Major League Pitchers Know How to Bring It!

I love the comparisons between trading and life. There are so many similarities of how trading imitates life it's intriguing to no end.

Being an avid baseball fan, I really enjoy the parallel universe between baseball and trading. The geometry of the field/chart; runs scored/points made; working the count/managing the trade; offense-defense/long-short; singles/1st scale...and the list goes on and on.

But one of my favorite comparisons is between a major league pitcher and a trader. Both need passion and a desire to hone their craft which takes many, many years to do. Some are "naturals" as they don't require as much time to become competent. But most need a lot of time, hard work, on going effort and experience in order to reach dominance.

A pitcher's mechanics and the ability to deliver a variety of pitches in the strike zone with command is an art form and takes years to perfect. You learn as you gain more time on the field, working through different situations, understanding your opponents strengths and weaknesses as well as your own while continually smoothing out the nuances of the delivery in order to become an effective competitor.

The traders journey is very similar to that of a pitcher in the majors. Each day/ballgame starts with a plan; we use certain setups/pitches that are delivered as the situation warrants; our trade execution/delivery needs to remain consistent no matter the volatility/action in the game; stay calm and cool while not getting too high or too low no matter what happens. Stick with your plan, and if your not getting "the call" or getting hit hard, make adjustments.

It's all about making a consistent delivery, commanding "the zone", doing the same thing over and over again proficiently, always searching for and identifying nuances within your game and tweaking the established and documented successes with slight adjustments that make you better at your craft.

Major league pitchers know how to bring it but it takes years of practice. Traders are no different as we learn how to trade. We learn how the "bring it" but it takes years to perfect the delivery and to ground the emotional aspect of our game. Eventually we can and will become complete pitchers/traders. It just takes a few hundred games to get there.

Trade Well !

ps: God I'm enjoying this MLB post season! Love the team match-ups in both leagues. In the end...Go NL!

The Journey of a Trader - Order Flow

I learned early in my trading career and as I've mentioned a few times in this blog, "trading is not a destination, but a journey". There is always something new to learn and another layer of understanding that can be added to our methodology / trading plan.

As I've traveled this journey, I come across certain strategies that resonate with me. They immediately make sense and make an impact "ha,ha" moment enough to want to learn more.

A few months ago I discovered Market Profile and more recently, I began learning more about order flow. I am in the process of understanding more about these to aspects of trading as I think it is a key component to add to my quiver of strategies.

Additionally, I've come to the realization that my trading plan is not what it should be. I do not have enough structure in the plan to maintain a necessary disciplinary road map to follow as the market provides setups and structure.

Although I am a discretionary trader, I must have better structure (trading plan) in order to "play the game". Learning and applying order flow and MP to the plan seems like a natural fit in this journey.

Trade Well !

Writers Block & Trader Mind Flow

Hard to believe I have not posted since May. I think it was a combination of blog boredom, writers block and an opportunity to turn down the noise.

During the "flash crash", although I did not get hurt, it did contribute to creating more "noise" in my head. It threw my thinking of market flow into turmoil and I had to back off from trading for a few days.

I ended up turning off my head and refrained from reading regular blogs I visited daily, abstaining from daily, intraday trading, put down the trading books / manuals and just settled my neurons and synapses with mindless thought, soft music and outdoor activities.

I've found over the last year or so that it's always good to back away from trading once in a while whether for a few hours, days or even weeks. For me, it really recharges my batteries, helps me reset my brain and definitely makes me a better trader when I come back to the trading platform.

Over the summer, not only did I watch the Chicago Cubs "die on the vine", I found myself taking nice breaks from short-term trading and did not trade every day, took a couple weeks off each month and rediscovered spreads on a more regular basis (using almost exclusively the RUT). This kept me engaged with the market yet in a low-noise, longer-term position reality.

As my trading career advances, I continue to find the stepping stones to the promised land of profitable consistency albeit it's a long and slow road. Learning about oneself, understanding market action, tying in trading with personality while understanding and controlling emotions is a common thread in the ongoing journey among traders.

Limiting / eliminating the noise and outside biases provided by chat rooms, blogs, Twitter, etc. can really make a difference, at least with this trader.

So with some new inspirations, fresh perspectives and my never dieing passion for trading, I submit this post as recognition of my new found ability to uncork the writers block bottle and trade with an open, free flowing mind.

I'm sure another break is in my not too distant future.

Trade Well !

More Black Swan Analysis

The Black Swan event of May 6, 2010 was so over-the-top, of anomalous proportion and had such a far reaching impact on so many traders that the waves of repercussion are still being felt and will be talked about for weeks, months and years to come.

Here's another informative post which, in this traders opinion, puts into perspective how and why we need to be nimble and not get married to an opinion of what Mr. Market is doing or going to do.

http://ibankcoin.com/chessnwine/2010/05/20/the-crash-that-never-was/

Thanks to @cginthehouse (fellow EWS member) for the RT Tweet from @chessNwine!

Trade Well!

Attribute of a Good Trader - The Waiting

One of the most important things to do as a trader is develop patience. Once we establish patience as part of our disciplinary process, we will find and see those trade set-ups that will earn us the money...which is the reward for our patience.

"The waiting is the hardest part"

Trade Well !

Learn One Thing and Get Good

This commentary was first posted in the Eminiwizard member site.

Here’s a good article with good advice and one that ‘E’ (The Eminiwizard), as well as a few other E-Nation members subscribe to.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/stocks/commentary/editorial/How-To-Succeed-at-Trading-81039.cfm

When I first started trading, I was like a kid in a candy shop. I was trying to find my way and wasn’t sure what instrument I wanted to trade let alone what was best for me and my personality. I had no one to help guide me.

As I searched for my trading personality and the right trading instrument fit, I culled my many trading books, trading blogs and webinars, I kept hearing/reading a common message; “learn one thing and get good at it”, and then, maybe add another instrument later.

My initial attraction was towards stocks (too slow, good for my IRA). Then I tried options (better gratification, loved the idea of
‘the Greeks” but something was missing). Next was selling spreads (I liked it, made sense and still trade them on occasion but there was still some void). Finally, I discovered the E-Mini’s and it “clicked” with me (fast, analytical, multiple set-ups/strategies, methodology driven, quick money potential). This was the instrument that I wanted to concentrate on.

So, after about 1 1/2 -2 years of trading stocks, options/spreads AND futures, I have for all intense and purposes only been trading the ES for about the past 24 months.

This trading biz is the toughest thing I’ve ever tried to learn. It’s hard enough to learn how to trade, let alone how to trade multiple instruments. Some people can do it, I cannot. I need to concentrate on one thing and get good at it and that is what I am doing with the ES. Progress is being made as consistency in making, not losing money is being achieved…finally!

Passion, persistence, discipline, focus and patience. These are key elements of becoming an effective and successful trader. And it certainly helps to attain competence when one has a good mentor(s). E-Nation is a good place to be.

Trading is a journey, not a destination. Unless we continue to learn and grow in this biz, we will never realize the full potential to master the market, or at least understand it enough to make a decent living, stay out of trouble and avoid “working at Walmart”.

Trade Well !

May 6 Panic Play-by-Play

www.ETFreplay.com/backtest.aspx from Frank1970 on Vimeo.