Low Risk Entries London/NY Session

Starting a journal for a strategy that focuses on making all entries as low-risk as possible. I'm using the Sonic system template found on this thread. All entries are based on the 5 minute timeframe, however I use top-down analysis to keep an eye on the bigger picture.

I'll keep it nice and simple, blue lines on charts are entries, green lines are TP and red lines are SL. I don't think about TP targets at all - I'll usually just close the trade at the first point where it is possible the price could turn around again. My SL is always placed at half a pip beyond the reversal pattern I've based the trade on.

The only thing I'm thinking about for entries is trying to make my entry as close as I possibly can to that SL. I'm trying to only take really good entries and ignore average ones that could still work. Once I'm up at least 1% for the day I'm even stricter about the quality of entries I'll take.

03/26 EDIT: Over time I've refined the entry process and will usually have a specific technical basis for trades that I tend to not stray from. Typically I will wait for a high-volume (blue, red or green) bar that closes very close to a round level or support/resistance level. Sometimes I'll also use supply and demand zones as a base for my trades, but always with a high-volume bar. I'll also take a trade if a high-volume bar shows an obvious reaction to an area on a chart and is favourable for entry in terms of risk. Minimising risk is still my top priority and I'll only take trades if the price returns to within 3 pips of my SL above or below the high-volume bar (red line on the charts).

A Quick Note:

Many of the trades on this first page, particularly in the first posts are trades that I would do quite differently now as my strategy has developed. The entry rules in the above edit are how I usually enter trades now.

Here's all the trades from the first week of testing.

Week 1

Day 1 - March 4th 2014

#1: SELL @ 1.37514, closed at 1.37490 for a 0.5% profit.

#2: SELL @ 1.37575, closed at 1.37509 for a 1.9% profit.

#3: BUY @ 1.37520, closed at 1.37564 for a 1.2% profit.




Day 2 - March 5th 2014

#1 BUY @ 1.37244, closed at 1.37317 for a 2.0% profit.




Day 3 - March 6th 2014

#1 BUY @ 1.37248, closed at 1.37277 for a 0.7% profit.



#2 SELL @ 1.37408, closed at 1.37431 for a 0.9% loss.



#3 BUY @ 1.37395, closed at 1.37445 for a 1.3% profit.




Day 4 - March 7th 2014

#1 BUY @ 1.38666, closed at 1.38707 for a 1.0% profit.



#2 SELL @ 1.39047, closed at 1.39070 for a 0.9% loss.



#3 SELL @ 1.39133, closed at 1.39075 for a 1.5% profit.




Week Summary

% Gain for the Week: 8.55%

Average Daily Gain: 2.1%

Maximum Consecutive Drawdown: 0.9%

Great work! I'm very new to FOREX trading. I've been investing in stocks for 10 years, I'm allocating a very small portion of my capital to FOREX. Ill be following this thread. Keep up the good work.

K

Hey there kjmartyn, thanks for your post! Should be a fun ride, let's see how we go...

I haven't had a whole lot of time to trade this week with the exception of the Thursday and Friday London/NY sessions, so I'll just have a few trades to show. Here's tonight's progress so far:

Week 2

Day 5 - Friday March 14th 2014

#1 SELL @ 1.38650, closed at 1.38616 for a 3.4 pips and a 0.7% profit after commission.



#2 BUY @ 1.38613, closed at 1.38744 for a 13.1 pips and a 3.4% profit after commission.



That's more than enough profit for me for one night, however I'll still take another trade if I see a really good set-up. Time to go back over last night's trades now...

Tonight's been quite a good one so far and the money keeps on rolling...

#3 SELL @ 1.38936, closed at 1.38904 for 3.2 pips and a 0.6% profit after commission.



Once again I will still take extremely good set-ups, but otherwise I'm done for tonight.

The day's profit so far is: 19.7 pips and a 5.17% profit on my starting balance for the day.

Mike

Despite saying I wasn't going to keep trading today, I managed to receive a great chance for a re-entry based off the same reversal zone as the last trade. This time the price moved downwards a lot faster.

#4 SELL @ 1.38933, closed at 1.38834 for 9.9 pips and a 2.5% profit after commission.



Daily totals are now:

1. +29.6 pips
2. +7.8% profit

Happy trading,
Mike

Here's a summary of Thursday's trades.

Week 2

Day 4 - Thursday March 13th 2014

#1 SELL @ 1.39555, closed at 1.39508 for 4.7 pips and a 1.1% profit after commission.



#2 SELL @ 1.39645, closed at 1.39562 for 8.3 pips and a 2.0% profit after commission.



That's all I had time for last night, however there were definitely other opportunities later in the session for profitable trades to be made. There would've also been a couple of losses from what I can tell, although If I'd been able to hold my short positions I would've been in for some big profits.

