Oh Dear!
The intention of my post to d998 was to 'extinguish the fire' surrounding Alan and Richard's coaching in order that the thread could revert back to their respective trading styles. Unfortunately, I appear to have done the exact opposite and somehow got the water bucket muddled up with the petrol bucket. Sorry Mr. C' and Naz.
So, I'll try to make my position clear, although I don't propose to answer the questions posed in different posts one by one. If anyone requires further clarification, please feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to help. The chronology appears to be important, although I don't quite understand why. For the record, here it is:
I had a 1-2-1 with Richard in early December 2002.
I had a 1-2-1 with Alan in early December 2003.
I had a blow up in late March 2004, losing 70% of my account on one trade (ERTS) which lasted 24 hours. A day trade gone wrong. Badly wrong. Hugely badly wrong! It amuses me no end to think that anyone - even the most ardent of Mr. C's and Naz' detractors - could imagine for one moment that my blow up was in any way connected to their coaching. Such a suggestion is as absurd as the idea that Elvis is alive and well, living in a semi in Surbiton. It had absolutely nothing to do with either of them and everything to do with me losing the plot and thinking I could predict every twist and turn of the market. Stops - who needs 'em? Averaging down - a great idea! Discipline - yes please if it involves stilettos and pvc. I have checked my notes from Alan and Richard's coaching sessions and, unfortunately for me, I can't see any recommendations for practices such as these. So, as I said in my last post, the responsibility for my downfall rests firmly with me and me alone.
I started to compile the Trading Plan Template in early December 2004 and completed it a few weeks ago. Apologies if this is rather narcissistic, but I'll quote paragraph 14.1 of the template: "Having a comprehensive trading plan with detailed entry and exit criteria and excellent risk and money management procedures all count for nothing if you lack the necessary discipline to implement them". IMO, without discipline, you don't really have a trading plan. It's that simple.
Back to you Richard and Alan - I hope. Apologies once again for going off topic.
Tim.