cc's journal

Hi
I'm new to forex factory and have been taking in all of the helpful information it's been great to see a good positive bunch on this forum as I have been a member of other forums and the atmosphere was not so friendly. I started trading forex in 2006 / 07 somewhere in there - I was new to it and had some success which was great until 2008 came along and I was completely out of sync and I lost an account and my confidence - It has been a long climb back up and each and every day I thank goodness that I have changed for the better and am still alive and trading. That dark period was bad... so bad I almost gave up on trading forex totally. However I am not one to just quit and throw in the towel soaked with tears of failure and these day I have a bit of a different perspective on trading and I hope that I can help some people in the forex learn some of the things I needed to learn way back when I started.

A little bit about my style of trading:
I'm an opportunist that will take a trade on any pair in any direction. Sometimes I'm wrong and sometimes I'm right, no matter how wrong or right I am I am always patient. This is what I learned in the dark days - PATIENCE! I fit for no particular category of trading as I will take an opportunity anytime I think/feel it's in my benefit.

I am starting this thread for my own benefit first and I hope that it becomes a benefit for anyone one who reads it. Not sure if anyone will get anything from it but I hope they do.

I will post my analysis here and charts to show why and where I'm going to enter trades. When I enter a trade I will post the entry as soon as I can simply because I am not in front of my computer at all times of the day.

I welcome comments and pokes of fun etc

My postings will always include the following

Charts - I will do my best to explain what I'm seeing on a chart.
Entries - If I make an entry I will take a snap shot of it and post it - this entry will show the entry price and pips gained / lost - I do this for my own purposes as it creates a data point for myself and for readers to see if I made pips or not!
Exists - I will posts my exists when they happen as soon as I can.
Stop losses - I don't always use a stop loss immediately when I place a trade - there are reasons for this that will become apparent as the thread progresses

I hope some folks find my posts helpful and encouraging
I know plenty about forex but I'm no guru or master - there is always something to learn from somebody and for that I'm all ears! So post your thoughts please and be nice

If you post a trade in this thread please post it in a similar manor - No one needs to see your bottom line on an account but it's nice to see pips made or lost for real so please post the entry marker or trade info so that we can all see the real deal.

Happy trading for all! Lets get started with my first post which will display what I think should be a staple in anyones trade posting!
Cheers!

Example post for readers to follow in this thread

If you want to post in this thread I would ask that you provide the pudding sort of speak o.k. That is easy to do without the world knowing your detailed information on any platform

1: Charts - if relevant please post a chart with markups on it if you can - if not no big deal just make sure to provide some text of your thoughts and reasoning as to what we are seeing on that chart

2: Trade entry - A trade entry is just the lines we need to see your entry it does not need to include the transaction number or account number etc... just the entry

so for an example here is a trade entry I have on the table right now

USD/CAD : Short Entry @ 1.2777
Entry line from my trading account shows the entry price and pips + or pips -

keep spirit, and good luck on your journey

I like to use the charts available at netdania they are pretty good for free web based charts and since I do not linger in front of my computer all day I like to have access to charts wherever I may go and these charts are good for checking in on the go.

They can be found on the fxcm daily fx site under the charts tab and go to the free charts and then go to the "Powercharts" one - here is the direct link - http://www.dailyfx.com/charts/forexpowerchart

These charts are pretty good - they lack some of the indicators that platforms offer but they will be good enough for you to use if you are out an about and not at your desk I like them because i can set things and forget about them which is quite handy

I also use the more basic ones found on the same page just below the powerchart ones just called netdania these ones are great for looking at a single pair

The power charts are the ones I use the most because of the ability to save settings through a cookie on your browser but the basic ones are good too

Here is my basic chart settings (maybe a video would be better) I'm not sure if I can get video up here or if I have to youtube it? If you're a reader and you use video's maybe a pointer or two from you would help me as I'm not the biggest web expert guy

Lets use the basic chart to start with which are found at this link:
http://www.dailyfx.com/charts/netdaniachart

You may be asked to update your java platform and maybe do an adobe flash update - go ahead and update if needed and then you will see this chart



Along the top you get all the goodies



Along the top is the settings over on the right if you click it you will get chart options like periods colours and candlesticks etc. these can be saved in the general settings so that when you open this page again you do not need to reset everything - with the basic charts you can save basics like colour etc but they will not store indicators in the cookie which is why I use the "powercharts" as they will save your indicators - you will need to sign up with an email address and hey surprise surprise - I have never gotten 1 bit of junk mail from this so feel free to do so.

