The Diary Of Not Even Semi-Serious DAX30 DayTader

[paszkman]

I did give up, I think it was around 2007 I gave it up for almost 2 years.

and then?

 

[DAX30DayTrader]

and then?

Read the link I provided, its all in there.

 

[DAX30DayTrader]

I did give up, I think it was around 2007 I gave it up for almost 2 years.

http://www.trade2win.com/boards/new-trade2win/2180-introduce-yourself-1082.html#post2199604

I had to sell my car at one stage becasue I blew so much cash on the markets, thats how bad it was.

But once I started to become profitable and actually learn how to trade the DAX via a LIFFE trader, I sold my pad to raise the funds to trade with again, and I just rented a small flat.

Sold my own flat (wasn't with missus at time) and got £60,000+ profit from it, I took £40k of that for trading and £20k in the bank. I then rented a small one bedroom flat for £215 per month back then.

Thats how I lived in order to get to where I'm at now.

 

[Mr Fox]

I don't want anyone thinking I'm big headed here etc, I just thought you might want to know my circumstance and where I'm at in finance and trading.

I mentioned on my opening post on this thread and my introduction on the welcome thread that I was a losing trader previously, I blow many accounts and spend lots on courses etc etc.

This wasn't an overnight process for me, it took almost 10 years to get to this stage.

Not big-headed at all, and your honesty is quite refreshing actually, giving a warts and all account, good, bad, or ugly, you have shared the pitfalls, the struggles, and now the reward. As for your trading success, well that is simply inspirational.

Well done that man.

Best
John.

 

[Purple Brain]

I had to sell my car at one stage becasue I blew so much cash on the markets, thats how bad it was.

But once I started to become profitable and actually learn how to trade the DAX via a LIFFE trader, I sold my pad to raise the funds to trade with again, and I just rented a small flat.

Sold my own flat (wasn't with missus at time) and got £60,000+ profit from it, I took £40k of that for trading and £20k in the bank. I then rented a small one bedroom flat for £215 per month back then.

Thats how I lived in order to get to where I'm at now.

Raising the cash was one thing, but that would have been all for nought without the key ingredient of your being able to spend some quality time with a LIFFE trader.

How did you get that opportunity: friend, ex-colleague, FoaF? How long did you work with her in terms of overall duration and total hours? Presumably LIFFE traders only trade options - how did you parlay what you learned there into strategies for trading indices, the DAX specifically? And finally, was that you buying bacon while peering into your iphone in Tesco earlier today?

 

[paszkman]

A few times I have seen that when you do your morning analysis, you come up with a "line in the sand" - I think it is where below that you buy on dips and above that you sell on..dups? (what is the opposite of dips?) ..
How do you come up with your line in the sand?

 

[DAX30DayTrader]

Raising the cash was one thing, but that would have been all for nought without the key ingredient of your being able to spend some quality time with a LIFFE trader.

How did you get that opportunity: friend, ex-colleague, FoaF? How long did you work with her in terms of overall duration and total hours? Presumably LIFFE traders only trade options - how did you parlay what you learned there into strategies for trading indices, the DAX specifically? And finally, was that you buying bacon while peering into your iphone in Tesco earlier today?

I came across the trader on google a few years ago, she ran a free blog(didn't sell anything, just her daily thoughts/analysis which was free) and it got me interested as her thoughts and analysis were appealing to me, she was an ex-LIFFE trader at this time, I don't know why, I guess I would have just latched on to anything back then because I was in a bad place.

I emailed her many times asking for advice etc, and then eventually asked her if she would teach me some methods, or at least point me in the right direction, I didn't expect much from her, but she may have sensed the desperado in my emails.

I'm not saying she spent many many hours with me each day, it wasn't like that, actually nothing like that, she would give me some reading material suggestions and then she would explain some things to me, I would then go off and trade (small stakes) and present my charts and trades to her via email, she would then get back to me at the weekend most of the time with reasons why my trades didn't work or did work and suggestions to consider for the next week.

