Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Tuesday Notes - A Waiting Game

3:40pm

The waiting is the hardest part;
Every day you see one more card;
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart;
The waiting is the hardest part.

-- Tom Petty "The Waiting"

Waiting for more than one intraday setup;
Waiting for one intraday breakout to hold;
Waiting for higher ADXs;
Waiting for market emotion (a.k.a. "pace") to return;
Waiting to trade heavier sizes again;
Waiting to "feel" the market again;
Waiting for my pinched nerve to heal (began some PT yesterday);
Waiting for the Bruins to start playing again (that's Boston ... not UCLA);
Waiting to set a FIRM date for the first Boston Bamboo get-together (I'm getting close ... would prefer to have two working arms first though);
Waiting for warmer weather;
Waiting for April to be over.

And so call it another toothpick day with a +$3K chip gain on a teeny 500 contracts that likely has my broker calling 911 to check on me. (For newbies, that's buys and sells.) The net gain -- if we even call it that as it's basically a scratch -- was due largely to the 2:20pm mini-bear trap sequence. And I do mean "Mini"!

And so we continue to wait.

Let's hear it ...

The waiting is the hardest part;
Every day you get one more yard;
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart;
The waiting is the hardest part.

13 comments:

E-Mini Player said...

Pace (follow-through) was horrible today! +$3K is really good on a day like today.

steve said...

Well you did a heck of a lot more than me, which was one scratch trade for net $0. Hard to pay attention to this market and half the time I think the DSL connection has gone down.

RexVulgaris said...

'Just Waiting'.. one of my fav songs

Pensioner's waiting for leap year to come
and the young singer's waiting to sing
and there's a gardener outside a big estate
waiting for the grass to turn green

The drunk is waiting for an easy mark
the hitchhiker is waiting for a ride
and the prisoner's waiting for a prison break
and the surfer is waiting for the tide

just waiting

You know everything comes to a standstill
nothing seems to make a turn
cause the worm's still waitin' for the early bird
and the early bird's waitin' for the worm

And nobody wants to do nothing
just waiting for a finger in the pie
and waitin' for a call from a TV show
or waitin' for an uncle to die 1-2-3

Everybody's waitin' for something
and nothing ever turns out right
because the night shift is waiting for the morning
and the burglar is waiting for the night.

Congregation is waitin' for the vicar
and the vicar is waitin' for the groom
the groom is waiting for his new bride
But the bride is waitin' for June

And everybody is just waitin'
and nobody wants to settle down
They got their heads in a holo-video

The cretin is waitin for U2 to come on MTV again
but the producer is waiting for the blonde bird
and the blonde girl's waitin' for him

Nobody wants to do nothing
just waiting for their chips and their pie
waitin' for a call from a big quiz show
or waitin' for some rich relation to die

You know everything comes to a standstill
nothing ever makes a turn
and the worm is waitin' for the grass to turn green
while the early bird is waitin' for the worm

I don't think I can really stand it no more
I don't think I can go through it again
just waiting
just waiting
just waiting
just waiting

Yeah bees are waitin' for honey
and I'm putting it on the back burner for now
cause everybody's racing and fawning and skivin'
and honey I'm waitin' for you
Ah-just waitin'
Ah-just waitin'
Ah-just waitin'
Ah-just waitin'

...MES

Don Miller said...

Star -

Interesting feedback to a personal diary entry, but no offense taken.

Of course those that have been around the block a few times will also understand the phrase, "know thy strengths" :-).

Don

Lord Tedders said...

Don,

Way to keep yourself in the game to the extent possible.

And for startrader - everyone who's been in this game for more than 3 months knows that the market goes in cycles. And why do you care what Don does? How about watching your own performance? It's what the pros do...

LT

Anonymous said...

Don: Sorry to hear that your still having some issues with your neck pain/pinched nerve; have you ever considered contacting a prolotherapist? I, along with many others, including some major league sport players, have benefited from the treatment.

Just thought that I would pass it along; maybe something to bring up with your doctors on next visit.

Look forward to seeing you 100% back in action..

Dominic

Trader Kevin said...

startrader: "No offense, but if you have been around more than 3 years you could put this action into context. Quit your bitchin and trade what is there."

If the action isn't to one's liking, we aren't required to "trade what is there." We're allowed to wait for that batting practice fastball and then swing for the fences.

I'd much rather hear Don lament the waiting than read about someone trading just to trade and getting chopped up. There's a lesson in there.

[Note to Don: Go Bulls!]

Charles said...

Hey Don,

I just wanted to ask you a quick question about the way you use ADX...I have been trying to experiment with it lately and have not been unable to recognize any useful patterns in it as it pertains to price action...so if you have the mind/time to elaborate on the way you use ADX, or if you could point me to a prior post on the subject, please do.

thanks my man,
charleS

PS, glad to hear life for you is "almost too good"...and hope you are able to figure the best way to deal with your pinched nerve.

Charles said...

sorry All...meant to say "have not been ABLE to recognize any useful patterns" in ADX.

charleS

Don Miller said...

Charles -

It's simply a trend indicator. Trading the first timeframe pullback once it begins its ascent or fading a high % emotional overshoot just happen to be two of my preferred entries.

Kevin -

No problem here with a difference of opinion, as we all trade differently (lest we forget the Jazz Trader) and that's what makes a market.

[Although in fifteen years, it's a first for being flagged for "under" trading ... and while on my version of a rare vacation nonetheless. My broker will love that one.]

Don

ES_Addict said...

To Charles - I too use ADX as well as DMI in tandem. Its a great indicator as far as indicators go. Similar to how Don uses it, I look to this indicator for strength and divergence in relation to ES price action.

If interested in learning more, Google 'ADXcellence' and look for it's .com website (not advertising, just sharing a resource). A bit pricey but one of the better ADX / DMI resources I've found.

Steve K.
Williamsburg, VA

TheRumpledOne said...

Hi Don:

Would it be possible for me to get a copy of your WEEKLY PERFORMANCE SCORECARD? I hate to reinvent the wheel.

Thanks,

Avery aka TheRumpledOne

Don Miller said...

Avery -

Sure ... send me your email address in a private post and I'll send the Excel file.

Don