Hi Jules, I am wondering if you use any stop losses and why did you take such a big hit on that last trade? What kind of R:R are you using?
I Scalp ES and from experience, it is very difficult to recover from big point loss during the day if you are scalping. It is better to choose low risk entry trades.
Hi Vinay, No, I use no stop losses, and that's going to be banned from now on.
I took a big hit on my last trade coz I had gone in without confirmation of what I think was forming - namely, a bull flag/pennant. I ASSUME it was going to be that after TF left its consolidation base.
A proper entry calls for the actual formation of a flag. But there was none of course.
I was aiming for TF to reach 480. It didn't of course.
I sat on my loss coz I didn't believe that TF was going down. It did, of course, and went down fiercely.
Judging from the speed of the downward move on a bullish day, I knew with near certainty that it was going to come back up. But I had entered the trade at 3am, and there was simply not enough time for me to see what was going to develop.
I exited at the floor of my trendline, at a loss that I think I can still recover emotionally from. What I lost in that trade was what I had made in the past 7 sessions - I refuse to risk losing more. It was no longer about trading my conviction. It was about getting out before I'm crushed emotionally. And I had to get out before market close because I don't hold my trades overnight.
I don't use any R:R. I don't believe in 2:1 or 3:1 in daytrading the futures. I believe in using a volatility stop (a mental stop for me, which has been 6 to 7 points recently), and take whatever the market wants to give. So far, because of my fear of having a losing day (coz losing days ruin my morale), I've been cutting my profits way too soon.
For the past 2 months, trading has solely been about pampering my senses, and about getting around my psychological barrier instead of dealing with it.
Not going to happen anymore. This is NOT the way to trade. If I'm going to continue to be lily-livered for no good reason, I might as well quit trading.
Yes, I totally agree with you that in scalping, it's difficult to repair huge damages. It's idiotic to scalp profits, and daytrade losses.
Thanks for your note, Vinay, and happy trading today (Thurs) :-)
Yes, Solfest, my not using hard stops had allowed me to avoid whipsaws and being caught in traps. I get out when I'm absolutely sure that the entire market has turned against me. This usually doesn't take more than 6 - 7 points. And it doesn't happen very often. But when it happens, I turn my attention to my average winning day - which pales in comparison to my blowup day - and I get depressed.
Yes, there's been net profit at the end of the month.
I think the consecutive losses in Dec - Jan had done more damage than I imagined.
Thanks, Solfest, for helping me with my doubts. I see that my real problem is NOT really my eagerness to recover that string of losses. It is definitely about not being able to accept that in trading - as it is in life - I can't always win.
Jules, i noticed that you have a lousy record trading on FED days. Next time, just lay low and not trade. FED days are reallys different animal altogether. If you are trapped in a position, it's very difficult to get out without heavy losses due to extreme volatility.
Sage, I've TRIED not to involve the FEDs. But I can't. It's their fault!!! LOL!!
Seriously, yes, I noticed the pattern too. I almost wanted to include in my ground rules never to trade on days that the FEDs are scheduled to open their big mouth or release their ciphered reports.
But upon recognizing that it's really MY fault for trading a generally choppy day with NIL patterns that I can recognize, I decided to leave them out of the picture. Fed or no Fed, looking for trades when they are not there is simply asking for trouble.
Thanks for giving me the chance to air my frustration with regards to FED days :-)
8 comments:
Hi Jules, I am wondering if you use any stop losses and why did you take such a big hit on that last trade? What kind of R:R are you using?
I Scalp ES and from experience, it is very difficult to recover from big point loss during the day if you are scalping. It is better to choose low risk entry trades.
Hi Vinay,
No, I use no stop losses, and that's going to be banned from now on.
I took a big hit on my last trade coz I had gone in without confirmation of what I think was forming - namely, a bull flag/pennant. I ASSUME it was going to be that after TF left its consolidation base.
A proper entry calls for the actual formation of a flag. But there was none of course.
I was aiming for TF to reach 480. It didn't of course.
I sat on my loss coz I didn't believe that TF was going down. It did, of course, and went down fiercely.
Judging from the speed of the downward move on a bullish day, I knew with near certainty that it was going to come back up. But I had entered the trade at 3am, and there was simply not enough time for me to see what was going to develop.
I exited at the floor of my trendline, at a loss that I think I can still recover emotionally from. What I lost in that trade was what I had made in the past 7 sessions - I refuse to risk losing more. It was no longer about trading my conviction. It was about getting out before I'm crushed emotionally. And I had to get out before market close because I don't hold my trades overnight.
I don't use any R:R. I don't believe in 2:1 or 3:1 in daytrading the futures. I believe in using a volatility stop (a mental stop for me, which has been 6 to 7 points recently), and take whatever the market wants to give. So far, because of my fear of having a losing day (coz losing days ruin my morale), I've been cutting my profits way too soon.
For the past 2 months, trading has solely been about pampering my senses, and about getting around my psychological barrier instead of dealing with it.
Not going to happen anymore. This is NOT the way to trade. If I'm going to continue to be lily-livered for no good reason, I might as well quit trading.
Yes, I totally agree with you that in scalping, it's difficult to repair huge damages. It's idiotic to scalp profits, and daytrade losses.
Thanks for your note, Vinay, and happy trading today (Thurs) :-)
Jules hasn't your lack of a hard stop also kept you in trades that did turn into large winners?
If your win rate is high enough and your average winner large enough does it not compensate for the "blow up" trade?
I could never trade that way, and I let a machine tell me what to do, so I'm not the best judge of your kind of trading.
Bottom line is just that, is there profit at the end of the month?
Yes, Solfest, my not using hard stops had allowed me to avoid whipsaws and being caught in traps. I get out when I'm absolutely sure that the entire market has turned against me. This usually doesn't take more than 6 - 7 points. And it doesn't happen very often. But when it happens, I turn my attention to my average winning day - which pales in comparison to my blowup day - and I get depressed.
Yes, there's been net profit at the end of the month.
I think the consecutive losses in Dec - Jan had done more damage than I imagined.
Thanks, Solfest, for helping me with my doubts.
I see that my real problem is NOT really my eagerness to recover that string of losses. It is definitely about not being able to accept that in trading - as it is in life - I can't always win.
Muak!!
Jules, i noticed that you have a lousy record trading on FED days. Next time, just lay low and not trade. FED days are reallys different animal altogether. If you are trapped in a position, it's very difficult to get out without heavy losses due to extreme volatility.
Sage,
I've TRIED not to involve the FEDs. But I can't. It's their fault!!!
LOL!!
Seriously, yes, I noticed the pattern too. I almost wanted to include in my ground rules never to trade on days that the FEDs are scheduled to open their big mouth or release their ciphered reports.
But upon recognizing that it's really MY fault for trading a generally choppy day with NIL patterns that I can recognize, I decided to leave them out of the picture. Fed or no Fed, looking for trades when they are not there is simply asking for trouble.
Thanks for giving me the chance to air my frustration with regards to FED days :-)
ouch
Yup, DT. It's YIKES!!!!
Post a Comment