Cory2679

No? Ok, sorry...

Just for fun...I thought I'd post a chart for old time's sake...haha... Potential long on the EU...

I just glanced back at this thread and realized I made a typo... With the EUR/USD @ 1.35912, that would be 13.5912:1 and 27.1824:1 leverage...but you get the idea...LOL (Sorry...I couldn't stand to just let it go...)

10:1 would not be enough for me, and I don't do anything particularly exotic. Let me explain... For this example, we'll just use a $10,000 account... I just glanced at the EUR/USD quote, which is currently 1.35912... So let's say I want to risk just 1% of my account on a position with an intial risk of just 10 pips... That would allow me a position size of 100,000 units... With the current EUR/USD value at 1.35912, that means a position size of $135,912...which would require 13.4912:1 leverage. Of course, with the same situation, if you risked 2% of your account on the position, that would require 26.9824:1 leverage... Or, if you had an initial risk of 5 pips, and risked 1% on the trade, that would also require 26.9824:1... And these examples are just one position...if you had multiple positions on at the same time, that would require more. Just my ...or maybe more like $0.001

Dow: 10,739.31 Nasdaq: 2,334.55 S&P 500: 1,134.28

My entry will simply be today's (the last day to enter the contest) closing prices. (I'm posting this now, before the close, just in case anyone else had the same idea...I've called it!! )

Happy Labor Day! No trading for me, today. Even though I'm not trading, I pulled up a chart...there's more movement than I thought there would be...I guess there's more to the world than the US. It may totally die off after the UK close, though... ANYWAYS, I think I've pulled myself back together after last week's fiasco. Of course, I will know before too long! Cory

Do you day-trade or only swing/position trade? That seems like fairly low leverage to me for daytrading. If you risk 2% on a position on the EUR/USD with 25 ticks of risk, that means a position that currently requires over 10:1 (and that's if you only have one position on at a time). Just curious. Absolutely, but that's unfortunately just not the reality...people don't take responsibility for their actions...they want to make excuses and blaim someone else. Maybe traders who blow up their accounts whine about how their brokers are just out to get them and it's the big bad broker's fault that they're bankrupt. I've seen it many times throughout discussion boards/broker reviews...people 100% blaming their broker for their failure. :doh: I guess the regulation shuts those people up...because maybe those people go spread the word to people who will believe them about how bad brokers/Wall Street/markets are and it's bad press. Also, one might speculate that the CFTC has an agenda to push people toward trading currency futures...where, with some brokers, the day-trading margins to trade the major pairs is much much higher than 50:1.

Hi Thales, Let me start by saying that I want you to know that it is not my intention to be disagreeable/argumentative. I know that you know much more than I and I am simply arguing/asking questions so that I can learn from you. (I just want to make sure that you don't misinterpret my intentions or tone). When I look at the chart you posted, my thoughts are: yes, it's a big move (a lot of ticks), but it's not necessarily any more R than a smaller move/swing on a faster timeframe...if a 3R winner is 24 ticks or 100 ticks, what difference does it make? 3R is 3R. The base and rally you posted took 12+ hours to form. Yes, it was a nice, clear, obvious trade with everything...a test of support, a 123, a cup with a handle, etc. BUT, similar looking setups can form on a 2 minute chart, too. With my personality, making the same $$$, I would honestly probably rather have 5 trades per day than 1. I enjoy trading/action. I get bored, otherwise. (Yes, I'm aware that this characteristic can potentially lead to overtrading...and it does. haha) You have to remember that all I currently focus on is daytrading the EUR/USD...nothing else, no stocks, no futures, no swing trading, etc. Say a trader's daytrading goal is 10R per week risking 2% per trade. I personally would rather risk 1% per trade (because a 2% risk on 5-10 ticks of risk is a pretty hefty position size) and strive to average 20R per week on a faster timeframe (which presents more opportuntities...a longer chart). I like daytrading the EUR/USD during the 6E regular trading hours (8:20 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time)...that means trades entered and exited within that time period. A fast timeframe allows me to sit down, take multiple trades, and be done by 3pm. I usually leave and go out in the evenings. I prefer this to keeping an eye on the market/my trades from the time I get up til the time I go to bed. (Don't mistake this for laziness...I'm willing to do whatever it takes...but if I have the choice, I prefer this lifestyle). I've talked about the upsides to a faster timeframe, but I also want to aknowledge the downsides...I think Kiwi's earlier post summed it up pretty nicely. Also, there are only certain times of day where trading a faster timeframe is reasonable. For a 2 minute chart, the 6E RTH are generally ok...as well as the european session leading up to it. Later in the afternoon and into Tokyo are not usually the best times. Sometimes, even during the U.S. session, the chart looks like chop...it's just up to the discretion of the trader to determine when it's good to trade. I've just sort of leaned this way in my trading...focusing solely on daytrading the EUR/USD during the 6E RTH, on a relatively fast timeframe. I attribute most of my trading methodology to you and this thread, so when I'm doing something that doesn't have your "blessing," it just concerns me and I want to discuss it. Sorry for the long post. Thanks, Cory

