Steve's Class Daily Record

[steve46 12]

I thought I would try posting the day's trades (at the end of each day)

by simply attaching a chart

 

Frankly not interested in comments per se.....these are trades that I take during the course of each day's class....

 

The class begins the night prior with analysis of news and pending economic reports, and earnings. We then look at the longer time frame charts for opportunities that might exist during the overnight (Asian/European) markets.....if no opportunities exist in that time frame, we assemble our plan for the US RTH session...

 

The class has been in session for only a couple of days.....the attached chart is from the first day....

[steve46 12]

For this day, we had an opportunity in the overnight market as shown in the attached chart

 

This opportunity occurred prior to our class and is shown as an example of what can be traded during the overnight session.

 

For the RTH session, we did not create a single day long chart of trades, so we are attaching a chart that was created shortly after the open, showing our initial entry for that day.

 

The next chart shows the area where we took partial profit (we call this "buying a stop")

 

and for readers, please understand that we are not going to answer questions about the method...we owe our students that discretion.....this is simply a public record of what we are doing...so that people who are struggling can SEE what a skilled trader teaches in a class situation...

Edited July 13, 2013 by steve46

[steve46 12]

from this point forward, we will post one (1) chart as shown, using arrows to show the entry point for our daily RTH session trades

 

The general approach is (with small changes for each student) taken from our simple system #2 and is taught a couple of times a year in our classes...in brief the idea is to enter with the primary trend (when possible)...to take partial profit soon after the entry, then hold the position to a logical exit....taking partial profit reduces the overall profit that might be possible from a system however it provides the psychological comfort that a struggling student needs in order to get to the point where they are making money (our primary goal)....as the student develops, we introduce other risk management protocols and allow them to decide just how risk averse they wish to be....

 

At the beginning of the class we ask students to watch (no trades) and see the process execute properly....after a few days, they notice that we don't take many losses and those we DO take are quite small....in comparison to the winners...this produces a sense of confidence and allows them to "go with" the system, to work to understand the background (system construction and maintenance) and to start re-building their mental construct (image) of what a profitable trader does....

 

 

That's it..

 

Best of luck to all

Edited July 13, 2013 by steve46

[steve46 12]

Just thought of this and wanted to post it

 

There are a few of you who are members of previous classes....if you see this and want to be updated as to the changes made from the time you were in class please feel free to contact me...you will have free access to the current class

 

Finally all previous students are welcome to comment as you see fit....

 

Best to all

 

PS...one more thing needs to be said....the owners of this site have been very kind to me....I assume that they understand now that the classes I hold are small (usually 1-4 students at any time)...and therefore I am not a vendor in the traditional sense...I don't sell indicators, software, trade advisories or anything else for that matter.....So I want to help them as well and I do so by mentioning to those who might want to join a class, that membership and constructive participation here at TL are part of the screening method that I employ to determine whether to accept new students....

Edited July 13, 2013 by steve46

[steve46 12]

Today's trades as follows

[steve46 12]

Today's trades as follows

 

To anyone interested. I was on the wrong side early on, but managed to make a few dollars on each of the first trades, primarily because in this market I scale out....so no losers there...

 

After price dropped out of the IB I watched and waited for the close of Euro Cash.....and used that to learn on....happily we got on the right side soon after and got paid from that point on.....

 

The other attachment shows a different look incorporating a longer time frame chart (90 min) and Standard Deviation Lines from my "Simple System" thread....what I would like to point out is that price came down to within one (1) tick of the 1st standard deviation.....this happened to the upside yesterday as well....within one (1) tick....once you understand how (and when) to use SD's, they can be a valuable asset to the struggling trader...

 

and for my students (day and evening session) if you have comments please feel free to post your honest opinions....never any problem with that.....

 

Good luck folks...

Edited July 16, 2013 by steve46

[steve46 12]

Todays trades

 

A choppy market as participants waited to hear Chairman Bernanke's comments

 

Fortunately this was a balanced market and the range was wide enough to make it worth it to assume risk...

 

The last trade of the day was taken by one of my students as a paper trade.....I did not take that one....It was a valid opportunity according to my system rules, however I stopped trading a bit early today....

