FTSEBOY out of the game.....temporarily I hope!!!

[Trader333]

rjay,

I cannot answer for anyone else but for me it is pretty much immediate. I have gone through the stage of setting stops 10 or 15 points away and then having several consecutive losses. I then read a very long article by a highly accomplished futures trader whose number 1 rule was exactly as I have said. So when I looked back at these trades that lost me money and alalysed them to see if I had held on would they have become profitable, in the majority of cases they wouldnt have done. So what was the point in me hanging on hoping for the market to come back my way when I can immediately accept that I am wrong and close the trade. I would still have had the same number of consecutive losing trades but I would have saved my self nearly 100 points in losses.

Skim has said somewhere that the priority of a trader is capital preservation and not how much money can I make today. By taking that approach you will last a long time.

Cheers


Paul

 

[Skimbleshanks]

I know if I'm wrong usually within one bar of my entry, sometimes two. Often I just get a funny feeling about a trade, and I know not to second guess my funny feelings!

 

[a320]

Us males seem to lack that female intuition

William Jiler's book " How charts can help you in the stock market"
is often overlooked, its full of little gems and its a bargain @ £10.

Nison's book is a must!!!!! IMHO


cheers a320

 

[Skimbleshanks]

Jiler's book is the best. It was written in 1962, and is still in print - but it was written in the days before indicators, and therefore most people seem to ignore it. If I had to give away all my 50-odd trading books except one, it would probably be the Jiler book. I hope that doesn't sound too dramatic!

 

[bottomdollar]

Hi guys
Where can one order this Jiler book? It's not available at amazon!!
Ta

 

[a320]

http://books.global-investor.com/books/1301.htm?ginPtrCode=21470


Cheers a320

 

[Skimbleshanks]

I got mine from Global Investor - if you click on the link from this site, then a very tiny percentage of the cost is rebated to T2W and this helps fund the hosting costs, etc.

The link is under Learning, then Book Store.

PS a320 works fast - his link will get you there quicker!

 

[spreadbet]

Hi FTSEBOY

The only advice I can give is study Murphy's book. Good luck to you for the future. By the way, I doubt very much you will never trade again. you have gathered some valuable experience when you reflect on this experience it will form a firm basis on which to build for the future.

Remember knowledge plus experience = wisdom.

Cheers

spreadbet

PS

enjoy the holiday

 

[kevin546]

FTSEBOY - I would also support the reading of Murphy's book you will find you will return to sections of it time and again and wonder how you missed a gem. So read it think about the set-up you would wish to employ then go over the relevant sections again to make sure you have gleaned every aspect about it.

I would also recommend another book which takes you further and gets you to consider both yourself but also the complete package not just your trading signals. The way to trade by John Piper other book in support of this would be The trading Zone by Mark Douglas and Come into my trading room by John Elder.

I think rather than going into Futures you should have practiced with Spreadbetting at least there you can trade at £1 a point until you can see that the system you have chosen is working gor not.

The whole package is important which deals with emotions and risk management such as stops but also the amount you are trading or risking as a % of your capital per deal. The idea is you should not risk more than 1 or 2 % . On that basis if you consider a £10k pot 1 - 2% is only £100 - £200 or 10 - 20 points.

Kevin

 

[FTSE Beater]

Hi FTSEBoy

I saw this thread earlier today, and I thought I would wait until I had more time to answer you as you deserve the best answer I can give.

I (like many other traders) have been wiped out of the game - everytime I come back hungrier than ever and I'm sure that will happen to you.

Firstly, as it's already been mentioned, "money management is key" The trouble with trading FTSE Futures is that you need a lot of capital to do it. I make sure that I'm only ever risking 1% of my capital on every trade. This means I could have 50 bad trades and still keep my account going.

You said that

Also when I put my stops in they were too tight so I was getting spiked most times. Had I widened the stops it would have been a hell of a lot different."

This is a direct cause of having too small a trading account. If your account is small and in order to risk only 1% on each trade you can only afford a stop of 3 points - then you will get whipsawed about a lot. The FTSE can move 3 points without even thinking about it.

Secondly, you said

2) Inexperience traders should try and steer clear of trading ranges and wait for more volatility.

I would have to disagree with this in as much as volatility breeds whipsaws. What you are looking for is a smooth trending market. This makes trading a lot easier

Thirdly, the MA's that I were experimenting with was using this Strategy Basically, you can only go long when the white is above the green MA and short when the white is below the red. The system keeps you out of a lot of dud trades.