Daily Totals

1. +13 pips
2. +3.1% profit after commission

​

Mike

That's it for this week for me, hopefully I'll find the time to trade every day next week.

Week 2 Profits

1. +42.6 pips
2. +10.7% profit after commission

I hope you have an excellent weekend, and will see you on Monday!

It's Monday morning and it looks like we should have an interesting week ahead.

Long/Short Bias

1. I'll be favouring long positions for the time being, especially if we break towards the 4H demand level at 1.3851.
2. I'll be favouring short positions if the EU breaks below 1.38338.
3. I'll be favouring short positions if the EU hits the 4H supply zone at around 1.3942.

Here's to another profitable week.

Mike

First two trades of the week.

#1 BUY @ 1.38883, closed at 1.38925 for 4.2 pips and a 0.9% profit after commission.



#2 SELL @ 1.39042, closed at 1.39063 for -2.1 pips and a 0.7% loss after commission.



Daily Totals

1. +2.1 pips after 2 trades
2. +0.2% profit after commission

#3 BUY @ 1.39025, closed at 1.39079 for 5.4 pips and a 1.2% profit after commission.



Daily Totals

1. +7.5 pips after 3 trades
2. +1.4% profit after commission

This'll be my last trade for the day unless something spectacular comes up.

This trade wasn't based on a pre-determined numerical level, but rather a 5M demand zone where the price obviously had a reaction.

#4 BUY @ 1.38888, closed at 1.38942 for 5.4 pips and a 1.2% profit after commission.



Daily Totals

1. +12.9 pips after 4 trades
2. +2.5% profit after commission

And that's the end of Day 1, Week 3 for me. As it turns out, my long bias was correct and we're now sitting in a supply zone on the 4H chart where there should be more sellers than buyers. Of course there's always a chance the price could surge higher later today, but if not I'll be looking for the higher probability short positions during tomorrow's session.

I'm thinking of experimenting with closing partial positions, setting my stop at breakeven and letting my trades run a little longer. If I had've held my positions longer today I could've made a much larger profit. We'll see how that goes.

See you tomorrow!

Mike

Week 3 Interim Totals

1. +12.9 pips after 4 trades
2. +2.5% profit after commission

Unfortunately I didn't have time to trade yesterday, but was able to spend some time in front of the charts this morning for a couple of profitable trades.

Week 3 Day 3

#1 SELL @ 1.39239, closed at 1.39218 for 2.1 pips and a 0.3% profit after commission.



#2 SELL @ 1.39245, closed at 1.39191 for 5.4 pips and a 1.2% profit after commission.



Daily Totals

1. +7.5 pips after 2 trades
2. +1.5% gain after commission

First trade of the day for Thursday.

Week 3 Day 4

#1 BUY @ 1.38280, closed at 1.38352 for 7.2 pips and a 1.6% profit after commission.

Had to make a few quick decisions here with three trades in 4 five-minute bars.

#2 SELL @ 1.38361, closed at 1.38379 for -1.8 pips and a 0.6% loss after commission.



#3 SELL @ 1.38395, closed at 1.38357 for 3.8 pips and a 0.7% profit after commission.



Daily Totals

1. +9.2 pips after 3 trades
2. +1.7% profit

I've had a pretty cruisy morning of trading today with 4/4 winners so far. This'll probably be it for the week unless something really nice comes up.

Week 3 Day 5

#1 BUY @ 1.37752, closed at 1.37795 for 4.3 pips and a 0.9% profit after commission.



#2 BUY @ 1.37712, closed at 1.37748 for 3.6 pips and a 0.7% profit after commission.



#3 SELL @ 1.37940, closed at 1.37912 for 2.8 pips and a 0.5% profit after commission.



#4 SELL @ 1.37998, closed at 1.37945 for 5.3 pips and a 1.1% profit after commission.



Daily Totals

1. +16 pips after 4 trades
2. +3.1% profit after commission

Last one for the day and for the week. I liked this entry because of the close right on the .00 level.

#5 SELL @ 1.37981, closed at 1.37911 for 7.0 pips and a 1.4% profit after commission.



Daily Totals

1. +23 pips after 5 trades
2. +4.6% profit after commission

Weekly Totals

1. +52.6 pips after 14 trades
2. +10.7% profit after commission

All-Time Totals

1. +128.9 pips after 30 trades
2. +32.1% profit after commission

See you next week!

Mike

Haven't traded the Monday or Tuesday session this week as I've been on a ski trip to Sun Peaks Resort in BC, Canada! Will be back on it tomorrow morning.

Mike

Bit of a quiet night so far.

#1 SELL @ 1.37998, closed at 1.37941 for 5.7 pips and a 1.1% profit after commission.

#2 SELL @ 1.37996, closed at 1.37956 for 4.0 pips and a 0.7% profit after commission.



Daily Totals

1. +9.7 pips after 2 trades
2. +1.9% profit after commission