Edited July 18, 2013 by steve46

[Seeker 11]

Where is the entry? The close of the bar the arrow points to? The open of that bar?

[steve46 12]

Alright then replaced the chart, tip of the arrow is the entry....

[steve46 12]

and here are today's trades with entries clearly posted

 

As mentioned previously, students are welcome to post comments

[steve46 12]

Typically students have one day off each week. On this day they are asked to prepare (we have a checklist) and then papertrade....we evaluate the results during a weekend meeting

 

Today, we entered a short position prior to the open....we have posted this strategy many times before...it is called "pre-positioning" and it allows the trader to obtain a small profit and favorable entry prior to the formal open.....if on the open we see continuation we hold scaling out...if there are pending reports, and we have profit, we have the options of managing the position into the report, exiting just prior....advanced students have the option to hold if they think they have an edge...

[steve46 12]

and here is the open.....this is typical of the velocity that is generated by the ES market....by the time we can type it up a significant part of the move is already in place....the "algo" pattern has been posted many times (and mostly ignored)....

 

This market is (like the NYSE) impacted by automation....humans simply cannot respond fast enough to compete....what we CAN do however that the computer cannot is to plan ahead, anticipating likely conditions and adapt to developments based on our experience...and of course we can transmit this to others (teach)...

 

So to recap...in our pre-market prep we analyze the previous markets price action and we try to determine the likely intraday trend (if there is one to be found)....we also try to plan our trades off the open....AT the open we can see pretty quickly if our plan is valid....if it is we simply execute and manage trades, if not, we try to adapt and get on the right side of the market as soon as possible...

 

Once again, if my students wish to comment on any element of this post, have at it..

 

Today's open required preparation....and an ability to recognize opportunity. You either have that in place or you don't

[steve46 12]

Prior to the open we go through a pre-market checklist....once students get the hang of it, they can determine fairly accurately what the intraday initial trend will be...

 

The attached 10 min & 3 min charts shows todays trades....we exited the market early as is our practice on Fridays....

 

The 10 min chart makes it easier to identify market turns

Edited July 19, 2013 by steve46

[steve46 12]

Today's trades....a choppy seasonally slow summer day....the 10 min chart shows a pre-market trade (short) taken the previous evening...As always we encourage students to post any comments good or bad.....please don't hesitate....

Edited July 22, 2013 by steve46

[steve46 12]

Today was on easy day....we got on the right side of the market early...and held on. Later in the day we were able to identify a nice reversal entry....

 

Attached are both the 10 min and 3 min views of our activity. For the 10 min chart we show pre-market trade entries....we DID NOT take the first (left most) trade because we were sleeping (it occurred around 4am) however we did take the second because the entry trigger occurred at about 6am PST....our goal is to find a premarket entry that is aligned with the intraday trend...sometimes we do that successfully, sometimes less so....

 

Postscript

 

While I am thinking about this, the reason the charts do NOT display the entire session is simply, that when we teach, we do not go through the whole day....we try to transmit specific concepts to the student, then we stop so that the student can internalize the material and organize their questions for the next session...

 

Best of luck folks

Edited July 23, 2013 by steve46

[kayaktri 10]

I wanted to write a note as a student who is enrolled in Steve’s Futures class. Steve has been working with me as part of his class, and I am very thankful for the transfer of knowledge he has given me. Prior to this class, I had traded stocks but had not attempted trading a market like the ES as I could not make a lot of sense out of the constant gyrations and reversions. In short, I could not separate the signal from the noise. I knew better than to ‘just wing it’ as I would quickly have my account equity reduced without the requisite skill to operate in this market. Since being enrolled in Steve’s class, I am now gaining the confidence to understand what Steve refers to as ‘context’ of the market and how this is used for making low risk entries AND exits. In my opinion, he has a very good understanding of the mechanics of the market, and is able to convey his thoughts on the many aspects of what the other participants are doing during the session as to give one a higher probability of achieving success without getting ‘chopped out’ or having price immediately move against the position. I have not posted a lot on this forum, as I have taken more of the role of listening and learning. But, I can say that the manner in which this class is being conducted, I am learning a great deal more in a shorter period of time (especially with the feedback loop of being able to ask questions in real time (using gotomeeting)) than I was attempting to decipher and filter a lot of the content that is available on the web. Steve is very clear in that he is teaching me how to trade the ES, not how to press the buy/sell button when he makes a ‘call’. In fact, I do not think his teaching environment would work well for folks who wish to be told – ‘enter here’ and ‘exit here’. Just as importantly for me, Steve pays particular attention to detail to the risk and money management aspect of trading, which is critical for my (and all traders) success. Many of the trades that we have gone through (yes, in real time with me watching the same thing on my system) have resulted in price moving away (adverse) to the expected movement, and yet Steve has managed (in most cases) to exit at break even or even with a small gain due to his active scale outs and stop mgmt. This, in itself, is worth attending the class (imho) and has been an excellent education on capital preservation. In closing, I know this forum is chock full of naysayers, but I am reminded by a quote that reads ‘The path to success is often paved by people who say it cannot be done’. I am a person who chooses to listen and learn, rather than say it cannot be done.

