brownsfan019

Pivot - thank you for sharing once again. Maybe we can get Mark to come on over to this thread... I may have mentioned this here (or not) but I have also been using time charts as well. Part of it has to do with the fact that each charting software interprets how to construct VBC's differently. MultiCharts has their own way, TS their own way, etc. While I think VBC's are a valid trade charting setup, there are limitations that I think are due to them not being as popular as a time or tick chart. So, just wanted to let you know that I am on a 5 minute ES chart as well, if that helps in using WRB's. I'll be perfectly honest - I do not know a thing about VSA. While it may behoove me to learn more about it, I also do not want to open a can of worms... As I am sure you know, it's always tempting to learn about something new or different, but as soon as you dive into it, things change... and not always for the better. I sole purpose of WRB's is to get better exits than what I was doing. And as long as they appear, this is the case. So, in regards to better exits, they have done just that. Now it's a matter of continuing to finetune them. Knowing that I do have 5 minute charts up, if there's something else you can share, that would be great.

tin - I would not touch your H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt's, etc. out there. They are not going to know a thing about futures taxes. Odds are you know more than they do. My opinion is that if you want the best tax treatment, you need to find the best. If you want local, get on google and see what's near you. For me, there are some major tax firms that are 'local' so I started there - Ernst and Young, etc. - firms like that. If you can find a local guy that knows what he's doing, great!! Just keep in mind that very few 'jack of all trades' cpa's out there deal with direct futures trades. It's just not common at all. I would put together a list of interview questions so you can screen some guys out. The most basic question - what is your understanding of how futures day trading is taxed? In other words Mr. CPA, if I hold a futures trade for 5 minutes and make money, how am I taxed? ... very basic question that anyone with a tad of knowledge about futures should be able to ask, but if they can't answer that, time to go. You'd be surprised how many assume that futures are just like stocks and therefore, you'd be taxed at all short-term gains on that trade. That is a VERY costly mistake obviously. There's also some firms that are specifically built around traders, but probably not local to you. I would check them out as well. I've read good things about http://www.greencompany.com/ I cannot speak on their behalf, so do your own due diligence. Taxes are a MAJOR consideration when running a profitable futures trading business. How your taxes are prepared can literally increase/decrease your final year-end P&L by thousands of dollars.

I studied finance, so I am biased there. Each is a good major in my opinion, but it depends on what you plan to do with that degree. Your question is very vague.

Guys, keep in mind that your major fund managers - Fidelity, Vanguard, American Funds, etc - do not participate directly in the FX markets very much (if at all). The majority of these fund managers are fundamental based managers that are buying for the long term. They have too much money to simply buy and sell something rapidly. If has often been said that a huge fund manager is like a cruise ship when building/exiting a position - they cannot turn on a dime, like a small fund or retail trader. The reason this is important to know is that what is often referred to as 'smart money' is these guys. They are smart b/c have they have so much of it to allocate! So as money just gets dumped into these managers laps, they must put it to work, usually right away, esp during bull runs. This is where these guys make their money. In the end, the market is really pushed around as the result of the average Joe deciding to put additional money into the markets vs. putting that money to work somewhere else. The 'smart money' is subject to the emotions and feelings of the average investor b/c they are nothing w/o their money... food for thought.

After working for years in the stock brokerage business advising individual clients on financial affairs, I would say that 'dumb money' entered somewhere along the way and is probably still entering. 'Dumb money' refers to the people out there that just call up a broker and invest in whatever he/she says, buys stocks b/c everyone else at work is making a killing, etc. Dumb money almost all the time goes long. They don't know or understand shorting. Now, when this dumb money flows into mutual funds, pension funds, IRA funds, etc. that is where some serious buying comes into play. Mutual funds and most pensions are not allowed to go short by their own rules. So, when people start dumping money into funds, the fund managers have to do something with it b/c their pay is based on beating their peers and/or indexes. You can't beat the index that is constantly going up if you are sitting in cash. I think this is the very reason why over time, the markets ALWAYS rise and will ALWAYS continue to rise. If the flow of dumb money ever stopped, it would be a different story, but people have to invest for their retirement somewhere, right? And with an incredible shift of funds from one generation to the next happening now, younger adults are receiving funds and do not want the 5% cd at the local bank. So, you have money going into mutual funds, stocks in a variety of ways and the overwhelming majority of this money is long and long only. To help put that in perspective - in the office and FIRM that I worked for, any individual stock we sold to a client was a long position and long position only. Almost every fund and money manager we sold was long and long only. When money starts coming in, you have to get into the market as soon as possible b/c you don't want your client missing out on the move... I'm not saying that's the best way to do business, but it was in fact how things were managed.

