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6E was already raging when I turned on my platform. Debated on taking that first pullback at 05:15, but I hadn't done any pre-market prep, so I passed.
6E Trade #1
Took the next pullback opportunity at 1.3704 on the 06:35 bar. It was about this time that CL started to tank, if you can believe that, so I moved my stop to -4 ticks to tighten it up. Stopped out -4 ticks.
After this trade, 6E moved sideways for awhile, then blasted a new high. The first pullback made a LH, then it fell below the EMA. The green candle at 08:05 closed above the EMA, but the next one was a red candle.
6E Trade #2
Waited to see how that 08:15 bar was going to behave. It went up weakly, then stalled. very wary of going short here, but price was stalling. Placed sell stop under previous candle and was filled for a quick scalp. +15
The morning trend in CL was down, so I was looking for short entries.
CL Trade #1
After a big push down, got a pullback to the EMA. Entered sell stop under first red candle. Was concerned about the size of the 3 previous green bars, so monitored the trade closely. +1 tick.
CL Trade #2
The first trade failed to follow through, then CL bounced off the EMA and headed down hard. Entered a limit order looking to catch a retrace off that big red candle. Got a good fill, then some ticks ticks in my favor. Moved stop to BE+1 and was stopped out. +1 tick.
My focus wasn't the best today. I turned my back just for a minute, only to see a setup pass me by. This happened several times. At other times today I noticed great setups after-the-fact. I didn't see them while they were printing. The amount of concentration necessary to pull this off is very high, and today wasn't a great day.
If I did anything right today it was patience. I didn't revenge trade after I saw opportunities pass my by.
CL was trending down after hitting last night's high, then bounced off a 60 min trend line and headed back up. It popped up past yesterday's high, then fell back to that trend line in a very nice channel. I'm sure people skilled at that kind of trading tore it up.
CL Trade #1
After the 2nd bounce off that 60 min trend line, CL popped up over the EMA, then headed down. After the close below the EMA, I was looking for a short trade. After the 08:50 bar formed, I switched to the 1 min chart to time an entry because the 5 min bars were so big. Went short at 91.52 and was filled on the low of the next bar. Took 9 ticks of heat on my 8 ticks stop before CL dropped 20+ ticks. -8 ticks.
CL Trade #2
I was waiting for a break of the 91.06 pivot low. When the 10:40 bar came close, switched to the 1 min chart to time an entry. Went short at 91.07 and price was price was jumping around so fast, I moved my stop to BE+2. I was going to try and scalp more, but there was a 2 tick spread on the DOM and it was very jumpy. +2 ticks.
On the 6E, price was moving slow and steady. I had 3 limit orders that didn't get filled.
6E Trade #1
Price reached a high around 09:50, then went sideways/down for the next hour or so. Price dipped below the EMA on a nice shaved bottom red candle, then had a weak leg back up, culminating in a red doji. Went short expecting some profit taking selling. Held the trade a long time, but ended up +1 tick.
If that is a frequent problem you may wish to consider an audio alert in one of your indicators if a certain condition is met, to alert you to the possibility of a trade.
You could ask one of the many programmers in this thread for help:
Hey guys, I thought many of you would enjoy and benefit from this thread. My intention is to have each poster reply and describe in as much detail as possible an indicator they want created for NinjaTrader.
Your first trade was a beautiful setup. The problem that I have seen with some of your trades is your stop is too tight. Your stop loss should have been at least 1 tick above the last bar. You can always close the trade if you see momentum going against you before it hits your stop. Just make sure your R/R is at least 1/1. Your second trade you are selling into demand area, meaning you were at least two bars too late.lol!!! If your account size can't handle the larger stop loss then you may want to consider trading the QM which trade smaller tick value. Trades the same as the CL. Just a thought.
Several of my last few trades have either stopped me out on the extreme of a bar, or (more likely) I've choked and moved my stop to BE+1 and was then taken out. The stats I have show that I rarely take more than 8 ticks of heat on trades. I did have an 11 ticks stop, but have found that unnecessary.
That second trade did fall to my target, just on the next leg down.
Can I ask what type of computer you bought? Just curious because my old computer just had a hard drive crash and I'm getting tired of replacing worn out parts.
I've read your journal and I believe you're going to be a successful trader...You don't let a losing trade get you down...you have the persistence to succeed.
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." --- "Therefore, I Believe it and I will see it. And every day and in every way, I am healthier, wealthier, and wiser."
I also got a 21.5 inch monitor, which is very nice.
Friday was a day for Murphy's law. It took a couple of hours getting the thing on the network. Then, I could see the other computers, but didn't have Internet access. After getting that figured out, my signal strength was too weak to down load anything. That's when I realized they forgot to put an antennae in the box (I saved some money by buying one already opened). Back to Fry's to get the antennae. After that, I down loaded NT and put in my connection stuff. I fired up the 64 bit version (started up very fast!), then got a message that Zen-Fire doesn't support 64 bit. So I shut it down, then started up the 32 bit version and it took forever to load. When it finally loaded, it wouldn't connect. I uninstalled and reinstalled everything, but that didn't help. It was getting late and I had to get ready for a camping trip, so I posted my problem on NT's board. Turns out Zen-Fire had shut down for maintenance. What are the odds on that! When I got back in yesterday and fired it up, it loaded everything in about 15 seconds!
