Follow the Plan

Hi

I’m new to the forum and I’m also fairly new to trading the S&P 500 e-mini. So far my e-mini trading has been going very well.
But last Friday I didn’t follow my trading plan and got a little beat up. The lose was only small, around 4.5 points and I’m usually a very Disciplined trader but on Friday I kinder lost it and kept chasing more and more losing trades. I keep going back to the chart and looking over my mistakes I know I should just move on and let it go but I’m having trouble accepting the mistakes I made.

I traded from Australia and I usually up at around 4.30 am to catch the last couple of hours of the trading day in the US. Maybe I was just over tried on Friday and wasn’t focusing on the job. I know losses are a part of the trading game and all my other losing trades I expect without a problem because I followed my trading plan.

The biggest lesson I have learnt from my mistakes on Friday is, Follow your trading plan, no matter what the out come you always get what the market wants.

Sparkie

thanks for the tips.

I watched the FED move today. What a move up!!!!.
I didn’t trade it but I placed the daily pivot points on my chart.
On a FED day would it be a good idea to set and entry at one of the pivot points and wait for the trade to be filled?

Probably not until you've investigated a number of Fed Days and seen how the markets have reacted to the pivot levels on those days and established a bias that will give you an edge. I don't know of anybody who's done a study of Pivot Levels against Fed Days. Would be interesting though and you may find something that gives you an edge on those days. The fast moves that come on Fed Days make slippage an issue if your stop is triggered and it's easy to get stopped out quickly just to see the trade go in your direction and work well. It's a difficult day type to master because it only happens 8 times a year so not a lot of information is available about it and it's very difficult to back test, study and practise this day type.

I did noticed that as the market moved higher & higher there were times it briefly moved down. These downward moves could have triggered stops.

now that the fed day is over with we have seen a couple of choppy sidways days.
I'm looking for a breakout next week and hopefully a few good trading days :- ))

Have you established price levels above (or at) the high and low areas from the current trading range to use for your breakout trade? How do you plan to enter this break-out trade? On the break-out with a market order or wait for a retrace? Will you chase the market on the break-out and if so for how many points?

sparkie . whats the basis for your comment?. Define breakout ? and do you have a bias for direction

I'm looking for a breakout next week

You display the traits of a mo-mo-go-go trader . are you interested in just a point or two or you like to go for more?
you say

and hopefully a few good trading days

friday March 23rd in the ES there were 5 points to be taken from the normal day structure once up and once down. There were more points to be had but you had to have recognized early the type of day unfolding and act accordingly. Is that not a good day? so what I am asking you is to define good day as well.

Not having a go at you just trying to get you to think a little deeper and hopefully that will help

Alex

I guess the basis of my comments come form the markets trading sideways on Thursday & Friday. I don't have a bias for direction I just look at what is happening when I begin my trading, which is usually the last 2 – 3 hours of the market. When I enter a futures trade I look for a two point gain with a 2 point stop.

I agree Friday was a very good trading day and I enjoy trading choppy markets more then trending markets. Before I started trading the futures market most I my trading has been market neutral with non directional option strategies. The main reason I become interested in trading future is because a friend has been trading the S&P e-mini for many years for his living and every time we meet up he kept on asking if I have started trading futures yet.

So a few months ago I decide to look at the S&P e-mini because I was trading the S&P 500 options market. During the last few months I’ve paper traded the e-mini which has helped me refine a trading system that suits my trading style based on overbought and oversold trading signals. The switch from paper money to real money only happened once I felt my trading plan was profitable. On the advise of my friend he recommend I only trade 1 contact until I’ve made enough of the markets money to move on to 2 contacts.

I think that is very wise and risk averse attitude to take - i.e. trade small - 1 contract - and let the profits fund the account to allow you to trade a larger size. That way if you discover that you can't trade the loss is small and if you can trade you build up your capital slowly over time.