ruthlessimon wrote: ↑Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:15 pm
It's because the trader's struggling. In that instance, to me, the fall back is pure objectivity - a very rigid strategy. & this kinda links into how I'd define the quality of an edge
1st Class: Completely objective
2nd Class: Mostly objective
3rd Class: Mostly subjective
The trader in question is honestly miles away from a concrete edge on this market at this moment judging by the video, I know it sounds harsh but he first has to go through the tiresome process of eliminating the classic mistakes that everyone makes when starting out like chasing losses etc. The biggest mistakes should be blatantly obvious in the videos, that's why I suggested to have a closer look, his perspective will be a lot more objective and neutral than it is in the heat of the moment while he is tunneling on a bad trade struggling to control all of the emotions, and missing out on all of the action in a fast moving market. Being able to replay the sequence of events and understand what actually went on both in the market and inside his head can be extremely helpful and educational. And you already know what people like to do instead, the complete opposite, they look at the big losses in their P&L and they try to ignore it and forget about it asap and continue trading, which means they will keep repeating the same mistakes. If he doesn't learn anything after re-watching a couple of recordings then so be it, can easily drop that approach and try something else.
ruthlessimon wrote: ↑Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:15 pm
I'm just offering the other side of the argument
For me, that approach of analyzing single videos, didn't work - & without data I'd no be nowhere. Trust me, I'd love to able to use videos more effectively - because my trading still lacks in vital areas - but my biggest steps forward have always come from a spreadsheet.
Analyzing past performance to me, is something like: downloading the p&l, grouping it by race type - & seeing if there are any major patterns.
I would not wanna do that via videos!!!! (unless you're a masochist)
Then I probably shouldn't tell you how I do my testing because I wouldn't want you to have an aneurysm
But that is fantastic news, if we can achieve the same goals with different approaches, the more the merrier
Although I already knew that since people love their data on this forum. I for example don't even have Excel installed, last time I was forced to use a spreadsheet was in 2014 when I was messing around with basic LTD strategies and similar nonsense, I hated looking at data in general. So I don't collect or analyze any real data, I know it's out there if I need it but what little data I consider relevant for my purposes is all kept in the crude form of screenshots, videos and notes. Definitely not a fan of any backtesting, paper trading, practice mode or minimal stakes, I personally see all of it as just pussyfooting around and avoiding the real issues of trading and postponing the inevitable, there's nothing more time consuming than that imho. If I'm testing a new trading approach that means that I at least have a basic understanding of where the opportunities are and how I should trade it beforehand, so I prefer testing with normal sized stakes for a decent period and I'm confident enough to think that I can't do too much wrong, I like to improvise and rely on intuition as much as I can. When I do mess up sometimes with a more expensive mistake that to me means that it was a necessary lesson and I will definitely remember it, although I generally either do well or at least break even, and even by breaking even or making an overall loss I feel like I've gained invaluable experience and that genuine progress has been made for next time.
I should probably keep this to myself but it's late and I don't really care what others think
I would never in a million years suggest this but sometimes I even like to "chase a loss" as a fun challenge, occasionally when I get something completely wrong when trying something new, if that market is still alive and if there are more opportunities around I will really start focusing and lower stakes to try and crawl back into profit, maybe risking an additional 10-20% if it doesn't work but I often somehow make it work and in the process I sometimes purely by accident discover a whole new strategy that I never even thought about, a strategy that I would probably not even dare to try in normal circumstances, which then snowballs into an automation idea and so on. So there, I said it, chasing losses is a fantastic strategy and everyone should do it
But I swear there is something in this, when you're looking at a red it can sometimes bring out the best in you, sort of like when a big favorite in football is a goal down so now they have to try super hard to crawl back into the match, the market is not over until its over. In a similar way sometimes when I see a completely boring market with zero clear cut opportunities and while I'm waiting for something interesting to happen, I sometimes randomly start getting involved with lower stakes just for the sake of being involved, even if it's for a fast scalp or something, and then once I start getting involved I automatically get more focused and the autopilot takes over, you get the feel for the market and the order flow and you can sometimes end up building a decent position out of practically nothing, you may even get a bit lucky with a little move here or there and it can sometimes turn into a proper trade, even if there was no real opportunity to begin with. But I feel like I'm starting to ramble, don't think these last few paragraphs were of any use to OP, it would likely make him go bankrupt so please ignore them, I feel like I'm typing way too much on this forum
