Building an equity millipede | Page 237 | Forex Factory

Options

Go to
Permalinks
Print Thread

Similar Threads

Thegman's Journal (Equity Millipede Concept) 102 replies

Trading an Equity Millipede 23 replies

Equity millipede & Flying Buddha trading journal 9 replies

Build an Equity Millipede with the filtered Flying Buddha 171 replies

Application Development - Journal of Building an equity millipede 14 replies

Attachments: Building an equity millipede
Exit Attachments

Building an equity millipede

  • #4,721
  • Aug 1, 2011 1:48am Aug 1, 2011 1:48am
Quoting Edd Ganuelas
Pip_Pirate,

I need to refocuse my psychology as well. Getting infront of the computer makes you more agitated sometimes. Please post more of your experience as to how you use your pirating expertise in the sea of forex. lol!

Kind regards,

Edd
Hi Edd,

Do you have a written trading plan ? When you sit in front of the computer do you know in advance which setups you are going to trade and how you are going to manage positions when those show up ?

Kindest Regards,

Cam
  • #4,722
  • Aug 1, 2011 5:06am Aug 1, 2011 5:06am
Quoting cameron1st
Hi Edd,

Do you have a written trading plan ? When you sit in front of the computer do you know in advance which setups you are going to trade and how you are going to manage positions when those show up ?

Kindest Regards,

Cam
Yes we have heard that many times haven't we but have you really made aplan and set goals ? (not meant at you camron just rambling)
I know i didn't for a very long time, remember im smarter than other people aren't we all ?
A good plan is vital and i also like to set up goals it helps me follow the plan as I easily can ask myself that if i ignore my plan will it lead to my goals.
No, And then it more likely i will not take that trade that looks good but is not in my plan, The trade that often leads to a loss and revenge trading to regain loss and so on and on...
My plan includes goals Short term mid term and long term, The goals should be high but still attainable without taking to much risk. Evaluation should also be part of you plan. Did i reach my goal ? if not then why ? is there something in my behavior i can change ? if i reach the goal then why ? what did i do that made me reach my goal. Take those good things and use them!
Im my job we often set goals and evaluate, we try to find where there is room for improvement we also point out what we did well.
People i meet often forget to also point out what we did well and how we can continue to do so! that is even more vital i believe!
Don't focus on the bad part recognize them find a way to minimize them or eliminate them. Then focus on the good parts establish them as this is the way we do things! I will do even more of this.
And in the markets the above is even more vital as we can be punished when we are doing things right and that can lead to error in behaviour. Same with doing the wrong thing and get rewarded.

Bleh long post i have to reread and correct/clarify when i get home at work now
The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent.
  • #4,723
  • Aug 1, 2011 5:50am Aug 1, 2011 5:50am
Hiya, mates,

On this important topic of what to do and how to get progressed through emotional hurdles and when price moves and you're stubborn and don't know what to do...
My advice is of cource to have a plan, but also to work with your own greed and fear. Greed expressed when one overexposes his account, making revenge trades, using way too much lot size.

Fear + greed = when you enter on small move fearing you'll be too late for some decent move, when you can't close positions hanging in drawdown, similarly when you can't close (diversify) positions when market clearly shows it has no steem to advance further at this moment.

But the basics to work with I suppose is still the same old trading journal with notes on reasoning why entered here, where was SL, the end result of that trade, what was positive that you did in that trade, what was wrong => lessons learnt. When I was wrong and acted not as intended, I mark these trades and EXACT what was wrong with red marks, and with green ones those actions which were executed as planned, and every morning I quickly glance on those red and green points and give myself a promise to not repeat red ones, but only do green ones. Of course red ones happen again and again, it's not an easy and fast process, but at least I see a progress in trading and there fewer and fewer red ones week after week.

On the footnotes I also mark which red ones were result of my fear, which were of my greed, and the self-awareness helps me at least to identify the problem and work towards its elimination. Even with clear plan it's rarely possible for human being to execute it in 100% fullness, we can just work towards that, but only few reached that state. I'm not reached it yet too.
  • #4,724
  • Aug 1, 2011 10:42am Aug 1, 2011 10:42am
Hi,

When I mentioned "trading plan" I meant something along the lines of what Graeme is describing in his posts, example:

"Lets write a plan before the start of the circled week candle."
http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...39#post3984839

Quoting Pip_Pirate
My plan includes goals Short term mid term and long term, The goals should be high but still attainable without taking to much risk. Evaluation should also be part of you plan. Did i reach my goal ? if not then why ?
I would call that more of a business plan.

