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MadMarketScientist
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Everything posted by MadMarketScientist
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Hey Everyone, In an effort to bribe, coerce, cajole, convince, connive, or let's just say motivate you to be an active participant here at Traders Lab I'm going to do the following. Everyday, for the next 10 days I will award a $25 Gift Card from Restaurant.com -- which you can use to celebrate your winnings at literally thousands of restaurants all over the country - yes, even in your backyard (not sure if the Backwoods Diner is in there but thousands of others so fear not) What's your catch? All you have to do is start a new thread. Post on something new in regards to trading. Pose a good question. Start a thread discussing your personal trading. Post a chart. Ask for opinions. Make a point. Start a constructive argument The idea is to get and keep the conversations flowing since in the end that's how we all are becoming far better traders as a result of this TL community. Me included so I want to continue to benefit from this collective of smart traders. And, if you're new or just learning there's really no better way to quickly get through the trading school of hard knocks than here. Not ready to start a new thread? Then reply to an existing post, but make sure your post is good enough to attract two or more "Thanks" -- if it is, I'll put you in the daily drawing as well. Yes, the new threads and posts have to demonstrate quality and the mastery of the english language. A simple "hi" just isn't going to cut it right? That's it. Start a new thread. You're in the running. Make a brilliant reply post. You're in the running. Then, you can Eat. Drink. And, Save Money. Actually in this case it's Free Money. Just try to get that in the markets I'll post the winner the next day, each of the 10 days.
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Hey Everyone, In an effort to bribe, coerce, cajole, convince, connive, or let's just say motivate you to be an active participant here at Traders Lab I'm going to do the following. Everyday, for the next 10 days I will award a $25 Gift Card from Restaurant.com -- which you can use to celebrate your winnings at literally thousands of restaurants all over the country - yes, even in your backyard (not sure if the Backwoods Diner is in there but thousands of others so fear not) What's your catch? All you have to do is start a new thread. Post on something new in regards to trading. Pose a good question. Start a thread discussing your personal trading. Post a chart. Ask for opinions. Make a point. Start a constructive argument The idea is to get and keep the conversations flowing since in the end that's how we all are becoming far better traders as a result of this TL community. Me included so I want to continue to benefit from this collective of smart traders. And, if you're new or just learning there's really no better way to quickly get through the trading school of hard knocks than here. Not ready to start a new thread? Then reply to an existing post, but make sure your post is good enough to attract two or more "Thanks" -- if it is, I'll put you in the daily drawing as well. Yes, the new threads and posts have to demonstrate quality and the mastery of the english language. A simple "hi" just isn't going to cut it right? That's it. Start a new thread. You're in the running. Make a brilliant reply post. You're in the running. Then, you can Eat. Drink. And, Save Money. Actually in this case it's Free Money. Just try to get that in the markets I'll post the winner the next day, each of the 10 days.
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Hey Everyone, In an effort to bribe, coerce, cajole, convince, connive, or let's just say motivate you to be an active participant here at Traders Lab I'm going to do the following. Everyday, for the next 10 days I will award a $25 Gift Card from Restaurant.com -- which you can use to celebrate your winnings at literally thousands of restaurants all over the country - yes, even in your backyard (not sure if the Backwoods Diner is in there but thousands of others so fear not) What's your catch? All you have to do is start a new thread. Post on something new in regards to trading. Pose a good question. Start a thread discussing your personal trading. Post a chart. Ask for opinions. Make a point. Start a constructive argument The idea is to get and keep the conversations flowing since in the end that's how we all are becoming far better traders as a result of this TL community. Me included so I want to continue to benefit from this collective of smart traders. And, if you're new or just learning there's really no better way to quickly get through the trading school of hard knocks than here. Not ready to start a new thread? Then reply to an existing post, but make sure your post is good enough to attract two or more "Thanks" -- if it is, I'll put you in the daily drawing as well. Yes, the new threads and posts have to demonstrate quality and the mastery of the english language. A simple "hi" just isn't going to cut it right? That's it. Start a new thread. You're in the running. Make a brilliant reply post. You're in the running. Then, you can Eat. Drink. And, Save Money. Actually in this case it's Free Money. Just try to get that in the markets I'll post the winner the next day, each of the 10 days.