I should say that before moving onto indicators, it's best to learn price action. All the information you will need is in that action

As I said, I've been through it as well, so if you need to talk to me, then feel free to private message me or e-mail me.

Take care

 

[SUNSEEKER]

FTSE BOY,

do you want help, then let me know
sun

 

[rossored]

FTSEBOY -

as everyone else has said, sorry to hear about your losses and troubles. I just wanted to add my two-penneth worth about two books I have read / am in the process of reading which no-one has mentioned yet (unless I missed it) which I feel are superb and have helped me no end of late.

"Trading in the Zone" by Mark Douglas - very useful for the psychology side of things. I was less than 20 pages in before the book had me thinking "ah, so I'm not the only one who does that". Superb value from amazon at £22 inc P&P.

"Street Smarts" by Linda Bradford-Raschke and Laurence Connors. Not cheap, however, at £120-130. A better way is to find a very helpful fellow trader who will lend it to you, as I did. Thanks Peter!

Good luck on your rapid return to trading.

 

[Car Key Boi]

FTSEBOI, sorry to hear yuo got busted, but as Skimble said, the experience will make yuo a better trader for when yuo return

and yuo will be back, just like Arnie

all the best dude

- Car Key Boi

 

[payneg01]

FTSEBOY
Sorry to hear things are'nt going so well. When you are on your chin strap is the time when you really show your true metal.
I am not qualified enough to give any advice. This thread proves why t2w site is just the best !!!!!! All the support/advice from fellow members says it all. If it helps, I have a few good books, I can loan you, just privy mail me.

Good luck

Greg

 

[fazalv]

FTSEBOY

As Orison Swett Marden observed, ''Failure! There is no such word in all the bright lexicon of speech, unless you yourself have written it there!There is no such thing as failure except to those who accept and believe in failure.''

Hope this will enable you to move easily into a resourceful state of mind.

Good Luck Dude.

Fazal.

 

[barjon]

FTSEBOY

Just back from a couple of days away and couldn't resist adding my support. Most of us have been there and got the t-shirt.

Don't go!! When you've read your books - Murphy and Nison are great - you'll probably be overloaded with possibilities. Start from the simple (whatever appeals to you) and flog it to death until you're confident of the rate of success, then design your money management to suit.

Back test and paper trade by all means, but it's never the same as the real thing. Open an account that lets you trade small, Finspreads let you trade in pennies for the first 8 weeks I think and thereafter with a small minimum) and trade, trade, trade. You'll get just as excited (or despondent) but without it meaning much cash-wise.

Whatever you do - good luck.

jon

 

[orchard]

It's no good. I simply can't resist
I couldn't agree more with the postings on this thread. Although I have been 'trading' (very very small time) for about 18 months now I consider myself to be a total novice still.
Several times I have been tempted to give up - 2 steps forward, 3,4,5 steps back, and I am resisting like crazy the temptation to increase my account, knowing that, if I do, I'll probably get in deeper.
Instead I cut the amount of the trade to suit (which means small :!: )
FTSEboy, if you enjoy it rather than looking at it as a way to make money, start again, but small, I find it just as exciting (and sorrowful when I lose), but I try to follow the advice on these boards and simply accept that, if I want to succeed , I must learn to forget losses and, incidentally, gains not made through either fear or panic.
Good luck.

 

[lockstock]

FB,

Just to add my commiserations, can only echo all the good advice that has gone before.

Don't know that much about the futures side of things & as Kev 546 states, you'd be better using an SB account and trading as little as £1 per point on something slow like the FTSE 100-until you can trade with a certain amount of confidence.

Another thing I notice, is the time frames you are using for your 3D charting. The 1min, 3min, 5 min are all very similar- why not try using some longer time frames Initally check the monthly weekly,daily charts then set your stall out with say 60min , 15min then the lower time frames of your choice for your entry & exits.

It can take years of getting to know a particular equity or indicie- a wipe out is your first step to getting it right-preservation of cash & all that- every great trader has experienced it over the years- some more than once- it's no difference from setting up in business- it's a skill, an apprenticeship must be served. If a business folds- most business men dust themselves off re group & are off again. You must & will do the same- this time a little wiser & a little less eager. Remember there is always tomorrow.



All the best LS