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Platform: Sierra Charts, Investor RT, Ninja Trader
Broker: VanKar
Trading: NQ
Posts: 520 since Sep 2009
Thanks Given: 583
Thanks Received: 1,248
Today is one of those days I detest writing in this journal....I don't have anything good to say. However, that is when the journal means the most.
I was totally out of synch with the market. I took trades that were not fully aligned with my methods (I seemed to mix methods to derive the entries). I exceeded my daily stop loss. I kept imagining what would happen instead of focusing on the reality of what I was seeing.
I guess there is some good news. I just quit trading. I must take my lumps, figure out why I could not trade what I was seeing and why I did not stick to my plan. A most disappointing day.
My focus is on:
1. Avoid the opening chop.
2. Honor stops
3. Ensure reward > risk on all trades
Platform: Sierra Charts, Investor RT, Ninja Trader
Broker: VanKar
Trading: NQ
Posts: 520 since Sep 2009
Thanks Given: 583
Thanks Received: 1,248
In reviewing this morning's trading, I really failed to follow my guidelines for scalping entries. In hindsight, none of the entries were appropriate. Overconfidence? Lack of patience? Too much information? A combination of all of the above? I am not sure which it is, but lean towards it being a combination of all of the above.
I really, really like the setup using the Renko chart, but I think having 2 is bringing some level of confusion. I am going to switch to one 6 better Renko chart to replace the 4 and 10. I am going to eliminate the 5 minute chart and go with the 15 minute with the inside bar on it. They will be the only 2 charts I will use and I will restrict myself to one computer. That should eliminate the information overload. Using a 6 better Renko chart means I should use a bigger target than I was with the 4 Renko. Instead of focusing on a daily goal, I will focus on the weekly goal, thus on days I AM in synch with the market, I should make 3 or 4 trades and quit. It would take only a couple of days a week like that to make my current weekly goal.
My focus is on:
1. Avoid the opening chop.
2. Honor stops
3. Ensure reward > risk on all trades
Platform: Sierra Charts, Investor RT, Ninja Trader
Broker: VanKar
Trading: NQ
Posts: 520 since Sep 2009
Thanks Given: 583
Thanks Received: 1,248
I am glad this week is over. I did a little better than yesterday but still a red day. The last 2 days ruined the entire month's work, well it was not just those two days as Friday the 13th certainly had something to do with it.
The biggest flaw in my trading (IMHO) as a scalper is I settle for small gains per trade and per day, but my losing trades and days overwhelm many winning trades/days. I know most trade with a greater reward than risk ratio. I have not mastered that in my real trading, but can generally do it in my sim trading. I am trying to overcome this flaw. I am trying to make my daily goal to do 4 trades. If all 4 are winners, I will make more than my daily stop loss. I am trying to go for larger wins on individual trades and bring the trade stop loss behind price action. I see the flaws and I am trying to take action, but I keep stubbing my toe.
Part of the reason for the toe stubbing is data overload....too much information, looking at too many different things, making too many changes. If you have read this journal for a while, you know exactly what I mean. Yesterday, I thought if I switched to the 6 better Renko, it would replace both the 4 and the 10 better Renko charts I was using. I did not like it as much as I thought I would, so rather than introduce another change, I switched back to the 4 better Renko and will define my entries from that chart. I have let the 5 minute chart go...I may keep the 15 min just to get a bigger picture but not to trade from it.
Enough rambling. I will deal with my issues.
Go enjoy this weekend. Remember those who died in the service of our country. We can disagree about whether we should have fought a particular war or not, but we can all agree that those who served and paid with their lives deserve our respect and gratitude. Their families need our support also. As a veteran I am not ignoring other veterans; we have our own holiday. This one is especially for those no longer with us.
My focus is on:
1. Avoid the opening chop.
2. Honor stops
3. Ensure reward > risk on all trades
In honor of our troops who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may continue to enjoy our freedoms, I will be donating all Elite Membership subscriptions received on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday …
Platform: Sierra Charts, Investor RT, Ninja Trader
Broker: VanKar
Trading: NQ
Posts: 520 since Sep 2009
Thanks Given: 583
Thanks Received: 1,248
Looking back at the week, my execution was poor. I took too much heat on a lot of winning trades and had too many losing trades. All this indicates my entries were not good, and just points out very poor execution of a good system. I found myself entry too often at the end of a little run and watched the market pull back enough to hit my stops, or just reverse its direction completely.
My goal is to trade from only one chart, with one technique. To accomplish this and to help me stay on the right side of the trend, I made one change to the 4 better Renko chart. I deleted the 50 sma and added a slow ema and a fast ema. I am using a 21 ema and 55 ema for the slow and fast ema's.
My plan/guidelines:
1. Trade with the long term trend as identified by the EMAs. If the fast ema is above the slow ema, then only look for longs. If fast ema is below the slow ema, then only look for shorts.
2. A short signal is when the CCI is below the zero line, below its signal line, headed down, and the signal line is headed down (CCI and signal line are both red).
3. A long signal is when the CCI is above the zero line, above its signal line, headed up, and the signal line is headed up (CCI and its signal line are both green).
4. Use a 17 tick trailing stop and 12 tick target. Cut the trade if the CCI crosses its signal line in the opposite direction of the trade; this is a reliable indication the entry was not good.
The above should reduce the number of "false" signals, keep me trading with the trend, help with the risk/reward ratio issue, and get me out of bad entries sooner. I fully realize the answer to my issues is not in a chart/indicator/setup, but is rather in MY EXECUTION of the plan. The plan works. I just have to stick to it. My focus is on reducing risk (cutting losers sooner than I have been doing, I really took too much heat this past week).
I plan to sim trade this setup this coming week.
My focus is on:
1. Avoid the opening chop.
2. Honor stops
3. Ensure reward > risk on all trades
Platform: Sierra Charts, Investor RT, Ninja Trader
Broker: VanKar
Trading: NQ
Posts: 520 since Sep 2009
Thanks Given: 583
Thanks Received: 1,248
Jeff
CCI is on length 50 using typical price as input ((H+L+C)/3). The signal line is a simple 10 ma of the CCI. To be fair, I did not come up with these settings as Mike Renfry gave them to me. One other criteria Mike uses that I have adopted is the 3 bar entry, where for a short the first bar is green, then the next 2 are red and the entry is at the bottom of the second red bar.
I have marked up 2 trades on the attached chart. One is a valid entry that goes to the target to the tick. I am not sure if it would have filled at that point. If it did not, the stop would have adjusted to -5 ticks, but the exit would have been at breakeven since the CCI crosses the signal line in the opposite direction. The second trade might look tempting but it does not meet 2 criteria, thus do not take the trade.
Hope that helps.
My focus is on:
1. Avoid the opening chop.
2. Honor stops
3. Ensure reward > risk on all trades