Thursday, March 22, 2007
3/22/07 Yes... I'm not in Kansas anymore!
Thanks for the comment Tradding Goddess. I should link your blog to mine... in fact I think I will.
Today I've been perfect on every trade. I'm down 3 points but an A for following rules. I was catching some crap in Palskank room for going long on high ticks and what not but for some strange reason you will always find an indicator that will not agree with your plan. Hell... I think that most of the time they don't agree with my plan... but I do know that my simple plan does make money over time. So I don't sweat it. Some work, others don't. What I was trying to get across was that it doesn't matter if the system makes money or not. If I can't follow a good or bad system then what difference does it make if the system makes millions! If I can't follow it then it isn't any good to me. This is where Rico and I developed this simplest system we could come up with... Price action only. Nothing else. Rico has continued his search for a better system but after we tested this one it did consistently make money almost every day. My only challenge was to trade it without fail. It was very hard to remove my bias and take every signal that came along. Very hard. Or I would shoot from the hip and enter without signal and they would always be wrong. Hell, the system was perfect for overriding my stupid impulses! So we spent a good 3 months paper trading it and it worked great. Then every time we went with real money we got burned because we didn't follow them. Then I would force myself to stop after I didn't follow rules so as to not hurt myself too badly. I would get better. After breaking rules 2-3 times I would catch myself and stop. Finally I would get some days where I would be perfect or only break once..... and I wasn't losing as much when I followed rules better. Still hard to override bias and emotions! I'm getting better tho... still working on it every day. Then there are days like yesterday when you think.. "man.. I'm there!" but don't get too cocky! It will kill yea
Today I'm perfect on rules... but losing money. Very choppy day and just getting stopped on entries. Just got stopped again but still haven't lost as much as I made yesterday.
Back to following rules. I figure I can always improve a system by adding more crap to it and making it more difficult which won't improve it but that isn't the point. I can add more stuff to it and make it more complicated but if I can't trade it what difference does it make???? NONE! So the point here is to perfect my discipline so I can trade a system if I think it is better than the stupidly simple one I've already got. Makes sense. So I'm getting crap for following my system when most people say they have a system but don't... and if they really do they rarely follow it. I am coming from the school that simpler if better and that being consistent is more important than following 500 indicators and waiting for them all to line up for the perfect trade. All I use is 2 price action entries and 2 stops. Same for both directions and that is it. Very simple and I am still learning to trade it!
Trader X
Today I've been perfect on every trade. I'm down 3 points but an A for following rules. I was catching some crap in Palskank room for going long on high ticks and what not but for some strange reason you will always find an indicator that will not agree with your plan. Hell... I think that most of the time they don't agree with my plan... but I do know that my simple plan does make money over time. So I don't sweat it. Some work, others don't. What I was trying to get across was that it doesn't matter if the system makes money or not. If I can't follow a good or bad system then what difference does it make if the system makes millions! If I can't follow it then it isn't any good to me. This is where Rico and I developed this simplest system we could come up with... Price action only. Nothing else. Rico has continued his search for a better system but after we tested this one it did consistently make money almost every day. My only challenge was to trade it without fail. It was very hard to remove my bias and take every signal that came along. Very hard. Or I would shoot from the hip and enter without signal and they would always be wrong. Hell, the system was perfect for overriding my stupid impulses! So we spent a good 3 months paper trading it and it worked great. Then every time we went with real money we got burned because we didn't follow them. Then I would force myself to stop after I didn't follow rules so as to not hurt myself too badly. I would get better. After breaking rules 2-3 times I would catch myself and stop. Finally I would get some days where I would be perfect or only break once..... and I wasn't losing as much when I followed rules better. Still hard to override bias and emotions! I'm getting better tho... still working on it every day. Then there are days like yesterday when you think.. "man.. I'm there!" but don't get too cocky! It will kill yea
Today I'm perfect on rules... but losing money. Very choppy day and just getting stopped on entries. Just got stopped again but still haven't lost as much as I made yesterday.
