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Happened too quick
Long ES 2950,75
Target 2952.75
Target Hit
Long ES 2950,75
Target 2952.75
Target Hit
My Trading Quest
- Thread starter Garry MTQ
- Start date
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
- Reactions
- 19
I just noticed I put the wrong entry price in todays first trade it should be ES 2945.50
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
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- 132
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- 19
DAY 35 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Daily Sim Review …
Today is Day Nine of Sim Trading …
Actions I took:
I live sim traded 5 trades:
Trade 1 – NQ Short TX Range Trade Profit +$45.00
I don’t normally trade this setup, but it was so obvious that I took it.
The trade was bouncing in a nice range and the entry was a TX entry and because it was short from the top of the range it didn’t need DR (trend) with it.
Trade 2 – NQ Short OD + DR Divergence Trade Profit +$45.00
Trade 1 – ES Long OD Divergence Profit + $95.00
I didn’t include the first Low with an OD of 17K. Price went up and then made a lower low with an OD of 9334. The bar setup with a TX entry.
Trade 2 – ES Long Enhanced Trade Profit + $95.00
Trade 3 – ES Long Enhanced Trade Loss – $5.00
I broke my rules!!
The trade hit the target and then quickly started to move back to the entry price. I moved my stop to the entry price and was filled. Price then continued up above my target.
I understand why I moved it but it was more to do with the recency effect caused by being fully stopped out in a similar trade.
I will review and see if I need to change my trading plan or look at ways to prevent myself from breaking the rules.
The following is the trades from the NT7 Summary Panel
Potential trades for Thursday- ES, and NQ
Sim Trade Results Overview
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Today is Day Nine of Sim Trading …
Actions I took:
- Listened to the trading room for the first 120 mins of the US Open
- Listened to the live webinar
- Day Nine of Sim Trading
- Reviewed the potential trades for Thursday on ES and NQ.
- Started looking at funding companies
I live sim traded 5 trades:
- 2 NQ winners
- 2 ES winners and 1 BE (-$5.00 commission)
Trade 1 – NQ Short TX Range Trade Profit +$45.00
I don’t normally trade this setup, but it was so obvious that I took it.
The trade was bouncing in a nice range and the entry was a TX entry and because it was short from the top of the range it didn’t need DR (trend) with it.
Trade 2 – NQ Short OD + DR Divergence Trade Profit +$45.00
Trade 1 – ES Long OD Divergence Profit + $95.00
I didn’t include the first Low with an OD of 17K. Price went up and then made a lower low with an OD of 9334. The bar setup with a TX entry.
Trade 2 – ES Long Enhanced Trade Profit + $95.00
Trade 3 – ES Long Enhanced Trade Loss – $5.00
I broke my rules!!
The trade hit the target and then quickly started to move back to the entry price. I moved my stop to the entry price and was filled. Price then continued up above my target.
I understand why I moved it but it was more to do with the recency effect caused by being fully stopped out in a similar trade.
I will review and see if I need to change my trading plan or look at ways to prevent myself from breaking the rules.
The following is the trades from the NT7 Summary Panel
Potential trades for Thursday- ES, and NQ
Sim Trade Results Overview
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
- Reactions
- 19
DAY 36 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Daily Sim Review …
Today is Day Ten of Sim Trading …
Actions I took:
I live sim traded 10 trades:
Trade 1 – NQ Long DTX Trade Loss -$120.00
Looking back I can see a couple of reasons not to take this trade – hindsight is wonderful.
The trade was valid.
Trade 2 – Valid NQ Long DTX Trade Profit +$45.00
Trade 3 – NQ Long OD + DR Divergence Trade Profit +$45.00
Trade 1 – Valid ES Short Enhanced + Trend Trade Loss -$192.50
ES Trades 2, 3 and 4
Trade 2 Valid Enhanced Short Trade Profit + $95.00
Trade 3 Valid OD Divergence Long Trade Profit + $95.00
Trade 4 Valid Enhanced Long Trade Profit + $95.00
Trade 5 Valid OD Divergence Short Trade Profit + $95.00
Trade 6 Valid Enhanced Long Trade Profit + $32.50
The trade was so slow and bounced backwards and forwards from positive to negative so I moved the target to 32.50. Today was the day before a long weekend and was performing a bit erratic.
Trade 7 Valid Double TX and Trend Short Trade Profit + $95.00
The following is the trades from the NT7 Summary Panel
Potential trades for Friday – ES and NQ
Sim Trade Results Overview
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Today is Day Ten of Sim Trading …
Actions I took:
- Listened to the trading room for the first 120 mins of the US Open
- Listened to the second live webinar for the week
- Day Nine of Sim Trading
- Reviewed the potential trades for Friday on ES and NQ
I live sim traded 10 trades:
- 3 NQ trades – 2 winners and 1 loss (-$30.00)
- 7 ES trades – 6 winners and 1 loss (+315.00)
Trade 1 – NQ Long DTX Trade Loss -$120.00
Looking back I can see a couple of reasons not to take this trade – hindsight is wonderful.
The trade was valid.
