Starting this journal for some accountability/criticism/help/self involvement/something to do instead of stare at charts.
I have never traded commodities or other futures before but am familiar with derivatives. Options just really never quite clicked for me...so I am eliminating the two primary issues I had with them by switching to futures (theta and IV). Nothing but respect for you options guys but for now I really feel like this is a better fit for me.
Only paper trading for the time being until I get the kinks worked out. Even though the paper account balance is $1M I will only trade mini or micro contracts as that will be what I trade with real money. I will primarily stick to commodities with the occasional dabble in VIX futures...no Indices at this time. I have never really valued paper trading and am anxious to get back in with real money but I need to get a few things figured out first. I have been trading this method about 3 weeks and so far I am glad to have started with paper lol.
The System:
I have developed a trading system using moving average crossovers utilizing a combination of Hull and Simple moving averages. There are actually two different systems I will be trading depending on the environment: A fast and a slow system (determined by ATR20 for that individual contract). When volatility Is low I will use the slow crossover points, high...the fast. This will be combined with a trailing stop loss and a few other rules I have picked up over the years and believe in (example: never let a winner turn into a loss aka SL @ breakeven after it goes decently green).
I will use the daily chart using Heikin-Ashi candlesticks for entries/exits. Trades will be held as long as they move in my favor and trailing SL is not hit. Position sizes will be limited to 1 contract for now.
As of now I can tell my entries need improvement. Account balance is green And i am doing well so far but I need to develop better methods of entry.
I have never traded commodities or other futures before but am familiar with derivatives. Options just really never quite clicked for me...so I am eliminating the two primary issues I had with them by switching to futures (theta and IV). Nothing but respect for you options guys but for now I really feel like this is a better fit for me.
Only paper trading for the time being until I get the kinks worked out. Even though the paper account balance is $1M I will only trade mini or micro contracts as that will be what I trade with real money. I will primarily stick to commodities with the occasional dabble in VIX futures...no Indices at this time. I have never really valued paper trading and am anxious to get back in with real money but I need to get a few things figured out first. I have been trading this method about 3 weeks and so far I am glad to have started with paper lol.
The System:
I have developed a trading system using moving average crossovers utilizing a combination of Hull and Simple moving averages. There are actually two different systems I will be trading depending on the environment: A fast and a slow system (determined by ATR20 for that individual contract). When volatility Is low I will use the slow crossover points, high...the fast. This will be combined with a trailing stop loss and a few other rules I have picked up over the years and believe in (example: never let a winner turn into a loss aka SL @ breakeven after it goes decently green).
I will use the daily chart using Heikin-Ashi candlesticks for entries/exits. Trades will be held as long as they move in my favor and trailing SL is not hit. Position sizes will be limited to 1 contract for now.
As of now I can tell my entries need improvement. Account balance is green And i am doing well so far but I need to develop better methods of entry.
