Well, it's been a little over a year since my first journal here. I didn't stop and just come back, I've been working my butt off trying to get better. I have gotten better I think, not good enough, or even good, but better.
I felt like I was making great strides toward consistent profitability (sim/combine which I know is not real profitability) towards the end of last year and early 2018. Then the volatility hit in Feb. I know that it's supposed to be a traders best friend, and I am sure really good traders are making a fortune in this environment. I however have not been able to adapt very well. The speed at which even the ES moves these days, takes me out of my comfort zone. I hope one day I look back and say to myself 'you idiot' that was easy money.
This is my plan, I am starting a combine tomorrow, if I fail I will go back to sim until I pass my own 'combine' using the exact same criteria they use, then try a combine again. I will rinse and repeat this process until I pass or decide I am just not cut out for it. The could be a long time though because I am pretty damn persistent when I want something.
I will share everything I have learned in the past year in coming posts, most of it isn't anything special and probably something everyone has heard before... I'm just the type that has to learn it first hand before I believe it.
One thing I learned for sure is that the markets are not random. I was able to achieve >95% losing trades with a 1:1 R:R for long periods of time.... :pcguru:
My charts are different now, 5 minute RTH, 1 minute ETH, trading the ES. I try to think differently now, I mostly just try to figure out where positions are going to be defended in the direction of what I think is the trend.
I took Al Brooks course, read Forex Price Action Scalping and Understanding Price Action by Volman, Trading the Ross hook, The Scalpers Journey (up until MLM and Inletcap left) twice, Inletcap's Random Collections several times, The Old Tiger in the Snow once and a few journals on other forums. I took nuggets from all of them, priceless nuggets. In then end though your trading has to be your own.
I will post my results every day, good or bad.
This brings me to the first thing I have learned. Please understand when I say 'you' I am talking to myself, you may be able to do these things... I can not
1. You can not just put up a unirenko chart with MLMs settings and scalp 4 figures a day. Even if he told you exactly where to go long and short every day. The number of people who can do this is sooooo small even within the subset of people who can trade successfully. Overcoming the transaction costs of trading like this requires virtually no mistakes day after day. IMO he is one of the rare freaks of nature who have incredible precision and mastery of himself. I marvel at it, but have no chance at duplicating it. I am not sure it can even be taught.