Cutting the cord with M1 scalps

Yes, I was thinking about dropping down in lots until I get consistency...in the right direction that is , DOH!

I also went back to your thread to reveiw charts. It helped to look them over again. Do you still trade this way? It seems the markets were moving more aggressively back then, but maybe not. If you are still trading like this, I would love to see some recent chart with trades attached, if possible.

I know I get worked up when I do not take a trade in the short itme I have to trade and that leads to bad trades. I did use the projection chart, but have so far off of it, I do not even look at it anymore. I just want out of the dealership so bad, and want better for my family that I push action that is not there.

Action steps: 1. lower lot sizes 2. back testing candle by candle to simulate live action. I know it is not the same exactly, but it is better than nothing. 3.

Price movement and volatility are WAY WAY slower/lower than it used to be. I'll see about putting up a chart or 2!

I took trades last night at 9:54 PM EST. No volume at all. I actually placed the first trade by mistake. My intention was to trade EURAUD, but I placed a trade with AUDJPY instead. Gotta keep your wits about you. Fortunately, the low volume helped me keep my inventory very safe.

So here is todays trade. As you can see, I stripped MAs off of the chart leaving only the Babon. I combined the TVI and the stoch. This is just to help me keep my head in the correct direction. Ultimately, I am looking at PA for entry signals. I also added Pivots back in, and yesterday's high and low, after going back over Mongo's thread and charts. It seems like to many lines at first, but the market does respect them.

So, EURAUD this morning. I took the sell based on: 1.) resistance at the quarter 2.) A weakening TVI and Stoch 3.) Resistance provided by the Babon. 4.) EURJPY was also heading lower. SL would have been a close above the quarter. I exited at the mid quarter based on Mongo trade and also based on previous support. If I was allowed to, this would have been the place to take half off and let the other half play more, but the American govt thinks me too stupid and has to control this. Netted 8.73 pips, which would be plenty, at full strength.

I think that covers everything. I am done for the week. A loser week overall, but hopefully a lighting moment. I pray that God grants this desire of my heart. The trade explorer is named after the parable of the Master's Talents.

Mongo, is the red arrow a sell based on downward momentum? I think this is a trade you would, or did take. Is that correct?

No actual trades for me today. Was on a 2nd grade field trip to Legoland Florida. I am wore out! Anyway - the first place I would look to get in on a retrace would be @ 1.4125. That would be a full 12.5 pip move back. I have a couple of guidelines I use for myself here. They are contradictory - so bear with me. If I don't look at what the price is on the right - and I just look @ the chart - I would probably miss that trade to be honest. It doesn't retrace back a level for me, it doesn't even retrace back 1/2 a level. So on one hand - unless I was short off of 1.4250 - I may not get that one. Now - I will contradict myself here. If I look at the price on the right - and I see that price has come down and is going back up to where you marked it with the red arrow - and I see a nice whole round number - like we do there - 1.4900 - yeah - I'd be ready to go short there. Whole numbers for me - have more power and I would be ready to get all over that short. SO the answer is - it depends. Depends on what the price is that we're looking @. If it's 1.4125 - or 1.4137 - or something along those lines - I'll probably let it go. Whole ROUND number - 1.4900 - I'll take. Only thing more better than that - (good grammar I know - but I don't care) - is say 1.5000 - That would be like having an Ace vs. a King.

Hope that makes sense. I'll check back in this weekend if I need to clarify!

Brother I know you are struggling. I feel your pain. Any trader whose been around long enough has gone through it. I don't trade the EURAUD, so I don't have any trades that I actually took on there. I have included two charts. 1 is with my lines drawn every 12.5 pips. Generally, that is what I look for. As you can see by the chart and I know you know from your own experience, what a $hitty chart. All the arrows I put on there are areas where I would have tried to enter, either long or short - but that I would have been stopped out. What a frustrating day(s).

There are times when I feel like, when price is chopping me to bits, to take a step back. The second chart is the same thing, except the lines are just drawn at the quarter levels. The big circle on there, indicates where price is battling there around the 1.4600 level. Prior to that - Price had come down, moved below it, and clicked off a couple quarter runs. It tries to move up to the next level and fails, then tries to make it down to previous level and fails again. May have been stopped out on those, may have been able to snatch a few pips before those trades eventually turned around. Then after it failed @ 1.4575 - it moves up from there and touches the next level up - 1.4625.

So what I've done now, is timeframe is the same, I'm just looking at the bigger picture if you will - looking @ quarters instead of 12.5's. So now - my job as a trader is to decide - Do I believe price will continue up to 1.4650 OR do I think the next quarter move will be back down to 1.4600?

I don't know if this helps. Some pairs are crappy pairs in my opinion. It may be driven by the amount of liquidity. Who is to say? The other thing I see, just by looking @ your trade explorer (and I haven't investigated where the exact trades were, so I'm just speculating here) is your positive trades. It looks like from here, that once a trade goes positive, you are so set in not letting it go against you, that as soon as price maybe hesitates, you are jumping ship. It makes for a miserable day when I am in a good trade, it hesitates, I get out to not let it turn into a loser, and then it keeps going like I originally thought. I only say that, looking at the trades on there. The losers go for usually around 8 or 9, but the winners are small - like 3 or less. When I've had my teeth kicked in so many times, I find myself getting trigger happy - There is NO WAY I'm going to let this trade lose! I may be off base, if so - forgive me.