I have been testing a new way to re-arrange my charts, made possible by the new monitor I bought last Friday. Previously I had been using the 5 minute chart to get my setup, then I switched to the 1 min or 3 min chart to time a better entry. This almost always resulted in a loss. I think it was because there wasn't any time to study what the LTF chart was doing.
Today I put the 5 min chart above the 1 min chart and was able to watch both charts paint simultaneously. I still need lots of practice with this, but it seemed to be a major improvement.
The only negative thing today about trading this way was I reverted back to moving my stop to BE quickly. I left a lot of money on the table doing this, but I also made a little for a change. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
I mainly concentrated on the CL today. My one 6E trade just didn't work out, and I missed 2 other trades because I wasn't paying close attention. The range was bad today on the Euro and there weren't many opportunities for my setup.
6E Trade #1
The market popped out of its channel and made a new high. It retreated back to the EMA and I was looking for a long entry. There were 4 red candles that brought the market down to the EMA. The 4th candle was a high volume hammer that rejected the EMA. I entered a buy stop 1 tick above that, was filled and killed on the next bar as the Euro started down. -8 ticks.
On CL, the early morning was range bound, and I didn't see any entries. After the market broke the overnight high, I thought a new trend was starting, and was looking for a long entry. Waited for the oil report.
CL Trade #1
After the oil report, price seemed to hold up. The 08:00 bar was a doji, which I don't like, but did close above the EMA. Went long at 91.38 and kept a close watch. The market went up, then turned right around. +1 tick.
CL Trade #2
Got 3 red candles making LH's and LL's. The 08:20 bar was a lame hammer that closed just under the EMA. Went short at 91.23 and since the two previous bars overlapped so much, I was watching for a failure. +2 ticks.
CL Trade #3
The only thing that concerned me on this trade was the pivot low support made during the oil report. This trade was very close to that. I figured that if support didn't hold, the next stop would be 90.52. Was looking for either the bottom falling out or a quick scalp. +10 ticks.
CL Trade #4
I wanted back in that trade after the pullback, so went short at 90.88. Didn't manage it very well. +1 tick.
CL Trade #5
The 09:20 bar punctured the 90.62 support and came back up. Went short looking for another push down, and the bottom falling out. I got 14 ticks, then moved my stop to +10 as the market retraced right back to my entry. THEN the bottom dropped out! +10 ticks.
I was listening to a web cast the other day, and the person said that new traders take profits too soon because they're looking for immediate gratification. Sounds like me. Tomorrow is another day.
Traded with more confidence today, but violated 2 rules and got burned both times.
CL traded in 2 narrow bands today, with a drop around the 7am news.
CL Trade #1
CL started drifting down, and after a shooting star, there was a big red candle that ended right at the previous pivot low. The next bar broke that, then drifted up. I was looking to join the trend, and went short 91.10 off the 1 min chart. It was a perfect pullback to the EMA with a small bar. Trailed my stop but was taken out. -6 ticks.
I watched that pivot low 91.20 get broken with no heat at all. This was my incorrect signal that the market was going lower.
I was on the phone during the 7am news and watched 2 entries into that big drop pass me by. My hand was on the mouse, but I didn't want to be distracted in a trade. Both of those entries were clean with almost no heat.
CL Trade #2
CL bounced off of yesterday's low and formed a double bottom, then a pullback channel. The 07:55 candle broke out of the channel. I was looking for a test of the low and at least a 15 tick scalp. Placed sell stop under that candle and was stopped out. -8 ticks.
CL Trade #3
After the push above the EMA, I was looking for a 50% retrace of the range which was around the 90.95 pivot low. My mistake here was not adjusting my hard target for the pivot (it was set at 30 ticks). I entered on the 1 min chart and trailed my stop. Had 20 MFE. +11 ticks.
CL Trade #4
This was a break out trade that I thought I'd try. I've been watching many of these work, or at least provide enough room for a scratch.
CL made 2 more pushes up past the EMA until finally on the 10:35 bar it failed to close above. The pivot low formed on my 2nd trade was broken and CL had now formed a LH and LL. I was expecting a test of the LOD, or at least the last pivot low.The 10:45 bar stopped to the tick of the double bottom formed on the last push down. I was aware of that nearby support, but went short anyway (mistake). Entered sell stop 1 tick under and was filled and stopped out. -8 ticks.
The mistake I made on this trade and trade #2 was to sell at the bottom of a range.
6E Trade #1
My 6E trade was bad. I had been watching the market trend lower, and instead of selling pullbacks, I tried to sell a retrace of a leg. The main problem was the obvious support at 1.3658 which is exactly where I entered. My incorrect thought process was support becomes resistance, and after the 06:35 bar broke that, it would come back for a test. It did, but kept on going before finally moving in my direction. -8 ticks.