IS - so to clarify, you recommend that if you have a good week, walk away on Friday before a holiday. What about if you had a bad week? Should you try to get it back on a day when the institutions are supposedly not there? That seems backwards to me - if you had a good week, walk away. If you had a bad week, try getting it back on the day when the institutions are not there. I ask b/c you said nothing about having a bad week. My point being that many retail traders do that exact thing - walk away when they made some money and try to get it all back on Fri when it's been a hard week. I would argue that just the OPPOSITE should be done - consider walking away if you find yourself in a rut on a Friday and consider taking some trades on a Fri if you are up for the week. Case in point - the ES chugged along this morning till the 10am news release. Then we got a nice pop up. I enjoyed being a part of that move and the fact that it was a Fri before a holiday had no bearing on the trade. The trade produced and the volume is fine - 440k at 10:50am EST is plenty of volume for me. Keep in mind that 'thin' volume is relative to the market being traded.

A common misconception. There's always a reason to create to not trade - no Mondays, Fridays, week of holiday, week before holiday, summer, spring, winter, fall, full moons, half moons... Point being that to take a day off simply b/c of some idea is not a good idea in my opinion. I've actually found that some of these days can provide quick and easy moves since many traders take the same approach. It doesn't take much to push something around. Now, if your research has shown that in the way you trade that certain day(s) of the week and/or certain days revolving around certain event(s), then by all means take it off. If you are just repeating what so many other retail traders have been taught, I would suggest doing your own research. Of course this Fri could very well end up being a flat/boring day, but you won't know unless you are there. It could also be a volatile day like today. Nobody out there knows. You could argue that with Monday being closed, many traders will be opening/closing positions for the long weekend. You could argue that many traders will be at home sleeping, so stay away. Or maybe that's a reason to be here... food for thought. I understand that this type of information is all over the web and taught to newbies in books, magazines, etc. But unless the volume is zero, you know there's some persons there trading. And money to be made.

Just a reminder that Monday is a US holiday. http://cme.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=press_releases&item=316

Pivot - I can appreciate your info and ideas on the subject. For me, as you know, in the spirit of keeping things simple, I just look for visual WRB's to exit on. I have not done nearly enough backtesting and research to be able to say when a WRB is a good exit point and when one is a good reason to stay in the trade. Perhaps you could detail each of those scenarios when time permits. 1) Under what conditions should a WRB be used to exit a trade? 2) Under what conditions should a WRB be used as a reason to stay in the current trade and not exit? Also... 3) What is the backup plan when a WRB just does not appear, meanwhile the trade is moving in your direction?

This was posted in another forum, but it really got my curiosity... where is Google headed with this??? .... Are you a professional investor? Or an avid amateur investor?

I couldn't have said it better notouch. Candles are very powerful when you understand fully how to use them and use them properly. Simply looking for shapes that you found on a free website won't cut it. Good luck and welcome to the world of candles!

So you are saying that if the strategy itself is flawed, your doomed no matter what, right? If so, doesn't that go w/o saying? I mean, a losing strategy will lose over time no matter what. Hopefully everyone here understands that basic premise. My point was that you can in fact have a winning strategy that is easily turned into a losing one b/c of stop placement and stop movement. Therefore, if you find yourself often watching trades go in the direction you wanted but only after being ticked out of the trade, examining the stop placement is needed. And that minor change can make a big difference. And back to the topic on hand - if you are 100% comfortable in your stop placement, then you simply allow the stop to be hit (to prove you are wrong) or let the trade go.

Coot - how do we define 'valid' then? I guess that's why I'm not understanding here...

