Today is Wednesday February 24th and the market is holding up.

I will show a chart of what is going below, this may help create a better picture of where we go next. But first, the daily momentum is up, the hourly, is up with the weekly down and monthly up. There seems to be more momentum on the upside right now and we did today put in an inside day. This creates pressure in the middle. We now have a pivot point established above us with yesterdays high and we did bounce off of some very strong support late yesterday and early today that I missed in my market assessment. The chart to the right will help explain.

In todays S&P E-Mini  trading, I took two trades and scaled out of it as follows; + 1 point +1.75 points + 2.50 points and flat for the second. I come up a little shy of 2 net points but that is all I felt like trading today. Still very good, because it was painless. Scaling out of the first part of the trade on strength, actually weakness because I was short, takes a bit of the pressure off. I often do that, even if I think it is going lower. A lot of it has to do with how I am feeling. By taking part of the trade-off, it releases a certain amount of anxiety over the trade. Everyone has some anxiety when they trade, admitting it or not, it is still there to some degree. Getting control of it and not letting it control you is key. Managing the trade in a low risk manner, helps to release some of the unknown, because now you have an element of certainty to the trade, you have taken a profit on a portion of it and you have reduced your exposure on the remaining contracts.

There are times when I feel very strongly about a move and have my position open with no targets. In fact that is now how I usually trade, a stop always in place with the exits open. Many times the market will burst up or down and I will be able to take advantage of that move and start scaling out at 2-3 points first and up for the remaining.

This may not be the best way for everyone. If you are not quick with your decisions the market can move up 1.50 points and back down just as fast and you have nothing. Catching a quick 1 point trade with 3 contracts is a fast $150. Do it again and you have just made more money than most people make in a day, in fact more than some people make in a week, all inside of 20 minutes or so.

That was the kind of price action that was present in the first couple of hours. There were tons of trades available. Many for good runners and some for quick 1 point trades. How much is enough? To often, traders never seem to think that what they have bagged is enough.

Trading for 2-4 points a day is really plenty. By averaging 2 points a day, some days more some a little less because of a occassional stop out day, (-4 points for me), you will bag 40 points in a months time. If you are just trading 3 small contracts that is $ 150 x 40= $ 6,000 for the month or $72,000 for the year. OK, that is not really a lot of money these days, but it is something to build on. Being consistent is the first thing to best establish. If you can bring in that amount of points on a regular basis overall, trading up to 5 contracts is not much different. That puts you at 120k a year. That is a little better. Do that for a year and keep your head screwed on straight, not getting greedy and wanting and wishing for more. More will come, in its due time. When you have been faithful with what you have been given, more will be given to you. First be a good stewart of what you are able to do and make, then when the time is right, you can increase your size and watch your account grow, but again, don’t be in to much of a hurry.

In this business longevity is the name of the game. You want to “Last – Learn – & Earn”. Then, you can see yourself a bit more stable as a day trader. That is not what most do and it is unfortunate. Getting steady sound trading input is key to your survival. I try to do what I can for the readers of my blog. I don’t often talk about my exact method for trading, but I talk about everything else. If someone wants or needs training I offer that through my course and mentoring program. All of the other things are really just as important. You need both. Being mentally prepared and of sound mind with good judgement, able to exercise  ”strength of Mind”, Concentration, is vital to coming out on top.

I know for a fact that more people put a emphasis on the trade execution of trading than they put on the mental side of trading. The truth is, you really need both. One without the other, will do you no good. That is for sure. You can have the best trading method or system or what ever, but if you don’t or can not trade it, you will not profit, plain and simple. So many traders fall into that category, because they fail to realize that the difference is in the other part of trading that they have failed to pay attention to. They often times have a fairly good idea of how to make the trading game work for them, but just don’t seem to get it done.

I have been recommending as of late my free book on concentration. It has so much on the mental side of trading to help those who are seeking answers to problems they just can not exactly put their finger on. This could be the missing link. I am so sure it will help in some degree your trading efforts.

I sent the book out to some a few days ago and got back my first response. I was encouraged because he applied a few things that he read in the book and it helped him to string up several winning trades in a row. He was jacked, and told me that this stuff works.

That is what I really like to hear. It gives me encouragement to know I am helping people achieve their goals even if they are not a student of mine. The feedback eventually benefits me in some unseen ways and makes what I am doing much more rewarding.

So, I welcome your requests, and look for your feedback. Email your requests for the free book at vinnie@sniperdaytrading.com

Good trading to all !

No related posts.

Tags: Day Trading, trading for income