It's very evident that I don't know how to be a profitable trader. I'm very lost. I have lots of trading concepts in my head but how am I to tie them together into profitable results?
I can play the high % win game but my losses are too big. I can play the low % win game but I take too many entries to find the runner. I've beaten myself up in the market now to where I'm going to have to trade small to tiny size again until I figure something out and as of now there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
What needs to click in my head!?
Consider reducing the timeframe you are trading. All big moves start out as small moves. Who says high percentage trading has to also have high risk?? Consider basing entries on price created S/R, not fibs, not math created levels (I'm saying this having no idea how you trade). Keep stops tight. S/R must hold or get out NOW. No sitting and hoping for a turnaround. Yes, trading smaller timeframes takes more focus, more effort, more preparation. Just sit and watch charts for a while on smaller timeframes and the market will show you what works. Draw out prior S/R levels and watch how price reacts to them. You can learn a lot just by watching.
ReplyDeleteYM - Thanks for the ideas. When S/R trading do you suggest waiting for price to hit S/R before deciding if price is going to bounce or break through the S/R? In my experience so far if I place an order at S/R I find it difficult to know where to put the stop if I'm expecting a bounce. If I'm expecting a break through of S/R then it's a little easier to know where to put the stop.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow I'll use a 5 sec chart in combination with a 1 min chart and S/R.
There is no need to guess if it will break through an S/R level or not. You've heard the saying "old support becomes new resistance..and old resistance becomes new support". Price is constantly testing (and sometimes breaking) S/R levels on a lot of timeframes. I will wait for a "break and retest". If it breaks over cleanly I look for the quick retest from the other side. That's the entry. If there is no clean break of the S/R level then there is no trade. Always going in the direction of the next higher timeframe (with the trend...no counter-trend trading). The ideal situation is for price to test a level, temporarily fail, and then test it again and break over this time. The first failed test created the additional S/R that provides a backup stop for you. Do this...at the end of the day draw out the S/R levels that were created that day. And then tomorrow watch how price reacts around them. It takes a lot of watching to understand this, but it works. This is the concept you can build an entire trading plan around.
ReplyDeleteYM - Thanks. I'll watch the S/R lines tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain...
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough spot to be in. On the one hand you don't want to cut an otherwise winning strategy because it had a down day (or week). But at the same time, you want to be humble enough to cut something that doesn't have potential.
Don't give up, though!
I don't want to be rude but I don't think you have a valid strategy. Looking at the chart, your trades were performed during the European lunch time in the consolidation zone just after the large downmove. That was probably not the best moment to trade.You need to deepen your knowledge of the market and probably look at more time frames in order to understand better how markets move, why they move, when they move... I have been a professional bank trader in the past and still get some research directly from bank traders. If you provide me with your e-mail, I can send you an example of how professional bank traders look at the market (and how they were prepared for today).
ReplyDeleteAdam - Thanks. I won't give up.
ReplyDeleteFxEdge - You're not rude, you're correct. I don't have a valid short-term trading strategy and that is precisely what I'm trying to do. Create a strategy or methodology that works for me on a short-term basis.
My email address is: harveyh(At Symbol)gmail.com