Hi Thales, I have a question...why do you suggest that the daytrader's focus be on the main intraday swing? As you said... I understand that there are downsides to trading faster timeframes (the impact of slippage/commission, it requires fast action/decisions, etc.). But other than that, I see no reason why not to try for smaller swings (if that's the trader's personal preference, of course). Here's a 1-minute EUR/USD chart from today... Why would you advise not trading a chart like this? Thanks, Cory

Then perhaps activities that are a burden on society should be taxed...not outlawed (which is, indeed, often the case). Smoking tax, obesity tax, whatever. I guess the seatbelt laws are practically a tax, anyway...I don't know of people being taken away to prison for not wearing a seatbelt...just fined (taxed, in a way). So, perhaps the seatbelt laws aren't so bad if you look at it as a tax rather than a law against having your seatbelt undone (to me, anyway). I don't know of smoking being outlawed (I could certainly be wrong)...smoking bans in public places, restaurants, etc. have to do with smokers infringing on the rights of other people (who presumably have the right to breath smoke-free air). This isn't really even something I have strong opinions about. lol Just some thoughts.

10:1 would have been too far IMHO...of course the old 500:1, 1000:1, etc. was truly ridiculous (before the last reform)...I don't know that they necessarily needed to push it further...100:1 was ok. I generally just don't like laws that are put in place to protect people from themselves who aren't hurting anyone but themselves (if they're not infringing on anyone else's rights). Like seatbelt laws... Laws like that make the statistics better, but at the cost of freedom/rights. I dunno...lol

Vacation was a freaking bad idea. It got me out of the zone. I essentially ended up taking 2 weeks off. I started back yesterday, with real money, and I'm currently down about 6R (4R yesterday, 2R today). I'm obviously not happy and need to do some work. I think I'm going to take tomorrow (Wednesday) off from trading to "work." Then I'll probably demo/sim trade the rest of this week (Thursday & Friday) and at least Monday of next week. Geez... Till next time...

Hey daytraders, How many of you guys trade over the holiday season? I was always under the impression that it was a bad time to trade, but I decided to pull up a chart and it seems to me like there are plenty of good moves during that time! Based on this chart (which I know is a limited sample size, but still...), I can't see any (trading-related) reason not to trade over the holiday season. I know there are a couple of days that the exchanges are closed, but that's only a couple of days. Am I missing something? I know this seems like an odd time of year for a thread like this, but I was thinking about it so I thought I might as well... Cory

Hi Thales, I've been enjoying your blog and appreciate all of the time you've put into it. I have a general question...and this isn't only you...it seems to me like a lot of traders are this way... Why do you trade so many different markets? Obviously you trade stocks, but you also trade futures/currencies (currency futures). Why not solely focus on stocks or futures? And if futures, why not just one instrument? My hypotheses are as follows: You want more opportunities You want to diversify your trading Maybe it's more fun/less boring to trade a variety of markets/strategies Perhaps it's simply a matter of that's the way it happened to work out, you're used to it, it works, so why change? I'm just curious. Thanks, Cory

Hey Attila, If I may ask, how would you describe your approach, methodology, strategy, etc.? I'm not asking for details...just the basic idea. Also, in regards to your equity curve... ...have you been able to successfully identify what's different now from when you more than tripled your account? Forgive me if my questions have already been addressed/answered...I do follow this thread but not as closely as I could...I could have missed something... Thanks, Cory

Try this... futuresource.com | Futures & Commodities Quotes, Charts, News & Analysis (Just free online charts...not trading software.)

macdfx, With all due respect, why do you feel a responsibility to "police" TL? Did MadMarketScientist request that you do? I can only speak for myself, but I have a feeling that most here would agree with me...I think TL would be a better place if we simply ignored the "shills" and let MMS quietly remove promotional posts, etc. IMHO, your posts that attempt to police TL do not add anything...if anything they bring down the community with name calling, etc. (I had to look up "fanus"). And for the record, I don't think BF is a shill...but that's just my 2cents and I know some here would disagree...but regardless...if you don't like his posts, simply ignore him. Cory

Oh, I forgot to mention why I needed a new trading computer (not that anyone cares...haha). It wasn't only that I wanted a laptop with a big screen or a separate computer solely devoted to trading. The primary reason was that my old laptop occasionally crashes... Every now and then my computer would freeze, go to a white screen, turn off, and take a long time to come back on. It seemed totally random, and there could be weeks and weeks in between incidents. It really wouldn't be that big of a deal since it's so infrequent, except it has me scared while trading. I brought up the issue in my correspondence with Dell, explained it in detail, and they had me update my video drivers as a solution (because it does say that the display driver stopped responding when it begins to crash). HOWEVER, I don't believe that is a permanent fix because I used it for a couple years with the "old" drivers with no problem at all...it just started happening in the last 6-8 months or so. Furthermore, since it's been doing it, I've formatted the hard drive and loaded it back up from scratch and it's done it since I did that...which leads me to believe it's some sort of hardware problem. HOWEVER, since they've attempted at a solution by updating the drivers, obviously it will have to do it again before they'll take any further steps, so I've done all I can for now. Who knows...maybe the driver update has fixed the problem...but I don't think so. Now, (hopefully) I have a good, reliable computer and I won't have to worry about anything like that. Also, I recently bought a battery backup for my modem/router so that in case of a power outage, I wouldn't lose internet (right away, at least). And obviously the laptop has a battery backup...and everything is surge protected. I'm also now using a wireless mouse, which is much nicer than using a touchpad for trading (and of course if the battery runs out, I have the touchpad as backup). SO, for now and a good amount of time to come, my trading setup is just how I want it. EDIT: And of course, if something still went wrong, I have my broker's phone number and my account number saved on my desktop, saved in my phone, and printed out in a desk drawer. Cory