Trade 2 – Valid NQ Long DTX Trade Profit +$45.00
Trade 3 – NQ Long OD + DR Divergence Trade Profit +$45.00
Trade 1 – Valid ES Short Enhanced + Trend Trade Loss -$192.50
ES Trades 2, 3 and 4
Trade 2 Valid Enhanced Short Trade Profit + $95.00
Trade 3 Valid OD Divergence Long Trade Profit + $95.00
Trade 4 Valid Enhanced Long Trade Profit + $95.00
Trade 5 Valid OD Divergence Short Trade Profit + $95.00
Trade 6 Valid Enhanced Long Trade Profit + $32.50
The trade was so slow and bounced backwards and forwards from positive to negative so I moved the target to 32.50. Today was the day before a long weekend and was performing a bit erratic.
Trade 7 Valid Double TX and Trend Short Trade Profit + $95.00
The following is the trades from the NT7 Summary Panel
Potential trades for Friday – ES and NQ
Sim Trade Results Overview
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
- Reactions
- 19
DAY 37 + 38 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Funded Trading Companies Review …
This weekend is a long weekend in the US …
Actions I took:
10 days of Sim Trading is really not long enough to test and prove much. But I consider the results to be good enough for me to move to the next stage of the challenge.
As readers may know from my early post, I am already funded by Topstep Trader. I used my own scalping system to trade the 30 Year Bonds.
This challenge is totally separate from what I do in the TST Funded account.
I reviewed a number of Trading Companies who offer funding if you can pass their testing.
A lot of these companies have so many rules that it seems they really don’t want you to pass. Since the last time I looked at these companies I have noticed a number of the prices and rules have changed.
Some of the Companies I have heard complaints about the traders not getting paid or paid slowly. So I avoided them. I have no proof of any of the stories but have chosen to play safe and avoid.
I am very happy with Topstep Trader but wanted to try another company.
The Company I chose is Leeloo Trading https://www.leelootrading.com/
Basically they only have 3 Rules:
An example would be TST who have a $50,000 Test option which costs $165 per month
So, you can see from the points above, there are a number of good reasons to try Leeloo Trading.
I will explain the $2,500 Max Drawdown in a coming post.
Over the next couple of days I will decide when I will start the Leeloo Test. At this time I believe Tuesday will be start day. I don’t want to start on a slow or low volume day (Day after a long weekend)!
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
This weekend is a long weekend in the US …
Actions I took:
- Reviewed by 10 days of Sim Trading
- Reviewed a number of Trading Companies who offer funding
- Continued Market Replay practice
10 days of Sim Trading is really not long enough to test and prove much. But I consider the results to be good enough for me to move to the next stage of the challenge.
As readers may know from my early post, I am already funded by Topstep Trader. I used my own scalping system to trade the 30 Year Bonds.
This challenge is totally separate from what I do in the TST Funded account.
I reviewed a number of Trading Companies who offer funding if you can pass their testing.
A lot of these companies have so many rules that it seems they really don’t want you to pass. Since the last time I looked at these companies I have noticed a number of the prices and rules have changed.
Some of the Companies I have heard complaints about the traders not getting paid or paid slowly. So I avoided them. I have no proof of any of the stories but have chosen to play safe and avoid.
I am very happy with Topstep Trader but wanted to try another company.
The Company I chose is Leeloo Trading https://www.leelootrading.com/
Basically they only have 3 Rules:
- Don’t exceed your daily Loss Limit
- Don’t reach your max drawdown
- Reach your profit target while illustrating consistency
An example would be TST who have a $50,000 Test option which costs $165 per month
- Profit Target $3,000 per stage (2 stages)
- Maximum contract size = 5
- Daily Loss Limit = $1,000
- Weekly Loss Limit = $1,000
- Trailing Max DD = $2,000
- Other rules including time of day you can trade, etc
- If you are funded then the split is 80:20
- And you keep 100% of the first $5,000
- You can take as long as you want to reach the target as long as you don’t break any of the rules.
- The minimum time to pass would be 5 days for stage 1 and 10 days for stage 2
- Profit Target $3,000
- Up to 8 contracts
- $2,500 Max Drawdown based from the High Water Mark
- No Daily Loss Limit
- No other rules
- If you are funded then the split is 80:20
- And you keep 100% of the first $8,000
- You can take as long as you want to reach the target as long as you don’t break the DD rule.
- The minimum time to pass would be 10 days
So, you can see from the points above, there are a number of good reasons to try Leeloo Trading.
I will explain the $2,500 Max Drawdown in a coming post.
Over the next couple of days I will decide when I will start the Leeloo Test. At this time I believe Tuesday will be start day. I don’t want to start on a slow or low volume day (Day after a long weekend)!
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
- Reactions
- 19
Rising Trailing Max Drawdown Explained
With the Leeloo evaluation, it is critical to understand the "Rising Trailing Max Drawdown"
The (Rising) Trailing Max Drawdown is quantified and termed the Limited Trailing Minimum Account Balance (LTMAB). The max drawdown amount assigned to your particular Evaluation account (example- $2500 for 8 contract account), trails your OPEN equity, intra-trade. (NOT closed profit). It will NEVER stop trailing the highest UNREALIZED profit point of your account throughout the ENTIRE Evaluation.
An Example using the 8 contracts- $2,500 LTMAB):
When you start you can only lose $2500. Assume account balance of $50,000
At this time the account will be closed if the account balance is 50,000 - 2,500 = $47,500
If the first trade goes into profit during the trade eg +$100 is the highest amount in profit, even if the trade ends less or even with a loss. Let us assume you made a $50 profit.
At this point your account balance = 50,000 + 50 = 50,050 and your LTMAB = 50,000 + 100 = 50,100 minus your 2500 = $47,600.
It is always based on the intra-trade high.
