July - My First Full Month Trading

#1

July was my first full month trading with the APEX system. I was not able to trade all 22 days of the month. I was only able to trade 9 days and profited 135 ticks across various markets, including TF, NQ, CL, GC, and YM. I demo traded the whole month with Nadex and AMP.

I’m mentally ready to trade live. I will not be trading live until I have a stable internet connection. My internet was been very unstable the last 3-4 weeks. My provider is working on it, but cannot seem to find the problem. I have ordered new services with another provider, but will not be available until Aug. 8.

Due to my work schedule I will only be able to trade 3-4 days in August. By Sept., I will be trading more days during the week. My goal is to trade live and double my profit in ticks.

Below is from my Nadex journal

Most of my trades were profit poppers.

July 30 was not a fun day. I will not let that deter me from trading. I know will have days like July 30 sometime.

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#2

Keep it up! Good Job!!!

#3

Great Job! Profit Poppers have been doing great! More of our traders need to learn this system and be utilizing it more often! Keep us up to date on your results! We love having traders post their trade results! This is is how we all learn and can help each other! Traders helping traders!

#4

After looking back and really analyzing my trades, I think I’m looking at too many markets. 5 is a lot to monitor for me. Starting in Aug. I will drop it down to 3 or even 2. I had so many trades with just TF and CL.

Chris R.

#5

Chris- That sounds like a great plan! Darrell has suggested choosing one market and taking all the trades available in just that one market. After mastering that, you can move onto more markets. I’m pretty sure you’re doing this, but whether it’s 1 market, or more, follow the money management plan!

#6

Congratulations on the success Chris. This is a huge motivation for me. I will be going live this week. After weeks of study and preparation I believe that I am ready. Only thing now is to get a sold money management plan down. Add to that a position sizing strategy as well.

I purchased the book that Darrell recommends : The Trading Game by Ryan Jones. It’s a money management book that he quoted in a post he wrote a few days ago. http://apexinvesting.net/forum/capital-management-44/3-money-size-management-models-1820.html#.U-AoBvldV8E “http://apexinvesting.net/forum/capital-management-44/3-money-size-management-models-1820.html#.U-AoBvldV8E”

So far the book is a solid read and I highly recommend it. I myself am looking at multiple markets as well. Currently monitoring the CL, GC and TF. My personal reason for monitoring 3 markets is because sometimes there may be no valid trades in one instrument for a few days and another one may be moving.

My 6 week observation has led me to believe that when 2 of the 3 markets that monitoring are not moving 1 of them is. For example one day the CL and TF may be slow but GC may be moving, vice versa. I am considering trimming it down but we’ll see.

But keep up the good work Chris. I should be posting more of trades and success as well to help encourage others as you do. With the work you are putting in you are destined to succeed with the APEX system. See you at the top!

Please keep sharing your results and inspiring us all.

BTW did you catch any profit poppers on the CL today? There were 2 of them.

#7

Sorry I did not catch the poppers today. I’m working almost every weekday in Aug. After my 12 hour shift, I’m just too tired mentally to look at charts. I have found it more beneficial to not trade while I’m working, for any of the APEX systems.

I will just be looking at TF, CL and GC as well. I have notice the same thing as you that if 1 or 2 are not moving, 1 will be moving. YM and NQ just distracted me too much. I missed a few trades on GC trying to watch a YM or NQ trade. YM and NQ just don’t make large moves.

I will definitely look at the book The Trading Game. Thanks for the advice. I have read Darrell’s 3 Money and Size Management Models several times. Money management is the hardest thing for me to hold.

#8

Creed, nice job…I’ve been demo profit poppers and having success too… do you use tick or minute based charts? Do you prefer one over the other? Thanks

#9

I use ticks. I only use the profit popper when there is not a valid APEX entry. I have not really used the APEX system or profit popper on minutes bars.

#10

Way to go more and more traders are picking up on the poppers :slight_smile: This was my original apex strategy years ago and still just as solid!

#11

Hey Creed!

Hope all is well with life and trading. As I took a more in depth look into your trading for the month of July it made me realize the importance of taking each trade once the set up is there. One of the main things that I am dealing with psychologically is with taking the next set up after consecutive losses.

Another thing that I really admire about what you said is that you are “mentally ready”. That is an area that I should have prepared myself more on. I was ready system wise as far as observing set ups and being able to interpret them. But I know for certain that I was not ready for the mental side of the game. But somethings can only be learned hindsight.

Keep up the good work Creed. You encourage me a lot. Looking forward to more posts from you.

#12

Hello Movemaker!

I hope everyone reads your post. Stephen, DM, and I talk often about the biggest hurdle folks have to overcome to be successful in this business. It’s the mental/emotional challenges. Anytime I have the opportunity to speak with any trader who has stood the test of time, I always ask about the early days and any advice about good/bad days, etc. They are always willing to share and actually enjoy the conversation because you appreciated that it’s not easy in the beginning. And if there’s one thing they love to help new guys with it’s the mental side. They know without it, you won’t be around long. The emotions of: I’m up on this trade, now I’m down, shoulda gotten out, shoulda followed the rules and I wouldn’t have had this big loser and have bills to pay today, etc.is tough. I could go on forever, but I’ll spare ya the agony lol. Sometimes just having someone to vent to who has been there really helps. Instead of kickin the dog, etc. lol Skype me anytime voice or text yogi.richardson. I’m more than willing to tell ya about my mistakes. the good ones don’t mean much. It’s about the lessons from the bad ones and I can tell ya some I’ve made that first you’ll lyao and then think man, he’s not real smart lol

#13

Movemaker,

Thanks for checking in on me. I’m still mentally ready. Things are very stressful at work with our company being bought out by a competitor. I’m currently looking for a new job with the state police.

I traded for the first in two weeks yesterday. I’m still successful. Took 51 ticks with APEX on CL, but lost 31 ticks on TF profit popper. I should have taken all those momentum scalps. I will try to trade again Monday, but that will be the last day I can trade for the week. I will get 2 trade days the last week of Aug.

#14

Sorry to get back to you soooooo late. I’ve been focusing more on trading these past few weeks. Now that I know that the APEX System has a real edge I’ve been focusing more on the mental game.

I’m finally at break even on my live account so that is a huge motivator for me. But I am 100% certain that if I would have had the proper mindset I would have been at a profit. One thing I really admire about what you do is that you take each set up that occurs and you let probability play in your favor.

So as for me nothing is more important at this point in time than transforming my mindset. I hope your still trading. Looking forward to seeing more posts from you. Hope you get the job issue sorted out.

#15

Yes Creed, hope all works out well for you with the job! MM, yes, being consistent plays a HUGE roll in any system, taking every trade set up that is a Valid set up. When I say valid, I mean that you take every trade that follows the rules but also fits into all aspects of the system and style, ranges, deviations, news etc. Glad you are on the right track here :slight_smile:

#16

i have not traded much last couple weeks. I have been focused on getting everything ready for my state police application. Also, I ended up in the ER with severe abdominal pain a couple weeks ago. I was in intense pain for about 24 hours. The good news is they did not find anything serious, probably some kind of infection. i was awake for about 36 hours, and then sleep for about 18.

I have Monday through Thursday off next week. I will be hitting the trading hard next week.

#17

Ouch!! Glad to hear you are doing better Creed!! Look forward to seeing you in the trading rooms next week!