Back to following rules. I figure I can always improve a system by adding more crap to it and making it more difficult which won't improve it but that isn't the point. I can add more stuff to it and make it more complicated but if I can't trade it what difference does it make???? NONE! So the point here is to perfect my discipline so I can trade a system if I think it is better than the stupidly simple one I've already got. Makes sense. So I'm getting crap for following my system when most people say they have a system but don't... and if they really do they rarely follow it. I am coming from the school that simpler if better and that being consistent is more important than following 500 indicators and waiting for them all to line up for the perfect trade. All I use is 2 price action entries and 2 stops. Same for both directions and that is it. Very simple and I am still learning to trade it!
Trader X
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
3/21/07 late session
OK got another long signal and as usual I went long and market retraced. So I'm sitting and waiting and about 15 min later I finally get my PP +1 and I move stop to BE on last car. Now I'm dragging the stop right now and already +.5 on runner. So even if they retrace to my stop I'm still up 1.5 total for this trade. I'll take these little trades all day long until the big runner comes along like my last trade. OK, out at +1.5
Trader X.
Trader X.
3/21/07 PM Fed Day
OK got another long and this time I followed the rules... Moved stop as market retraced but finally PP +1 and then the market took off. I kept trailing as I haven't been recently and the runner car is just going nuts... UP $400 for the day! Trade still going on as market it running like mad! Market trying to touch 1450 and will probably do it.
OK, trade just closed and I'm up $400 for the day. Followed rules and it works! How is that for confidence. The last big trade that was good for $300 was at an entry at the high of the day and then it started to retrace. Thought I was screwed! but I weathered the retrace and market finally hit my PP point at which I hung in there and kept the runner going as per rules. Beautiful!!! I am really close to being consistantly there... This is my year! I will tell you right now that I will be a very good and profitable trader. There are so many things that are clicking all together in my warped brain but so much of it is starting to make sense. I am getting this. I am really getting this.
Trader X
OK, trade just closed and I'm up $400 for the day. Followed rules and it works! How is that for confidence. The last big trade that was good for $300 was at an entry at the high of the day and then it started to retrace. Thought I was screwed! but I weathered the retrace and market finally hit my PP point at which I hung in there and kept the runner going as per rules. Beautiful!!! I am really close to being consistantly there... This is my year! I will tell you right now that I will be a very good and profitable trader. There are so many things that are clicking all together in my warped brain but so much of it is starting to make sense. I am getting this. I am really getting this.
Trader X
3/21/07 Fed Day
I had no business trading in the AM but I did one trade and it was a BE trade. Could have made money but had to run to my Dad's house.
Fed announce and I was able to go long for a +1 point PP on 2 cars. Still working in getting long again. I exited both contracts but should have keep one as a runner because it has continued to run. That is twice I've done that in as many days... I need to continue to work on that. I need to listen to Van Tharp tape everyday... and review rules for mental rehearsal. Visually rehearse in my head every morning for only a few minutes before open.
Along a another thought was how to improve my HOLP/LOHP for entries. I've had a thought about trading in a channel or more to the point... not trading in a channel. Need to do more research on top of hours and bottoms and channels to further sort good signals.
Trader X
Fed announce and I was able to go long for a +1 point PP on 2 cars. Still working in getting long again. I exited both contracts but should have keep one as a runner because it has continued to run. That is twice I've done that in as many days... I need to continue to work on that. I need to listen to Van Tharp tape everyday... and review rules for mental rehearsal. Visually rehearse in my head every morning for only a few minutes before open.
Along a another thought was how to improve my HOLP/LOHP for entries. I've had a thought about trading in a channel or more to the point... not trading in a channel. Need to do more research on top of hours and bottoms and channels to further sort good signals.
Trader X
3/20/07 One Error
First I have to tell you about my vacation trade. While I was in the middle of Kansas I was able to do a trade one morning before we checked out of the hotel room. It was beautiful... followed rules to a tee and netted $275. Nice....
My first day back from Vacation ranks a B. I made one mistake but otherwise perfect. I took a contract off too soon and it cost me a few bucks but I was still BE for the day.
I've been much better at stopping after my first mistake.
Trader X
My first day back from Vacation ranks a B. I made one mistake but otherwise perfect. I took a contract off too soon and it cost me a few bucks but I was still BE for the day.
I've been much better at stopping after my first mistake.
Trader X
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
3/7/07 revelations.....
Last week as a great week... not because I made tons of money (I didn't), and not because I followed my plan (didn't do that either!) but because I am becoming aware of when I'm not following my plan and I am learning how to fix it. From my earlier post you can see that it started great but progressed to worse as the week went by. I am learning to remove myself from the situation and look at things from a 3rd persons objective view... It's like "Hey! He didn't follow his rules!"
