I feel the excitement of starting this thread. I also hear my mind telling me to stop now because this is a commitment that I am making. Looking through this thread, I see a lot of people have started journals and only a few are active. I am guessing that one of two things happened; it became to bothersome to continue posting or the author quit trading.
So why would a sane person (questionable at best) go through the rigors of creating and maintaining a journal for any length of time? For me it is the desire to become a better trader. I have reached a plateau in my trading and am at that pivotal point where I am bored with what I am doing. That is significant because I have this desire to start experimenting. In the past I have had the pain of blowing up an account when this experimenting urge overtook my being. So in a way, this is my way of being creative in the market and still keeping my account intact.
My journal will be more of the mental side of trading though I will throw in some trades and results and be open for ways to improve what I am doing.
I have tried everything under the sun, purchased systems, followed threads, tried every indicator known to man and a few that aren’t and given up several times.
Today, I have settled on trading the 30 min time frame. I say today because one ever knows what will show up in the future.
So why the 30 min time frame? At heart I am a short term trader. I put weekly and daily trades on and find I don’t handle the volatility well. My emotions get the better of me, my fear of loss mostly and so I get out early or I take the trade off the table an hour before it becomes a successful trade. I have tried shorter time frames and find that my emotions get the better of me and I churn myself to death. My worst day trading was losing $15k chasing one pip. Now that was a nightmare. I have learned from though I have yet to recover from the experience emotionally and financially.
I still let my emotions get the best of me with the 30 minute timeframe though I seem to be able to feel good about a smaller profit then I could have had. I also have several set ups I am looking for on the 30 minute time frame so I can be in the market most of the time. Keeps me on my toes to say the least. Hardest thing for me right now is to remember what got me into the trade so I know how to manage the trade.
I also only trade 2% of my account based on a 50 – 75 pip stop loss. (Lesson learned the hard way.) My stop losses are typically half of this so in essence I am trading less that 2% of my account. I also try to add to my positions before taking ½ of my position off the table and let the other half run. This is my weakest area because I will quit often take everything off the table instead. Not sure if this is worth working on at this moment or not.
Right now I have three set ups I am looking for. I use a 21 SMA as my only indicator. Mostly, my trades are based on price action.
First and foremost – I trade the same hours every day; I trade the same set ups every day. Well this isn’t quite true but it sounds good to say that.
Hours: the later part of the New York Market – 15 GMT to 20 GMT. I trade the later part of the market because I read somewhere that the market will retrace from the day’s high or low at least 20% roughly 95% of the time. This gives me a backstop to trade against. Also because I am in a terrible time zone for trading the London market and the start of the New york.
Primary methods – Slingshot, 21 SMA, inside bar breaks;
Sling Shot Method (a couple of threads already cover this) I use this on the 30 min chart, though I am experimenting with it on the daily chart at the open of the London market. Haven’t traded it yet so it is still in that place in my mind called “holy grail”. I am also very controlled on any trade that goes against the 21 SMA.
Inside Bar (a couple of threads already cover this) my twist is that I will go with the break out if it is in the direction of the 21 SMA. If the break is against the 21 SMA, I will put in an entry on the other side of the trade and ignore the breakout. If the breakout is in the direction of the SMA I will also put in a stop and reverse order on the other side of the bar.This catches those trades that break one way and then go the other way forever.
21 SMA
Price crosses the 21 SMA and closes on the other side of the MA. I wait for the first candle to close in the opposite direction of the Set-up Bar then put entry 5 pips above or below the set up bar. Stop is the high or low of the set up bar. Sometimes I will put on a trade off the first bar. Just depends on the set up bar move.
I like these three set up’s because I can be involved in any kind of market and make a few pips every day.
Mostly for me, this journal is to give me a forum for accountability. Am I doing what I say I am doing or am I being to undisciplined to be successful? I welcome feedback that helps me be honest with what I am doing. In my mind this is the first area of success in any endeavor – honesty with self and others.