Once you pass the evaluation and become funded they stop trailing the DD at just over your initial funded account amount.
You can check this amount at any time on the Rithmic dashboard.
Any questions please let me know.
Cheers
Garry
With the Leeloo evaluation, it is critical to understand the "Rising Trailing Max Drawdown"
The (Rising) Trailing Max Drawdown is quantified and termed the Limited Trailing Minimum Account Balance (LTMAB). The max drawdown amount assigned to your particular Evaluation account (example- $2500 for 8 contract account), trails your OPEN equity, intra-trade. (NOT closed profit). It will NEVER stop trailing the highest UNREALIZED profit point of your account throughout the ENTIRE Evaluation.
An Example using the 8 contracts- $2,500 LTMAB):
When you start you can only lose $2500. Assume account balance of $50,000
At this time the account will be closed if the account balance is 50,000 - 2,500 = $47,500
If the first trade goes into profit during the trade eg +$100 is the highest amount in profit, even if the trade ends less or even with a loss. Let us assume you made a $50 profit.
At this point your account balance = 50,000 + 50 = 50,050 and your LTMAB = 50,000 + 100 = 50,100 minus your 2500 = $47,600.
It is always based on the intra-trade high.
Once you pass the evaluation and become funded they stop trailing the DD at just over your initial funded account amount.
You can check this amount at any time on the Rithmic dashboard.
Any questions please let me know.
Cheers
Garry
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
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- 19
DAY 40 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – 1st Day of Funding evaluation …
Today is the first day of the Leeloo Funding Evaluation …
Actions I took:
I set up the connections required for Leeloo. It was easy and I was all setup in under 20 minutes.
The setup uses Ninjatrader with Rithmic Trader Pro.
The starting balance was $50,000 with the DD limit of $47,500.
I placed 6 trades:
Trade 1 – NQ Long Divergence Trade (Profit +$45.00)
The trade was valid.
Trade 2 – Valid NQ Short DTX and Enhanced Trade (Profit +$45.00)
Trade 3 – NQ Long DTX Trade (Profit +$45.00)
I did not trade ES as well as I did NQ!
Trade 1 – Valid ES Short Enhanced + Trend Trade (Loss -$5.00)
The trade was a valid trade but I managed it poorly. This was my first trade and I set the profit on the Dom at 10 ticks when it should have been 8.
The trade hit my proper target and then retraced back to the entry and kept bouncing around the entry price. It was like pulling teeth!!! Slooooow. So I moved the stop to BE and was stopped out. As you can see the trade then went to profit +.
ES Trades 2 and 3
Trade 2 Valid Enhanced LongTrade Profit + $45.00
Again the slow price action affected my judgement and I moved the profit target closer.
Trade 3 Valid Trend ShortTrade Profit + $95.00
The following is the trades from the NT7 Summary Panel
Potential trades for Friday – ES and NQ
Rithmic Overview
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Today is the first day of the Leeloo Funding Evaluation …
Actions I took:
- Listened to the trading room for the first 30 mins of the US Open
- Signed up with Leeloo for the evaluation and set it all up
I set up the connections required for Leeloo. It was easy and I was all setup in under 20 minutes.
The setup uses Ninjatrader with Rithmic Trader Pro.
The starting balance was $50,000 with the DD limit of $47,500.
I placed 6 trades:
- 3 NQ trades – 3 winners (+$135.00)
- 3 ES trades – 2 winners and 1 loss (+135.00)
Trade 1 – NQ Long Divergence Trade (Profit +$45.00)
The trade was valid.
Trade 2 – Valid NQ Short DTX and Enhanced Trade (Profit +$45.00)
Trade 3 – NQ Long DTX Trade (Profit +$45.00)
I did not trade ES as well as I did NQ!
Trade 1 – Valid ES Short Enhanced + Trend Trade (Loss -$5.00)
The trade was a valid trade but I managed it poorly. This was my first trade and I set the profit on the Dom at 10 ticks when it should have been 8.
The trade hit my proper target and then retraced back to the entry and kept bouncing around the entry price. It was like pulling teeth!!! Slooooow. So I moved the stop to BE and was stopped out. As you can see the trade then went to profit +.
ES Trades 2 and 3
Trade 2 Valid Enhanced LongTrade Profit + $45.00
Again the slow price action affected my judgement and I moved the profit target closer.
Trade 3 Valid Trend ShortTrade Profit + $95.00
The following is the trades from the NT7 Summary Panel
Potential trades for Friday – ES and NQ
Rithmic Overview
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
- Reactions
- 19
DAY 40 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Day 2 of Funding evaluation …
Today is the second day of the Leeloo Funding Evaluation …
Actions I took:
Both markets were fast and NQ appeared to have low liquidity. Traders were having slippage with entering and exiting on NQ.
I decided not to trade NQ and placed 2 trades with ES before the market did some big swings. I watched for a while and decided I had made a profit so why risk it in this type of market. My goal is to pass the funding evaluation and not blow up the account. After reviewing the market after the close, I was happy I stopped trading for the day.
I placed 2 ES trades:
Total Running Profit for the Evaluation = $468.48 (2 days)
Trade 1 – Valid ES Short DTX and Enhanced Trade (Profit +$95.00)
Trade 2 – Valid ES Short Trend Trade (Profit +$95.00)
The following is the trades from the NT7 Summary Panel
Potential trades – ES and NQ
Rithmic Overview
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Today is the second day of the Leeloo Funding Evaluation …
Actions I took:
- Listened to the trading room for the first 60 mins of the US Open
- Watched Darrell run through a day of trading in the first webinar for the week
- Traded Day 2
Both markets were fast and NQ appeared to have low liquidity. Traders were having slippage with entering and exiting on NQ.