Last thoughts. Really work on using limit orders. I've found when I use market orders, I am jumping the gun - not wanting to miss out on another move. Using limit orders, allows me to put my order in where I believe is a good place to enter. Of course - you have to adjust a bit to compensate for the spread, but I am a not a fan of predominately using market orders. Market orders are a way to just give the market my money.

Mongolian

Well if you have a scalper's mentality you would be happy to take even 1-3 pips on each trade and there should be plenty of opportunity across a number of pairs to take several trades in that style, specially on the more volatile pairs like EURJPY and GBPJPY.

I'm not disagreeing with you. There are TONS of opportunities to get 1-3 pips. My point was - the math will do him in if he continues doing business how he's currently doing it. You can't have a couple 3 pip winners followed by 3 or 4 eight pip losers. IF 1-3 is the goal - there would be way more trades I would think, PLUS - the losses would have to be brought under control. Right now, to quote Maverick - 'I was inverted".

The story of my trading career right here in this chart. I know the issues. I can see them. They are all through this journal. I will be out for a few days probably as my mom is very ill and probably will not make it through the day. Life is short. I pray God allows me the ability to get this going.

Mom passed away yesterday morning. Once the breathing tube was out, she passed within 40 minutes. To anyone who reads this, life is not guaranteed. We live in a very thin line with little tolerance. My mom and dad were at my house on Easter and she looked great. Who would have thought. Treat every moment as your last and drink in the activity around you. Get off your phones and internet and computers and tvs and movies and realize that life is happening right in front you!

Lastly, Jesus Christ called himself God, in the flesh. Answering the question of whether or not He was correct, will be the most important question you answer! Be an honest critic, and ask the hard questions! Many will blow this off. DON'T. Put the evidence to the test.

I will be glad to open this journal to discussion on this topic if anyone has interest. If you have questions, ask. This is more important than any trade you could ever consider getting in. Remember, everything has a trade off. Not answering the question is making a trade too! Is it +ev? Is it -ev?

My sincerest condolences.

Sincerest condolences.

Sincerest condolences. I agree with your words deeply.

Alright. It has been a while. Account is not doing so well. Trying to right this ship. I have been reading through Udines new thread. His goal is exactly what I originally set out to do, not in process but in result. I do not care if I get 2% per day however. Like Mongo says, these types of charts can be dangerous to the mind. It is a goal though, and goals are very necessary in everything we do!

My plan is to marry Mongo and Udine. The chart will appear more cluttered at first. I will take things off as time goes on. I am also looking at M5, M15, and M1 with this marriage. I will not be trading this week however.

Here is a EURUSD chart.

Good to have you back!!

Thank you Mongo. I am looking at a couple of options. First, using Udine idea of daily open and the hourly candle to determine bias then trading the quarters in that direction. Second option is to simply trade Udine method at the tens. Third option is to use MA cross in the direction of the daily bias and trade that direction. I think I do need to get up for London open though. I am not excited about that and find it difficult in the summer with the family staying up later.

I would like to find which option works best with my current schedule waking up to trade at 5 or 6 AM. That would knock out Udine method as he trades it. I could do it at 8 AM though.

I took 3 trades at lunch today. All losers. I should know better though. It is summer and I was taking trades after London close. Not smart.

SO here is a Tokyo trade using option 1, sort of. The bias is down, below daily open and in a short hour candle. Price dipped below both MAs and was at a ten line (30 to be exact). I went short and hit 1%. Target reached per original MM plan.

Two EURAUD trades this morning. One small loss and one Target. Per Udine's thread, I have set my daily open line (the green horizontal line) at 5:00 PM EST, which corresponds to the start of Sydney and the start of a new FX day. He says to set your daily open at your broker's new day, but that is midnight EST, which does not correspond to any opens. That does make sense to me. He trades his method at the London open and his daily bias line is where mine currently is.

All of that is to say, I wonder if some of the success of his system is because he is using the open line that precedes the London open. Maybe it does not have anything to do with the daily open at all. I have not had my back side out of my bed by 3 AM yet. SLACKER! Trying to put my contacts in at that time might be rough. Since I have not made it out of bed, I am thinking about this topic. I wonder if I set my daily open line at the London open, 3 AM EST. That would be the open before my NY open.

In this chart and with my two trades this morning, the loss would not have been taken because the London open was where price saw resistance. My bias would have been short. This leads to the second trade (which is why I took it) that was correct.

EJ in Tokyo. A bit of a ride, but with room to breath, it hit 1%. That puts me in profit for the day. I may have left pips on the table, but it is evening here, I have been at work literally all day. Now time for family.

BTW this was all Udine trade, using Mongo's quarter as a target.

Have not traded in a while. Here are three from this morning. Not sure about this whole experiment. I am struggling with it. I have a lot of resources invested in this and do see it possibility. I think I can get there and will get there. Keep plugging along. Need to reduce my risk I think.