My Trading Plan & Goals

Bio:

Dabbled in options, then came to futures. First NQ, eventually ES. Initially and for a long time self-reliant, trying out all the available online trading approaches and trying to trade heavily trafficked levels (all the usual suspects). Eventually started taking a more restrained approach, trading my own proprietary levels, level to level trading, watching VWAP Stdev levels, and order flow. I am always watching everything in the context of the ACD system, volume profile, and S&P / ES options hedging dynamics. I am also a big fan of Bloodhound and have spent a lot of time working with it, but I have not figured out how to incorporate it into my trading meaningfully yet. I work within the framework of Adam Mancini and Spotgamma daily levels as well.

Stated Goals:

• Reduce noise and bias in my decisions as much as possible
• Focus on process and let the score take care of itself

Risk Management and Trade Execution:

• Take my Self out of the process
• Take losses as variable fixed expenses intrinsic to a business that operates under inherent uncertainty.
• Avoid trading high volatility, low probability times during price discovery (FOMC, CPI, JOLTS, etc).
• Understand that the market is a highly evolved mechanism designed to separate traders from their money. People are emotional creatures. Profitable trading runs counter to herd instincts and every yearning for love and acceptance. It is at best intellectually satisfying.

Educational and Daily Prep Support (in order from most recent to oldest):

• Bloodhound/ Blackbird Sharkindicators community (current)
• Trading Research Group - Orderflow
• Spotgamma (daily levels / prep - current)
• Adam Mancini - Substack subscription (daily prep / levels - current)
• Smashelito - Substack subscription (daily prep / levels - current)
• Mark Fisher - ACD & Pivot system
• Peter Davies / Pro set Jigsaw (not currently using Jigsaw)
• John Grady - Orderflow
• David Halsey - Trading measured moves / previous eminiaddict.com member
• CT Education (aka FT71), volume profile, trading resources, and community.
• Al Brooks Course / Price Action / Chart Patterns Encyclopedia (for course members) / Discord
• Lance Beggs - Price action
• ShadowTrader (Peter Reznicek) daily premarket analysis (past)
• MarketLife (Adam Grimes) education (The Art & Science of Technical Analysis as well)
• Theotrade (past multiyear member) education, trading resources, Tony Rago, NQ.
• OptionAlpha (Lifetime member) education, trading resources, community
• Optionslam education, trading resources
• A lot of reading directly and indirectly relating to trading practice

Personal Growth

• Everything that grows out of my Catholic faith.
• Atomic Habits

Health and Mindset

• Family
• Daily prayers
• Always driving home the fact that I am a steward for my trading system
• Daily 5 mile outdoor bike ride
• Proper diet, sleep
• Trading process & psych influential authors: Al Brooks, Mark Fisher, Linda Raschke & Laurence Connors, Annie Duke, Mark Douglas, Daniel Kahneman, Cass R. Sunstein, Olivier Sibony, James Clear,  Joel Brockner & Jeffrey Z. Rubin, Daniel Gilbert, Andrew Lo, Alexander Elder, Nassim Taleb, Jack Schwager, Jesse Livermore, David Halsey, Adam Grimes.