8/3/07 General Trade Log / Idea Sharing

[AbeSmith 10]

Good morning, and good evening to our fellow international traders. Unemployment data came out today at 8:30ET and YM dropped 40 or so points at that time. Good luck everyone.

[AbeSmith 10]

8:30ET unemployment report reaction:

[AbeSmith 10]

Trade 1: +25. Longed at the pivot which proved strong support on previous low. Sold a bit early due to scary volatility and lack of firm target.

[TinGull 10]

First trade was short YM at 13494 and covered quick at 484 for +10. Bottom of the range was at 76 and figured it *could* be a possible turning point so took what what I could and am awaiting the aftermath of the ISM so get in again.

[AbeSmith 10]

Trade 2: +7. Went long again on pivot. Bailed out just right before sharp drop.

[AbeSmith 10]

Here is Trade 1 again but in .jpg if you could not open the previous file:

[TinGull 10]

Action's intense here. Real serious fight.

[AbeSmith 10]

Anyone using Sierra Chart getting issue of pivot not showing up in time?

[AbeSmith 10]

Trade 3: -21 points. Stupid move. This trade made me appreciate again how important psychology and state of mind is in trading.

[AbeSmith 10]

Trade 3: -21 points. Stupid move. This trade made me appreciate again how important psychology and state of mind is in trading.

 

Didn't calculate stop ahead of time. Spur of the moment trade. Should have calculated stop, and then I would have seen that it was too wide.

[AbeSmith 10]

Trade 4: -10.

[TinGull 10]

Im done for the day. The day is really wacky.

[MrPaul 10]

Im done for the day. The day is really wacky.

 

Yeah lets use a little word association for the day...

 

Whacked

 

On crack

 

Stupid

 

Choppy

 

Messy

 

Haha everyone have a great weekend!

[brownsfan019 17]

Abe,

One idea - for the way you are trading (and I'm not 100% sure what that is), take a look at Volume Based Charts (VBC's) just as a comparison. I see the chart posted is a 1 minute chart, so you are not adverse to some quick moving charts. I am currently running a 5000 VBC on the ES.

 

In case you are not sure what a VBC is, it's when you tell your chart to print a new candle after so many contracts have traded. It can take that volume function that many use and display in candle format. Some charting packages refer to this as a Contract Setting and some chartings do not offer it. But if you have it, it could be worth looking at for comparison purposes if nothing else. Going to a VBC made a big difference for me when I first found them and even though I got away from them, I am back (esp with this volatility). I found minute charts to be taking too long in this current environment.

 

PS

Your charts look cleaner and I hope they are even easier for you to make on the fly with SnagIt!!

[AbeSmith 10]

Abe,

One idea - for the way you are trading (and I'm not 100% sure what that is), take a look at Volume Based Charts (VBC's) just as a comparison. I see the chart posted is a 1 minute chart, so you are not adverse to some quick moving charts. I am currently running a 5000 VBC on the ES.

 

In case you are not sure what a VBC is, it's when you tell your chart to print a new candle after so many contracts have traded. It can take that volume function that many use and display in candle format. Some charting packages refer to this as a Contract Setting and some chartings do not offer it. But if you have it, it could be worth looking at for comparison purposes if nothing else. Going to a VBC made a big difference for me when I first found them and even though I got away from them, I am back (esp with this volatility). I found minute charts to be taking too long in this current environment.

 

PS

Your charts look cleaner and I hope they are even easier for you to make on the fly with SnagIt!!

 

Thanks Brownsfan. I'm not sure if I have the VBC.

 

Yes, the SnagIt is excellent. Thank you for finding it.

[brownsfan019 17]

Take a look this weekend to see if you have VBC's and see if they make a difference for you. It took me years to even hear about them, so if they work for you and saves you some time, great! If not, no harm.

[james_gsx 16]

Alright, I'm finally proud of myself for catching a long term play. I finally got my e-signal up and running again and I set up the charts a little bit differently. I now have a small 15 minute (sorry the chart says 5 I wasn't paying attention). I noticed a wedge on the chart and took a scalp at the breakout and another position to hold slightly longer incase the breakout proved effective.

 

o Entry – 13455

o Exit scalp – 13445

o P&L – 10 YM

o Exit 2nd contract – 13425

o P&L – 30 YM

 

I got out because of the -1000 tick. I should have turned around and gone long and caught another easy 10 pts but I didn't.

 

Now looking at the chart, I should have held on till the close of the 15 min candle - it would have been a much more profitable trade. Oh well, I made the trade and it worked.

[james_gsx 16]

Alright guys I gotta head out, a friend is in town with his Corvette Z06 and we are about to head up into the mountains

[MrPaul 10]

Thanks Brownsfan. I'm not sure if I have the VBC.

 

Yes, the SnagIt is excellent. Thank you for finding it.

 

Abe,

 

With IB data and sierra charts you can plot volume based bars

 

Instead of minutes in the format box look for volume or shares.

[AbeSmith 10]

Abe,

 

With IB data and sierra charts you can plot volume based bars

 

Instead of minutes in the format box look for volume or shares.

 

 

I see a volume option in chart settings, but not sure how to configure it:

[james_gsx 16]

Damnit WHY did I let that trade go with a 30pt gain? Right now I would be looking at a 100+ pt gain....

 

Oh well.

[MrPaul 10]

I see a volume option in chart settings, but not sure how to configure it:

 

Just click the dot to select volume and type in "5000" or "7500" that would be equal to every bar printing when 5000 contracts have been traded.

 

Brownsfan has an excellent thread on VBC's

[AbeSmith 10]

Just click the dot to select volume and type in "5000" or "7500" that would be equal to every bar printing when 5000 contracts have been traded.

 

Brownsfan has an excellent thread on VBC's

 

I see. Thanks.

[AbeSmith 10]

Trade 5: -3 points.

[james_gsx 16]

Abe on that trade, you should have waited for the breakout on the short side then gone short. I've found that works extremely well. You see those 4 candles all making lows at the same point, you could have setup a short once that was broken and you would have had a 30pt gain instead of a 3 pt loss. Just an idea.