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Hey Everyone, In an effort to bribe, coerce, cajole, convince, connive, or let's just say motivate you to be an active participant here at Traders Lab I'm going to do the following. Everyday, for the next 10 days I will award a $25 Gift Card from Restaurant.com -- which you can use to celebrate your winnings at literally thousands of restaurants all over the country - yes, even in your backyard (not sure if the Backwoods Diner is in there but thousands of others so fear not) What's your catch? All you have to do is start a new thread. Post on something new in regards to trading. Pose a good question. Start a thread discussing your personal trading. Post a chart. Ask for opinions. Make a point. Start a constructive argument The idea is to get and keep the conversations flowing since in the end that's how we all are becoming far better traders as a result of this TL community. Me included so I want to continue to benefit from this collective of smart traders. And, if you're new or just learning there's really no better way to quickly get through the trading school of hard knocks than here. Not ready to start a new thread? Then reply to an existing post, but make sure your post is good enough to attract two or more "Thanks" -- if it is, I'll put you in the daily drawing as well. Yes, the new threads and posts have to demonstrate quality and the mastery of the english language. A simple "hi" just isn't going to cut it right? That's it. Start a new thread. You're in the running. Make a brilliant reply post. You're in the running. Then, you can Eat. Drink. And, Save Money. Actually in this case it's Free Money. Just try to get that in the markets I'll post the winner the next day, each of the 10 days.
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Hey Everyone, In an effort to bribe, coerce, cajole, convince, connive, or let's just say motivate you to be an active participant here at Traders Lab I'm going to do the following. Everyday, for the next 10 days I will award a $25 Gift Card from Restaurant.com -- which you can use to celebrate your winnings at literally thousands of restaurants all over the country - yes, even in your backyard (not sure if the Backwoods Diner is in there but thousands of others so fear not) What's your catch? All you have to do is start a new thread. Post on something new in regards to trading. Pose a good question. Start a thread discussing your personal trading. Post a chart. Ask for opinions. Make a point. Start a constructive argument The idea is to get and keep the conversations flowing since in the end that's how we all are becoming far better traders as a result of this TL community. Me included so I want to continue to benefit from this collective of smart traders. And, if you're new or just learning there's really no better way to quickly get through the trading school of hard knocks than here. Not ready to start a new thread? Then reply to an existing post, but make sure your post is good enough to attract two or more "Thanks" -- if it is, I'll put you in the daily drawing as well. Yes, the new threads and posts have to demonstrate quality and the mastery of the english language. A simple "hi" just isn't going to cut it right? That's it. Start a new thread. You're in the running. Make a brilliant reply post. You're in the running. Then, you can Eat. Drink. And, Save Money. Actually in this case it's Free Money. Just try to get that in the markets I'll post the winner the next day, each of the 10 days.
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Hey Everyone, In an effort to bribe, coerce, cajole, convince, connive, or let's just say motivate you to be an active participant here at Traders Lab I'm going to do the following. Everyday, for the next 10 days I will award a $25 Gift Card from Restaurant.com -- which you can use to celebrate your winnings at literally thousands of restaurants all over the country - yes, even in your backyard (not sure if the Backwoods Diner is in there but thousands of others so fear not) What's your catch? All you have to do is start a new thread. Post on something new in regards to trading. Pose a good question. Start a thread discussing your personal trading. Post a chart. Ask for opinions. Make a point. Start a constructive argument The idea is to get and keep the conversations flowing since in the end that's how we all are becoming far better traders as a result of this TL community. Me included so I want to continue to benefit from this collective of smart traders. And, if you're new or just learning there's really no better way to quickly get through the trading school of hard knocks than here. Not ready to start a new thread? Then reply to an existing post, but make sure your post is good enough to attract two or more "Thanks" -- if it is, I'll put you in the daily drawing as well. Yes, the new threads and posts have to demonstrate quality and the mastery of the english language. A simple "hi" just isn't going to cut it right? That's it. Start a new thread. You're in the running. Make a brilliant reply post. You're in the running. Then, you can Eat. Drink. And, Save Money. Actually in this case it's Free Money. Just try to get that in the markets I'll post the winner the next day, each of the 10 days.
