Were you successful with any trades yesterday? The Atlas Line called out a clear winner, totaling about +2.5 points or +10 ticks. This short trade occurred in the E-mini S&P market at about 10 a.m. EST. The signal was generated at the close of the candle at about 2869. At that time, the Average True Range (ATR) was about 2.56. This is where we get the +2.5 profit target (round down to the nearest whole-point). While the maximum profit target may have been double that, once you’re in a trade, the rules say to closely monitor real-time conditions and adjust the profit and stop loss as you go. In some instances, an unexpected news event can dramatically increase volatility. If that happens, you may want to cut your losses and get out sooner than later. Fortunately, this trade was a winner with good volatility.

When trading, getting in as close as possible to the signal price is recommended. In this trade, John Paul got in within a tick or so. If you were trading with five contracts, the profit would have been over $600. Of course, the amount of contracts one can trade with is impacting by one’s ability to properly fund a trading account. Practice is encouraged, then after exploring the risks of trading and consulting with a financial professional, starting off with one contract is probably the best option.

Performance, Risk, and Approach

Students who are new to the price action approach taught by DayTradeToWin may consider the following:

• Reduce risk exposure by staying in a trade as little time as possible. Get in and hopefully get out with profit. The Atlas Line’s rules limit each trade to about 20 min. Often times, you’ll get out sooner.
• Before the trading day begins, check the financial news schedule. Market-impacting events are published ahead of time. You may want to stay out until the volatility subsides.
• Measure your trading success by looking at long-term performance. Look at each month and objectively compare the performance. NinjaTrader has an account performance feature that is useful in this regard. If you are unsatisfied, consider a new approach.