I have read though the thread a couple times now and have a couple questions/feelings about FTI's method:
I was already what I had considered before a fairly naked trader. My analysis that I would "dance" by is made up of support and resistance and price action in the candles themselves. I do admit though that I still draw on the chart. I know that FTI and others here believe that doing that "locks" you in too much that those lines etc are "what is going to happen". So I have started trading with two charts on the same pair and same timeframe. One chart I draw on like before and I use that as a visual reference if I need it. And I try to trade off the naked chart. I find I dance due to the same cues, however I am trying to train myself to spot them better without the lines on the chart.
My trading process before involved using what FTI refers to as "the three kingdoms". I trade mostly the G/J using the G/U and U/J for basic guidance. I trade on the 1/5/15s depending on price action at the time. Mostly the 5min and sometimes the 1min if volatility is way up. I use stop loses. Very tight stops I might add. I don't get stopped out that much, my entries are usually very good.
That being said, I leave a lot of profit on the table because my trade management could use (at least in my view ) a lot of work. I find myself quite often either exiting too early (second guess myself as I don't like winners to become losers), or I lose profits trying to "dance into a larger move".
I think most of that is psychological partly due to the fact that I don't scale into and out of my positions. Due to tight stops I tend to have a pretty significant position size in terms of margin used even though my "at risk" is usually 2-3%. But this doesn't allow for me to do "rescues". So I am very intrigued by the money management and attack/rescue sequences shown by FTI and discussed in this thread.
I haven't used FTI's methods live yet, I am doing all practice on vhands at this time.
My questions:
1. I am having a hard time finding the right balance as to how I scale into an attack. I find that not infrequently I am a bit too late when I work myself into a full position, so my last sequence that has the largest lot size ends up eating into my profits a little or sometimes even significantly. How do you all manage that and time rescues for a position that is fully matured?(maybe I am just not scaling in fast enough when I see the PA that before would have had me into my full position immediately?) For instance, in the .1 .1 .2 1.2 sequence you end up with 1.6 lots in the trade (which forgive my math if its wrong is about 10% of your funds). How do you rescue that? Or are you relying on the fact that your earlier lots are already enough "in the money" that your net exposure is such that you don't really have 10% at risk anymore? (this might be something I just can't get a good feel for yet as I am not trading live or even demo so I have a harder time tracking my avg position and available NAV)
2. What is the "dance" actually considered to be? I am working under the assumption that "moving with the feel of the PA" etc simply means be familiar enough with the PA to make long/short attack/rescue decisions. But your ability to dance is still based on support/resistance, breakouts, candlesticks etc correct, even though we don't draw them on the charts so we don't get locked into them and think that price WILL do what a line says it MIGHT do?
I appreciate everyone's time. This is by far the most interesting thread I have found on the entire web about trading (and I have read a lot of them )
I was already what I had considered before a fairly naked trader. My analysis that I would "dance" by is made up of support and resistance and price action in the candles themselves. I do admit though that I still draw on the chart. I know that FTI and others here believe that doing that "locks" you in too much that those lines etc are "what is going to happen". So I have started trading with two charts on the same pair and same timeframe. One chart I draw on like before and I use that as a visual reference if I need it. And I try to trade off the naked chart. I find I dance due to the same cues, however I am trying to train myself to spot them better without the lines on the chart.
My trading process before involved using what FTI refers to as "the three kingdoms". I trade mostly the G/J using the G/U and U/J for basic guidance. I trade on the 1/5/15s depending on price action at the time. Mostly the 5min and sometimes the 1min if volatility is way up. I use stop loses. Very tight stops I might add. I don't get stopped out that much, my entries are usually very good.
That being said, I leave a lot of profit on the table because my trade management could use (at least in my view ) a lot of work. I find myself quite often either exiting too early (second guess myself as I don't like winners to become losers), or I lose profits trying to "dance into a larger move".
I think most of that is psychological partly due to the fact that I don't scale into and out of my positions. Due to tight stops I tend to have a pretty significant position size in terms of margin used even though my "at risk" is usually 2-3%. But this doesn't allow for me to do "rescues". So I am very intrigued by the money management and attack/rescue sequences shown by FTI and discussed in this thread.
I haven't used FTI's methods live yet, I am doing all practice on vhands at this time.
My questions:
1. I am having a hard time finding the right balance as to how I scale into an attack. I find that not infrequently I am a bit too late when I work myself into a full position, so my last sequence that has the largest lot size ends up eating into my profits a little or sometimes even significantly. How do you all manage that and time rescues for a position that is fully matured?(maybe I am just not scaling in fast enough when I see the PA that before would have had me into my full position immediately?) For instance, in the .1 .1 .2 1.2 sequence you end up with 1.6 lots in the trade (which forgive my math if its wrong is about 10% of your funds). How do you rescue that? Or are you relying on the fact that your earlier lots are already enough "in the money" that your net exposure is such that you don't really have 10% at risk anymore? (this might be something I just can't get a good feel for yet as I am not trading live or even demo so I have a harder time tracking my avg position and available NAV)
2. What is the "dance" actually considered to be? I am working under the assumption that "moving with the feel of the PA" etc simply means be familiar enough with the PA to make long/short attack/rescue decisions. But your ability to dance is still based on support/resistance, breakouts, candlesticks etc correct, even though we don't draw them on the charts so we don't get locked into them and think that price WILL do what a line says it MIGHT do?
I appreciate everyone's time. This is by far the most interesting thread I have found on the entire web about trading (and I have read a lot of them )