----------------
I'll share a story; sit down and relax and enjoy.
So, back in the day (late 80's) I was working with my mentor and we moved every 3 months to a different city or country and took our
CQG satellite dishes with us--blah blah blah.
Anyways, that was when BONDS & BEANS were king and such. We traded alot of
overnight currencies (we called them EFP's "exchange for physical").
My mentor moved from the states early in his childhood to Austria and he was an excellent Pound and Deutsche Mark trader. Currencies were easy for him and I picked up on the vibe.
We were primarily 30 minute and daily traders and together we had a flow when it came to currencies and metals. Those markets were like breathing to us; natural--fluid and regular.
Now--here is where one of our original challenges came into play.
Those friggin bonds and their HUGE moves 3-5X's per month on a.m. news releases (back when bonds moved limit 3
handles on some days).
Same thing in beans (especially globex overnight session) in the summer; HUGE moves.
Well, we were using alot of
gann overlaid with fibonacci and clusters of time cycles.
On to my point: We would map out our strategy beforehand. For example if we were long going into an inflection point (reversal area--projection) for the LONGEST damned time we would
cover but could NOT pull the trigger on the other side of the order.
There is a higher level of trading and here it is; being able to fluidly and effortlessly (psychologically) keep both a
bullish and
bearish scenario in one's mind and at the precise time (after doing the work) being able to, as they say "
flip the b*tch.
This is where my early training in Gann gave me some comfort. I always had 2 scenarios in my mind and when one was more tilted (in probability) I then would begin working my positions in that direction.
How did we get over that hump; so to speak? Well it wasn't the chinese 'ma huang' leaves we would boil on the stove @4:45am PST waiting to begin trading bonds for the 5:20am PST
pit session open; nope.
As you know--there is a not so subtle difference between 'forecasting a market move' and then trading that move. And then managing that trade correctly.
It is my belief that it is conditioning. In any other professional field you are exposed to a live/fluid environment while both training and then for real (medical field/military/legal).
Now, how does a young surgical intern make the transition from an operating room flunkie/assistant to a top-notch practicing heart surgeon with someone's life on the line (I believe this is more pressure than trading)? Same for military--way more pressure.
Your conditioning has to leave no option for backpedaling. You do it because you practiced it (on sim or with small trading size) and it became a part of you.
Doesn't matter if you are a military sniper working alone or part of a huge infantry unit; you do what you are trained to do. Assess the situation, react and then use both experience and as you gain more 'real time' exposure, you can then move on to some flair and intuition and whatever else that has developed within you as an experienced trader.
How any individual trader bridges this
gap is deeply personal and an unwavering belief in oneself without compromise is a good place to begin exploring these concepts.
Nothing in my personality (right-sided brain trader) is conducive to successful intraday trading. Not a damned thing.
For me my breakthrough came when I was able to completely let loose in my personal life outside of trading. It was an 'edge and beyond' thing in my late teens and early 20's {keep in mind I was raised by a hippie mother so growing up I had no limits or rules; just get straight A's and I had carte blanche}.
Because many of the things I did outside of trading were so intense; intraday trading and doing the right thing with a quantified edge fairly quickly became a non issue. The money issue drifted away as well. My trading became like taking inventory.
Assets and costs. Plusses and minuses. I graded myself on a bi-weekly and monthly and quarterly
basis.
Again, this process is intensely personal (and should be).
There is no wealth without work and while diligence and planning are wonderful; conditioning and literal brainwashing with consequences (for insubordination) may work for a majority of traders.
I hope this example was informative for someone on the forum.
peace
Hedvig