Short Term Traders, what is your homework?

[Gringotts Bank]

Can you explain how this relates to trading?

In trading you need a skillset, which leads to confidence and so on, not the other way around, you don't get confidence, then the skill set.

People taking medication doesn't require any skills so isn't it a bit open-ended? If they developed and made the drug themselves and knew how it worked and why then it might be relative to trading, but I don't see how they connect, because trading requires the skill set first, so wouldn't you work on getting that instead of trying to trade willy nilly with just confidence because you read somewhere that mindset influenced the way a drug worked?

Genuine question GB, not having a dig, I just think it's a completely different thing, but I might be looking at it wrong

EDIT: what the? had a GB quote at the top I though, ah well, questions directed at GB obviously.

Sam I think you'd understand that I get sick of the trolls from the ****-I'm-good-I-trade-futures-International-Traders-banter thread derailing everything they don't understand. PM would be better.

 

[>Apocalypto<]

apart from not trade on NFP friday I do nothing. start looking for set ups each hour from start of the Asian session till 12am. that's it.

Op i guess home work IMO is major news releases or CB meetings. they have the potential to disrupt the market, or change its dynamic.

 

[Trembling Hand]

Sam I think you'd understand that I get sick of the trolls from the ****-I'm-good-I-trade-futures-International-Traders-banter thread derailing everything they don't understand. PM would be better.

I think you should start a thread. Clearly we are all interested in your answer to Sams question?

Of course some real life examples of your trading and how it fits together would be just mind blowing too.....

 

[Joules MM1]

Op i guess home work IMO is major news releases or CB meetings. they have the potential to disrupt the market, or change its dynamic.

yes, the context thing

i'm looking at the previous session(s) to see if there is a basic set-up to buy or to sell an annoc as not all set-ups are on the day or just for the day.....for example, i am riding gold shorts from this morning, based on rapid sales at the fomc and the inability for funds to raise price and that the commercials and swaps dealers have been heavily selling but at extremes and as we're not at either extreme of daily highs or lows then the play is within the context of that background data and how far i think price is likely to travel before either value buyers (funds lower and commercials much much lower) try and step or value sellers (commercials much much higher) the retail crowd is pretty well tied up long in both the US futes and metals......gold has been moving smoothly on 12 point swings and they look impulsive but suddenly die and can cause traps so ratios maybe important inverse or inline doesnt matter jsut gettign them narrated is important, simply an earmark....silver has held its ground very well, so another backdrop is telling how well contained any sell is likely to be and if silver breaks it's level of value buying then pressure is inviting a build to hold overnight and if equities sell down impulsively the likelyhood leans to selling metals for the purpose of liquidity availability too plus sell-side liquidity should build during the session via puts etc..........i'm looking for general media sentiment, general talking heads sentiment.....put/call ratios of the previous day and cumulative effect ......i find reading the COT and options activity a very good background to support higher time frame activity, trying to get context so i can see if my trades will be large swings or i can do lower time frame, i think i am in the diff levels of that activity, call it trend if you like.....some basic pattern recognition starting with monthly all the way down, doesnt take long....still looking to get sense of context why is one trough a buy in the minor upmove and one trough actually the first leg in a larger downswing...again, context of the news if i'm going to be active at that time is vitally important....so a lot of prep is done on the run, how is price reacting and what level are major players likely to step in, what gaps, how likely is price going to retouch the launch price before continuing and confirming the session

news days are simply extra excuse days to move price.....it's how price might be moved relative to those biggest players and where they'll be positioned....within the confines of chop or trend.....do i think the pros have been holding this stuff for enough days and are looking to release with short sell energy or held high enough to get late have-to-buy players and then sell that strength......as everything has context and is about relative size and intent, the job is to focus in the correct area, who gains at what level, when selling looks like a break down there are levels where the buyers await the sellers, they just wait and wait no smashing bids or any of that stuff, that is a different time frame again.....the spx might not see any of the usual pro activity just after the open, but it looks smooth and somehow odd, there's no news coming and no ones pushing, i'm not looking at depth, it's in the price.....two hours into the session the pricing just goes lame but i know it wont stay lame...someone needs an excuse to move price....one large account can be the catalyst and suddenly there's two hours of downward chop to hold onto and quickly figure the ratios likely to be met or previous turnover zone that is most likely to find buyer lurking, how was this play set-up and how does it set-up the next sessions play (news or no news)