Vacation Time! Tomorrow I'm leaving for a 1-week beach vacation, so I'll be taking the entire trading week off. I've done everything I can to get everything I need to do done, so that I have as little on my mind as possible and as little as possible waiting for me when I get back. This trip should be a great time to relax/recharge. I've actually been dieting for a while now (I'm almost 6 feet tall and have gone from weighing in the morning over 210 lbs to under 160 lbs!). I'm about where I want to be weight-wise...now it's just time to get in shape...but during this week at the beach, I'm totally taking a break from health! haha I'm trying to make this a real vacation! In other news, I got a new trading computer on Wednesday! It's just a laptop, but it has a 17.3" screen. I'm going to dedicate this computer to trading (all that's on it is what came on it and what I need during my trading day). My old laptop, which only has a 14.1" screen (which was nice during school) will now be my primary "personal computer." I've attached a couple pictures of the new computer below. I won't be taking either computer to the beach...I am deliberately taking time off. The only internet I'll have is my phone (so I can still get e-mail, etc.). On a side note: my old computer's warranty is actually running out in about a week so I'm sending it in for some needed repairs (so I couldn't take it to the beach if I wanted to)...Dell was suprisingly cooperative...I'm getting a new screen & hinges, new mother board, new heat sink, and a new fan! lol My optical drive broke a while back so I just got one off eBay and replaced it myself, but if I had known this was so easy, I would have done all of this a long time ago! Trading has been going well, but I know after taking a week completely off, I'm going to need to demo/sim trade for at least a few days to get back in the groove, so I might provide an "update" maybe a few weeks after I get back. We'll see. Cheers!

Hey everyone, TMBTC and mktwzrd are me. lol They are my two alter egos at TL. I created them a while back for my entertainment (if you've paid attention, you've noticed they have two very distinct personalities). I've decided it's silly so I'm coming clean. From now on, I'll only be posting with Cory2679. -Cory

What's particularly interesting to me is how you were able to convey the contextual considerations (in addition to basic concepts of charts/timeframes/how to physically trade with a platform, 123's & 2b's, position sizing, R-multiples, risk:reward, etc.) to your daughter in such an extremely short period of time (a month!). It has taken me months and months and months of full-time dedication to the approach to be able to show signs of consistency.

You should give us an example of "real math." ----- Anyways, you actually bring up a good example with multi-level-marketing... You might read things like this... The Times: "The Government investigation claims to have revealed that just 10 per cent of Amway's agents in Britain make any profit, with less than one in ten selling a single item of the group's products." Scheibeler, a high level "Emerald" Amway member: "UK Justice Norris found in 2008 that out of an IBO [independent Business Owners] population of 33,000, 'only about 90 made sufficient incomes to cover the costs of actively building their business.' That's a 99.7 percent loss rate for investors." Newsweek: based on Mona Vie's own 2007 income disclosure statement "fewer than 1 percent qualified for commissions and of those, only 10 percent made more than $100 a week." Business Students Focus on Ethics: "In the USA, the average annual income from MLM for 90% MLM members is no more than US $5,000, which is far from being a sufficient means of making a living (San Lian Life Weekly 1998)" USAToday: "While earning potential varies by company and sales ability, DSA says the median annual income for those in direct sales is $2,400." HOWEVER, I have a good friend who sells Premier Design Jewelry (which would fit into the category of MLM)...she does awesome with it...I think she just really has a special talent for selling it, getting shows booked, networking, etc. She quickly broke even and has made thousands of dollars fairly quickly...and the momentum has not slowed. Yet, she (and I) know of many who have tried and failed...they end up barely breaking even (if they do), trying to sell their remaining inventory, trying to get out. So, if my friend had read all these bad statistics and had an attitude like some on this board, she would have never tried. The same thing goes with trading! I feel like the attitude here is sometimes "Trying is the first step toward failure."...the moral being, don't try anything because you might fail. People don't become great by only taking paths in life with little-to-no risk.

Me, too! I'm running low on reading material these days. If anyone's interested in a brief introduction to Gerald Loeb, there's a Wikipedia page on him here. He was a founding partner of E.F. Hutton & Co...I read that Paul Tudor Jones worked there in his early years. Cory

"Never argue with an idiot, because they will only bring you down to their level and beat you by experience." - John Guerrero (A quote I just came across...thought it was applicable for an environment such as an online forum. )