Working on Consistent Profitability

[jack411]

Quote from NoDoji:

Why did you target 1180.00? I don't see a level there...

NoDoji,

I don't think I would have set my target at 1800 either, but for argument's sake, wouldn't you say that there was previous support there from 6:45-7:15? Maybe tlow was thinking price would bounce back off again and form a head and shoulders.

What criteria must be met for you to consider an intraday level either support or resistance?

 

[tlow]

Quote from jack411:

NoDoji,

I don't think I would have set my target at 1800 either, but for argument's sake, wouldn't you say that there was previous support there from 6:45-7:15? Maybe tlow was thinking price would bounce back off again and form a head and shoulders.

What criteria must be met for you to consider an intraday level either support or resistance?

Ya thats what I did...maybe more appropriate to set at 1179.50? Jack, where would you have set the target?

NoDoji,

The issue Im having is letting my winners run and if I even want to do that. Im still working how my nerves handle retraces/retest of support. And as you say, re-enter a couple times or just set it and forget and let thing to do its thing....currently, my emotions aren't allowing me to handle managing trades as they happen. I've been setting stops and limits for my entries/exits.

Also, I understand the 1178.75 support line... however, for arguements sake, if im targeting these waves down, why not target 1175.00 for a measured move...where again, a bit more support lies? Lets say I did that (b/c I don't think I would've target 1178.75 in the first place), it would be pretty hard to watch the thing retrace by 4 points in the process of forming a HL at 8:54 and 9:16...or would you be out at the 8:54ish HL thus exiting around 1177.50-1178.00? I guess either way it would've given me more profit.

I think the other issue Im having is that I've been struggling so much lately, its easier for me to pick a s/r line thats near my entry so I don't have to deal with the emotions of a bunch of retests of support. Obviously, need to work on that.

 

[NoDoji]

Quote from tlow:

The issue Im having is letting my winners run and if I even want to do that. Im still working how my nerves handle retraces/retest of support. And as you say, re-enter a couple times or just set it and forget and let thing to do its thing....currently, my emotions aren't allowing me to handle managing trades as they happen. I've been setting stops and limits for my entries/exits.

Also, I understand the 1178.75 support line... however, for arguements sake, if im targeting these waves down, why not target 1175.00 for a measured move...where again, a bit more support lies? Lets say I did that (b/c I don't think I would've target 1178.75 in the first place), it would be pretty hard to watch the thing retrace by 4 points in the process of forming a HL at 8:54 and 9:16...or would you be out at the 8:54ish HL thus exiting around 1177.50-1178.00? I guess either way it would've given me more profit.

If I enter short there @ 83.25, my stop to be survivable has to be at the least @ 85.25. When I have a 2 pt stop, I check to see that a reasonable target is 4 pts. I look at next support to be tested and assume that because there was a double top (or if it was a lower high, either way, I'll treat it the same), price should at least retest previous support @ 78.75. OK, 4 pts is good to go, so my trade is on with a 2 pt stop and 4 pt initial target, but it's not a hard target, I will hang on for more if price comes in hard at that point. Price breaks 78.75 and moves more than 2 pts lower, I will take my profits @ 76.75, which is more than my initial target and will look for a re-entry to the short side.

But there's no technical reason to exit. A serious trend follower will hold through the retrace and then add to the position as each retrace comes back to break the low.

I'm not a serious trend-follower, I'm an ADD trend follower, so I shoot for technical levels, take more if the market offers it and then look for the next setup instead of holding through retraces.

Either way 1180.00 wasn't a level of any kind on my chart, and the stop you used didn't make sense to me either (seemed too close to survive, but I'm glad it did), so I was curious about it.

 

[tlow]

Quote from NoDoji:
Price breaks 78.75 and moves more than 2 pts lower, I will take my profits @ 76.75, which is more than my initial target and will look for a re-entry to the short side.

Where did you get the 76.75 number from...or is that just based around where price stalled out?

Quote from NoDoji:
I'm not a serious trend-follower, I'm an ADD trend follower, so I shoot for technical levels, take more if the market offers it and then look for the next setup instead of holding through retraces.[/B]

Ok, again for arguements sake..(if you haven't figured it out yet, I like to take the other side of the debate to understand what is going on )

lets say I did exactly the same on the trade, then...what's the difference if I do that, then decide either 1.) to reenter short at the support at 8:33ish where there's local support at 1181.50-.75 and target 1177.25-.50 or 2.) reenter on the break lower at 8:37ish at 1179.25 and target a measured move at 1175.00? Is this not shooting for technical levels and looking for the next set-up? Or is that too much discipline out and in...obviously, you have to be johnny on the spot and recognize it right away.

Or is the basis for your arguement that the 1179.50-1180.00 level shouldn't have been targeted as resistance in the first place?

 

[volente_00]

Quote from NoDoji:

Either way 1180.00 wasn't a level of any kind on my chart, and the stop you used didn't make sense to me either (seemed too close to survive, but I'm glad it did), so I was curious about it.

It was weds high, perhaps he thought previous resistance would act as support.

 

[NoDoji]

Quote from volente_00:

It was weds high, perhaps he thought previous resistance would act as support.

Thank you for clarifying that. Makes perfect sense but didn't even occur to me.

 

[tlow]

No trades today.....


Quick Nurse! Paddles! She's flat lining!

 

[NoDoji]

Quote from tlow:

No trades today.....


Quick Nurse! Paddles! She's flat lining!

You mean you didn't get the memo to sell 1178 and buy 1177 all day? I mean, come on, how much easier does it get?

 

[oraclewizard77]

Well, did you? I posted my trade in real time on the ES forum, and yes, day trading is so easy that sometimes a person over complicates so much that they lose money. I have that problem sometimes.

Quote from NoDoji:

You mean you didn't get the memo to sell 1178 and buy 1177 all day? I mean, come on, how much easier does it get?

 

[NoDoji]

Quote from oraclewizard77:

Well, did you? I posted my trade in real time on the ES forum, and yes, day trading is so easy that sometimes a person over complicates so much that they lose money. I have that problem sometimes.

I thought it was clear I was trying to be funny based on the look of that ES chart; my trading roomie actually did that trade today five times. Anyone making a profit trading ES today deserves a Medal of Honor, IMHO.