Up $49 paper trading today, when I could take a moment to look at the screen. No chance at undisturbed focus today. There was just too much going on. These days, just 15 minutes of concentration on the markets is hard to generate. My training is suffering because of day-job concerns and real-life. A perfect world would allow me to trade in peace so I could learn this. Sadly, I am not grasping this trading art quickly enough to stay on this track. As time goes forward, I must dedicate less time to trading. I have to focus instead on my business, the object of my neglect since I started trying to trade.
-
Started slow today but finished with some strength. Best trade was pegging the 3:00 pm peak in FAS and letting it ride down some. I got out too soon but I'm glad at the choice I made to short there. At the same time, I was playing ERX the same way, which actually yielded more gain than the FAS.
-
Started slow today but finished with some strength. Best trade was pegging the 3:00 pm peak in FAS and letting it ride down some. I got out too soon but I'm glad at the choice I made to short there. At the same time, I was playing ERX the same way, which actually yielded more gain than the FAS.
Blue Collar,
ReplyDeleteWe're in similar mental / life / financial situations with our trading right now. This is the first time ever in the last year I felt like just deleting my blog and closing this chapter of my life as a lesson learned...
Need to hopefully find some perspective soon..
I liked this comment from Scott/Fear & Greed trader on your post the other day:
"Keeping your mind in the game and focused on the task at hand will pay big dividends.That's what this business comes down to. Stick to your plan.
Try writing down your own trading mantra. Tailor it to your personality. Let it encompass your total market experiences. Cut right to the heart of the issues so that you can condition your mind to do what you want."
It's good to know there are others where I am. My recent posts have veered into or at least close to the edge of whining, which is not where I really want it to go. It isn't productive and reflects badly on who I am and where I am. But, a confluence of circumstances is coming to a head right about now and I can't help but spill it onto the blog some. My goal when I started this blog was to have a record of my activities in the market for my own reference, to possibly bring some heop to others to the extent that what I do and know has value, and to document the journey of one real person who is trying to transform from a blue collar small business to a trader who can earn a living from the stock market consistently. This path has been fairly uneventful for me until the past month or so. I'm speaking of the behind-the-scenes stuff, not my progress as a practice trader. I didn't know what to expect for results when I first started this endeavor. I knew that it was difficult but I thought I would be able to grasp it much quicker. Perhaps you thought the same. For me, I think Scott's post that you referenced is very poignant in that it points to sticking to a plan. On that topic, I have wavered a great deal and I think is partly responsible for retarding my progress. My interest and study of trading has gone from swing-trading a year and a half ago, to Green on the Screen, to scalping momentum last Feb/March, to trying to trade the tape as Scott does. I'm not sure where you fit in there with me Charlie, if at all. All the while, I have only recently (a few months) been focused on where I think I need to be. But that focus is on learning to trade the tape, which by all accounts, represents on of the most difficult challenges in trading; playing intra-day moves in succession. Here is where I think I may have chosen my approach/trading plan badly, considering my life requirements and situation. I, like most people, must work a real job and need the income from that job. It is not optional. So, a choice to learn an overall method like trading the tape has perhaps caused me to stop focusing on the few moves and opportunities in a day where I feel most comfortable trading and then trying to develop them into real-money gains. Like my recent post outlined. I feel like I must first "get in the game" by making some cash off the market in select spots instead of just continuing to spend months developing a system of trading the tape which is my ultimate goal.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you are in that realm or not. I'd be curious to know where you are in your development.
I do know one thing, my study of the markets will continue because I will not quit. After all, I have at least 20 years before standard retirement. I think there is plenty of time to learn all or part of this trading "thing" in order to do it for a living. Remember how long it took Muddy to go full-time. I consider him to be a great role-model for tenacity and commitment. A blue-collar sort of guy who kept at it.
I have been a trader along time and seen alot. Many differant methods I have seen through the years. Don't give up, stop trading and take a breather for a month or so then hit it again with a clear head. I did a few times along the way it helps. I'm not sure what you trade or time frames just read a little bit of your blog here. I love dailys and longer time frames it gives me more time with everything else in life and more Pts on those creamy settups that happen. Best of luck
ReplyDeleteThank you Matthew. I am taking a bit of a break but not by choice. Business, projects around the house, a recent vacation, and getting my taxes prepared for the October 15 deadline are the reasons for my recent time away from the markets.
ReplyDeleteI still read the blogs and think about trading every day but spend little time these days in front of an open market. Hopefully that will change by month's end.
Thanks for the encouragement.