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Hey Everyone, In an effort to bribe, coerce, cajole, convince, connive, or let's just say motivate you to be an active participant here at Traders Lab I'm going to do the following. Everyday, for the next 10 days I will award a $25 Gift Card from Restaurant.com -- which you can use to celebrate your winnings at literally thousands of restaurants all over the country - yes, even in your backyard (not sure if the Backwoods Diner is in there but thousands of others so fear not) What's your catch? All you have to do is start a new thread. Post on something new in regards to trading. Pose a good question. Start a thread discussing your personal trading. Post a chart. Ask for opinions. Make a point. Start a constructive argument The idea is to get and keep the conversations flowing since in the end that's how we all are becoming far better traders as a result of this TL community. Me included so I want to continue to benefit from this collective of smart traders. And, if you're new or just learning there's really no better way to quickly get through the trading school of hard knocks than here. Not ready to start a new thread? Then reply to an existing post, but make sure your post is good enough to attract two or more "Thanks" -- if it is, I'll put you in the daily drawing as well. Yes, the new threads and posts have to demonstrate quality and the mastery of the english language. A simple "hi" just isn't going to cut it right? That's it. Start a new thread. You're in the running. Make a brilliant reply post. You're in the running. Then, you can Eat. Drink. And, Save Money. Actually in this case it's Free Money. Just try to get that in the markets I'll post the winner the next day, each of the 10 days.
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What would be an interesting test is to run the same method/strategy on the EURUSD in the spot, and take same trades/same time using the CME FX Futures. I wonder if anyone has ever done that and reliably reported on it? I gotta put that on my 'to-dos' if not since it would be fascinating to see in the end which ended up being preferable. MMS
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Interesting Charts for Technical Trades
MadMarketScientist replied to Dinerotrader's topic in Stocks
Super, most appreciated - thanks for that. Continued success with it in the meantime! -
Thanks all for the great suggestions. Shows you there are a lot of really solid directions someone can take. Just don't go "cheap" when it comes to data/charting. That shouldn't be your only criteria since it's so critical. But, cheap + great data is good! MMS
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Introduce Yourself Here - Don't Be Shy!!
MadMarketScientist replied to trading4life's topic in Beginners Forum
I'm with you on trade psychology. Everyone gets sick of hearing about it but it will be the single greatest killer when it comes to successful trading. The problem is it's all too logical. Stay calm. Follow your plan. Don't get attached. Don't revenge trade, etc, etc, etc.... we all think we're strong enough for the obvious. Ever talk trading with a non-trader? They'll look at you like you're weak if you ever truly admit all the dumb things you did due to your "mind" -- but once you're in the thick of things -- all hell breaks loose for most -- no matter what the level of our intelligence. It's why no matter how good the system, most who try to trade any system are going to fail. But, there's hope! Remind yourself that if everyone could trade system xyz and succeed - it wouldn't work. There has to be failure. Just not you right?!? MMS -
The good news from this story is since the debacle yes, I have paid attention to the news -- let's say with a renewed motivation! Last few days much better for trading as a result of not breaking the plan. Can't say Friday trade in CL was the greatest -- after the first 90 minutes of spiraling nowhere, it finally did let loose a little and recovered to positive for the day. Today has been fine, also trading some natural gas which just has moved better last few days than Crude. They tend to go in and out of favor so I keep an eye on both if I'm trading energies. Which of course means other reports/news I need to be aware of! MMS
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Gotta disagree on the person you mention who says if spread is an issue it's your strategy. Sorry that one doesn't make sense to me in the real world. I think it sounds like a good "boast" as in, their strategy is so good spread won't matter and if you worry about it.....yours is not. Sounds more like ad copy to me. Certain markets on a daytrading basis - we're not talking swing trading or bigger multi-day moves -- only go so far in a given day. Their Average True Range may be xxx amount, and when it swings up and down perhaps it travels a certain xx pips. For example, let's say the GBPJPY travels 130 pips a day on average -- and the swings tend to be 35 pips each general move up or down during the day. There's no way anyone can buy tops or bottoms so of that 35 pip swing maybe you can, if you catch it right get 20 - 25 pips of it. Problem is, you could be paying 8 pips spread. Now, if the EURUSD had the same 130 pip range, the same 35 pip move per swing, then clearly I'd be better off trading it for the 20-25 pip swings when my costs are only 1 or 2 pips. I truly believe that spreads DO matter quite a bit -- on the daytrade side. Swing trading? Nah, I wouldn't worry about it when I'm going for 100+ pips. Daytrading? Yes, definitely if I'm going for 15 - 35 pips lets say on a trade. MMS
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Interesting Charts for Technical Trades
MadMarketScientist replied to Dinerotrader's topic in Stocks
What do you use to help you determine the trend is coming to an end? If it's proprietary in nature no worries, no need to detail. Just thought it would be helpful to others to have some idea of what you personally would look for to head for the exits. Thanks. MMS -
Stuck in a Bad Position
MadMarketScientist replied to catsrevenge's topic in Day Trading and Scalping
Nice! Trader justice after all. Once you had a plan and started to execute upon it it seems to have been working itself out! MMS -
Very interesting analysis in particular since it's "from the field" rather than all hypothetical. In my other business have seen something similar -- there has been a creep back of confidence -- maybe just the result of the fact that the bottoming has appeared in for a while and a little stability goes a long way. It certainly doesn't feel like we're back to rampant speculation on the part of anyone (which can be fun:) but there is clearly more than a toe stepping back into the water. The holiday season is key -- I have heard some reports through some distribution channels that it seemed to start a little slower than expect but I feel there's a long way to go and shoppers are now programmed to wait on the deals since these days they are so easy to find/get with the internet. Expecting a definite increase from last year which would keep momentum going into 2011.
