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Trading: Mini and micro US Indexes/ DAX/ FX/VIX/GOLD
Posts: 180 since Apr 2010
Thanks Given: 53
Thanks Received: 164
I hope you enjoy a well earned rest from all of your efforts, Beth. You have come so far and explored so many ideas and it seems that you are on the path to success. This is such a difficult game and I think it's more of a performance art (for the discretionary trader) than a business: having to be on top form every day and giving your all whilst facing defeat also. Very tough. You have to be resiliant enough to take those knocks and believe in yourself. There are many on the forum that believe in you and you just have to have the confidence to pull the trigger when necessary- the 'spotlight' moment and very scary. But in reality what is there to fear? If you see the market breaking out on high volume then get in and don't worry about a perfect entry. Horrible low volume spikey range days can be left alone. Just don't trade them. Trade the days when sentiment is clear and you are confident of the big players entering. Follow the crowd, enjoy the ride, get out early and make a profit. I hope you rest, take time away and come back with renewed determination.
My belated thanks for your comforting post and tips! FYI: We just came back from a 7-night all-inclusive Cuba vacation in Playa Coco. My petite head is still a little dizzy because of a troubled night .. almost no zozozo because a potential hurricane threat brought lots of rain and wind last night. Luckily everything cleared up and it's a smooth flight home. Got almost a hundred bites (they love vegetarians and I must be the only one around) and must have lost a few ounces .. quite often empty stomach as their food was really challenging to swallow even I am not choosy ...
Before leaving last Tuesday, I did narrow down to a set up that gives me specific entry point (which I missed). I will take my time to create a trading system or method that I am comfortable to trade with. Still working on an automated strategy to trade the first 30-minute Open Range breakout. It's another simple set up.
Yes, trade with the big boys and girls .. enjoy the ride .. no need to worry about getting a few ticks .. as long as most trades are profitable ones .. I have started training my brains to accept occasional losing trades and focus on the overall performance .. say weekly or monthly.
To feed your curiosity, enclosed shows the "before" and "current" set-ups. When using the 4- or higher timeframe range set-up, my challenge has been the entry point. For me, it's very subjective when to start counting the first 2 Up or Down bars on the black EMA 5.
For the current set-up, I am using Jeff's dots (I adapted them to Up and Down Triangles on the Price Panel) and Price closes above or below the Donchian midline (gold) as the signal bar. Then enter at open the next bar or closing price of the signal bar IF indicators on Panels 2 and 3 align with the trade. Initial SL is aro midpoint between Donchian midline and Upper/Lower Donchian line. I have not been very active in sim-trading though the weekly performance stays at 70%.
My most recent realization: I need to nail down IF I'm a very conservative trader, ie minimal tolerance to loss?! If yes, I should not be aggressive and strive for 10 or above PT for my 1-contract trades. Or if I do, I need to train myself to be flexible when the market does not have the strength to reach my predetermined PT. Else SL will easily get hit.
The above self-diagnosis is based on my sim experiences for the past 2-3 weeks.
Upon our return from Cuba, we've been very occupied with post-summer house-cleaning. Posted over 20 ads in a free selling website in the neighborhood. Surprise .. surprise .. we banked in $1K from the sale this afternoon. The first time in our lives, we have people in-and-out giving us $$ and got rid of our "junks" for us .. haha ..
A second signal (buy) came up. I missed the entry by 1 tick. It went up without me. No chasing and I'm done .. smile ..
Yes, one profitable trade (over 10 ticks too) has made my day .. haha ..
Then I made a few calls talking to some government agents about transferring my penny stocks (once $ stocks) to my retirement account. It's simplier than I thought! Guess sometimes I (we) make things more complicated LOL!
With statistics supporting most IB breakouts have an over 90% successful rate reaching 20%, I started having an 8-Range chart with IB in thick black lines (per enclosed) this week. I'd not recommend having a pair of OCO upon completion of the 1-hour IB. Instead, when price is getting close to the Upper or Lower IB AND your indicators align with the trade, place a Buy or Sell stop. That's what I did this morning and it's a 15-tick winner.
Oh, still experimenting .. sim trade only until I get more confidence.