Here's a couple of notes for folks coming into this thread or just learning the system. I've been following the thread for about 3 months now (I've read it all, studied the pdf, etc) and started trading the system this morning through the London session. (I've dabbled with multiple systems over last few months and found this one suits my trading style).
DISCLAIMER: I am reasonably new to this method of trading, so this is just my observations based upon my experiences - so this may or may not apply to your situation.
Few notables:
1 - Make sure you read the PDF (its attached to post #1 in this thread) as well as read through the ENTIRE thread and the no brainer trades website. I can't stress enough how important this is, as there are some nuggets of gold hidden throughout, and the more nuggets you have in your pocket the better you will be when you start trading this alone. I can say that I will read the PDF and the no brainer trades dot com website completely through about 1-2 times per month, and each time I find additional information.
2 - While many guys on here seem to follow many pairs (It's an acquired skill IMO), I'd suggest scaling back in the numbers that you'd watch initially. I had 13 charts open this morning and my head was spinning, so I'm going to cut back to about 5 for the short term and learn to manage that.
3 - Today I was able to post a profit of almost $15. While that might sound like not much of a payoff for some work, I have to say a couple of things -
a) I was trading today with lot sizes that are about 0.2% (yes two tenths of 1%) being risked on any single trade.
b) I had enough outside stressors with watching the different charts and managing my trades that I didn't need to see price swings making my heart jump.
c) I'm planning to use this reduced size trading for the rest of this week and will assess how things are on Friday before incrementing up to 2% risked per trade (or something between 0.2% and 2%).
d) Net result *IF* I was trading what will be normal size lots, I'd have netted $150 in about 90 minutes of work today, and this will only improve as I get better at spotting opportunities and managing the trades, and increase as the account balance does as well.
4 - Have some realistic goals set. Ideally my goal is to average 35 pips/day as of right now (Made about double that today). As my comfort level grows, that will probably increase, but I prefer to exceed the goal rather than feel the need to "stretch" to make it (ie don't overtrade)
5 - When you come up with some trading idea/line, I like to make sure I mark it in a notebook and/or on the chart. (I'm doing both as lines don't typically denote when they were drawn and too many can add clutter to the chart).
6 - Pick a color (I used orange) and draw your daily trading line (or lines if you have a range) on each chart you're following, and then LEAVE THEM there until you either take the trade or else the next trading day. This will allow you to look back 24 hours and see what happened around the area you had highlighted for the last day. This will either add confirmation you had the line right or else let you see where the action was relative to what you thought to help improve your ability to see.
7 - Plan your work and work your plan. Before even considering hitting the buy/sell button on your platform, make sure you have marked up your charts as to what values/areas you are looking to enter, and what your trade management plan is. For example, here's the basics of mine (which have come pretty much from the thread):
a) 40 pip SL (can vary based upon entry range, etc but still keep lot sizing appropriate so that *IF* your stop is hit, you don't lose more than x% based upon your money management)
b) Don't risk more than 2% of account on any trade (I was MUCH more conservative today as I mentioned earlier)
c) Plan some sort of exit strategy. For me, once I get 20 pips in profit I move the stop to BE, and take half off the table. (I'm considering when I get my lot sizes up to 2% maybe approaching this in thirds - ie 1/3 out at +20, SL to BE, 1/3 out at +50 and then SL to +20, and then let rest run to next support/resistance or SL. Haven't thought much about that yet, as I'm still working to get my bearings with the whole trading system)
d) Don't chase trades. This one was a problem for me. For example, I had USDCAD short with a range of 1.2588-1.2600. Had I waited, I could've gotten in at the 1.26 end of the range (instead of the 1.2586 I got). Net result was this would've went to +20 in almost no time instead of fighting to get back beyond BE. Key is - know your entry range and ensure that you're getting the entry you want!
Well hopefully some folks will find this useful, as I think its a quick overview of the work and planning that is required to be successful trading this system. While it may seem like an easy system to grasp (and the general concepts of it are), I'd strongly encourage anyone to read the entire thread (especially the first few months of it at a minimum) and the PDF documents as there is so much more to learn than what you'll get from the day to day discussions.