First I like to set up the price overlays like moving averages etc. These can be found under the "Studies" tab

I use a couple MA's
1= 200
2= 100
3= 50
4= 10, 12, 13, 18, 24 (I change these from time to time)
I like to color my MA's so that i know what they are with a glance usually 200 and 100 black and yellow 50 is blue and the shorter MA is usually red



Next you can go back to the studies tab and select your favorite indicators such as MACD etc



That's pretty much it for adding indicators to the charts. Now lets change them to the way I like them or the way you like them by visiting that settings tab again we get a list with languages etc but at the very top is one that says "chart" click on that one and you will get the chart settings window for configuring the chart the way you like

I like to set and save a few things in here such as periods - the defaults for the netdania and powercharts I think is 250 candles (periods) i like to change this to show 1000 as a minimum (1000 is the max display for these charts btw)

1st pic is with no changes in the settings



Over to the right is the periods settings / chart type / time frame / expand I will change these to the following
1= Candlestick
2= 1000 periods
3= expand (set to 15) - this will show the edge of the market away from the edge of the chart for a little room to the right of the live price
4= set a period and expand for all time frames should be checked so that if you flip from day to hour to minutes the periods will stay at 1000 and 15 from the leading edge - click apply and then click ok

your chart should now look like this



up on the right almost at the edge of the frame you will see a "push pin / thumb tack" if you click it the chart will detach from the browser and open in an independent window that you can resize to whatever size you like



here it is resized for my weary eyes



That should about do it for the charts - I like them but you may not - point is use what you like and feel most comfortable with.

Any questions just ask
Now lets get back to the real pudding - Making some PIPS!
Cheers

This is the reference pic for the table shown in my trading platform and throughout this post they should remain the same for all trades I post in this thread - If you decide to post a trade your entry should include this type of information for your pudding proof



This way i can prove to myself that what I'm doing is working by way of hard cold numbers - If you want to post a trade please try to follow this system of posting because i would like to know if you're making the pips - even if its a demo account does not matter lets all try to post the proof of our successes and failures - this may seem a bit crass or even off point to many but as a reader I like to know if the poster is actually making the pips or not. I realize that there are many who post on here and elsewhere that link their accounts to some sort of trade following thingy - I will not do that nor will I encourage someone else to do that and it's not even necessary all I want to know is where I enter the trade and how much am I losing!

GBP/USD - Short at 1.4832

This trade took a while to get in the positive and since the move of the pound has been quite substantial I'm always a bit leery of entering in the wrong spots. I like to wait and wait and wait for the entry and sometimes while waiting for it I miss it! then I have to wait and wait again



I entered this trade knowing several things first
The shorter term trend is down when compared to larger time frames which are up
The lower end of this movement can go all the way down to 1.30 or even lower depending on sentiments

a look at the weekly can reveal some info



of course we can see price topped out at 2,11 and since 2008 it's all been down down down until price hit 1.35 ever since 1.35 print price has steadily moved up and this most recent plunge has moved price out of the middle zone (i like to call them zones) and is currently heading toward the bottom of the middle zone - These zone may represent large supply and demand areas or what ever you want to call it but for me they are risk zones meaning that anywhere in the middle of these price zone amounts to risk and this is what i weigh my risk with - as you can see the current price zone is almost at the bottom and usually i would not enter a short in here but with USD strength being so apparent I can't justify a long at this point - my strategy is to short until we have a break or a bounce near the 1.45 - 1.43 area where the top of the low zone begins - if price br4eaks below that we may see it drop towards the total low of 1.35



Here is the entry line

NZD/CHF - Short @ 7400 = up 42 pips

USD/CAD Short @ 1.2777 = Down 15 pips

NZD/CAD Short @ 9382 = up 28 pips



I have been waiting for a break in the NZD for some time now and not sure if it's finally broken or if it's just the reverberation of the market pulling it down to the lower end of it's current chanel

USD/CAD i'm short in this higher price zone near the 1.30 level

For now I have a small profit stop locked in just below my entry's to take a whopping 5 pips profit should it swing up and threaten my entry - If these stops are taken I will look to re-enter at a higher price

Here are the charts



New Zealand has had a nice steady incline since the SNB surprise a few weeks ago (month and half or so) and I expect there will be some correction across all CHF pairs before we reach the level it was before the "surprise" - I sure hope it did not devastate too many little guys out there - i was not in any CHF trades so I was not at risk - Nice to know that my broker didn't shut down though



USD is up high near the 1.30 mark and i do think it will reach it but I alway think a correction will take place before that - of course i'm not one to prove the market wrong i'm more interested in the market proving me wrong as I will adjust strategy when that happens



NZD/CAD is near the all time high of 96 and that is where i'm most bearish on this pair i have entered at 9382 which is a full 200 pips below the all time high if this price doesn't hold and NZD shoots upwards i will look to short again at a higher price

AUD/NZD Long - I'm looking for an entry right now in this pair because an all time low has been printed very recently - I have not entered yet as i am waiting for the best possible price closest to 1.03 when considering daily charts. however i also use the 1 hours for entry so here is two for AUD/NZD right now price is about 1/2 way to the top or bottom of the channel - I would like to enter long at a lower price to limit risk to less than 100 pips - right now as i see this pair i'm long long long for a target of the 1.07 area but since we have had these few bounces between these lower prices i will look to trade this range and will consider any shorts near 1.05 to be high risk and will use a stop on those - below 1.3 i will use stops of about 150 to 200

NZD/CAD - Short @ .9382 stop taken out for 5 pips profit.
As I write this I am watching the NZD Head back towards my entry line and I have an order to enter short at 9382 again which has just been executed as of this moment

will let this one ride until i can enter a small stop for small pip take - I think this pair is going to be a bit back and forth within this upper range. I will watch it closely for progress as i have a mental stop of 100 pis above that should it move to that area I will close and look to re-enter higher

here's the chart



Entry is down 49 +/- and looks like i'm gonna lose 100 OUCH that hurts!