Quoting AlexanderSV
But the basics to work with I suppose is still the same old trading journal with notes on reasoning why entered here, where was SL, the end result of that trade, what was positive that you did in that trade, what was wrong => lessons learnt.
And that one indeed is a trading journal, not a trading plan though.

Kindest Regards,

Cam
  • #4,725
  • Edited 1:27pm Aug 1, 2011 1:26pm | Edited 1:27pm
Quoting cameron1st
Hi,

When I mentioned "trading plan" I meant something along the lines of what Graeme is describing in his posts, example:

"Lets write a plan before the start of the circled week candle."
http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...39#post3984839



I would call that more of a business plan.



And that one indeed is a trading journal, not a trading plan though.

Kindest Regards,

Cam
Yes Cam you are correct i didn't think about it that way actually as i have all that in my document called " trading plan"
But I guess the correct way would be to call it a bussiness plan looking at the content.

I do however plan my trades as per graemes post which i have described in my earlier posts. That is at sundays identify areas of interest, establish a bias I do not yet trade much against my bias as graeme describes. I also write the notes on my charts as it seems to help me not forget. during the trading days i start with checking up on my notes and often i can see that a pattern has matured and I can start to look for entrys.

So Cam are you actively trading Graemes approach ?
Would love to see what you have found out
The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent.
  • #4,726
  • Edited 4:56pm Aug 1, 2011 2:05pm | Edited 4:56pm
Quoting Pip_Pirate
So Cam are you actively trading Graemes approach ?
Would love to see what you have found out
Hi Pip,

I am actually trading my approach, based on my understanding of the markets.

I found out many things during this journey, some of the most important: there comes a moment when you have to turn off everything, stop reading books and forums and try to make sense of trading by yourself, what you are doing has to make sense to you, you have to "own" it, chances are that the knowledge required to be profitable is inside you already, you just have to sit back and think about things (i.e. put together a trading plan, decide some rules for what your approach is... example for the entries... pin bar ? engulf ? what about exits ? what about failed patterns ? when is a pin bar or engulf setup invalidated ? ...you get the idea, you can't lead your army of soldiers without a plan, can you ?).

This will sound controversial but I realised that in trading nobody is right, or wrong...it's about beliefs, like religion in a sense, there's no right or wrong, just different paths. So if we are all right why are we not all making money ? Because you are not consistently following the same approach, because you show up in the market unprepared, without a plan, bringing a knife to a gun fight etc

...and after I came to my own conclusions about trading, I re-read this thread, and found out that Graeme gave us all this information already, but I couldn't fully "own" it until I came to the conclusions by myself. It's like everything else in life... people give advice, but you have to have your own experiences to really understand.

Kindest Regards,

Cam
  • #4,727
  • Aug 1, 2011 2:22pm Aug 1, 2011 2:22pm
Quoting cameron1st
Hi Pip,

I am actually trading my approach, based on my understanding of the markets.

I found out many things during this journey, some of the most important: there comes a moment when you have to turn off everything, stop reading books and forums and try to make sense of trading by yourself, what you are doing has to make sense to you, you have to "own" it because chances are that the knowledge required to be profitable is inside you already, you just have to sit back and think about things (i.e. put together a trading plan, decide some rules...
Best post I have read on FF for a long time. Sounds like someone else actually gets it
  • #4,728
  • Aug 1, 2011 2:34pm Aug 1, 2011 2:34pm
nice comment!

Quoting cameron1st
Hi Pip,

I am actually trading my approach, based on my understanding of the markets.

I found out many things during this journey, some of the most important: there comes a moment when you have to turn off everything, stop reading books and forums and try to make sense of trading by yourself, what you are doing has to make sense to you, you have to "own" it because chances are that the knowledge required to be profitable is inside you already, you just have to sit back and think about things (i.e. put together a trading plan, decide some rules...
  • #4,729
  • Aug 1, 2011 3:08pm Aug 1, 2011 3:08pm
Quoting willf
Best post I have read on FF for a long time. Sounds like someone else actually gets it
Yep a really nice post
The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent.
  • #4,730
  • Aug 1, 2011 3:56pm Aug 1, 2011 3:56pm
Hi guys,
Can you be so pleasant to show me the latest .pdf file with all of Graeme's (pipeasy's) posts? And by the way, what happened to him? (I've just read first hundred pages)

Kind regards to you all,and have a nice day.
  • #4,731
  • Aug 1, 2011 4:42pm Aug 1, 2011 4:42pm
Quoting Mjolnir17
Can you be so pleasant to show me the latest .pdf file with all of Graeme's (pipeasy's) posts? And by the way, what happened to him? (I've just read first hundred pages)
Hi Mjolnir,

As far as I know there is no pdf posted in the thread containing all of Graeme's posts, but the information has been provided, you can make your own document if you are really interested.