I would then go off again and do the same thing, trade small size with what I had picked up from her and her suggestions on why I lost or won on certain trades. At this point I was trading FTSE, DAX and DJIA, but her advice to me was concentrate on one market, become a specialist in that, then venture out to other markets if you want.

So I was all for that, I was going with FTSE, but her suggestion was DAX, this is for many reasons which I have covered before.

So from then on, each day I would trade DAX with what I had learned, provide a weekly file to her on the Friday which had my charts and trading statements inside, normally on the Sunday I would get her feedback with more suggestions/corrections/answers....it just went on from there really to the point where It all started coming together, I learned why I should not trade based on PA, why I should, when to get out, how to read the charts, but her suggestions/coaching were only part of that, the trial and error by me also played its part.

She did try to get me into futures, but I was stubborn on that part and stayed with SB.

 

[DAX30DayTrader]

By the way, I want to make it clear, she didn't teach me the holy grail or the never loose again strategies!

She just taught me how to trade more smartly and sensibly, but also how to cut a trade and don't dwell on it, which to this day I think is the most important part of my trading.

 

[ffsear]

Could we have some examples (when they happen) of how you manage and cut losses? I assume you look more towards momentum, rather then set a stop loss at say 2% and wait for it get hit?

 

[Purple Brain]

So you're carrying on the tradition of paying it forward. That's good Karma. The pigs forgive you.

Your full and open response should hopefully prevent you being targeted by any of the anti-vendor brigade whom I am sure have you in their sights. There aren't too many here who willingly provide a distillation of their knowledge and expertise for free as you and a few others have done without having their motivations questioned on occasion.

 

[DAX30DayTrader]

Could we have some examples (when they happen) of how you manage and cut losses? I assume you look more towards momentum, rather then set a stop loss at say 2% and wait for it get hit?

Sure I will!

I manage my trades using a tick chart and often a range bar chart. Its the ticks and range bars that help with exit, when I see those reversing I often get out full position, when I see them just stalling, I often scale out half, but if they then start to reverse I close the other half.

I use the 15 minute to fin my levels, and swings, often for entry as well, but the ticks/range bars are for exit.

Also I never let my stop get hit...never!

If a trade moves around 7-10+ points in my direction, I will never let it comeback to less than +3pts on me without either closing there and then, OR, taking around 75% off and moving my stop to -3 or -5.

If I enter a trade and it goes against me right there and then...never moved into profit after entry, then i often cut half the trade at -5, if it doesn't start coming back to me, then the other half gets cut shortly after. But my stops are never left to be hit. The only reason I place a stop is to protect against fast market movements that occur occasionally.

 

[DAX30DayTrader]

A few times I have seen that when you do your morning analysis, you come up with a "line in the sand" - I think it is where below that you buy on dips and above that you sell on..dups? (what is the opposite of dips?) ..
How do you come up with your line in the sand?

Its often just a technical area that either started a new wave in the trend, or was a break point, other times its just previous strong S&R level that will likely flip the trend if broken.

Dips and Rallies to answer your other question.

 

[DAX30DayTrader]

I haven't traded today on this thread, though I had a little trade in Tesco this morning while going down the fruit and veg aisle.

 

[paszkman]

Its often just a technical area that either started a new wave in the trend, or was a break point, other times its just previous strong S&R level that will likely flip the trend if broken.

Dips and Rallies to answer your other question.

I prefer dups.

 

[DAX30DayTrader]

So you're carrying on the tradition of paying it forward. That's good Karma. The pigs forgive you.

Your full and open response should hopefully prevent you being targeted by any of the anti-vendor brigade whom I am sure have you in their sights. There aren't too many here who willingly provide a distillation of their knowledge and expertise for free as you and a few others have done without having their motivations questioned on occasion.

