My 60 day challenge (Yes i know another hero...)

Thanks for your post.

You right about the stoploss, I will write it down.
The method is based on the camarillo pivots. The lines are a good indication where price can go to. Sometimes when i'm wrong, by adding a position at certain level you have the chance to get out at BE or with a little loss. Most of the time it happens, but my problem is that i don't get out of the trade, hoping to get more from the trade. And then it goes wrong.
But i will try to determine the stoploss before taking a trade. Also trade with smaller lotsizes is a good idea.

I will also try this method on Fiber, to see if its suitable.

Thanks again.



btw: looks like forexfactory is really slow, had to type some posts twice

This seems to happen from time to time on all internet discussion forums. Some people copy their post as they finish typing and paste it into notepad just to be on the safe side. This is very useful for lengthier posts.

Good luck with your trading!

Adding to a losing position is a sure way to blow out your account. Think about it this way - you are going to have your largest size on when the market has shown you, your initial position was wrong. So you are taking a huge risk just to come out at break-even.

Develope rules in your trading. Have Take Profit levels and stop loss levels in place at all times.

I think it might be time to re-start the challenge from the beginning. Take the lessons you learned this time and don't repeate the same mistakes.

Hi Jeremy,

I've decided to get more control over my bad habits, like greed, impatient, expecting too much from a trade. So the coming weeks i'm focusing on that and less on what i will earn (or loss).
I also want to rewrite my trading plan.
When i feel comfortable with all, i will start a new journal, but without the goal to get an amount of money after a number of days. My goal is trying to be more consistent in my profits.

Regards

I think your journal was pretty interesting. I have just a bit of advice for you. Hopefully you don't mind me sharing what I think.

Try thinking in terms of % rather than $. No matter how you look at it, it's all about %. I'm not sure how you were trading and how much you were risking but I will give you an example of my new trading plan that I will put into place in January when I return to live trading.

I like to scalp because it fits my personality very well. I always think in % so I will explain in that matter.

If you start the new year off with $1k and can average 2% per day (notice I said average because you will have losing days) for the year of 2011, you will take your $1k to over $100k by the end of 2011. Now before you or anybody else says that's impossible let me say what I say to all situations like that...just because you have not done it or don't know somebody who has...does not mean it's not possible.

So to save the argument, let's say that you don't think you can make that kind of money in one year. Why not shoot for it and if you fall short, let's say you end up with $25k in your trading account...are you going to be upset about that? Would you be upset that you did not make it to $100k but you ended up taking your $1k to $25k...I don't think you would be upset about that.

Now here is how I'm going to trade. I risk 3% per trade. Since I scalp and use a stop loss of 10 pips, I'm comfortable with risking 3% per trade. Keep in mind I know what 2% per day on average can do for you so I'm okay if after some wins and loses within a day, I end up making 2%. Once I start trading in January, I will start with $1k. So at that point 2% will be $20 profit for me and I'm fine with that. Trading is not a sprint, it's a marathon.

Now I also have a quitting spot if I have a great trading day. I'm not sure if you already do or if you want to trade for a living but trading is a job and should be treated as such. If you work a 9-5, then you work a 9-5. You know you are supposed to be to work by 9am and you get to leave no sooner than 5pm. Treat trading the same way. First off, avoid the less volatile times. For me, I trade the London session, US session and the beginning of the Asian session. My quitting point for the day is 9% profit. Now I know I will not hit that everyday but I have hit it a few times per week on multiple weeks.

I don't try and make 9% in one sitting. I risk 3% (10 pips) per trade. So I know that I need to make 30 pips in a single day to have a profit of 9%. So what I do is I split my trading up into sessions. When I'm up 3% in a single session, I quit trading that session. I go spend time with my family or take a nap or go for a jog to settle down a bit. Trading can be very stressful if you are staring at the screen all day long. So my plan is to make 3% in 3 different session and then that gives me my 9% for the day and I'm done...no matter what.

Sometimes, I use a 5 pip take profit anda 10 pip stop loss. I know that sounds crazy but for me it works. I'm able to make 5 pips consistently. I've learned how to read the slope on my MACD indicator and I use Heiken Ashi to help me out. I need 6 trades to profit at 5 pips eac to make my 30 pips and I'm done for the day at my maximum target point. I always keep my 2% bubble above my head though. Don't think that you need 15-20% per day to be successful in this business.

Most people in this business fail because they don't have the patience to stick it out and take it slow. Playing the lottery is how you get rich quick...not forex trading.

I know this post is long and I'm sorry for that. I just wanted to share my thoughts because it's obvious that you have a method that wins consistently for you. Your losses were from your greed. You had many days when you were in profit 10-15% or more. If you have a method that can do that for you, pick a stopping point lower than that and live to fight another day. Remember, consistency is the name of the game in trading. You can be up and down all over the place but at the end of the day chances are you will be right where you started. Make a plan, stick to it and watch how your account will grow at a nice steady pace.

