So to start the trading day off ... that gold trade really hit me hard. 1. I lost some $ and that hurt 2. I did the newbie move and gambled 3. This is the lesson I should of learned many many times before. I decided I was going to get through this with a positive note. So I dol my ZG trade (near the high and worked on continuing my leanring process. I've been posting my trades via a chat room and have been writing them down. I forgot all abou the IB paper trader so I might start that up ... well see. So far posting in the forum has been pretty good. I still have my BA and DD calls; not exactly sure how I feel about them. BA turned out better last 1/2 of day (first 1/2 it looked like it was going to tank) now it looks like its going to take off again. DD well; who knows; I'll be lucky to come out even I figure. I decided to pick up more call options on the ES what is it the sept 1520. Got in at I think 6.50 when it was curving around the right shoulder on the inv. h&s on the 5 min. Only slightly ahead there. Did a bunch of paper trades. Set stops and targets - miffed a bunch of them. The one I scored on I set right before I Went to work and when I got back it hit target so I made 73 on the YM. I need to study that behavior more. Since atm my job isnt going to change; I would like to find a way to do medium term trades ie be able to place trades and have them function while I am at work. As far as I can tell they are called bracket orders.
Stops - I had a discussion with some people in the chat about setting stops. One person was really adament about setting stops; says he Always sets them. I was questioning them why they set them since this is a ever changing market. They said a few things but in all honesty it didnt sink in. But one person did say one thing. "A fool and his money are soon departed" or it was something like that - the old saying how it goes. And that I can understand. My issues is that I feel the market is always changing so in a way I feel a stop may change. But then again when emotions get involved you want to change your stop to allow you to 'win' on that trade. You want to move it around so your - big loss will turn small - your loss will turn to break even - your breakeven will turn into a win - and your win will turn into a big win But what happens when you want all the above and the issue moves hard against you and you are far into the negative - now what. Going to 'stay the course'? Of course the market sees me as a 'liberator' so I should stay in. No cant admit I am wrong because then I would have to look at myself in the mirror and admit to the public that I was wrong. ... getting off track here But seriously; exits out of a trade are the hardest thing for me to do atm. Although I am finding it much easier to set stops and keeping them in my practice trades; because when I voice them outloud I have to keep them. So for now I am still up in the air of the best way to exit a trade. Especially when it moves against you or doesnt move much. I think I need to develope a set of rules that I can follow.
So even despite the rough trade early in the day I found inner peace; and strove to make a connection again with why I was trading. - I am starting to like the ES alot more then even perhaps the YM - I find that I often get knocked out of the trade in the YM because of the larger swings. I am also enjoying the option trades I did; even thou I havnt made any money yet with them I like the fact that the spread tends to be only .5 and that 8 point swings to really change much in the option. I can see them being good avenues for 15 min chart plays.
T - I am not sure if I need to apply some of the things I have learned to use for options plays for futures plays. With options I tended to want to buy into them when volatility was low and let stops slide so I could still be in the game and not get hit with the spread. Futures - the spread is small; I can day trade them. And the price doesnt increase when volatility is high - I may miss a few points here and there but not like options. I will evalute this more in the future.
I posted this in a different thread but wanted to post here also. I was experiecning some of this yesterday: There appears to be a continual loop or a downward spiral - The more you are invested in something the more you will neglect to follow your system. And the more you dont follow your system the more you will be invested in something. So if XYZ goes against you and you're really invested in it. You of course want to either 1. not lose as much money as you are currently. 2. at least break even and tell yourself you will follow your system from now on (ya right). 3. the thing will come back and youll make money like you oringally did. So whats the moral of the story? Decide why you are trading; if you want inner peace then by doing the above wont help you achieve this; you will be in chaos with yourself. Find a way to center your mind and return to inner peace when you trade. If that is setting a stop and sticking to it - then so be it.
-I'm looking for a like minded individual(s) to bounce ideas back and forth- If you have read my journal you probably like to look at my charts or hear how I am doing etc ... but I am getting a bit bored 'talking' to myself ... hence why I have gaps in my journal. At the moment I am trading part time - approx. 3 hours everyday. My focus atm is futures and futures/options and equity options. But I may fool around with other things such as stocks and 4x. Where I am at: I feel I have a Ton of knowledge about TA ... But I am having trouble converting that to a workable trading plan. So in some ways I am still a begginer when it comes to trading. I've been trading on and off for the past 10+ years (unsuccessfully). I am determined to be successful in my life and one of the things in my life I want to master is the trading game. My ideas on bouncing ideas back and forth - 1. using a internet chat room 2. email 3. talking about TA, the market, trading plans, goals etc etc ... if this sounds like fun to you shoot me a PM and well talk
-update- havnt posted in a couple weeks ... Lost some money on ny BA and DD options; sold them for a loss (not much of a big deal). I used too much $ when it came to fooling around with my ES options trades. So that took me down. I am liking them; dont get me wrong its just I am not working with a workable plan here so basically I am giving my money away. example - I get too focused on making money or on a particular time-frame. I see a pattern on a 15 min chart then get bogged down on the 5 min. Then when I go back to the 15 min I see if I would of held on all that time I would of scored big. I would call that; time frame jumping.
Some things I am going to focus on in the near future - 1. I havnt started trading futures yet. I've been a bit nervous about stepping directly into them again. But I decided I am going to start again in the near future ie work on some PTing more. 2. Going to work on the ES options more. I like being able to enter a trade and head to work and get back and not have to worry about stops etc ... I work different hours as compared to the market is open. 3. Going to keep working on my trading plan so I at least have a basic plan.
I don't do future/equity option and it seems you don't get much of rely on that either. I think the best option for you is to open an account with think and swim and learn how to use their excellent option platform. They have tons of lessons for you to learn and also a trade along class so you can earn when you learn.