Working on Consistent Profitability
- Thread starter tlow
- Start date
Quick update... no trades on Friday...just watched part of the day, but was busy doing other stuff off and on.
Now that Im watching football today, I've decided my emotional tie to the 49ers is why Im doing so crappy. The '9ers suck right now so I suck right now
J/K gotta vent about how crappy my team is doing. Hopefully, they can finally win one today against the lame Raiders.
Now that Im watching football today, I've decided my emotional tie to the 49ers is why Im doing so crappy. The '9ers suck right now so I suck right now
J/K gotta vent about how crappy my team is doing. Hopefully, they can finally win one today against the lame Raiders.
Not a bad day for me. Market was rather unexciting today. I've got a bit of a new routine in the early morning due to my significant other, so that is going to take some adjusting for the 1st hour of trading or so. I missed a trade early on b/c of that, but Im glad I chose just to stay away rather than trying to half focus on trading half focus on getting stuff done to start the day.
Trade 1:
8:08- Short 1174.50 Stop 1176.75 Target 1170.25
8:45- Sell at B/E at 1174.50
+0.00 pts
I was pretty happy with how I handled this trade. We got a bit of a M top formation going so I took the break below it, 1174.00 has proved a key level today so I thought it would need some push to go lower. When it made the break below and then stopped and came back above 1174.00 level I just got out. No momentum really in either direction, and the 1174.00 didn't hold as resistance. This is me patting myself on the back for not hanging onto the trade
Next, I missed a trade. Im not sure how I feel about missing the trade, I wanted to go long at 1177.00 arond 11:15 but didn't pull the trigger b/c I saw the 1178.00 level coming up from earlier. Im really not sure if this were to happen again whether or not I should take this trade. Im thinking I may b/c of the fairly tight range from earlier in the day. i could get in with a pretty tight stop and target the 1181.00 range.
Trade 2:
11:49- Long 1179.00 Stop 1177.50 Target 1182.50
12:07- Stop to b/e
12:19- Sell at 1180.00
+1.00 pts
With this trade, I kinda felt like it was a do or die trade and I had to stay on top of it since that 1180-1181 level was going to be an issue to get thru. Of course, it blasted right thru it and missed my target by 1 tick. I think from an analytical point of view, I slightly miss managed this trade. I should of either let it run its course a bit further since I had already moved my stop or sold it earlier like at 1180.75-1181.00 where price stalled then headed lower. Mentally/Emotionally I still like walking away with a bit of profit when price goes in my direction fairly strongly but then reverses. I get so frustrated watching a good trade go to breakeven. Im not sure if this is something Im going to be able to work thru or if I should just be happy taking a bit of profit. The way I've felt in the past I can say 100% that Id rather take the little bit of profit, then possibly look for a reentry. Im not sure I have the will power/emotional strength to watch good trades go from good to zero on a semi regular basis. With that said, in hindsight, I should've gotten out at 1180.75.
So overall not bad but could've done better. I was happy with staying fairly disiplined and also very happy with how I managed the 1st trade, I give myself a B on the day.
Total Trades: 2
Winners: 1
Losers: 0
B/E: 1
Total Points: 1.00
Avg. Win: $50.00
Avg. Loss: $0
Total Win Rate: 50%
Total Profits: $50.00
Trade 1:
8:08- Short 1174.50 Stop 1176.75 Target 1170.25
8:45- Sell at B/E at 1174.50
+0.00 pts
I was pretty happy with how I handled this trade. We got a bit of a M top formation going so I took the break below it, 1174.00 has proved a key level today so I thought it would need some push to go lower. When it made the break below and then stopped and came back above 1174.00 level I just got out. No momentum really in either direction, and the 1174.00 didn't hold as resistance. This is me patting myself on the back for not hanging onto the trade
Next, I missed a trade. Im not sure how I feel about missing the trade, I wanted to go long at 1177.00 arond 11:15 but didn't pull the trigger b/c I saw the 1178.00 level coming up from earlier. Im really not sure if this were to happen again whether or not I should take this trade. Im thinking I may b/c of the fairly tight range from earlier in the day. i could get in with a pretty tight stop and target the 1181.00 range.