I decided not to trade NQ and placed 2 trades with ES before the market did some big swings. I watched for a while and decided I had made a profit so why risk it in this type of market. My goal is to pass the funding evaluation and not blow up the account. After reviewing the market after the close, I was happy I stopped trading for the day.
I placed 2 ES trades:
- 2 ES trades – 2 winners (+190.00)
Total Running Profit for the Evaluation = $468.48 (2 days)
Trade 1 – Valid ES Short DTX and Enhanced Trade (Profit +$95.00)
Trade 2 – Valid ES Short Trend Trade (Profit +$95.00)
The following is the trades from the NT7 Summary Panel
Potential trades – ES and NQ
Rithmic Overview
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
- Reactions
- 19
DAY 42 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Day 3 of Funding evaluation …
Today is the third day of the Leeloo Funding Evaluation and a crazy market…
Actions I took:
NQ again had reduced liquidity. Traders were having slippage with entering and exiting on NQ.
ES was fast at times and very slow at other times.
I was trading ES and watching NQ. When the markets are working so differently I find that it can affect my decision making. On days like this, it would be best if I just focus on one market.
The list of potential trades is short. A few possible trades were left off the list as the market was moving too quickly. The list only includes trades I would expect to be able to enter.
I placed 2 ES trades and 1 NQ Trade:
Total Running Profit for the Evaluation = $551.66 (3 days)
Trade 1 – Valid ES Long Trend Trade (Profit +$95.00)
Trade 2 – Valid ES Long Enhanced and Trend Trade (Profit +$95.00)
Trade 3 – Valid NQ Long Divergence Trade (Loss –$105.00)
The target was hit but not filled and it quickly hit my stop.
The following is the trades from the NT7 Summary Panel
Potential trades – ES and NQ
Rithmic Overview
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Today is the third day of the Leeloo Funding Evaluation and a crazy market…
Actions I took:
- Listened to the trading room for the first 120 mins of the US Open
- Traded Day 3
NQ again had reduced liquidity. Traders were having slippage with entering and exiting on NQ.
ES was fast at times and very slow at other times.
I was trading ES and watching NQ. When the markets are working so differently I find that it can affect my decision making. On days like this, it would be best if I just focus on one market.
The list of potential trades is short. A few possible trades were left off the list as the market was moving too quickly. The list only includes trades I would expect to be able to enter.
I placed 2 ES trades and 1 NQ Trade:
- 2 ES trades – 2 winners (+190.00)
- 1 NQ trade – 1 loser (-110.00)
Total Running Profit for the Evaluation = $551.66 (3 days)
Trade 1 – Valid ES Long Trend Trade (Profit +$95.00)
Trade 2 – Valid ES Long Enhanced and Trend Trade (Profit +$95.00)
Trade 3 – Valid NQ Long Divergence Trade (Loss –$105.00)
The target was hit but not filled and it quickly hit my stop.
The following is the trades from the NT7 Summary Panel
Potential trades – ES and NQ
Rithmic Overview
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
- Reactions
- 19
DAY 43 – 45 – Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Day 4 of Funding evaluation …
Day 43, Today is the fourth day of the Leeloo Funding Evaluation …
Actions I took:
Day 4 was Friday and I did everything wrong. So let’s start from the beginning and see what lessons I can learn …
I am embarrassed to tell this story … but it helps me to go through it so I won’t do it again.
Every now and again I suffer from those lovely migraines where you lose your vision and then you have a really a bad headache for a number of days or more!! So Friday was my second in a week.
My vision came back in time for me to trade. So I assumed I could work through the headache to trade.
When I started to trade I was feeling fatigued but knew I would be fine.
I had forgotten to listen to Kenny Rogers song “know when to hold them and know when to fold them”
Lesson 1: Do not trade when fatigued, sick, or not at your best.
NQ again had reduced liquidity. Traders were having slippage with entering and exiting on NQ.
Both markets ranged in speed but could have been traded successfully.
I was trading ES and watching NQ.
Chop Trades
One of the lessons I have learned with this system and with ES (Not NQ), was when a certain type of chop forms on the chart then I do not trade in, out or back into that chop. Apex has a saying you need to take probability trades NOT possibility trades. Entering these trades can be profitable but they are a possibility NOT a probability trade. I often had problems seeing the chop when I was doing market replay and had improved to not trade those trades. I even created an indicator so I could see that chop easier.
In the image of the first three trades, you will see blue boxes(2) around the chop zones I have mentioned. Also, in the third section from the bottom, you will see red blocks (3) which is my chop indicator.
Lesson 2: If you have problems identifying chop then make sure you have all your facilities working when you are trading
Trade 1 – NOT VALID ES Long DTX Trade (Loss -$217.50)
I did not notice the chop to the left of the entry. Rule: do not trade into the chop
Trade 2 – NOT VALID ES Long Enhanced Trade (Profit +$95.00)
I did not notice the chop to the left of the entry. Rule: do not trade into the chop
Trade 3 – NOT VALID ES Long DTX and Enhanced Trade (Loss -$217.50)
I did not notice the chop to the left of the entry. Rule: do not trade into the chop
Lack of focus and being fatigued!!
