I'm not publishing the details of my one and only trade from yesterday (after US market open), coz I don't want anyone who is really new to trading to see a very bad example.
Briefly, I used my entire gains from last week (USD 1250) to find out a few things I HAVE TO know FOR SURE so that I can stop whinning about not being able to trade my plan. It's the way I learn, and the way I stretch myself. I don't like my fear, coz it hinders my trading. Forcing myself to stare at what I fear the most about trading in the eye is the only way I could rid myself of it. I survived it, and am a little taken aback that my heart beat NORMALLY in that 3 agonizing hours. I slept well too after getting stopped out. I'm a stronger person today, and I'm still liking the way I plan my trades.
Briefly, I used my entire gains from last week (USD 1250) to find out a few things I HAVE TO know FOR SURE so that I can stop whinning about not being able to trade my plan. It's the way I learn, and the way I stretch myself. I don't like my fear, coz it hinders my trading. Forcing myself to stare at what I fear the most about trading in the eye is the only way I could rid myself of it. I survived it, and am a little taken aback that my heart beat NORMALLY in that 3 agonizing hours. I slept well too after getting stopped out. I'm a stronger person today, and I'm still liking the way I plan my trades.
As a matter of fact, I have been executing my plans. That's why I really want to kick myself for having complained that I haven't traded my plan.
What I've not been doing is to take the profit that I ESTIMATED I could reasonably expect from that particular trade. After yesterday, I finally appreciated my very initial reason for not wanting to wait for that projected profit to fall on my lap.
It takes a lot of confidence to just put in your target and let it get hit. It's a luxury that belongs to only those that have spent years and years learning from the market, observing the probabilities of scenarios actually playing out as projected. One day I will get there, and although I would kill to make that day come this week, I know for a fact that that day is sometime in the hopefully not so distant future.
In the mean time, I will stick to my plan, but adopt a flexible approach to profit taking. I need consistent, or more aptly - routined - profits to build my confidence and accumulate my capital to the point where I can afford more aggressive play, and grow from there.
Moving on, below's my idea for today's trading.
What I've not been doing is to take the profit that I ESTIMATED I could reasonably expect from that particular trade. After yesterday, I finally appreciated my very initial reason for not wanting to wait for that projected profit to fall on my lap.
It takes a lot of confidence to just put in your target and let it get hit. It's a luxury that belongs to only those that have spent years and years learning from the market, observing the probabilities of scenarios actually playing out as projected. One day I will get there, and although I would kill to make that day come this week, I know for a fact that that day is sometime in the hopefully not so distant future.
In the mean time, I will stick to my plan, but adopt a flexible approach to profit taking. I need consistent, or more aptly - routined - profits to build my confidence and accumulate my capital to the point where I can afford more aggressive play, and grow from there.
Moving on, below's my idea for today's trading.
ES Hourly
This is still my primary view / hypothesis of how the market is playing out. What's slightly different now is that the head has expanded and the right shoulder has shifted to...er...more right.
In my chart above, the "head" is highlighted in grey.
That's a longer term play (ie. the Inverted Head & Shoulder), and one that requires ES to trade above 876.
For now, I'm seeing a Head & Shoulder in the making (both left shoulder and head are highlighted in blue). The right shoulder does not necessarily have to reach 850 (where the left shoulder is), it's possible that ES could turn back down to support after hitting 842 (fib retracement 50%) or 837 (fib retracement 38.2%).
There's support at the red uptrend line, which should affect the performance of the Measured Move Down (not if ES pulls back to fib 50% though - in which case, the 2nd leg of the MMD should reach the trendline at around the time that it's completed - around 45 points). I'm inclined to think that ES would resume its downward move after hitting 837. If that happens, I'll take either 815 or the trendline support as target.
I'll be using the 5 or 10min chart for basis of my trading plan for today.
In my chart above, the "head" is highlighted in grey.
That's a longer term play (ie. the Inverted Head & Shoulder), and one that requires ES to trade above 876.
For now, I'm seeing a Head & Shoulder in the making (both left shoulder and head are highlighted in blue). The right shoulder does not necessarily have to reach 850 (where the left shoulder is), it's possible that ES could turn back down to support after hitting 842 (fib retracement 50%) or 837 (fib retracement 38.2%).
There's support at the red uptrend line, which should affect the performance of the Measured Move Down (not if ES pulls back to fib 50% though - in which case, the 2nd leg of the MMD should reach the trendline at around the time that it's completed - around 45 points). I'm inclined to think that ES would resume its downward move after hitting 837. If that happens, I'll take either 815 or the trendline support as target.
I'll be using the 5 or 10min chart for basis of my trading plan for today.