So with that I am off and running. As Frodo Baggins once implied “you never know where that first step down the road will lead you.”
So why would a sane person (questionable at best) go through the rigors of creating and maintaining a journal for any length of time? For me it is the desire to become a better trader. I have reached a plateau in my trading and am at that pivotal point where I am bored with what I am doing. That is significant because I have this desire to start experimenting. In the past I have had the pain of blowing up an account when this experimenting urge overtook my being. So in a way, this is my way of being creative in the market and still keeping my account intact.
My journal will be more of the mental side of trading though I will throw in some trades and results and be open for ways to improve what I am doing.
I have tried everything under the sun, purchased systems, followed threads, tried every indicator known to man and a few that aren’t and given up several times.
Today, I have settled on trading the 30 min time frame. I say today because one ever knows what will show up in the future.
So why the 30 min time frame? At heart I am a short term trader. I put weekly and daily trades on and find I don’t handle the volatility well. My emotions get the better of me, my fear of loss mostly and so I get out early or I take the trade off the table an hour before it becomes a successful trade. I have tried shorter time frames and find that my emotions get the better of me and I churn myself to death. My worst day trading was losing $15k chasing one pip. Now that was a nightmare. I have learned from though I have yet to recover from the experience emotionally and financially.
I still let my emotions get the best of me with the 30 minute timeframe though I seem to be able to feel good about a smaller profit then I could have had. I also have several set ups I am looking for on the 30 minute time frame so I can be in the market most of the time. Keeps me on my toes to say the least. Hardest thing for me right now is to remember what got me into the trade so I know how to manage the trade.
I also only trade 2% of my account based on a 50 – 75 pip stop loss. (Lesson learned the hard way.) My stop losses are typically half of this so in essence I am trading less that 2% of my account. I also try to add to my positions before taking ½ of my position off the table and let the other half run. This is my weakest area because I will quit often take everything off the table instead. Not sure if this is worth working on at this moment or not.
Right now I have three set ups I am looking for. I use a 21 SMA as my only indicator. Mostly, my trades are based on price action.
First and foremost – I trade the same hours every day; I trade the same set ups every day. Well this isn’t quite true but it sounds good to say that.
Hours: the later part of the New York Market – 15 GMT to 20 GMT. I trade the later part of the market because I read somewhere that the market will retrace from the day’s high or low at least 20% roughly 95% of the time. This gives me a backstop to trade against. Also because I am in a terrible time zone for trading the London market and the start of the New york.
Primary methods – Slingshot, 21 SMA, inside bar breaks;
Sling Shot Method (a couple of threads already cover this) I use this on the 30 min chart, though I am experimenting with it on the daily chart at the open of the London market. Haven’t traded it yet so it is still in that place in my mind called “holy grail”. I am also very controlled on any trade that goes against the 21 SMA.
Inside Bar (a couple of threads already cover this) my twist is that I will go with the break out if it is in the direction of the 21 SMA. If the break is against the 21 SMA, I will put in an entry on the other side of the trade and ignore the breakout. If the breakout is in the direction of the SMA I will also put in a stop and reverse order on the other side of the bar.This catches those trades that break one way and then go the other way forever.
21 SMA
Price crosses the 21 SMA and closes on the other side of the MA. I wait for the first candle to close in the opposite direction of the Set-up Bar then put entry 5 pips above or below the set up bar. Stop is the high or low of the set up bar. Sometimes I will put on a trade off the first bar. Just depends on the set up bar move.
I like these three set up’s because I can be involved in any kind of market and make a few pips every day.
Mostly for me, this journal is to give me a forum for accountability. Am I doing what I say I am doing or am I being to undisciplined to be successful? I welcome feedback that helps me be honest with what I am doing. In my mind this is the first area of success in any endeavor – honesty with self and others.
So with that I am off and running. As Frodo Baggins once implied “you never know where that first step down the road will lead you.”
I make money anywhere in the world by taking orders