After the mess of the first three trades, I realized my mistakes. But not the root cause!!
So I kept trading …
Trade 4 – Valid ES Long Enhanced and Divergence Trade (Profit +$95.00)
Trade 5 – Valid ES Long Divergence Trade (Profit-$57.50)
The trade was a long where the 18K and arrow is.
I entered 1 tick above the bar … but somehow entered short!?! When I noticed I exited … for a profit.
There is a saying about: if life hits you with a stick and you don’t listen, then it will hit you with a 4 x 2, and then if you don’t listen it will hit you with a truck (or something like that).
At this point, I am down -$172.50 and fatigued, knowing I can make 1 more profitable trade!! So I wait about 80 minutes for the next trade!
Trade 6 – NOT VALID ES Long DTX Trade (Loss -$217.50)
You can see from the image, I repeated the mistake again.
Rule: do not trade into the chop or when you are not 100% well!
Total for the Day:
6 Trades, 3 wins, 3 loss with a Loss of -$411.14
The next 2 days I relaxed so I am ready for a better week.
The following is the trades from the NT7 Summary Panel
Potential trades – ES and NQ
Rithmic Overview
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Day 43, Today is the fourth day of the Leeloo Funding Evaluation …
Actions I took:
- Listened to the trading room for the first 120 mins of the US Open
- Traded very badly on Day 4
- Rested on Day 44 and 45
Day 4 was Friday and I did everything wrong. So let’s start from the beginning and see what lessons I can learn …
I am embarrassed to tell this story … but it helps me to go through it so I won’t do it again.
Every now and again I suffer from those lovely migraines where you lose your vision and then you have a really a bad headache for a number of days or more!! So Friday was my second in a week.
My vision came back in time for me to trade. So I assumed I could work through the headache to trade.
When I started to trade I was feeling fatigued but knew I would be fine.
I had forgotten to listen to Kenny Rogers song “know when to hold them and know when to fold them”
Lesson 1: Do not trade when fatigued, sick, or not at your best.
NQ again had reduced liquidity. Traders were having slippage with entering and exiting on NQ.
Both markets ranged in speed but could have been traded successfully.
I was trading ES and watching NQ.
Chop Trades
One of the lessons I have learned with this system and with ES (Not NQ), was when a certain type of chop forms on the chart then I do not trade in, out or back into that chop. Apex has a saying you need to take probability trades NOT possibility trades. Entering these trades can be profitable but they are a possibility NOT a probability trade. I often had problems seeing the chop when I was doing market replay and had improved to not trade those trades. I even created an indicator so I could see that chop easier.
In the image of the first three trades, you will see blue boxes(2) around the chop zones I have mentioned. Also, in the third section from the bottom, you will see red blocks (3) which is my chop indicator.
Lesson 2: If you have problems identifying chop then make sure you have all your facilities working when you are trading
Trade 1 – NOT VALID ES Long DTX Trade (Loss -$217.50)
I did not notice the chop to the left of the entry. Rule: do not trade into the chop
Trade 2 – NOT VALID ES Long Enhanced Trade (Profit +$95.00)
I did not notice the chop to the left of the entry. Rule: do not trade into the chop
Trade 3 – NOT VALID ES Long DTX and Enhanced Trade (Loss -$217.50)
I did not notice the chop to the left of the entry. Rule: do not trade into the chop
Lack of focus and being fatigued!!
After the mess of the first three trades, I realized my mistakes. But not the root cause!!
So I kept trading …
Trade 4 – Valid ES Long Enhanced and Divergence Trade (Profit +$95.00)
Trade 5 – Valid ES Long Divergence Trade (Profit-$57.50)
The trade was a long where the 18K and arrow is.
I entered 1 tick above the bar … but somehow entered short!?! When I noticed I exited … for a profit.
There is a saying about: if life hits you with a stick and you don’t listen, then it will hit you with a 4 x 2, and then if you don’t listen it will hit you with a truck (or something like that).
At this point, I am down -$172.50 and fatigued, knowing I can make 1 more profitable trade!! So I wait about 80 minutes for the next trade!
Trade 6 – NOT VALID ES Long DTX Trade (Loss -$217.50)
You can see from the image, I repeated the mistake again.
Rule: do not trade into the chop or when you are not 100% well!
Total for the Day:
6 Trades, 3 wins, 3 loss with a Loss of -$411.14
The next 2 days I relaxed so I am ready for a better week.
The following is the trades from the NT7 Summary Panel
Potential trades – ES and NQ
Rithmic Overview
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
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- 19
I am having the rest of the week off to help me recover from the migraines,
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So how is it going so far?
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
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Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – “I’m Back!” …
After a period of cluster migraines and headaches, I am back to continue my challenge …
Health Update:
After consistent and endless migraines where I lose my vision and then when it returns I am left with a bad headache, I am happy to say it has been over 9 days since my last migraine and 4 days since my last headache. All medical tests have given me a green light.
I have not been able to trade due to my associated vision issues!!
So where to now:
I was 45 days through my challenge and have approximately 45 days off from trading. 90 Days!!!
As I have not been trading, my thoughts are that I will spend the next week reviewing, catching up on Apex Trading videos and sim trading. After which I will have 30 days to complete my challenge to be profitable and then review where to go from there.
At this time I will only trade ES. This will allow me to ease back into trading and screen time.
Actions I took today:
It was a strange day in the ES market and I didn’t see any valid trades I would take from 5:30am until 14:25.