I've also been able to figure out the circumstances when I start shooting from the hip. It's when the market starts moving and I feel like I am being left behind or when I start to anticipate the beginnings of a move before it happens. The anticipation was a killer on one trade last week. I anticipated a long signal so I went long... market started down. I rationalized that I should add to the position because I knew it was going to go up. So I did! How stupid. What I should have done was to exit as soon as the signal wasn't generated. Done, over, out! The other killer was when the market has formed a signal but the bar hasn't closed yet... and I just can't wait to get in before it leaves me behind. So I jump early only to have the bar then fail to generate the signal. Same thing... should have gotten out.
Luckily for me Van Tharp has just the answer for me... in his program he has some solutions to this problem. I am working on my discipline everyday and it has really helped. I am usually very good for the first 2-3 trades before things fall apart. If things are going well I get cocky.. if they are going poorly then I get anxious and want revenge! The answer is to just stop at the first sign of breaking rules. Before I am allowed to trade again I need to re-read my rules and plan and then proceed with caution!
Trader X
PS. There are some other Van Tharp things but you will have to buy the seminar to find those out!
I've also been able to figure out the circumstances when I start shooting from the hip. It's when the market starts moving and I feel like I am being left behind or when I start to anticipate the beginnings of a move before it happens. The anticipation was a killer on one trade last week. I anticipated a long signal so I went long... market started down. I rationalized that I should add to the position because I knew it was going to go up. So I did! How stupid. What I should have done was to exit as soon as the signal wasn't generated. Done, over, out! The other killer was when the market has formed a signal but the bar hasn't closed yet... and I just can't wait to get in before it leaves me behind. So I jump early only to have the bar then fail to generate the signal. Same thing... should have gotten out.
Luckily for me Van Tharp has just the answer for me... in his program he has some solutions to this problem. I am working on my discipline everyday and it has really helped. I am usually very good for the first 2-3 trades before things fall apart. If things are going well I get cocky.. if they are going poorly then I get anxious and want revenge! The answer is to just stop at the first sign of breaking rules. Before I am allowed to trade again I need to re-read my rules and plan and then proceed with caution!
Trader X
PS. There are some other Van Tharp things but you will have to buy the seminar to find those out!
Friday, March 02, 2007
3/2/07 Wow.......
What a week this has been. My personal best was Tuesday 2/27 for $ but not for rules. I was a C that day but was having fun doing it. I've never seen a trin of 15 or higher. It didn't matter where you shorted you made money... and that was why I got a C. I was shorting every signal I've ever seen and not following rules... but there are times when you know you can do it and make $. Tuesday was one of those.
Wed was an A day. Perfect Day. No mistakes. Made 4.5 points too. Not a bad day all around.
Then came Thursday... my undoing. I was way too confident, shooting from the hip and digging my self a hole all day long that I never did get out of even after I calmed down and went back to trading rules again.
Today I'm 1 for 1 so far. Took long at 7:30 signal and it was worth a 1 point PP and .25 on the runner. So far so good. It's Friday and my last day trading before Vacation so it had better be an A day so I don't have to kick myself while I'm gone about what an idiot I've been!
I was doing well then I jumped the gun on the numbers announce at 9:00. System locked up and I couldn't PP and trade went against me due to TS freezing up. Bad trade, no confirmation, then puter locking up!
Next trade off valid signal got me a PP and then stopped on runner at BE.
Trader X
Wed was an A day. Perfect Day. No mistakes. Made 4.5 points too. Not a bad day all around.
Then came Thursday... my undoing. I was way too confident, shooting from the hip and digging my self a hole all day long that I never did get out of even after I calmed down and went back to trading rules again.
Today I'm 1 for 1 so far. Took long at 7:30 signal and it was worth a 1 point PP and .25 on the runner. So far so good. It's Friday and my last day trading before Vacation so it had better be an A day so I don't have to kick myself while I'm gone about what an idiot I've been!
I was doing well then I jumped the gun on the numbers announce at 9:00. System locked up and I couldn't PP and trade went against me due to TS freezing up. Bad trade, no confirmation, then puter locking up!
Next trade off valid signal got me a PP and then stopped on runner at BE.
Trader X