Trade 2:
11:49- Long 1179.00 Stop 1177.50 Target 1182.50
12:07- Stop to b/e
12:19- Sell at 1180.00
+1.00 pts
With this trade, I kinda felt like it was a do or die trade and I had to stay on top of it since that 1180-1181 level was going to be an issue to get thru. Of course, it blasted right thru it and missed my target by 1 tick. I think from an analytical point of view, I slightly miss managed this trade. I should of either let it run its course a bit further since I had already moved my stop or sold it earlier like at 1180.75-1181.00 where price stalled then headed lower. Mentally/Emotionally I still like walking away with a bit of profit when price goes in my direction fairly strongly but then reverses. I get so frustrated watching a good trade go to breakeven. Im not sure if this is something Im going to be able to work thru or if I should just be happy taking a bit of profit. The way I've felt in the past I can say 100% that Id rather take the little bit of profit, then possibly look for a reentry. Im not sure I have the will power/emotional strength to watch good trades go from good to zero on a semi regular basis. With that said, in hindsight, I should've gotten out at 1180.75.
So overall not bad but could've done better. I was happy with staying fairly disiplined and also very happy with how I managed the 1st trade, I give myself a B on the day.
Total Trades: 2
Winners: 1
Losers: 0
B/E: 1
Total Points: 1.00
Avg. Win: $50.00
Avg. Loss: $0
Total Win Rate: 50%
Total Profits: $50.00
Theres not much I can say about today other than Im really frustrated. Today was not a fun trading day for me. I know you guys say Im hard on myself, but Im just really frustrated Im not "getting" it. And by getting it, in my case, Im talking more about not being emotional/frustrated/angry/whatever. Im 99% sure my trading will be okay as well as my systems adn approach to trading...but the frustration Im feeling right now is pretty heavy. At first, the loss of money wasn't a huge deal and I chalk it up to learning...but, its still continuing and now it is starting to build where Im becoming frustrated with not getting winners. A lot of today I think can be reasoned as my inexperience and not recognizing but still its super frustrating. Anyway, here are the trades:
Trade 1:
8:21- Short 1168.25 Stop 1170.00 Target 1165.50
8:30- Stopped out at 1170.00
EDIT: Whoops, just realized in the chart I put 1169.75...it should be 1170.00.
-1.75 pts
I wish I did a little more due dilegence with this trade. At the time, I was really unsure about what the market was doing. I was initially looking to go long off the bottom of the channel at around 1169.00 at about 8:00am, then it came up and headed right back down towards the resistance. Further, there are a bunch of resistance lines to break thru on the way down to 1165.50, and on top of that we had a gap above. I think my indecision and if I reconginzed the chop/my indecision I think I would have stayed out of this trade. I further compounded the trade by not exiting, when it failed to break below 1168.50 for a second time...would've saved my self 0.75-1.00 points.
Trade 2:
12:12- Short 1157.00 Stop 1158.75 Target 1154.00
12:15- Stopped out at 1158.75
-1.75 pts
Trade was a product of being frustrated I missed the huge move. I was so frustrated with myself on that giant move down, I really wanted to get in at around 1168.50, but I hesitated and price dropped, then there were a few more entry points and everytime I failed to act. So I tried to get this break down trade, but the move was already pretty much done. Pretty worthless trade.
I took a break after I missed the big move b/c I was so frustrated with myself, but came back an hour later...Im just going to start calling it quits for the day when I get emotional...I just have to stay disiplined enough to actually walk away for the rest of the day. I think I need to start accepting some of my emotional restraints and just walk away. Im fighting them right now which may not be the best way to handle it because I think emotions just start compounding on each other.
From an analytical point of view, I think my inexperience/lack of confidence in myself is why I did poorly today and I didn't take trades when i should have and took others when it was not appropriate. Im not sure what else to do at this point other than keep staring at the screen and recognizing my emotional pitfalls and not trade when that happens. Uggg...just so annoyed and angry at myself.
Total Trades: 2
Winners: 0
Losers: 0
B/E: 2
Total Points: 3.50
Avg. Win: $0
Avg. Loss: $87.50
Total Win Rate: 0%
Total Profits: -$175.00
Trade 1:
8:21- Short 1168.25 Stop 1170.00 Target 1165.50
8:30- Stopped out at 1170.00
EDIT: Whoops, just realized in the chart I put 1169.75...it should be 1170.00.