USD CAD short #1 + 132 pips closed and added another short at 1.26850 netting another 41 pips closed that one at 40

I'm out of this pair for now and looking for another entry preferably the USD will snap back after that 100 pip snap from the 1.27 zone

Looking for it to crawl back up and will be playing a short again

Entries lines

GBP/USD Short closed + 115

USD sell off took some pips away from me as this trade was up higher but i moved my stop to 115 and the spike up during dollar dump took it out i'm out of this one too folks not sure if it's time to play long side yet for GBP/USd but it has had a long run down and it may be for a short long a possibility

NZD/CHF Closed + 68 pips

I'm out of this one too!
Darn it I hate having to find new entries



I have NZD/CAD under water and will close it myself if it hits -100

an eventful week -
Found a few entries on EUR/USD and GBP/USD they went positive in about 5 minutes and i locked in small profits - netted some pips
I'm not positive how much action will happen for the last two market days considering the up and down yoyo action caused by the USD's janette yellen but i'm only looking for shorts for the most part but if action is as choppy as it was last few days I may go long during a bounce


GBP Turned out nice at one time was up 150 +/- and is currently sitting at +74 ish pips


My NZD/CAD is still under some water but it was turned positive for a short while until it was flooded over by waves of red pips
starting out the night at a +12 it soon found a way to drown me out with a wave of reds - at 1 point the short NZD/CAd was positive by 40 pips +/-

Then it turned to this


This tells me that I'm in the middle of the NZD/CAD upper zone Sometimes when you are in the middle it's better to try and re-enter at a more preferable price

I will look to do that above the 94 mark somewhere

EUR/NZD - Long / Buy is building
I'm so bullish on this pair since all time lows have been printed and I'm waiting for an entry right near the bottom of the new bottom zone



The daily and weekly show this new low zone breaking and as of right now there has been no establishing range yet - since we missed the move down we must wait for a bounce from the upper area of this new zone and for now we will peg the current lowest price as being the bottom ... for now



As price moves sideways we should see a range get established and when we do we need to avoid the middle of that range and if we short the top of that range stops must be tempered with reason... There is way more room for the price to soar above and I don't think there is as much risk to the downside so buy stops could be tighter. all in all shorts will be risky at these levels - here's the weekly

Another trade i'm eyeing for a short entry but it must be with a lot of caution and discipline as there is plenty of upside negatives to be had -

USD/SGD - Getting short and looking to enter near the 140 mark - I like this pair and overall i'm totally bullish on USD - Singapore has good economic numbers to support and fight back at USD but like i said CAUTION must be taken when shorting this pair as it can move way higher - Given it's steady incline for a prolonged duration give me thoughts that a correction of wave 1 may happen soon and I would like to catch that down to the 50% level maybe - Should that correction happen I will then get into BUY BUY BUY!

GBP Market Scan

I like to set up majors in a way that i can quickly look at them and decide if I see a trade that may be hiding somewhere

I love trading the pound most namely GBP/NZD Lets look at the whole pound for a quick scan


GBP/EUR is really low and I'm bullish on that one - GBP/CHF is looking like frank may be beating down sterling just like it is with everything else save for new zealand

The two pounds I like the most are GBP/CAD and the most SCARY GBP/NZD - Ah yes that GBP/NZD is very scary but I love it take a look at those daily movements! I'm not in a GBP/NZD trade as I have been committed to other trades and My short zone on that one is the 2.08 handle and as you can see it's hit that several time and bounced way back down and may be heading to the middle zone so i'm not trading it at all for the moment - not until it get to the lower side of the middl zone - over all I'm totally bullsih on this pair and a look at the long term charts shows why



This is a great area to get longs in but one must be disciplined to wait and wait for the proper price to show - basically there is no trade here unless you like to take risks (which i sometimes do) but with the high spreads that this pair carries it's not just a park walk it's a mine field - look at those daily candles man! some can be as huge as 400 pips! CRAZY tread with caution if you decide to trade this in the middle you better have a steel spine as you will be biting nails if NZD pushed it below this middle zone and you are in a buy you will be looking at several hundred RED PIPS!



Hourly show the move toward the middle of the zone - if it breaks below that middle line I will be standing aside as I don't want to play the short side anywhere near the middle