[steve46 12]

Thanks for the kind words....

 

As mentioned, I want struggling traders to see what is possible if you simply apply yourself and have access to a decent educational resource...

 

 

Best of luck to everyone...

[Enigmatics 10]

and for readers, please understand that we are not going to answer questions about the method...we owe our students that discretion.....this is simply a public record of what we are doing...so that people who are struggling can SEE what a skilled trader teaches in a class situation...

 

Ya, clearly the guys paying money come first .... I'm a little confused though about how the rest of us "see" what a skilled trader teaches having already stated you won't be answering about your method? Really all there is to gather by looking at your charts is that based on your arrows you were successful.

 

I know in the past you told me that your classrooms aren't really a business you're looking to grow. Are you using these threads just in case someone comes along and contacts you and so happens to be someone you feel you could teach?

[steve46 12]

Yes I screen applicants......and yes, I try to find people I think I can help

 

With regard to your other question....I've written multiple threads, more than 100k page views on subjects ranging from "time based pivots", to using Standard Deviation Lines to trade...if a person reviews that material and still has concerns about whether I offer the right kind of educational resource, they should look elsewhere....

 

Thanks for your questions.

Edited July 24, 2013 by steve46

[steve46 12]

Today's session was interrupted....attached we show the opening trade (a winner)

 

The second trade (not shown) was a loser ($30/contract)

 

That's it for this session.

[steve46 12]

Another boring slow low vol summer day......

 

We missed the open....simply put we weren't willing to be aggressive on this opening trade....

 

Fortunately we were able to get back on the right side later on....for the second long entry we exited at the lunch hour.....(students are asked to take a break at that time).....ordinarily this is a slow time of the day, and the market moves sideways....today lol..."continuation"....

 

The longer time frame chart is very helpful to new and struggling traders who often rely on visual representation to make decisions...Adding Standard Deviation lines helps as does the 200 period moving average which serves pretty reliably as an ultimate profit target...

Edited July 25, 2013 by steve46

[steve46 12]

As usual we advise students not to trade the last hour on a Friday....the reason being that the price action is somewhat distorted by automated execution...

 

As can be seen we were lucky to have a clear signal to enter at the low of the day....if doesn't happen often but when it does it is considered a gift...we always assume that possibility of a gap fill, and today that did happen although it was quite a struggle at the end....

 

Best of luck folks

[steve46 12]

Once again the open was obvious. The current market seems to have a set pattern and once you have identified it, you have a significant advantage.

 

Today we will attach our full screen showing all the trades, AND we will show the open (2 additional charts)......for this open we show the entry and the initial profit target. On days like today, when we have a high impact report scheduled for 7am PST, we ALWAYS go through the same process....and that involves pre-planning our entry (by "preferred time") and then holding to a specific timed exit.....

Edited July 29, 2013 by steve46

[steve46 12]

We're going to take a couple of days off from posting.....Good luck in the markets folks

 

Steve

[goodoboy 10]

Hello Steve,

 

You may not remember me, but you personally helped me with my ES trading about 1.6 years ago when I was actively trading the ES. I learned alot, but never got a chance to perfect a system for myself. I basically made lunch money.

 

I took some time away to finish up my engineering license and now I am back in the lab.

 

Keep up your good work please for the small struggling traders out here. Also please update on the next class.

 

Thank you kindly. Keep up the good work please.