Kindest Regards,

Cam
  • #4,732
  • Aug 2, 2011 6:06pm Aug 2, 2011 6:06pm
Quoting Eklavya
I thought I would post my endeavor this week to stack on the NZDUSD. All positions at BE. All trades taken on 4 Hr and Daily. Zero losses for the week. This is what a trending week can do.

As this is my first millipede, I will close out majority of positions once they grow to 2000 pips. Hopefully, we won't get a stall or reversal on the weekly for the next few weeks.
The market did not go as I wanted it to go. So I just followed it. Here is my current status on the pair.
Realized profit - 850 pips
Realized Loss - 359 pips in going long. 41 pips in going short.
Unrealized profit - 550 pips. 3 Short and 1 Long positions open.
Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: NZDUSD_8.02.jpg Size: 108 KB
  • #4,733
  • Aug 2, 2011 10:29pm Aug 2, 2011 10:29pm
Graeme, gents.. How do you go about a successful mindset when you miss trades? Maybe a stop run happened and took you out only to reverse or you were hesitant on a breakout. I'm in most opportunites, but sometimes a trade gets by me and its too late.

About a trading journal, I have an excel doc w/ a different sheet for each pair that I only keep track of potential legs (500pip+ ones). I recently setup my acct on Trade Explorer here on FF and there are some really cool charts to track your performance. ie; when you lose, how much do you lose on average.

Anyone have experience with an MT4 stat service that tracks MAE's (&MFE's)?
  • #4,734
  • Aug 3, 2011 12:09am Aug 3, 2011 12:09am
Hi,

Quoting EmeraldEyes
Graeme, gents.. How do you go about a successful mindset when you miss trades? Maybe a stop run happened and took you out only to reverse or you were hesitant on a breakout. I'm in most opportunites, but sometimes a trade gets by me and its too late.
In trading there is no such thing as a missed trade, because you can always re-enter...and can always find a new, maybe even better trading setup.

But to answer your question, I have a bunch of rules in place, generally speaking, if I entered on a candle, I don't just stare at it let it to hit SL... if the candle I entered on goes more than 50% of the previous candle, I close the trade... in that way I spent only about half of the original allocated risk (for example 5 out of the 10 pips SL only) and can try to enter again once I noticed the reversal. For me, if it retraces more than 50% into the previous candle it is not the right momentum, Graeme mentioned this many times in his articles that he wants to see retraces less than 33% that indicate strong momentum.

About being hesitant on a breakout... if you missed the original breakout often times you get a second chance because price retraces to or close to the origin of the breakout, so wait for it there.

Quoting EmeraldEyes
About a trading journal, I have an excel doc w/ a different sheet for each pair that I only keep track of potential legs (500pip+ ones). I recently setup my acct on Trade Explorer here on FF and there are some really cool charts to track your performance. ie; when you lose, how much do you lose on average.
So you keep an incomplete trading journal... that's not ideal in my view.

Quoting EmeraldEyes
Anyone have experience with an MT4 stat service that tracks MAE's (&MFE's)?
I don't know what those letters mean MAE/MFE...

Kindest Regards,

Cam
  • #4,735
  • Aug 3, 2011 1:03am Aug 3, 2011 1:03am
My journal is simple. I don't have enough time to log every trade, only the mature ones. FF's trade explorer accomplishes everything else in graphical representation.

Maximum Adverse Excursion is the max a trade has gone against your trade open through the course of the trade. If you're stopped out then its that total.

Max Favorable Excusion is how much a trade goes in your favor before closing. With this strat there isnt a need to calculate that really.
  • #4,736
  • Aug 3, 2011 1:46am Aug 3, 2011 1:46am
Quoting EmeraldEyes
My journal is simple. I don't have enough time to log every trade, only the mature ones. FF's trade explorer accomplishes everything else in graphical representation.
Well, your choice, but I haven't met anyone consistently profitable that didn't keep full stats on their trading. Trading journal is a bit more than just writing down stuff, it's also about reflecting on your entries, exists, SL etc.

The platforms I use do reporting, but I prefer to write each trade down in my trading journal rather than to use an export function.