-1.75 pts
I wish I did a little more due dilegence with this trade. At the time, I was really unsure about what the market was doing. I was initially looking to go long off the bottom of the channel at around 1169.00 at about 8:00am, then it came up and headed right back down towards the resistance. Further, there are a bunch of resistance lines to break thru on the way down to 1165.50, and on top of that we had a gap above. I think my indecision and if I reconginzed the chop/my indecision I think I would have stayed out of this trade. I further compounded the trade by not exiting, when it failed to break below 1168.50 for a second time...would've saved my self 0.75-1.00 points.
Trade 2:
12:12- Short 1157.00 Stop 1158.75 Target 1154.00
12:15- Stopped out at 1158.75
-1.75 pts
Trade was a product of being frustrated I missed the huge move. I was so frustrated with myself on that giant move down, I really wanted to get in at around 1168.50, but I hesitated and price dropped, then there were a few more entry points and everytime I failed to act. So I tried to get this break down trade, but the move was already pretty much done. Pretty worthless trade.
I took a break after I missed the big move b/c I was so frustrated with myself, but came back an hour later...Im just going to start calling it quits for the day when I get emotional...I just have to stay disiplined enough to actually walk away for the rest of the day. I think I need to start accepting some of my emotional restraints and just walk away. Im fighting them right now which may not be the best way to handle it because I think emotions just start compounding on each other.
From an analytical point of view, I think my inexperience/lack of confidence in myself is why I did poorly today and I didn't take trades when i should have and took others when it was not appropriate. Im not sure what else to do at this point other than keep staring at the screen and recognizing my emotional pitfalls and not trade when that happens. Uggg...just so annoyed and angry at myself.
Total Trades: 2
Winners: 0
Losers: 0
B/E: 2
Total Points: 3.50
Avg. Win: $0
Avg. Loss: $87.50
Total Win Rate: 0%
Total Profits: -$175.00
Tlow,
I don't know what to say to make you feel better, other than I understand your frustration and that I was there for months and months and months on end before some things clicked into place for me. I guess if I had to make one comment, it's that you seem to like to trade channel breakouts. If that is the case, then why not try trading the FAILED breakouts as well? Both of your trades gave opportunities to reverse position and trade price to the opposite side of the channel when they didn't work out.
Psychologically, I know from experience that you can get caught in this zone where you expect to fail. For me, that was the hardest stretch of learning that I had to wade through. You become frustrated with being wrong so often that you start to subconsciously sabotage yourself. You will hesitate and second guess trades that end up working out gloriously, and then take trades that are much higher risk / lower probability. Your fears and anger are reaffirmed when the crap trades lead to the expected result of failure.... If anything, this was the toughest part of the journey for me. Try your best to NOT blow out, as you may find yourself wanting to do something irresponsible in your emotional state.
Are you SURE you don't want to SIM? Maybe you would take it more seriously if you were forced to post SIM results here for everyone to review? What is the next step for you?
I don't know what to say to make you feel better, other than I understand your frustration and that I was there for months and months and months on end before some things clicked into place for me. I guess if I had to make one comment, it's that you seem to like to trade channel breakouts. If that is the case, then why not try trading the FAILED breakouts as well? Both of your trades gave opportunities to reverse position and trade price to the opposite side of the channel when they didn't work out.
Psychologically, I know from experience that you can get caught in this zone where you expect to fail. For me, that was the hardest stretch of learning that I had to wade through. You become frustrated with being wrong so often that you start to subconsciously sabotage yourself. You will hesitate and second guess trades that end up working out gloriously, and then take trades that are much higher risk / lower probability. Your fears and anger are reaffirmed when the crap trades lead to the expected result of failure.... If anything, this was the toughest part of the journey for me. Try your best to NOT blow out, as you may find yourself wanting to do something irresponsible in your emotional state.
Are you SURE you don't want to SIM? Maybe you would take it more seriously if you were forced to post SIM results here for everyone to review? What is the next step for you?
Right, you definitely do NOT want to do that. For what it's worth, I have had people scoff at the idea of simming, and I always mentioned to them that I would rather make imaginary money than lose real money. The key is that your setups / trade criteria should be automatic for you. It should almost be instinctual when your criteria is met and you should enter the market. If that's not happening, then I would recommend waiting to go live. Now that you know something is wrong with your plan / execution, take a breather and make an adjustment before something goes seriously wrong. TOS has OnDemand too, so you can practice a TON with a "live" chart, even outside of market hours.