Albatross29 Trading Journal | Forex Factory

Options

Permalinks
Print Thread

Similar Threads

Another Trading Journal - Yuhu's Journal 17 replies

Twitch Journal - Live Journal 4 replies

Creating my Trading Plan + My Trading Journal 27 replies

My Personal journal up 18% in 2 months going to start a journal 8 replies

Azzity's Trading Journal III (Azzity's 3/30 Trading Method) 9 replies

Attachments: Albatross29 Trading Journal
Exit Attachments

Albatross29 Trading Journal

  • #1
  • First Post: Edited 6:55pm Nov 25, 2013 6:40pm | Edited 6:55pm
This is my journal to keep track of my trades and my thoughts for taking those trades. Anyone is welcome to comment here, offer criticism etc. What I do ask is that nobody comes in and crowds up my thread with a bunch of junk. Please keep comments in a positive tone. Even when criticizing something it is possible to do it in a respectful way and it will be appreciated.

My reasoning for starting this journal is to improve MY trading. The entire purpose of this thread is to help me improve. Improvement through reflection, discipline and most of all honesty with myself. While the format of what I post may change through time as I evolve in skill the goal throughout will remain the same.

It is my sincere and honest hope that as of this writing I am as bad a trader as I am ever going to be. This won't happen through magic, it is going to take a ton of hard work and a focused plan of action.

I promise myself that I will do what it takes to win!

In an effort to create a better overall strategy I've also backed away from my live account and went back to demo. The idea is to trade this account profitably for 90 days.
  • #2
  • Edited 7:08pm Nov 25, 2013 6:53pm | Edited 7:08pm
Trade #1 (FXCM Demo)

Entered 1 Micro Lots short on EURAUD @ 1.47192 after the bearish pin bar formed on 11/25. Entry was set as a break of that pin bar.

Initial SL has been set at 1.4890 with the idea being that previous highs in early and late August will now offer some resistance. I've highlighted this consolidation area with the red ellipse.

TP was set at 1.45425 again with the idea that the lower highs from September and October (highlighted by the green ellipse) will offer some support.

As of right now my idea is to sell 1/2 of the lot when TP is hit and move SL to BE. From there I'll let the other half of the trade move freely in the hopes that I catch a runner.

This is the basic outline for my strategy to manage SL and TP at this time.

I'll post another chart on this trade when it is closed out regardless of the outcome.

Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: EURAUD Daily.JPG Size: 155 KB
  • #3
  • Nov 25, 2013 7:07pm Nov 25, 2013 7:07pm
Trade #2 (FXCM Demo)

Short GBPCAD
Size: 10 Micro Lots
Entry: 1.70118
SL: 1.69278
TP: 1.70749

This trade has a little more of a riskier flair to it than Trade #1. What jumped out at me was the double pin bar on the daily as price is trying to push back below the 1.7000 mark. That being said I do not want to give any massive losses on this so I set my SL at the top of the 2nd pin bar body. TP was determined based on the areas marked with the small green ellipses. I'm not seeing a ton of reason to expect any large retrace back towards the 1.500 level set in 2008 so I will employ a trailing stop on this trade when it approaches TP level.

Basically I think this pair has room to run to the upside somewhere in the range of the 1.7400-1.7450 range. This is definitely a shorter term play being counter-trend as it is.

Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: GBPCAD Daily.JPG Size: 134 KB
  • #4
  • Nov 26, 2013 11:39am Nov 26, 2013 11:39am
Trade #1 resulted in a 100.1 pip loss. IN hindsight the pin bar was far too small. In addition it was floating more or less out in the middle of nowhere with no real resistance in sight. Will need to keep an eye out here and see what sort of PA we get at the 1.50 level.

Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: EURAUD Daily.JPG Size: 145 KB
  • #5
  • Nov 26, 2013 11:43am Nov 26, 2013 11:43am
Trade #2 also resulted in a loss. This one being 63.1 pips. As was the case with Trade #1 I took a pin that was too small for the landscape. Both of these trades could have been moved to BE at one point but I wanted to let the action happen to see if my reasoning was at all sound. In the future I will need to look for much stronger levels of support and resistance.

Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: GBPCAD Daily.JPG Size: 171 KB
  • #6
  • Nov 26, 2013 4:33pm Nov 26, 2013 4:33pm
Trade #3 (FXCM Demo)

Short NZDCAD
Size: 10 Micro Lots
Entry: 0.86515
SL: 0.85900
TP: 0.88100

Looking to play a breakout (trade not yet triggered) with a target just above the 0.8800 level. So far we've seen price test the .764 Fib level as well as a pivot zone at 0.8600 eight times in the current month without a break below that support level. The goal here is to take half the position off at 0.8700, I'll also move the initial SL to BE when 0.8700 is touched and let the remaining 5 ML run with a target of 0.8800 that level being the next obvious resistance point. So far price has tested that 0.8800 level twice this month without a definitive break above. Providing our trade triggers and makes it that far I'll move the SL on my remaining 5 ML to the 0.8700 level to lock in more profits. In the event that we get a definitive break above that 0.8800 level that will become the new SL for the remainder of the trade.

Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: NZDCAD Daily.JPG Size: 175 KB
  • #7
  • Nov 26, 2013 4:46pm Nov 26, 2013 4:46pm
And Trade #3 has been triggered
  • #8
  • Nov 26, 2013 4:59pm Nov 26, 2013 4:59pm
Quoting Albatross29
Trade #1 (FXCM Demo) Entered 1 Micro Lots short on EURAUD @ 1.47192 after the bearish pin bar formed on 11/25. Entry was set as a break of that pin bar. Initial SL has been set at 1.4890 with the idea being that previous highs in early and late August will now offer some resistance. I've highlighted this consolidation area with the red ellipse. TP was set at 1.45425 again with the idea that the lower highs from September and October (highlighted by the green ellipse) will offer some support. As of right now my idea is to sell 1/2 of the lot when...
Hi you mind if I ask some questions.. you don't have to answer them if you don't want to.

1) Is this a set-and-forget trade? If price moves 200 pips in your favour, do you shift your SL or does it stay at where it is.

2) If Price hits your TP, and you close half and leave the other half open, what is your exit strategy for taking profits on the other half?

P.S. I know the trade is over, but in general it's a good idea to think about all possible exit scenarios before executing the trade.
Build good relationships with others.
  • #9
  • Nov 26, 2013 5:12pm Nov 26, 2013 5:12pm
Quoting shellsnail
{quote} Hi you mind if I ask some questions.. you don't have to answer them if you don't want to. 1) Is this a set-and-forget trade? If price moves 200 pips in your favour, do you shift your SL or does it stay at where it is. 2) If Price hits your TP, and you close half and leave the other half open, what is your exit strategy for taking profits on the other half?

Hi Snail,

Great question! What I'm looking for here is the next area of resistance above a trade (long) or the next area of support below a trade (short). When my trade is in the money and approaches that area I will move my initial SL to the break even point (initial entry). My goal is to not give back anything on winners and end up with a loss. I'd rather end up with 0 or 5 pips than get whipsawed and take a loser. When I move the SL to BE I will sell off a portion of the trade to bank some profits. From there I will look to do the same thing at the next support or resistance level.

Since that first trade was closed out by the SL I'll illustrate what I'm trying to do with the chart from my current trade on NZDCAD below. I've managed stops like this for a while now but have moved back to a demo to learn better entries using Price Action as described in the James16 thread here at FF.

Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: NZDCAD Daily.JPG Size: 163 KB
  • #10
  • Last Post: Nov 26, 2013 5:26pm Nov 26, 2013 5:26pm
Quoting Albatross29
{quote} Hi Snail, Great question! What I'm looking for here is the next area of resistance above a trade (long) or the next area of support below a trade (short). When my trade is in the money and approaches that area I will move my initial SL to the break even point (initial entry). My goal is to not give back anything on winners and end up with a loss. I'd rather end up with 0 or 5 pips than get whipsawed and take a loser. When I move the SL to BE I will sell off a portion of the trade to bank some profits. From there I will look to do the same...
okay that sounds like a decent strategy as long as you have got it tested and figured out! Stuff like pinbar is really contextual though so you can't really be sure that this will be profitable in the long term, unless you are taking ALL of the pinbars then in that case it becomes a statistical strategy - not sure if there is still an edge!

(btw I sent you a pm)
Build good relationships with others.
0 traders viewing now