"Feel" for the trade is a little difficult to quantify
It is part intuition, part rationalization and part reasoning...
It can be difficult to know when feel is working to your advantage, even
after using it to rationalize an entry - one that works OR one that fails.
I try to apply REASON to an endeavor that is inherently IRRATIONAL ...
Feel takes time to develop.
It is distinct from desire - we all desire to place winning trades...
But hope cannot be relied upon in the trading world.
On the other hand, a statistically pure 'black box' approach
has also been proven ineffective when applied to trading.
So, there is this thing I call feel...
It is a very slight edge a successful trader will concede the existence of.
Successful traders encourage it's development in themselves.
A bit of feel is involved in placing orders when there are few good signals
on the charts. Sometimes you see things that you think might produce
positive price action...so you enter the fray...
Feel is all about empowering your subconscious, enabling your creativity...
hopefully resulting in improved bottom line results.
Some would call this counting on luck. I prefer to say
that I'm relying on my experience, my feel for the trade.
Successful technical trading relies partially on your "feel" -- for initiating entries and exits.
The same can be said about managing a trade once you have taken a position.
Examples using feel include, but not limited to:
Knowing when to raise a protective STOP-LOSS to break-even (or above) and
Knowing when to raise (or cancel) the TARGET-STOP, looking for an extended run-up
The more time spent studying the nuances of your chosen
trade vehicle, the better your feel for the trade becomes.
All the aspects above are crucial to successful discretionary trading.
Each is just as important as choosing a trading methodology that suits you.
The "Coulda - Shoulda's" ...don't sweat 'em, learn from them
Refreshing or Re-establishing price action Feel
The markets are constantly in a state of flux...so must be your sense of feel
I use many different minute based time frame charts for developing feel:
Daily, 15 minute, 3 minute and one minute as well as 2 or 3 very short term T-Mode tick charts.
l always have these open on my layout and they serve several purposes:
√ During the trading session they give me a way to view current and overall price action.
This keeps my market action feel up-to-the-minute at all times.
√ If I take a short break away from my trading station, they are essential towards quickly getting
back up to speed with what may have transpired in my absence.
√ Due to the fact that I do not trade 24 hours, having these charts open when I turn on my computer
allows me to quickly re-establish my feel whenever I start my next trading day.
Also - - I utilize TEST or practice trades to refresh my feel for what's happening in the markets.
Feel helps to put you in a position to win, even in marginal situations.
To see the comments click on the first chart to open larger views in Slideshow mode.
To see the comments click on the first chart to open larger views in Slideshow mode.