The profitable trade I took in sim was at 5:32am.
Maybe that was my time away from the market!
I did see 6 valid trades for the period from open Sunday until close Monday.
To help me get my form back I will start recording on my spreadsheet all potential trades even if I do not consider them valid so I can record why I chose not to enter them. I just need to sort out how best I will record it.
Resources
I have decided to add a section on resources that I have found to be useful.
The first is the new series of 3 minute coaching videos by Brett Steenbarger.
Potential trades – ES
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Cheers
Garry
After a period of cluster migraines and headaches, I am back to continue my challenge …
Health Update:
After consistent and endless migraines where I lose my vision and then when it returns I am left with a bad headache, I am happy to say it has been over 9 days since my last migraine and 4 days since my last headache. All medical tests have given me a green light.
I have not been able to trade due to my associated vision issues!!
So where to now:
I was 45 days through my challenge and have approximately 45 days off from trading. 90 Days!!!
As I have not been trading, my thoughts are that I will spend the next week reviewing, catching up on Apex Trading videos and sim trading. After which I will have 30 days to complete my challenge to be profitable and then review where to go from there.
At this time I will only trade ES. This will allow me to ease back into trading and screen time.
Actions I took today:
- Listened to the trading room but found it annoyed my head (too early .. I think!)
- Traded 1 trade in Sim … profitable
- Reviewed the market from open on Sun until close on Monday to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
It was a strange day in the ES market and I didn’t see any valid trades I would take from 5:30am until 14:25.
The profitable trade I took in sim was at 5:32am.
Maybe that was my time away from the market!
I did see 6 valid trades for the period from open Sunday until close Monday.
To help me get my form back I will start recording on my spreadsheet all potential trades even if I do not consider them valid so I can record why I chose not to enter them. I just need to sort out how best I will record it.
Resources
I have decided to add a section on resources that I have found to be useful.
The first is the new series of 3 minute coaching videos by Brett Steenbarger.
Potential trades – ES
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Cheers
Garry
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
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- 132
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- 19
Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 36 Days …
It is surprising how quickly you lose your edge after having time away from the market!
Actions I took today:
ES performed well, providing many setups for entry.
The profitable trade I took in sim was at 7:20 am.
The trade was a Long entry ETX and DTX setup.
Just to recap what the setup was:
The ETX Setup can be seen at the bottom of the entry bar (reversal) with the Green box and the blue solid square in it. The ETX also requires 2 other setups. One is the orange inside the box has an orange line extending right (Paw) and the second is the white line below the paw which is already existing, before the setup bar and continues right.
The DTX Setup is simply a double TX (Green box and the blue solid square in it) which occurs at a similar price level within 30 bars.
The green line in the bottom window shows that a DTX is forming/has formed.
If you do the sums you will see my profit was $ 100 – commission. (1 contract)
I did not record several DTX trades as they occurred in the coil chop. As I wasn’t sure of the rules around the coil chop and DTX I left them out of the stats. I did notice that most of them were profitable.
I will review the videos and notes to clarify this for tomorrow.
Slippage Question
Some people ask about slippage in the live market … I find as long as the liquidity is good on the bar then it is rare for me to have slippage on ES. This is more important on NQ as it often has low liquidity on the bar and slippage in and/or out can be a problem
Potential trades – ES
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
It is surprising how quickly you lose your edge after having time away from the market!
Actions I took today:
- Traded 1 trade-in Sim … profitable
- Reviewed the market from open on Monday until close on Tuesday to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
ES performed well, providing many setups for entry.
The profitable trade I took in sim was at 7:20 am.
The trade was a Long entry ETX and DTX setup.
Just to recap what the setup was:
The ETX Setup can be seen at the bottom of the entry bar (reversal) with the Green box and the blue solid square in it. The ETX also requires 2 other setups. One is the orange inside the box has an orange line extending right (Paw) and the second is the white line below the paw which is already existing, before the setup bar and continues right.
The DTX Setup is simply a double TX (Green box and the blue solid square in it) which occurs at a similar price level within 30 bars.
The green line in the bottom window shows that a DTX is forming/has formed.
If you do the sums you will see my profit was $ 100 – commission. (1 contract)
I did not record several DTX trades as they occurred in the coil chop. As I wasn’t sure of the rules around the coil chop and DTX I left them out of the stats. I did notice that most of them were profitable.
I will review the videos and notes to clarify this for tomorrow.
Slippage Question
Some people ask about slippage in the live market … I find as long as the liquidity is good on the bar then it is rare for me to have slippage on ES. This is more important on NQ as it often has low liquidity on the bar and slippage in and/or out can be a problem
Potential trades – ES
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
- Reactions
- 19
- Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 35 Days …
Still finding my feet …
Actions I took today:
- Traded 1 trade-in Sim … Breakeven – commission
- Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
- Reviewed my rules
Potential ES Trades
Plenty of News today. My rule is to not trade 5 minutes before or after news and open of markets
ES performed OK considering and provided 8 valid setups for entry.
On the spreadsheet below you will see that I identified 9 trades not 8.
The first trade was a trade I would have taken but actually was not a valid trade. I had my chart zoomed in too far and did not notice that the price action was in a range. My entry would have been in the middle of the range. My solution to prevent this is to first have my chart zoomed out more then I did or have a second zoomed out chart so I can see the bigger picture. Secondly, I need to remember to look left before I take a trade.
Sim Trade
The trade I took in sim was at 7:23 am.
