TacTrader

YM intraday I have a messed up work schedule (12 hr shifts rotating every 28 days) but manage to trade 3 days/week on average. Some weeks I trade everyday, other maybe twice. Right now I am on midnights so I will wake up tomorrow around 11:30, use the lunch hour to assess the day so far and try and trade the afternoon. Other days I am at my computer at 08:30 and don't leave til the close. It is the biggest variable in my trading and it really bugs me (obviously). I can't trade at work, but I stay pretty busy anyways and it would be a major distraction.

Hey nice journal.... Have you thought of scaling out of your trades? I found that when trading multiple contracts, taking off 1/2 or some other percentage of the trade at a preset target helps me psychologically. I get out and bank a small portion then leave the rest on for the big move that may or may not come. If not, I get stopped out at break even but still have the original smaller profit. It is a happy medium for me...

:\ There is a thread on this board with a bunch of eld's already there... What more do you want?????

That would be sex.

FWIW I got rid of all of my "indicators" and just trade price and volume, trend, support and resistance. I was all tied up into moving averages for some time but after spending alot of time on this forum, reading material I got about the subject and applying it in real time I don't think I will go back to a squiggly. I am still learning, but since getting rid of all that stuff I have made more progress than ever. Good luck,

Hi FS, I think the biggest impact is to be regimented. I have a hugely structured work life and have carried that over into trading. I am not a successful trader yet so right now it is hard to break it down any further. My definition of success is to trade full time. Hopefully in the near future I will be able to reflect back and give some more meaningful analysis but for now it is price, price, price.... Hope you had a good trading day! Tac

Here I am... You are a Detailed Trader! The Detailed Trader type suggests that you are very quiet and serious. You tend to earn your success by being thorough, methodical, systematic, organized, and dependable. You are also realistic and responsible as long as things make sense for you. You have two of the three qualities that are necessary for trading success (i.e. You make decisions based on logic and analysis and you are decisive, orderly and do things sequentially). Thus, if you are willing to commit yourself, you'll probably be quite successful as a trader. However, you may need some help seeing the big picture that is necessary for trading success... One of your Trading Strengths You should have no problems staying with and executing a simple trading system that someone gives you and you feel confident about. One of your Trading Challenges You love the details of trading system analysis and development so much but you can often be working on the wrong things. Your efforts can be misguided if you are following the wrong guidelines or advice.

I do not know the legal ralationship but they mirrow OEC in alot of ways. The most obvious is their platform. The name is different (OEC Trader vs AMP Global) and the account forms are labeled OEC. I must say that everything I have needed so far has been spot on, even though that hasn't been much. I just opened an account, and will need some help customizing my workspaces in the near future, but I do not see that as an issue since they have been very accomodating up to now. As far as the platform goes, I have test driven alot of them and do not think there is another front end that can beat it, especially for the price (FREE). I have been considering NInja with Zen-Fire but haven't justified it yet with the type of trading I am doing. FWIW

Your info BF has really been a help. I was considering an account with AMP (sister of OEC) and your background info and knowledge has helped me make the decision...again, thanks!

Does Garmin make a model that will do what you describe?

Exactly... I do not scale in, only out. I have tried to scale in before and even though it worked on the profitable trades, I felt more inclined to do it when the position went against me and I still wanted in the trade (cost averaging). I am really focused on playing defense and sticking to the "cut your losses and run your profits" idea. Since starting that I have really seen a difference in my P/L. CYA

Good point Torero... I have a hard time with this issue and I find that scaling out helps tremendously. By taking off a part of my position early I can satisfy that need for instant gratification but still have a position in place for the bigger move. Helps for me even if it isn't "optimal"...I may miss some profits by not having a full on position the entire trade, but my mind is at ease which has value as well. FWIW

Does it have to be trading? How 'bout real estate, backing a business of some sort, maybe heading up some philanthropic project to make your community better..these are all things that could fill your need for setting goals, and at the same time be something different from trading so as not to "burn" you out. FWIW Stephen

He did...look at the title. At the end "I found to share." I didn't see it right away either. Stephen

Thought about reopening one of the older MA threads but maybe a new one will draw the MA traders out of the shadows for some good conversation. I am tooling around with an 8 period weighted MA on a 2 min YM chart. I am also employing a 50 and 200 WMA for visual support and resistance. The setup is simple: When price is above the 8MA enter short on a close below the MA, opposite for long trades. The close above/below is the confirmation to enter so simply trading through it does not count. This generates alot of trades through the day so I would like to find something to knock down the frequency a bit...maybe going to a 5 minute, but it is not as visual for me. Plus I am more comfortable with the quicker in/out as my tolerance and personal preference does not bode well for longer term stuff. As far as exits go I place a 10 point stop and get out half at 11 points profit then keep the other half on for a bigger move. I am also considering a time stop (5 min) along with the initial 10 point as it seems that if the price doesn't move right away it will usually consolidate and the chance to stop me out at -10 rises considerably. I don't have backtesting ability as I use OEC Trader for my charting but in sim mode it seems to work well. I am comfortable with MA's which is why I am looking at them and I have a KISS (keep it super simple) mentality since I am no rocket scientist So what are your thoughts? Am I being too simple? Too tight a stop? Anyone using something similar? Hopefully some good conversation on a simple strategy will follow.... Stephen