Another trade missed... WTF

[Technically Fundamental]

Can your set ups "really be coming along", if you havn't nailed your preferred TFs? *


* disclaimer, this comes from a guy who, happy with swing trading, now keeps himself occupied throughout the day by playing with 3-4 pairs on 3 min TFs whilst his swing trades bubble away in the background....a bizarre form of 'hedging', or occupational therapy keeping insanity at bay? .

I analyse daily down to hourly where I enter and intend to follow but I keep switching TFs

What I meant about my set up coming along is that the trades normally play out the way I initially expect before the I enter, start sweating and pull out before anything has really happened.

I might start getting my girl to place the trades for me because I'll probably edit the orders.

 

[Technically Fundamental]

Are you not sticking to the plan because of the money? You aim for 100 pips, you see 50 pips and the money represents something so you go and bank it?

I'm aiming for 100+ pips and taking 10 after I've been in the red for about an hour. Whether stop is hit or not.

I enter a trade then I'm actually looking in lower TFs for reasons to get out :S

 

[Masquerade]

Put the trade on and walk away, best thing you can do. I used to be a prolific fiddler (cue the jokes)

 

[robster970]

Can't you set auto-entries based upon breaking S+R levels you've identified? That should contain your fiddling..........

 

[Technically Fundamental]

thats the next approach I'll be looking at Robster. Maybe a bit of what Masq said too.

 

[robster970]

thats the next approach I'll be looking at Robster. Maybe a bit of what Masq said too.

It worked for me. Had the same problem as you. Stopped me chasing the market around. It's made trading quite routine now.

 

[Masquerade]

Here's another idea. Set 2 alerts, one for if you get stopped and another for when your profit gets to point X. Ignore the charts and wait till you hear an alert - use different sounds obviously!

 

[GammaJammer]

here's another idea - use solely trailing stops.

 

[Technically Fundamental]

Think I might set a hard trailing stop and set alert rather than close for limits and see how that plays. Try it on my next trade.


Thanks

 

[Masquerade]

here's another idea - use solely trailing stops.

They're evil. There's a good reason IG implemented TSL's.

 

[robster970]

They're evil. There's a good reason IG implemented TSL's.

I don't use them (actually I do but only once my profit target has been hit) and then I trail that but do it manually.

Is it because volatility increases in a move and so by setting a TSL that doesn't reflect the move's volatility, you inherently cut off your ability to follow the trend and lower your expectancy? That's my guess.

 

[Masquerade]

Pretty much, your stop gets moved to an indiscriminate meaningless place and it's no longer in your hands.

Only reason to use it is if you can't be by a computer, want to lock in your profit and some future potential profit. Otherwise it's best to stick to whatever method you use for managing trades.

 

[robster970]

Only reason to use it is if you can't be by a computer, want to lock in your profit and some future potential profit. Otherwise it's best to stick to whatever method you use for managing trades.

That's exactly what I do although when I get back from wherever and see that the TSL has kicked in and see the move continuing I always think to myself that it would have just been better to set a lower fixed stop that I was happy with and let the move run it's course. Funny, the psychology of locking profits in.

 

[GammaJammer]

I never once said they had to be fixed proximity to price, and I never once said they had to be left with the broker.

Trail based on a vol measure if you like. And only submit a fixed trailing one to he bookie if you need the toilet or whatever. If you want a vol based measure AND to be able to have that at the broker, I guess you need an API type connection and you got yourself some programming to do....

All I'm saying is that way there's no need to exit at market, you're involved if the move keeps going and going, and if you get whipped out, hey ho.

Just a thought. FYI trailing stops are reasonably common in wholesale circles for longer term prop positions...

 

[robster970]

Just a thought. FYI trailing stops are reasonably common in wholesale circles for longer term prop positions...

That suprises me. I bet the steps aren't set in a retail way (based upon an arbitrary step that is tied in with your protected profit rather than where it might be sensible to step in the market).

Old mate of mine who trades explained how they vol weight positions so that the position reduces as the the volatility decreases, implying the move is running out of steam.
Tried it myself on some automated stuff I wrote and it seemed to work ok although not consistently well. Suspect there is more to it than he was alluding to.

 

[GammaJammer]

Depends on who you're talking to, where they're trading etc. Sometimes the actual trade management can be surprisingly unsophisticated. Not always though. All I'm saying is that the 'big boys' rarely just trade, set fixed TP / SL and forget it. They trade, add, trade, reduce, trade, add again, re-asses, hedge some, scale in, scale out etc etc.

The sorts of conversations that go on in some threads here about 10 point cable stops etc would just seem retarded to the prop community.