Welcome to NexusFi: the best trading community on the planet, with over 150,000 members Sign Up Now for Free
Genuine reviews from real traders, not fake reviews from stealth vendors
Quality education from leading professional traders
We are a friendly, helpful, and positive community
We do not tolerate rude behavior, trolling, or vendors advertising in posts
We are here to help, just let us know what you need
You'll need to register in order to view the content of the threads and start contributing to our community. It's free for basic access, or support us by becoming an Elite Member -- see if you qualify for a discount below.
-- Big Mike, Site Administrator
(If you already have an account, login at the top of the page)
More than 3 years back i started trading. It wasn't based on any quantitative analysis rather it was just some stupid random things which my broker would suggest or i would read online. With this haphazard way i did make money for a while but then two trades did not just wipe out most of those "profits" but rather took out a huge chunk of my initial capital as well. I got scared , stopped trading. After a lot of soul searching and re-thinking my career choice as a full time trader i decided to hold on to my dreams and vision just a little more longer. As luck would have it i read an article on volume analysis and its importance. At that time it didn't make any sense and could hardly understand it but the curiosity made me dig deeper and i came across a thread called "Volume Spread Analysis".
So one thins things led to another and i became obsessed with VSA and the work of Wyckoff. I even started trading in RT but the consistency was missing. I wanted to do something about it but there was a missing piece of element in my trading. That missing piece was momentum. That is where technical indicators came in handy and became a part of my charts.
Now instead of focusing solely on trading turning points i like to look at price in terms of momentum as well. So two trading plans are in place.
1. Trading Turning Points
2. Trading After Turning Points
I only trade commodities as of now. By default i always have Silver , Crude Oil , Copper , Nickel And Natural Gas in my list. Any other commodity which shows periods of increased volatility becomes a part of my watchlist. Whether i trade it or not depends on my intra-day criteria is in line with the market.
This particular phase of my trading career is where i do not fear the markets , i am not scared of losing money , i respect stops , i have become comfortable being uncomfortable most of the times (if that makes any sense) , i book profits too early , i do not care about any news or economic events taking place when i'm trading and i hardly read any new books on trading.
The one big challenging as of now is booking profits early because my initial stops are wide and when i open a position i do not calculate or make an attempt to find a profit target. The only data i have at that time is where my initial stop would be. So out of eagerness i book profits too early thinking that book now and call it a day. The reason for that is there have been times when i booked profits while deviating from my game plan and after a couple of hours price hit my stops and there have been times when i stuck to my trading plans when the trade was in the money and then my stops have got taken out and there have been times when i stuck to my game plan and saw some things materialize which had so far been only in my mind. Those three scenario's have all been meaningful and taught me a lot of things about my own behavior.
So i have been re-working on my exit points and have come to terms with times when the setup will emerge but there will be little or now follow through.
I have literally been living off my savings for the past three years and have lived very cheaply. In my mind things have changed and i am withdrawing money and spending lavishly. The reason i am creating this journal is to have a record of my activities which will help me materialize my dreams and notice my improvement and also the speed of my improvement. The reason i am making an open public thread is because i am too close to the situation and there will be times when an outsider will see things more clearly about me and my trading then i can.
If I were you I would find or buy a copy of a seminar by Mark Douglas called "Mental Toughness".
It addresses some of the issues you will face and will change the way you are looking at the market.
It is an inexpensive way to save your capital and if followed will turn your trading around.
One issue I noticed is your comment quoted below:
"i do not calculate or make an attempt to find a profit target."
How many times have you gone on a long trip and not had a destination?
Would you even attempt to go on a month vacation and not know where you are going?
Although it is possible to do, it means you never arrive and you wander aimlessly.
I think at least an 'idea' of the target is necessary and possibly you should take partial profits along the way to 'pay yourself' for the journey as you go.
WTFDIK.
Good Luck.
Rejoice in the Thunderstorms of Life . . .
Knowing it's not about Clouds or Wind. . .
But Learning to Dance in the Rain ! ! !
Thanks for the advice David. What you say makes a lot of sense.I do have an exit strategy in place but i just don't know at what price or price area it will occur. What i do know is that it will occur. I was thinking about learning Fibonacci Price Targets and also entering a trade with even sized lots so that i can book partial profits and let 50% of the lots ride the wave. But that would increase my initial risk massively. I'm going to figure a way out around this and update my progress. Thanks again for the help , i really appreciate it.
I was looking to sell Silver and Nickel today since the bigger waves were pointing towards the downside. Price did eventually move down but my criteria's were not satisfied so kept out the trade.
Now all i need to do is wait for my intra-day criteria's to get fulfilled so that i can open a trade.
EDIT : So far my criteria's have been fulfilled on Silver @ 56490. Now waiting for price to either make a directional move downside with increase in volatility or hit my initial stop.
Silver position closed at a profit of 197 pips. Now waiting for Nickel to re-test the resistance area and enter a short position either on a No Demand Bar or UpThrust .
Except for copper most of the assets are losing steam and if price moves directionally the intensity should not be very high. As of now i'm waiting for my intra-day criteria's to get fulfilled.
Been waiting 6-7 hours for a setup to develop. Was out till 2am last night and lack of sleep is taking a toll. Price is moving laterally without any entry points which fit into my criteria list. I think i'm gonna call it a day and go outside and get the haircut that i really need.