The trade was a Long entry TX-T and TD setup.
Just to recap what the setup was:
The TX-T Setup can be seen at the bottom of the entry bar (reversal) with the Green box and the blue solid square in it. The “-T” means that it is with the trend. The trend can be seen below as a green histogram.
The TD Setup can be seen by the 3 colored faces below the bar previous to the setup bar.
How did I crash this trade?
The trade was very slow-moving and it moved to the 7 ticks (official target) two bars after entry before moving back to below the entry. I tried to drag the target on the chart, from 8 ticks to 7 … when I let it go, it took me out at entry!!!!!
As you can see, the price then went up over 12 points.
My mistake …
Potential trades – ES
Resources:
One of the podcasts that I enjoy listening to is called The Trading Coach Podcast by Akil Stokes.
I do not follow his trading methodology but enjoy his concepts on his coaching podcast.
They can be found on a heap of podcast sites or on Youtube.
https://anchor.fm/thetradingcoachpodcast
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies - Traded 1 trade-in Sim … Breakeven – commission
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
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- 132
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- 19
Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 34 Days …
Interesting day and good learning …
Actions I took today:
As my head is still tender and it affects my focus, I spent most of the trading session (3 hours) listening and watching Darrell explain how to trail stops and go for larger targets. He used an additional chart which he calls a simplicity chart.
Darrell and a number of people in the room had great success using this method. Darrell trades using multiple contracts and was up $22,000 in less than 20 mins using this method. Note, Darrell often trades with between 2 and 30 contracts so don’t get lost with the $$. The lesson to me is that he has faith in the method to risk the contracts he trades and it appeared to work for others in the room. I then need to learn the method (simple) and test it to see if I can make it work for me.
I will not spend time incorporating this method in my trading until I am consistently profitable with the scalper setups and targets. It definitely looks like it has promise.
Potential ES Trades
ES provided 16 valid setups for entry. 4 were losers!!
Sim Trade
The one trade I took in sim was at 11:13 am.
The trade was a Short entry ETX-T.
Potential trades – ES
Resources:
Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.
I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Interesting day and good learning …
Actions I took today:
- Traded 1 trade in Sim … to profit
- Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
- Listened and learned in the Trading Room about trailing stops and going for larger targets
As my head is still tender and it affects my focus, I spent most of the trading session (3 hours) listening and watching Darrell explain how to trail stops and go for larger targets. He used an additional chart which he calls a simplicity chart.
Darrell and a number of people in the room had great success using this method. Darrell trades using multiple contracts and was up $22,000 in less than 20 mins using this method. Note, Darrell often trades with between 2 and 30 contracts so don’t get lost with the $$. The lesson to me is that he has faith in the method to risk the contracts he trades and it appeared to work for others in the room. I then need to learn the method (simple) and test it to see if I can make it work for me.
I will not spend time incorporating this method in my trading until I am consistently profitable with the scalper setups and targets. It definitely looks like it has promise.
Potential ES Trades
ES provided 16 valid setups for entry. 4 were losers!!
Sim Trade
The one trade I took in sim was at 11:13 am.
The trade was a Short entry ETX-T.
Potential trades – ES
Resources:
Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.
I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
- Reactions
- 19
Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 33 Days …
Not many trades …
Actions I took today:
ES provided 2 valid setups for entry. 1 Winner
The day was interesting in that the market moved from one area of clustered movement to another area of clustered movement.
My rules with ES, prevent me from trading during, in or out of Coil Chop.
The Coil Chop, in this case, is described as a series of 3 bars where the bars are either up-down-up or down-up-down. I highlight this Coil Chop movement with an indicator at the bottom of my chart. In the chart below you can see the three red thick bars at the bottom left of my chart.
Sim Trade Taken but not valid
The one trade I took in sim was at 10:00 am.
The trade was a Short entry NTX-T and also a DTX-T.
Why was this trade not valid?
If you look from the left side of the start:
Question on why I track the trades during the 24 hours
I have a number of reason for tracking the 24 hours:
Potential trades – ES
Resources:
Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.
I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Not many trades …
Actions I took today:
- Traded 1 in Sim … to profit … on review it was not valid!!
- Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
- Lost data (Internet issue) early so didn’t watch much of the US market session
ES provided 2 valid setups for entry. 1 Winner
The day was interesting in that the market moved from one area of clustered movement to another area of clustered movement.
My rules with ES, prevent me from trading during, in or out of Coil Chop.
The Coil Chop, in this case, is described as a series of 3 bars where the bars are either up-down-up or down-up-down. I highlight this Coil Chop movement with an indicator at the bottom of my chart. In the chart below you can see the three red thick bars at the bottom left of my chart.
Sim Trade Taken but not valid
The one trade I took in sim was at 10:00 am.
The trade was a Short entry NTX-T and also a DTX-T.
Why was this trade not valid?
If you look from the left side of the start:
- price action is sitting in between 2 white lines (MM) and at the bottom of the page, you will see the red blocks for Coil Chop.
- price then moved up out of the coil chop area and then back down to the bottom of the clustered area
- again price moved up out of that zone to create a double top and a sell signal.
- price then moved back into the zone.
Question on why I track the trades during the 24 hours
I have a number of reason for tracking the 24 hours:
- to see if the system works at all times during the day
- work out which is the best TOD (time of day) to trade
- I can review using TOD and explore different stops and target levels
- it gives me more practice at identifying the setups
Potential trades – ES
Resources:
Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.
