ZGHorner's Beginner Futures Journal

easymon1 said:
One for one trading ms Goldie. Gotta like that so far.
What's that atr do for you, entry, exit or stopwise?
What's that volume histogram do for you, entry, exit or stopwise?
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atr is used for determining if I use my "fast" or my "slow" system. atr high = fast system. Volume really doesn't serve much purpose to be honest and is primarily there out of habit/comfort. I know volume can tell you a lot but at least for this style i dont think it is needed...or maybe I should say this system is not refined enough yet to utilize it.

a good day today, account is currently +$5,200.
 
zghorner said:
Volume really doesn't serve much purpose to be honest and is primarily there out of habit/comfort.
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LOL, same here. Still can't find a reliable demonstrable use for volume re: entry and exit triggers but it's still on some of mine too.
Have you considered that it may be cramping your charts at it's current 1/3 portion of the screen?
 
easymon1 said:
Have you considered that it may be cramping your charts at it's current 1/3 portion of the screen?
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Not really. I'm using a 55" 4k TV as a monitor so I have plenty of room. I know with equities volume can (potentially) show things like strength/weakness or institutions taking or exiting positions, etc...I just don't see its use for this yet.

Same with news or any type of fundamental data...just incredibly unreliable for retail commodities trading.
 
paper account is +$9,500. Gaining confidence but still timid. I'm missing out on some big moves right now on the sidelines (trading a paper account) and it is driving me nuts. Can't help but feel like this system is untested/still being tweaked though...
 
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+$10,276. Adding 3rd trend line was good. I need to work on exits some more but so far i am happy with the system.
 
need to update this...ive stopped trading paper for a few reasons and have gone live again for the first time in a while...maybe 6 months or more.

#1) I didnt want to fall into that trap of being an expert paper trader...that's like being the best shadow boxer in the world lol. #2) My mistakes got smaller and less frequent to the point of trading almost perfectly (by my definition). #3) It is time to go through the fear and put myself to the test...there is virtually no stress in paper trading.

Since the last update I have played with adding the MACD and KST indicators as additional points of reference but did not find much value. I am sure there are ways to utilize them but they just didn't feel necessary.

One thing I have found to be very useful is the COT data (Commitment Of Traders) put out by CFTC.gov. I like seeing who's long and who's short and I think it will be a nice confirmation. I learned about it from the book "Trade Stocks and Commodities with the Insiders"...not bad.

Since going live I have made 5 trades...#1 MCL stopped at $100 loss, #2 re-entered upon another setup same contract $50 loss, #3 MES trailing stop got hit for $160 gain, #4 cant remember the symbol but it was a $70 loss, #5 YC (mini corn), currently holding at $256 gain.

Plan on updating more frequently with more detail from here on out.
 
zghorner said:
need to update this...ive stopped trading paper for a few reasons and have gone live again for the first time in a while...maybe 6 months or more.

#1) I didnt want to fall into that trap of being an expert paper trader...that's like being the best shadow boxer in the world lol. #2) My mistakes got smaller and less frequent to the point of trading almost perfectly (by my definition). #3) It is time to go through the fear and put myself to the test...there is virtually no stress in paper trading.

Since the last update I have played with adding the MACD and KST indicators as additional points of reference but did not find much value. I am sure there are ways to utilize them but they just didn't feel necessary.

One thing I have found to be very useful is the COT data (Commitment Of Traders) put out by CFTC.gov. I like seeing who's long and who's short and I think it will be a nice confirmation. I learned about it from the book "Trade Stocks and Commodities with the Insiders"...not bad.

Since going live I have made 5 trades...#1 MCL stopped at $100 loss, #2 re-entered upon another setup same contract $50 loss, #3 MES trailing stop got hit for $160 gain, #4 cant remember the symbol but it was a $70 loss, #5 YC (mini corn), currently holding at $256 gain.

Plan on updating more frequently with more detail from here on out.
More...
Do these trades match what you were doing in Sim? It seems like things are already different. Plus, I don't understand why you are adding even more indicators as you switch to live trading. In my opinion, when going from sim to live, there should be no other change. Just trading real money is a big enough variable, no need to introduce more variables. Then if things don't go well, you won't know where the issue is, if its just the psychology of real money on the line, or the new useless indicator.
 
NoahA said:
Do these trades match what you were doing in Sim? It seems like things are already different. Plus, I don't understand why you are adding even more indicators as you switch to live trading. In my opinion, when going from sim to live, there should be no other change. Just trading real money is a big enough variable, no need to introduce more variables. Then if things don't go well, you won't know where the issue is, if its just the psychology of real money on the line, or the new useless indicator.
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Im trading the same as sim and added the other indicators while still paper trading...only mentioned them to give an update. Just haven't picked direction as well starting out. I'm cutting the losses like I should and taking profits via a trailing stop loss so it will pan out. And if not I'll stop again and reevaluate.
 
zghorner said:
need to update this...ive stopped trading paper for a few reasons and have gone live again for the first time in a while...maybe 6 months or more.

#1) I didnt want to fall into that trap of being an expert paper trader...that's like being the best shadow boxer in the world lol. #2) My mistakes got smaller and less frequent to the point of trading almost perfectly (by my definition). #3) It is time to go through the fear and put myself to the test...there is virtually no stress in paper trading.

Since the last update I have played with adding the MACD and KST indicators as additional points of reference but did not find much value. I am sure there are ways to utilize them but they just didn't feel necessary.

One thing I have found to be very useful is the COT data (Commitment Of Traders) put out by CFTC.gov. I like seeing who's long and who's short and I think it will be a nice confirmation. I learned about it from the book "Trade Stocks and Commodities with the Insiders"...not bad.

Since going live I have made 5 trades...#1 MCL stopped at $100 loss, #2 re-entered upon another setup same contract $50 loss, #3 MES trailing stop got hit for $160 gain, #4 cant remember the symbol but it was a $70 loss, #5 YC (mini corn), currently holding at $256 gain.

Plan on updating more frequently with more detail from here on out.
More...

I've recently become interested in the COT data for BTC. A google search brought up your post. That's the book by Larry Williams, yes?
 
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