Hope this helps someone, if not please proceed to the next post :-)
DISCLAIMER: I am reasonably new to this method of trading, so this is just my observations based upon my experiences - so this may or may not apply to your situation.
Few notables:
1 - Make sure you read the PDF (its attached to post #1 in this thread) as well as read through the ENTIRE thread and the no brainer trades website. I can't stress enough how important this is, as there are some nuggets of gold hidden throughout, and the more nuggets you have in your pocket the better you will be when you start trading this alone. I can say that I will read the PDF and the no brainer trades dot com website completely through about 1-2 times per month, and each time I find additional information.
2 - While many guys on here seem to follow many pairs (It's an acquired skill IMO), I'd suggest scaling back in the numbers that you'd watch initially. I had 13 charts open this morning and my head was spinning, so I'm going to cut back to about 5 for the short term and learn to manage that.
3 - Today I was able to post a profit of almost $15. While that might sound like not much of a payoff for some work, I have to say a couple of things -
a) I was trading today with lot sizes that are about 0.2% (yes two tenths of 1%) being risked on any single trade.
b) I had enough outside stressors with watching the different charts and managing my trades that I didn't need to see price swings making my heart jump.
c) I'm planning to use this reduced size trading for the rest of this week and will assess how things are on Friday before incrementing up to 2% risked per trade (or something between 0.2% and 2%).
d) Net result *IF* I was trading what will be normal size lots, I'd have netted $150 in about 90 minutes of work today, and this will only improve as I get better at spotting opportunities and managing the trades, and increase as the account balance does as well.
4 - Have some realistic goals set. Ideally my goal is to average 35 pips/day as of right now (Made about double that today). As my comfort level grows, that will probably increase, but I prefer to exceed the goal rather than feel the need to "stretch" to make it (ie don't overtrade)
5 - When you come up with some trading idea/line, I like to make sure I mark it in a notebook and/or on the chart. (I'm doing both as lines don't typically denote when they were drawn and too many can add clutter to the chart).
6 - Pick a color (I used orange) and draw your daily trading line (or lines if you have a range) on each chart you're following, and then LEAVE THEM there until you either take the trade or else the next trading day. This will allow you to look back 24 hours and see what happened around the area you had highlighted for the last day. This will either add confirmation you had the line right or else let you see where the action was relative to what you thought to help improve your ability to see.
7 - Plan your work and work your plan. Before even considering hitting the buy/sell button on your platform, make sure you have marked up your charts as to what values/areas you are looking to enter, and what your trade management plan is. For example, here's the basics of mine (which have come pretty much from the thread):
a) 40 pip SL (can vary based upon entry range, etc but still keep lot sizing appropriate so that *IF* your stop is hit, you don't lose more than x% based upon your money management)
b) Don't risk more than 2% of account on any trade (I was MUCH more conservative today as I mentioned earlier)
c) Plan some sort of exit strategy. For me, once I get 20 pips in profit I move the stop to BE, and take half off the table. (I'm considering when I get my lot sizes up to 2% maybe approaching this in thirds - ie 1/3 out at +20, SL to BE, 1/3 out at +50 and then SL to +20, and then let rest run to next support/resistance or SL. Haven't thought much about that yet, as I'm still working to get my bearings with the whole trading system)
d) Don't chase trades. This one was a problem for me. For example, I had USDCAD short with a range of 1.2588-1.2600. Had I waited, I could've gotten in at the 1.26 end of the range (instead of the 1.2586 I got). Net result was this would've went to +20 in almost no time instead of fighting to get back beyond BE. Key is - know your entry range and ensure that you're getting the entry you want!
Well hopefully some folks will find this useful, as I think its a quick overview of the work and planning that is required to be successful trading this system. While it may seem like an easy system to grasp (and the general concepts of it are), I'd strongly encourage anyone to read the entire thread (especially the first few months of it at a minimum) and the PDF documents as there is so much more to learn than what you'll get from the day to day discussions.
Hope this helps someone, if not please proceed to the next post :-)
I didn't take this one as I'm a bit fed up with the pair.
