Don't kid yourself, we all have a unique journey in trading that will lead us to our end goal as traders. You have demonstrated just in this discussion a willingness to try many things (flexibility), track metrics (hard work and dedication), and reach out for assistance (don't trade alone). Remember that nothing will ever be fully refined; everything we do can be improved gradually over time once we know it needs changes and how to implement. I mentioned my impatience; it can be viewed as both a positive for lackluster setups and a negative for missing out before the move occurs. However, I am working on ways to improve the setups that don't work immediately (scaling out of position for a smaller loss, exit and re-evaluate vs losing focus, etc) and improving the ones that do (better partialing, add and reducing, etc). I recommend once you nail the 'Trading Edge' and psychological aspects, to begin the fine tuning and really start to see noticeable changes in #s of trades and quality of trades.

One step in my journey as a trader was finding out more about my style. I realized that I was a relatively impatient trader; i.e. I want the trade to work almost immediately or else I'll review the setup and potentially try again in a better position with more information. Hence, I classify myself as more of a scalper, looking for areas of momentum that typically arrive due to a short squeeze from an aggressive buy support. Part of the challenge is that I may need to 'test the waters' a few times before finding the right spot for the trade. I know very often that I'm in the right area, but the r:R has to make sense and should resolve itself quickly in order for my edge to be realized. So for me, taking stabs and building a position once it's confirmed to be working is a more ideal strategy for me. You mention the balance between overtrading and commissions along with not having a true edge; one bit of information to try and define is which strategy that you trade is leaving the most money on the table. Assuming you're looking at lots of stocks and trading lots of patterns/setups, along with the scalper-esque Average Win Value, it may be ideal to find the setup that has a high occurrence rate (so you find trades each day), a high success rate for yourself (so you can achieve goals consistently), and has a good risk/reward based on your criteria for entry (so it reduces # of trades before hitting goal). If you can identify this, challenge yourself to hold for a larger target and bring the Average Win Value amount up for that setup alone. Rinse and repeat for two-three setups and now you have a trading edge along with reducing the clutter that is 'working' but is reducing your mental capacity for the A+ setups you've refined. Once you begin trading live, the process of refinement and improvement should be constant, where your old setups become better and you build setups for different market conditions.

Hey Teruki, I would offer this for your consideration. If you are looking to trade to make money, without a "Trading Edge" your probability of making money is significantly lower than if you have a "Trading Edge." Additionally, once live you will add in emotions and without full confidence in your trading strategy it can be difficult to distinguish between a bad trading strategy and trading psychology issues you may have. My recommendation, until you can say without a doubt that you have a "Trading Edge", your time is better spent in sim developing your "Trading Edge" without any emotions attached. Feel free to email me if any questions. [email protected]

50 trades per day could easily fall in the overtrade department. Do you have a rule about your max trades / day? That +/- $200 P&L include commissions? Remember, you only need one good trade to end your day in the green.

When you hit the button to take your partial you can add this to the end of it to set a stop at break even. This is a 25% partial with stop at break even: CXL ALLSYMB;ROUTE=SMRTL;Price=Ask+0.02;Share=Pos*.25;TIF=DAY+;BUY=Send;TriggerOrder=RT:STOP STOPTYPE:MARKET StopPrice:AvgCost ACT:BUY QTY:POS TIF:DAY+

How you partial out largely depends on your strategy. For example, partially out aggressively makes more sense with a smaller time frame strategy such as an ORB. However if you enter off of a double top or double bottom, it may make more sense to plan on a possible day trend. Here’s an approach I have adopted that you may find useful: Determine how time sensitive the trade is, and look for a break of higher highs and higher lows trend on the lowest time frame that makes sense. If there is an area of major resistance, like 200 SMA / 50 SMA. Take a preemptive partial at that level when it hits. It might make sense for these partials to be a different percentage of your remaining position than the break of trend partials. I would think of the chart as various channels of trend, and take profits either when that channel breaks or when it hits that’s resistance point. This will give you the ability to maximize profit while reducing that downside risk.

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