12/19/2008 - Yep, I'm still here

I've been really busy at the day job the past few days so haven't had time to put on any trades. I put on a couple yesterday, but nothing to write home (or to this blog) about. I spent today experimenting with a couple of new indicators that were introduced to me by a friend of mine. I personally had mixed results with it, but some of the setups look very promising. My friend is fine tuning and back-testing it, and I'll be doing the same over the weekend.

So the last big problem I posted about was stops. I didn't know how wide or tight they should be. At this point, I've decided to set a MAX stop-loss of 3 points, but preferably even tighter than that (1-2 points). I need to be able to pass up on any setup that requires a stop-loss of over 3 points.

Now, on to the next big dilemma: I HAVE NO PATIENCE! I don't wait for the ideal entry. I don't wait for the ideal exit. I like being in and out of trades FAST. Problem is, my system/method does not support this scalp trading, but just sitting around waiting for a setup results in boredom. I'm going to look into programming alerts in Trade Station so I don't have to watch every tick. I've heard profitable traders say that trading (profitably) is a boring profession, and I believe it! Sitting around waiting for 3-4 good setups all day can be very boring and mind numbing. How do you guys deal with that? Please post a comment if you have any insights on this topic.

Enough about my issues, lets finish this post off on a good note. I'd like to direct your attention to Don Miller's blog post from today. Don is a phenomenal trader, and banked over $1.62 Million this year day-trading the ES! Even after banking a 7-figure year, he is humble as ever. I wish more profitable traders would share their insights as Don has been doing over the last year on his blog.

Market Structure/Balance Chart (5-min)