I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
- Reactions
- 19
Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 32 Days …
Sunday and Monday Markets …
Actions I took today:
ES provided 7 valid trades and potentially profitable for the day.
Most of the trades appeared between 3am and 10am.
Potential trades – ES
Resources:
I always enjoy resources from Dr. Van K Tharp.
Take his free test to see what type of trader you are.
It has been based on the research of over 5000 traders.
It only takes 4 minutes …
https://tharptrading.com/trader-test
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer:
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Sunday and Monday Markets …
Actions I took today:
- Computer issues so I did not trade!!
- Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
- Reviewed videos on the setups
ES provided 7 valid trades and potentially profitable for the day.
Most of the trades appeared between 3am and 10am.
Potential trades – ES
Resources:
I always enjoy resources from Dr. Van K Tharp.
Take his free test to see what type of trader you are.
It has been based on the research of over 5000 traders.
It only takes 4 minutes …
https://tharptrading.com/trader-test
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer:
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
- Reactions
- 19
Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 31 Days …
Not many trades again … NQ was fast!
Actions I took today:
If all other things are equal (ceteris paribus), then I will be back trading the Leeloo Evaluation Account tomorrow.
Potential ES Trades
ES provided 5 valid setups for entry. 4 Winners.
Four of the five trades occurred between 543am and 1042am.
Sim Trade Taken to profit
The one trade I took in sim was at 5:43 am.
The trade was a Long entry EL (Elevator) trade.
You can identify the elevator trade clearly in the chart below in the third indicator box from the bottom. The white indicator on the red box. The white is the elevator and the red is the coil chop indicator.
In previous posts, I have said I do not trade in, out, or back into coil chop. This is the one exception were the price breaks out from the coil chop.
Potential trades – ES
Resources:
I hope you tried the Van Tharp Trader Test that I posted yesterday.
Here is the link again … just in case you missed it.
https://tharptrading.com/trader-test
Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.
I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Not many trades again … NQ was fast!
Actions I took today:
- Traded 1 in Sim … to profit
- Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
- Had data issues (stopping) around the open!!
- Listened to the Trading Room where Darrell called a number of trades from the Simplicity Chart
If all other things are equal (ceteris paribus), then I will be back trading the Leeloo Evaluation Account tomorrow.
Potential ES Trades
ES provided 5 valid setups for entry. 4 Winners.
Four of the five trades occurred between 543am and 1042am.
Sim Trade Taken to profit
The one trade I took in sim was at 5:43 am.
The trade was a Long entry EL (Elevator) trade.
You can identify the elevator trade clearly in the chart below in the third indicator box from the bottom. The white indicator on the red box. The white is the elevator and the red is the coil chop indicator.
In previous posts, I have said I do not trade in, out, or back into coil chop. This is the one exception were the price breaks out from the coil chop.
Potential trades – ES
Resources:
I hope you tried the Van Tharp Trader Test that I posted yesterday.
Here is the link again … just in case you missed it.
https://tharptrading.com/trader-test
Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.
I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
- Joined
- 16 March 2020
- Posts
- 132
- Reactions
- 19
Apex Sniper Trading Bootcamp – Challenge Countdown – 30 Days …
More migraines, trading my Leeloo evaluation account, fast NQ, Slow ES, and 30-year bonds …
Actions I took today:
I started my trading day with another migraine!@#.
When I started I noticed I missed a couple of ES trades (5:08 and 6:06).
As ES wasn’t giving trades, I watched ES, YM, NQ, and 30 year Bonds to see how they were trading.
30 Year Bonds presented 2 trades that I just scalped to see how it responded (Profit +$62.50)
Then I notice a trade in NQ setting up and quickly entered it … (Profit +$75.00)
I then noticed that the NQ chart was still in Sim!!!
Ok, good practice
ES did not give me any entries during the time I was watching.
Total Profit in Leeloo = $62.50 – commission
Leeloo Goals
With 30 days left in this challenge, my goals in the 30 days are:
ES provided 6 valid setups for the day . 6 Winners.
Potential trades – ES
Resources:
Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.
I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
More migraines, trading my Leeloo evaluation account, fast NQ, Slow ES, and 30-year bonds …
Actions I took today:
- Traded my Leeloo Evaluation Account …
- Reviewed the market to identify trades I thought were valid trades on ES
- Listened to the Trading Room where Darrell called a number of trades from the Simplicity Chart
I started my trading day with another migraine!@#.
When I started I noticed I missed a couple of ES trades (5:08 and 6:06).
As ES wasn’t giving trades, I watched ES, YM, NQ, and 30 year Bonds to see how they were trading.
30 Year Bonds presented 2 trades that I just scalped to see how it responded (Profit +$62.50)
Then I notice a trade in NQ setting up and quickly entered it … (Profit +$75.00)
I then noticed that the NQ chart was still in Sim!!!
Ok, good practice
ES did not give me any entries during the time I was watching.
Total Profit in Leeloo = $62.50 – commission
Leeloo Goals
With 30 days left in this challenge, my goals in the 30 days are:
- Be profitable. That means to average $200 per day in the last week of the challenge
- Pass the evaluation and become funded
ES provided 6 valid setups for the day . 6 Winners.
Potential trades – ES
Resources:
Watch this space for more resources that I find useful.
I will include books, articles, podcasts, interviews, videos, hypnosis/meditation audios, mental exercises, and more …
I will report back tomorrow on my progress and any lessons I learn
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