The day I worry about a loser or group of them commenting about me with absolutely no foundation to build facts, will be a cold day in hell.

They have to vent their frustration of losing at something or someone, normally its the SB firms that get the blame, other times peeps like me.

 

[Splitlink]

If your going to go higher stakes (£10-£20 or more) then really you do need to go to IG and City. I would not trade those stakes with the likes of ETX or CMC, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't even trade £1 a point with CMC or ETX.

Anything over £20pp, I honestly say go with IG.

I have gone as high as £10 with Finspreads, but with disappointing results and reduced my stake size. I blame myself for those results as, so far, they have treated me ok. I used to trade with City Index, when it was by telephone. They were ok but made a, to me, serious mistake with my account. Fortunately I was able to prove that I had closed a trade, when they said that I had not. I did that because, living in Spain, Telefonica logged my calls to the UK. If it had been a local call from London I would have lost a lot of money. They made it up plus £500 but that did not compensate the worry and I closed the account.

Those telephone trading days could be very hairy and, sometimes it took ages to get through on the phone to close a trade. When Finspreads were starting up and were desperate to get a good name for themselves, and not annoy clients, they took my word and closed my trade where I told them what level I had been trying to get!

I think that I only stayed because they were always polite, apolo9getic and, they said, they were going online with platform trading.

Such is life! Memoirs. We all have them!

 

[DAX30DayTrader]

I have gone as high as £10 with Finspreads, but with disappointing results and reduced my stake size. I blame myself for those results as, so far, they have treated me ok. I used to trade with City Index, when it was by telephone. They were ok but made a, to me, serious mistake with my account. Fortunately I was able to prove that I had closed a trade, when they said that I had not. I did that because, living in Spain, Telefonica logged my calls to the UK. If it had been a local call from London I would have lost a lot of money. They made it up plus £500 but that did not compensate the worry and I closed the account.

Those telephone trading days could be very hairy and, sometimes it took ages to get through on the phone to close a trade. When Finspreads were starting up and were desperate to get a good name for themselves, and not annoy clients, they took my word and closed my trade where I told them what level I had been trying to get!

I think that I only stayed because they were always polite, apolo9getic and, they said, they were going online with platform trading.

Such is life! Memoirs. We all have them!

Telephone trading, ahhh, I remember those days!

I used to call up Deal4Free(Steal4Free) now CMC, to place my spread bets on shares years ago. Made me think I was a city hot shot when I called them up and told the gezza to buy or sell this or that with my mates next to me lol.

Hello, can I buy BT for £1 per point please @ .....

 

[DAX30DayTrader]

I no this is after the fact, and I have not been trading today, but this doesn't detract away from what I was showing you guys past 2 days about the STOXX being your best bud if your a DAX trader.

I mentioned that STOXX takes the lead, and one should anticipate and be brave with following that lead without waiting for confirmation from the DAX, as normally when you wait for confirmation, you have missed most if not all of the move.

This method was one of the things I was shown by the LIFFE trader, though there are more complex ways of using the STOXX to trade the DAX, this is one of the basic ways and its easy for me to show you....I have actually already showed you this, but here it is again.

The STOXX is the DAX leader from 08:00 until 12ish, not my opinion, that came from the LIFFE trader, and I like to think she knows what shes doing, then the US futures markets take over on the lead up to the U.S open. So if your going to use this, then be wary of using it after 12pm (noon).

The moves are intended to me short term momentum plays when the DAX plays catch up to the STOXX, so your looking for 10ish to 20ish points, sometimes a little less. But often when going WITH the trend, you can catch bigger moves, however, I prefer my crappy little 10-20pt trades.

 

[DAX30DayTrader]

To trade the above, when you see the STOXX take the lead as described, you would enter on the close of the 15m DAX candle, or wait fora 50ish% retracement of the DAX candle to enter.

 

[DAX30DayTrader]

I have a little position LONG on the DAX right here at 8803.