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-- Big Mike, Site Administrator
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It’s hard to believe that’s it’s been 10 years since the beginning of futures.io (Big Mike’s). I think I must have come across FIO in Its first year of existence. As many new traders, I came across the site looking for the something to make me a successful trader. Something that would make me money on a consistent basis. I think I may have been looking for “winning” Indicators. Oh, and I wanted it to be free. Not too long after visiting the site it was clear that the site was about more than just indicators. I also learned quickly that I wasn’t going to find an indicator that made me profitable.
I was encouraged to journal on the site, so I began to journal a lot. I annotated charts for various markets and if my name ever comes up you can see that I’ve bounced around from using market profile, moving averages and CCI and Wyckoff as taught by Gary Dayton. There may even be other methodologies, but I don’t recall.
Funding my account with more than a few thousand dollars was always an issue so I began to search for ways to get a funded account and came across Topsteptrader. I’m not 100% certain, but I may have been one of the very first to do a combine and journal it on the site. I’ve never been able to pass a combine and to be completely transparent and honest, I’ve probably done more than 20 combines. I’ve gotten close a few times only to “F” it up at the end. No, I have not journaled those combines.
After failing to even get close to becoming profitable I felt it was time to step away from trading. I became less active in the site as well. I did however discover the holy grail of trading. Unfortunately, I can’t sell it or give to anyone. One must discover it on their own and then once you discover it, you put it into action. I’ve not been able to put it into action. What is it? The mental aspects of trading are what need to be honed. They are Patience, Discipline and the acceptance of Outcomes. Yes, you need a method that for the most part is profitable, but all methods will work and fail, so I feel it’s about finding when the method works more often and focusing on that and avoiding it when it doesn’t. You could also say that would be having Patience. To be successful we need to wait for setups to occur. Discipline to do this consistently. Not sometime. Not on Wednesdays, but always. Like a professional trader. We are Patient and have the Discipline to be so, and then when the setup(s) occur we then follow the plan to enter and manage the trade. Even if we do this we still may lose on the trade. There will be losers and there is no way to avoid it. So, we have to be willing to Accept the outcome, not just the winning outcome. Not being able to accept losses was big for me. Well, so are patience and discipline.
I certainly don’t mean to trivialize the other aspects of trading that are important. Having a plan and executing to the plan, journaling and review are all important. By the way, I put emotions into the category of “Mental Aspects”. I’m not a psychologist, so I speak for myself and say that emotions can’t be avoided or suppressed. You will feel what you feel. They key is to not let the emotions control the situation. Recognize the existence of how you feel and acknowledge it. For example, you’re in a trade and it’s going against you but has not hit your stop. You may be feeling a little tense. What do you do? Deep breath and follow the plan. The same applies for being in profit. You may be feeling tense because you are up on the trade. Do you exit? Deep breath and follow the plan.
I have not mastered the above, but I do believe it’s the holy grail to trading.
I admit I still want to trade. I'm not sure that day trading is for me. Sticking with the longer term trend on higher time-frame charts may be where its at.
been with bigmikes for probably 10 years...one of the best resources out there for traders using ninjatrader and best value money wise of anything offered from the educational front... feels like a never ending learning process with trading... get one thing mastered something else pops up... still learning :-) thankful to be on the journey.
I cannot express how much this forum has helped me over the years. It has saved me thousands of dollars in learning the true scoop about vendors and products.
It has provided me with in depth knowledge on technical analysis that is just not available anywhere else.
The constant flow of webinars is amazing as the content grows.
Most of all it has introduced me to people that share my passion for trading.