DenDen's Personal Trading Journal using S/D

Hello Everyone,
I am starting this thread because I would like to keep myself accountable for the trading decisions I make.

A little about me: I am a professional Geologist with a keen interest in trading. I have been interested in trading since 2012 hence the date in my handle. I am 31 years old living in Canada but originally I am from Slovenija. I speak all the ex-YU languages but am a little rusty with them since I moved here when I was 10 years old. So that's a little about me.

I digress, I have opened many micro accounts and blew them up in thinking I'd get rick quick. This business is not about getting rich quick but rather a slow and steady marathon race. After my last blown account, I decided to learn theory and begin to practice and test. After struggling with varying systems I have found supply and demand trading which just makes sense to me. This is not a holy grail but it is what drives the movements of markets.

I have been trading live since January 2016 and have done quite well since then but that is not to say I have not made my fair share of mistakes that have brought drawdowns to my account (very stupid mistakes made when not following the rules). If you are interested in Supply and Demand trading, then google the topic to find a wealth of information. Some names I can recommend are Sam Seiden, Panoramia, Phanti, James16 and others have very detailed threads on the theory of S/D trading. Be aware, one needs to test this before employing it on live accounts as it is not a simple thing to do.

Without further ado, I will be posting my trade setups, annotated charts for you to examine, critique and contribute to. I would like to see like minded people contribute to my trading journal and perhaps turn this thread into something that everyone can profit from.

Regards,
Den

The hardest part is following the plan and being patient. I currently struggle with patience because the mind wants quick succession of rewards. I have developed an evaluation criteria that will hopefully yield to a more consistent trading decision making and thus performance.

Here is the criteria that I will be asking myself with each trade. I have also posted the reasoning behind each question.

What is the strength of the move?
- Strength of the move gives indication of the strength of the level, meaning how many stacked orders there are. The more aggressive the move away, the stronger the level may potentially be.
What is the reward risk ratio of the initial move?
- The initial movement of the price away from a zone is related to the strength of the move. The further the price moves away, the stronger the zone is. In addition the move away gives a rough estimate to the profit taking when the price does eventually return.
The origin of the move, is it tight or wicky?
- Tight zones that do nothing are usually created by institutions before a move. We need to be aware of such zones as they are stacked with orders. If the zones are wicky, they are usually reactions to other zones near by, giving them less weight. Keep in mind, they still work majority of times at least for quick scalps.
What is the time spent at the level before the move away?
- This is an important point as the more time price spends at a level, the more orders are consumed. I will be looking for 3-5 candles and no more than 6 candles in a zone.
How many retracements have occurred at the level?
- How it has been explained to me is the more time the price comes and visits a level, the WEAKER the level becomes because more and more standing unfilled orders are filled.
Did the S/D zone in question engulf an opposing S/D zone?
- Engulfment of opposing zones is important because they give validity to the zones that have created the engulfing action. In other words, if a zone makes a higher high or a lower low, then the zone is stronger than its opposing zone. Hope that makes sense.
How did the price arrive at my level?
- It is important to note how the price reaches a good S/D level. If the price aggressively approaches a level, typically it is a good thing as the stacked orders in that level act as a magnet for the price and I would anticipate a strong reaction away. If it meanders into a level or forms a level just above or below the level we are looking to place our order at, then we have to be careful as the orders are being slowly consumed and an invalidation is much more likely.
What type of level is this?
- There are 4 types of levels. Two of the strongest levels are Rally-base-Drop (RBD), Drop base rally (DBR). This is where I will be looking to take trades from most often. The other two are continuation levels called rally base rally (RBR) and drop base drop (DBD). It is less probable that a continuation level will hold in a counter trend trade. I will be trading continuation zones only in the direction of the trend.

Here is a pending order I have on UJ. H4 execution time frame.

Interesting notes.

I made a print copy to be place in front of me as a reminder. This could help me to qualify SD region.

Martin

I noticed something on your screenshot and I've always been curious about why traders often delete or redact the order numbers from their screenshot. Does it contain some information that could be reverse engineered or, does it uniquely identify the broker or account number?

Hi Denden. I would like to contribute here as a junior member, I've been trading for about 2 years now but starting learning supply and demand 6 months ago, I came across your page through AKT. I wanted to open a thread for my journaling but Im not allowed. I would just like to contribute for now on here so i can put my trades out here and be accountable for my trades. Thank you.