You will have losing days but pick an amount for those days and stick with it as well. I could be wrong but it seems like you are an aggressive trader. If I'm correct, pick a place like 10% and stick with it. Say to yourself that if you lose 10% of your account balance in a day, you will quit trading for the day.

You can be a great trader and make great money in this business but you have to respect the market and the results will come. Treat trading like a boxing match. Two heavyweights are not going to step into the ring without having trained for 6-8 months and not having watched film on each other to learn their tendencies. Treat your trading the same way. Do your homework on what you are good at and what you suck at. Whatever you suck at, remove it. Don't waste your time trying to improve it. The things you are good at, continue to work on them and so you can become great at them.

I did not start trading consistently profitable until I stuck to one thing and one thing only. I stopped trying to trade long term, fibs, pullbacks, pivots and all of that. I found my strength, which was scalping and that's all I do. I don't need to be great at 10 things to make money in this business, I just need to be solid at 1. Same with you.

Hopefully I was able to shed some light on your situation and struggles. Trust me, we all have been there more than once. Like someone said in a previous post, start your journey over but don't worry about a timeline. A timeline will just force you to rush, which will just take you down the wrong road. Create a plan, follow it and watch you account grow consistently.

Good Luck

Hi Scalp,

Thanks for your post.

There are indeed a few things you mentioned, which i find usefull.
Especially to see things % wise, and ofcourse get rid of the timeline.
At the moment i'm rewriting my tradingplan and i will use some of your ideas, like stop trading on a day when a certain % loss has been reached.
For myself i was already thinking about trading during some period of the day and to quit at a certain amount of profit.

Thanks again.

I'm glad you understand some of the points I was trying to make. Sorry for it being so long. I think you are going to do just fine in this business once you get a few things under control.

I went back and looked at your results and you could be making a very consistent living in this business once you get those issues under control. On your winning days, you had very nice % gains. That's what it's all about.

I have a spreadsheet that I think would help you out with staying on track with your plan but since I'm a Junior Member, the file is too big. When I can send larger files, I will share with you or if you would like it right now, just send me an email and I will send it to you via email.

Hopefully you will share your trading plan here at your thread. I would love to see what you come up with as the begininng steps to you achieving your goals.

Another idea that I want to share is even though we are trading Forex, which is a larger market than stocks, try to think in terms of stocks.

This is going to touch on the % conversation again but it will be brief. When I'm trading, I think in terms of stocks and not Forex. What I mean by that is, if a stock moves 1 or 2% in a single day, that's a great, great, great day for a stock. Most stocks move less than 1% each day. If they move anything more than that, it's a big move for that day.

Now in Forex 1% per day is very simple and can be achieved very consistently. I will not say it's easy because I don't want anybody to get the wrong idea, but it's something one can do consistently if they put in the effort.

Now think about all of the stories that you may have read or seen about people who have built a nice financial situation for themselves trading stocks. Now keep in mind that stocks usually move less than 1% per day but think about how many people have made nice livings trading stocks.

Now in Forex, 1% comes so quickly you miss it many times. For example, I just made 10 pips on a short on E/U (the only pair I trade) and that is equal to 3% for me. So if you know that great livings have been made trading stocks and % wise, they don't move nowhere as much as Forex...do you think you would be upset if you were making 2% per day???

I don't think so. I know it may be crazy to think that way but it's what I do. I try to make sure that I always have my trading in perspective. I know that I will not become rich overnight but that's not my goal so I'm fine with that.

Try to trade Forex but think in terms of stocks and it will help you understand that making 1-3% per day is more than enough to build yourself a nice account and get to the point where you want to be financially.

After I made my 10 pips, I walked away and got my things together so I can get in the shower. When I get out, I will take a look at the charts and see where I may be able to get my next trade. If I reach a gain of 9% in my trading account, I will close out my platform and quit for the day.

Another thing I do is never think I'm going to lose. I know it's going to happen but I always think I will win each trade. Try to think positive all the time. It truly does make a difference.

Well, I got out of the shower, looked at my charts and took a short. I saw that price action was turning around on me so I closed out my short and entered a long and 4 minutes later, I had gained another 3%.

I'm currently up 6.09% thus far and if I can make 10 more pips, I will be done trading for the day.

News is about to be released so I will sit on the side until I think things have calmed down a bit.

Also, if I'm posting too much in your journal, please let me know. I truly don't mean any disrespect. I'm just trying to help you see that making just a few small changes to your style and you will be well on your way.

Hi Msiamd,

Please try it again this year. I hope it would be better than last year.

Thanks!