A Martingale Guide to not trade like a noob. How I trade.I am going to share with you all one of the primary trading strategies I use. As you read this keep in mind this is what I have found works best for ME in my situation with my busy life. I am not here to tell you martingale is the best strategy out there , it's just one that's out there that I have found to be very successful in my personal trading accounts. Its up to you to decide what strategy works best for you. This one I will be describing typically works best as a swing trading strategy.
Before you implement a strategy.
Make sure you have a hobby and it can't be trading. No, seriously. If you are going to trade you have to be able to step back from the charts to keep a clear picture and understanding of whats going on to make sure the plan you implemented is still viable and you don't panic or make a dumb decision. Even though I have over a decade of experience I still find myself needing to step away from the charts to get a clear understanding or needing to take a break. It's impossible to just stare at a screen all day without getting exhausted or not thinking clearly. It's vital you do this because you need to take the emotion out of trading.
Where this strategy works the BEST
VOLATILE markets. The more volatile the better. It lets you take advantage of quick dips and ride the waves back up. If you are in fast moving markets and have positions laddered down you can receive fills quickly and be able to scoop up lower prices and sell as it rebounds. The trick here is structuring your strategy accordingly and utilizing the appropriate time frames which I will get to later with examples.
Emotions are controlled:
There is nothing wrong with using a stop and at times it's very appropriate. However, sometimes I really don't want to think about what the market is doing every second of every day. I can structure a strategy and go about with my daily life. Let's say you are trading with a stop and the market starts taking a dip and blows through it. But you KNOW it's going to rebound but you don't know when? What do you do? Keep entering in your full trading balance and get stopped out a couple times? Step away from the keyboard and wait for a new trade? With a sound plan and structure, I don't have to worry about this "mini black swans" so to speak, I can take advantage of them.
Example Exhibit 1:
This was a fantastic trade. I was able to play this TWICE. The first was on this first long wick where I entered from 900 all the way down to 700 and was out in the 950 area. I was able to do this again with deeper martingales from 900 down to the 600 area. Notice that on the second time it spiked down it went as far as the 560 area, and I had been filled already at 600.
Exhibit 2.
A quick trade where I was filled above 700 and above 650 at these lows. Exit was on the rebound for a small profit.
Exhibit 3.
This trade was long time wise. My first entry points were at 600 down to 500. I was actually profitable when it went rebounded up to 580, but I did not get out for whatever reason at the time. I was then filled in my positions all the way down to 378 where my average buy became 460. This took time, but I knew it would rebound, which it did. My regret was getting out of this trade to soon. But, it's better to be wishing you were in the market, then be in the market wishing you were out.
Continued in comments....