Kindest Regards,

Cam
  • #4,737
  • Edited 2:20am Aug 3, 2011 2:06am | Edited 2:20am
Quoting EmeraldEyes
Graeme, gents.. How do you go about a successful mindset when you miss trades? Maybe a stop run happened and took you out only to reverse or you were hesitant on a breakout. I'm in most opportunites, but sometimes a trade gets by me and its too late.

About a trading journal, I have an excel doc w/ a different sheet for each pair that I only keep track of potential legs (500pip+ ones). I recently setup my acct on Trade Explorer here on FF and there are some really cool charts to track your performance. ie; when you lose,...
Instead of thinking of it as a missed oportunity i try to think of it as potential loss averted. Staying alive is my first priority as long term trading might take some time before the ball starts rolling.

I can also notice in my trading that I have started to wait more. That is, not enter on the breakout but instead enter on the retrace if the breakout is not volatile enough. more often than not price retraces to take out stops (I wouldnt chase market if i was a big player i would f.ex. sell into buy stops.)before gaining momentum to the breakout. If the breakout has good momentum the restrace might be minimal just one opposite bar or two of hesistation somtimes a full retrace to bounce.

This is something i have not enforced myself more of a subconcious progress after lots of tries entries. For better or worse it might make me "miss" some breakout but it also eases my stress.

I can not howerer say that this is the way to go as this might not suit others. And i might be wrong as i dont have enough quantifiable data(maybe not the right wording) points to see if this is superior.

*edit* remember English is not my native language if i dont make sense, but sometimes i dont make sense in my native language either
The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent.
  • #4,738
  • Aug 3, 2011 6:54am Aug 3, 2011 6:54am
Quoting cameron1st
Hi Edd,

Do you have a written trading plan ? When you sit in front of the computer do you know in advance which setups you are going to trade and how you are going to manage positions when those show up ?

Kindest Regards,

Cam
Cam,

There is a very nice discussion here. Plan? Basically yes. First, I start on the weekly trend with 2 more TF below it inlcuding M15. Just wait for the market for the trend to align and that's it. Most often it follows the weekly trend, and some it takes couple of days into DD to finally goes the weekly path given the right fundamentals. This is where I failed - how not to be affected with DD. I do set a SL, a mental Stop Loss not a hard SL, but someties relying on my weekly trend, I overlooked it, that's when my DD/fear comes in. Any help?


Edd
  • #4,739
  • Aug 3, 2011 7:05am Aug 3, 2011 7:05am
Quoting Edd Ganuelas
Cam,

There is a very nice discussion here. Plan? Basically yes. First, I start on the weekly trend with 2 more TF below it inlcuding M15. Just wait for the market for the trend to align and that's it. Most often it follows the weekly trend, and some it takes couple of days into DD to finally goes the weekly path given the right fundamentals. This is where I failed how not to be affected with DD. Perhaps I do set a SL, a mental Stop Loss not a hard SL, but someties relying on my weekly trend, I overlooked it, that's when my DD/fear comes in....
Hello Edd, mates,

On setting mental SLs and bearing Drawdown... because the direction of positions taken was as per the hindsight.. weekly, daily, you name it..

I had quite severe losses due to this and basically I stopped this practice of using wide SLs if I only "believe" in my Weekly hindsight.
More important, current Price Action should re-confirm that hindsight works. If PA shows opposite force is in place and pos is in DD - this means you picked wrong time for entry and better close the trade for small loss and re-enter on next occasion (next hour or H4) if odds are still in your favour (corresponding PA).

Of course, position in DD in the end might work, but it's really better to close it shortly and re-enter on next occasion. This is my hard-earned advice, Edd.
  • #4,740
  • Aug 3, 2011 11:29am Aug 3, 2011 11:29am
Quoting Edd Ganuelas
This is where I failed - how not to be affected with DD. I do set a SL, a mental Stop Loss not a hard SL, but someties relying on my weekly trend, I overlooked it, that's when my DD/fear comes in. Any help?
Hi Edd,

I am actually aggressive with my risk management: not only that I always use a hard SL, but most of the time loser entries don't get to SL because I end them before that. If I go long, if the candle I enter on retraces more than 50% of the previous candle, I terminate the position and most of the time it is the right decision. Sometimes right after you closed the position you would get price turning and going your way, but from my observations, most of the time it's best to kill it before it turns into a complete loser reaching SL. That's my view on things. A good trade looks like a good trade from the start

I also have rules about how many losers I can have in a week and other things like that, very tight rules, 2 losers reaching SL in a week (SL is 10 pips for me including spread), and I sit on my hands until the next week. This kind of pressure helps me stay focused and taking only the setups I consider "sure".

Kindest Regards,

Cam
1 trader viewing now