some where am i going to be wrong levels depending on the play i'm looking for and some flip-flop levels and an approximate % of where to reverse and add to a position if i find that price is telling me of a secondary or thirdary play....again, moving to context and size of the plays as fast as possible

prelim health stuff, not too tired, hungry etc little things like that do make a diff

anyways, contributing to the thread, that's prelim stuff i look at and do....most of anyways...percentage wise it's flexible, somedays all the real price work is done within minutes or seconds of trade, some light bulb ah-ha-i-see-you piggy moments

(thirdary....wot.....? sorry william!)

 

[Joules MM1]

speaking of confidence et al

occasionally i'll do an emotional logic check.....yes, sounds like twallop doesnt it

emotional logic is where i am looking for evidence for the feeling i have.....it goes like this: today i came in when i am unsure of what is happening in a specific price trend and i'll read some posts from diff sources. some are very good, top data and some are highly motivated to paint a picture (ex bulls on gold) so i unwittingly allow myself to swallow a pile of goo and need to know i dont take that pile of goo when all i really need to do is say the magic words: "i dont know" and leave things at that.....sure trade management can keep me out of trouble but then its the thousand cuts thing

the point is, awareness of self ......

i think a lot of traders do exactly what i've just described with the black hole of knowledge of understanding, of how to frame a play etc etc......it's the gaping whole in the knowledge and the rush to fill it with 'other' stuff......

the rush to get in and trade, to gamble effects and affects many, probably the vast majority of short term players.....that's another thing, that lack of knowledge makes ordinary people (would-be traders) into players at the casino rather than technicians or pro-realmed traders at an auction......

so, yeah, every now and then an emotional logic check

and i've witnessed many dom traders who get hooked on their own game even tho they have data screeming at them to do something different they become hard-wired right in that time frame and take the hits.....

emotional logic is one of those things most people dont talk about because they perceive it as a weakness, the subject is not about them, it is within them ....getting onto the subject, repetitively, can make a huge difference when practised just like 3 minutes of hard cardio makes to your body a 30 second questionnaire once a week or day can make a huge business decision difference.....

 

[havaiana]

yes, the context thing

i'm looking at the previous session(s)...

On holidays and don't get many opportunities to post much at the moment but thanks for the detail Joules, this post is exactly the kind of info i was hoping for this thread

 

[havaiana]

Back on topic. I guess the question should be what homework do you do IF you are a Short Term Trader.

I'd just like to post this again,

https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25516&p=731792&viewfull=1#post731792

If the coming market lines up then swing for the fences. If not hold ya bullets. If ya cannot figure out whats coming either way then are not a traders butt h....

Here's another post you highlighted a while back from drillinto

https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6486&p=168028&viewfull=1#post168028

When I started to get the hang of the basics of trading, estimating the possible beginning and end of a wave and was having some moderate success, I didn't realise that it was just the basics and thought that would be all i would need.

I'm have been trying to work on getting a better handle on the bigger picture or bias 'which way to lean'. When to look to get flat/reverse versus when to hold/add. For example, when you say that you are "mostly playing the long side today", there is obviously another level to your trading other than short term trading

 

[havaiana]

My thoughts on trading edges

I spent alot of time searching for the illusive trading edge. Fundamental Analysis aside, the more i have learned the more i think that nearly all trading edges come down to some form of one of two tendencies of the market

1. Mean reversion
2. Fat Tails

If i was starting from the start i would waste less time on other things and just concentrate on the above 2 things

 

[CanOz]

Here a little video of my homework process....for the FDAX.

[video=youtube_share;cI_fv8eGm3k]http://youtu.be/cI_fv8eGm3k[/video]

 

[notting]

Here a little video of my homework process....for the FDAX.

Nice music!

 

[cbc]

Charts, charts, charts.


I keep looking at charts till am eyes start bleeding.