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Interesting Charts for Technical Trades
MadMarketScientist replied to Dinerotrader's topic in Stocks
Go FEED Go! Nice - still holding it? Any exit strategy? -
Thanks for suggestions/input. My thoughts on the GJ though is the spread is too high to successfully daytrade as a pair you'd use everyday. Of course would depend on the targets/stops used but I hate being in the whole 7 pips let's say before the trade is a second old. Even if you use targets like 30 or 40 pips on a day trade you are giving back 7 of those so you need an above average win/loss percentage to compensate for that on every trade I think. MMS
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There's some irony here just days after the election was primarily decided on jobs growth - or the lack thereof: The labor market showed signed of improvement in October, data from the Labor Department showed Friday. Total non-farm payrolls rose by 151,000 in October, higher than the 70,000 gain expected by Wall Street economists. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.6% for the third straight month. Economists forecast the unemployment rate to rise to 9.7%. The payrolls count in August and September was revised higher by a cumulative 110,000. Payrolls fell a revised 1,000 in August and by 41,000 in September. There were strong upward revisions to job creation in the past two months. Average hourly earnings increased 5 cents, or 0.2% to $22.73. Economists had been expecting a 0.2% gain. Earnings are up 1.7% in the past year. The average workweek rose 6 minutes to 34.3 hours.
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I should have probably added: USDCHF EURGBP EURCHF with both have good spreads for daytrading to my list above...though the latter two I've never been convinced trade with enough range or smoothness for daytrading on forex.
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Thanks for the info. Sounds like Lightspeed has taken care of you well -- nice commission rate especially given the platform speed/stability. I'm with you on that part -- with Scottrade not really designed for those who want to daytrade. And, as much as I like the TS platform speed has never been its forte. MMS
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This probably depends a bit -- are you willing to change brokers? If so the others above who mention TOS make a good recommendation. However, I wasn't sure if you were saying you want to stay at OptionsXPress but just get a different charting provider? If so then you'll have some fees to pay -- if you're willing to change brokers you'll get a free platform and then only have exchange fees to pay which are nominal in stocks. MMS
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Minoo Congrats on finding your way to independence - however you ended up getting there (courtesy of a few posts in TL - who knew!) MMS
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Seems easy enough - just conquer your fear. However when you think about it, there's a lot to fear with trading. Fear of losses. Fear of being wrong. Fear of making a mistake. Fear of slippage. Fear of missing target by a tick. Fear of stopping out by a tick then watching trade go to full target. Fear of stopping trading for the day and missing the next winner. Fear of not doubling down or never recovering. Fear of big drawdowns. Fear of having to redeposit funds into a wiped out account. Fear of losing shirt. Fear of not making the mortgage. And, any of us could go on and on. Perhaps there's a healthy dose of fear in trading the markets that's necessary. Of course just south of crippling! MMS
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I've been working on something where I don't have to be as proactively involved since there's no way I'm staying up all night to trade the fx but I like the movement best in the European market hours into the early US hours -- so the 1 hour charts seem to be a good solution where the moves don't get too erratic and tend to set-up for me only once or so daily. Instead of faster charts like my other daytrading where I may have to contend with multiple trades in a few hours. GBPUSD was good again last night for a 70+ pip move again to the long side. MMS