I disagree. If your method says to enter based on XYZ, then you enter based on XYZ. We can't say the a setup is not 'valid' if you enter your trade based on the conditions you set. If your conditions are met, then that's a valid trade regardless if it's the greatest entry point possible. The point I was making was that the protective stop placement is very important, esp at the start of the trade. Reason being that many traders are too eager to place an initial stop too snug (since that provides comfort knowing you are not risking that much) or moving your initial stop too quickly (for sake of protecting that little profit). I constantly have to monitor my stop movement b/c I am eager to get that stop moved so that I can't 'lose'. Well, if you get ticked out of a trade that is a winner, you just 'lost'.

I don't think so... I also don't recall saying risking 4 pts to make 1 was a good idea either. :p

I am option #1 as well. There's no point of placing a protective stop if you have no plans to honor it. When you are wrong, get out. You can get back in when the time is right. Now, with that being said, I think stop placement is key here as well. If you have a stop that is routinely being taken out and then the trade moves in your favor, you might need to adjust your stop placement methodology.

no biggie, just wanted to let you know. You mentioned in another thread about an email that went out and I did not receive it so I wanted to see what email I put in.

I get that error message when I click edit email. It appears that when I click it, the system is then looking for a Google adsense id.

I have to have music or something on, mainly for background noise. Sitting here in complete silence would drive me insane. I have Sirius and with the service you get an smaller online version of their service. It's great - I just use a non-trading computer to stream the music and there's a bunch of stations to chose from. I personally like Octane - not heavy metal, more modern alternative. It just helps keep the blood flowing.

It might depending on how the stops are held. This is depended on your broker and the platform you are using. For example, some firms hold your stops on their servers and/or the platform's servers. If your computer loses connection, your orders are still out there. I would suggest everyone know exactly how this is handled at your broker b/c sooner or later you will find out the hard way.

James, See the attached screenshot. When I sent to My Account > Edit Profile > Edit Email, I get an error.

Extracting money from your account is a great idea in my opinion. First, you see and feel the fruits of your labor. This is useful if you have a significant other, family, friends, etc. that may be doubting your new biz venture and you want to show them cold, hard cash. I know others will say ignore them, but if your wife/husband is questioning what you are doing, putting cash in their face should help for a bit. This also reinforces what you are doing each and every day for your psyche and mental well being. I've read that some traders copy their 'paychecks', print off bank wiring papers, etc. and have them ready when you need a boost. Second, as tor said, you 'restart' your trading account and don't feel as if you are trading with 'house money' which is when many traders easily give money back. It's too easy to just say 'oh, that was just the house money, no biggie'. I would suggest all traders do this, regardless of account size. I know it seems silly to request a check for a 100 bucks, but you NEED to get that check in your hand, esp in the beginning. You NEED to see and feel that by doing your job, you got paid. This is another one of those psyche things that I think are more important than any other part of trading. I believe we are our own worst enemy in trading. Your brain is an incredible, complex thing that can really, really get in your way of being successful at times.

Depending on how you trade, the EC (Euro FX) could be an option as well.

I think the campfire was fine for the purpose of basic chatting, which is what I think mostly went on there. I try to stop in occasionally and just clicking to get right in is nice. Quick and easy... see a common thread James?

MX - here's the deal - if you are going to trade and/or make trading plans based on candlesticks, you need to study them first. Your comment here clearly tells me that you probably saw some candlesticks illustrated on the net somewhere and therefore using them is easy... Here's what I suggest: 1) Buy the book I reviewed here: http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/f8/japanese-candlestick-charting-techniques-second-edition-1561.html 2) Study it over and over again. 3) Learn what a candle may be 'telling' you vs. just looking for shapes and making your analysis of that. It's late, I've had a long weekend and I'm not about to teach Candles 101 here. If you are going to use candles in your analysis, you need to learn how they work before even considering using them. I will leave you with one suggestion - each candle that is printed is in fact 'telling' you a story. It's a story of the bulls vs. the bears. EVERY single candle plainly illustrates the fight between the bulls and the bears and who won that fight, each and every time. Sometimes there is no clear winner... (doji / spinning top). That may be a bit deeper than you want to take your candle analysis; however, I would suggest you learn about them before even attempting to use them in your trading.