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Only took one trade so far and it was a scalp for +95. Markets were really choppy for a while and I wanted to wait for things to smooth out some before starting. They are looking better now so maybe after lunch they will pick a direction and go with it.
Could be stuck in a range during lunch (green lines). I will look for a fake out breakout near the end of lunch followed by the real move whichever direction that may be. If the breakout gets above the blue line (resistance) then we could see higher. NQ lagging behind YM and ES today.
Still observing the indicator to refine it a bit more. Way too many false signals.
So, what's gone right and what's gone wrong today?
Right: 1. Rode through the chop without getting chopped.
2. I was patient. Markets like this can and will test your patience.
Wrong:
1.Need to improve scalping technique to take advantage of these types of markets. There is money to be made just not as easily as a trending market. Will end up paying a good bit more in commissions but profit is profit.
2. Need to trust the system more. The choppy market made me hesitant to take a trade. A large majority of them could have been small or even decent profit based on a quick glance back
Technically it is a green day. +95 doesn't even count as minimum wage but it is profit. Average out the last two days and I am still happy. I will chalk up the rest of the day to a learning experience. After all, I have only been trading Futures live for a couple of weeks. I can definitely say it would have been much more difficult if I didn't already have trading experience under my belt.
When I first started Forex it was at the beginning of the bubble back in 2007-2008. We had 400:1 leverage and the ability to hedge. I doubled my account one day and margin called the next. LOL! Haven't had that problem here.
Homework for this evening: Investigate scalping techniques to see what I can incorporate into my trading style. I will also go back and count signals on a lower time frame to see how efficient they are at picking out at least small profit trades. If anyone reading this has suggestions for scalping systems don't hesitate to link them in this journal. I welcome all learning opportunities.
I will still get up early Thursday and Friday but not any more starting next week. Part of the problem may be fatigue setting in by the time I get to the U.S. session. It may not be apparent to me but in this market any slowdown in computing speed is not a good thing.
Hope everyone is enjoying the journal. How do you like my new avatar?? Leftover from an old project that never got off the ground.
Looking at the higher time frame chart (12000 tick) yesterday looks as boring as it felt. LOL! Overnight volume is lighter today than yesterday with the first bar of the day not even completed as of yet.
No significant news pending today or Friday. The Futures markets don't seem to be as sensitive to news as the currency markets. I know interest rates and job numbers can move it.
Spent some time last night checking out the signal indicator that I built for accuracy. At this point it is 71% correct if you take the first appearance of the signal. I didn't go back far enough to be able to say 71% is the average result. I only went back a couple of days.
Will be trading the lower time frames today until we get closer to the U.S. session.
Near the opening of U.S. session. Took +200 profit. Set up like a trade I had last week. This time I bracketed the market further apart. Jumped out when it started to pull back. The market open can be a bit tricky so I chickened out. LOL!
Bracketed market again. Price spiked down and took the short. Don't like it when it just spikes down. I have seen many times where it will reverse right after a spike. Moved the stop quickly just in case. Got taken out for just +20 profit. Missed the rest of the drop. I hear clucking....
Should have waited for a bigger pull back but entered short. Drifted along for about 20 minutes until it finally turned green and I jumped out just in time. +30 so +250 for the day so far.