budman

SHI Capital - SHI Capital - Strategy, Execution, Success

It's a bank.

I used to have cable and DSL in case one went down. It wasn't worth having both. I got rid of the DSL. I figured if a telephone pole was knocked down from a storm or car accident, both the cable, DSL and telephone would be out. So, I have two computers running at all times with battery backups. Both have my initial trading broker software and a backup broker to hedge. I have my cell phone ready to go in case I lose cable service and regular telephone. I also enter a stop market order as soon as I enter a position in case all else fails. I will not trade with such a large position that I'd be out of business if we got a 911 style attack at the CBOT . It's a sad reality. If it were to happen, you can never know about if, when, and at what price the market would open. Something like this would put the exchange {and traders} out of business for a long time.

I see ant. I have been using it through Esignal. I'll change a few settings. I appreciate your help. Market profile is new to me, but it seems like a great tool. Thanks again. Budman

Hmmm. You prefer the trading hours instead of the 24 hours. Interesting, especially where you value pre-market data. I'll give that a shot, obviously it's working for you. Thanks again.

Thanks guys. I'm new to "market profile". Are you guys using 24 hours and 30 minute settings for you profile charts? Thanks.

Andrew, if I were you, I would only be trading one contract at a time. When you've been profitable for few months, move up to two etc. Paper trading is not the same. You need money on the line to experience your real emotions. If I could start over, this is what I would have done. I started with 2 contracts. After a few winning trades I jumped to 4 etc. Within weeks I was trading 20 contracts...big mistake. I lost so much money because I thought I knew what I was doing. Looking back, I would have been much better off if I stayed with one contract for a few months while learning this business. After all, it is a business.

This is what I found in my trading... By setting a daily goal, I found my self trading just to make a few more points to hit my goal. They were trades that were not based on good set ups or a sound plan. They were just hit or miss trades taken soley to reach the goal, a mistake, for me anyway. I no longer set a goal. If I was shooting for a grand a day, and quit, I would never have had a 2k day etc. How could I grow? I found it best to let my profits run, not only in each trade, but also in my daily P&L. I will take 100% of the trades where I find my preferred set ups, regardless of how much I already made. Of course taking into consideration time of day and market sentiment, ticks/trin etc. The only limit I put on myself is a daily loss limit, where I would stop trading and call it a day. I base my thinking on the "Keep your losses small and let your profits run" philosophy. I'm sure others will think I'm nuts. This works for me anyway. Budman

Same here Carter. I run, work out, mow the lawn during lunch etc. Unless I see a real good set up forming, I'm away from 11:30-2:00. Good for the eyes, the nerves etc.