sizeable. Thanks.
 
As far as the other goes i don't need $10,000.00 to trade 1 contract of the eminis. Not the way I trade. That is some texbook BS that people read. Now if one is going to trade and hold from one session to the next and hold through draw downs (position trade) then yes. But if I scalp 1 to 8 points several times a day and keep a Stop Loss of no more than 100.00 a trade i simply do not need ten thousand dollars to trade 1 contract. That is bordering upon ridiculous. Some trading rules are pure stupid. Like "don't catch falling knifes." I like catching falling knifes especially when trading ranges. It maximizes the profit.
 
Intraday trading I've attempted numerous times but fail at. Something about how my brain is wired. Like a right handed person writing with left.
But longer term holding positions is very comfortable for me, if there is such a thing when holding considerable amounts of money in shares. Always risk involved.
I like the idea of intraday but probably lacking the tools to do the job. The brain probably the biggest tool.
The intraday arena might also be a tad too crowded for me to compete against.
 
Gotcha said:
Hey @volpri , are you going to get around to answering my question about your trades? I seriously mean no disrespect, but I'm simply curious if the trades you posted are all the ones you have taken, or if you have taken more but haven't showed them. The other poster was suggesting that you could have a high win rate, which is possible, but I've never seen trade stats that show win rates like this. Usually, there are more entries, and quick exists, even if there are nice profits in there. But I would imagine its still hard to nail a greater than 80% win rate when your stops is so small and your profits were sizeable. Thanks.
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I just might do that...one day ROFLMAO. However, i will say I place hard stops but in about 40% to 50% of my trades (that is an estimate off the top of my noggin because I don't clutter myself up tracking it) I suffer no drawdowns. Period. That is, my actual risk (ACR) is 0.00. My initial risk may be $100.00 but the market never gets into my initial risk. On the other trades of the day if my original reason for taking the trade is no longer valid, i.e. I made a bad judgement call then I will exit BE or slight loss. I am not going to sit there like a dummy and wait for my stop loss to get hit. Either the trade goes my way very quickly or my ass is out of it faster than a grasshopper attacked by ants. I do the opposite of most traders. If i hit a trade and i suffer no drawndown..no actual risk..I will not follow it too far because it ended up being a high probabilty trade with low risk, so it most likely will have a small reward. Seldom do you ever get high probability, low risk, big reward. I try not to follow a high probability trade too far because there are too many smart jackasses taking the other side and it will quickly revert and my potential win, with no ACR, disappears faster than a fart in a hurricane. That said, occasionally a High probability trade will render a big reward becauses the jackasses went to sleep on the job or a daredevil loads up at the precise moment the trade was to fail and pushes price further. Anyway..one day i may divulge my win rate but will need to do it live as numbers mean nothing and can be massaged. More important, or at least as important, as high win rate is (and they ..i.e. both are very important to the way i trade) that average win is bigger than average loss size in dollars and ratio.
 
bone said:
In the end, every successful trader approaches the market different than another trader. It's the byproduct of human nature.

Be proactive, persistent, and relentless. Find some way - ANY WAY, to grind tics out of the market. Think small. Just a couple tics a day. Your biggest goal is CONSISTENCY.

Just a measure of rational motivation about what to accomplish- if you can make $200 per day on average over an extended period of time - you are golden. Lever VERY slowly. Your sizing bumps should be modest enough NOT to cause you to unconsciously create feelings of doubt. Naturally, the most angst is caused from going from a one lot to a two lot (I do a lot of hand holding and late night Skype sessions with clients). Bumping from a 5 lot to a 6 lot or a 10 lot to an 11 lot is much easier.

This is much easier if you have another source of income than trading - and you can give yourself the required space and time to develop. In fact, IMO that scenario is ideal for the lone wolf.

This is where I seriously part company with those ET'ers who think it's mandatory to start with $100K. Bullshit.

Consistency is the key. Find it however you can. Work for consistency. The worm will turn once you find it and then establish a serious position management and growth regime.
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I completely agree it's important to become a consistent human being and I'll add having a big heart really helps your trading. Practicing compassion and understanding is good for the ol' P&L (even if you have no clue how to trade or a mentor).
 
Understanding trends and cycles. Many traders think they have a system, it could work for a few years. Then the market reverses and you give it all back. Most seasoned traders have gone through this cycle before, some a few times. It's the traders that learn, that can stay the distance.
 
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