Doomberg's Journal - Ticking Along Nicely

Ok so here we go, here's my journal... I plan to use this journal to log the progress with my Day Trading. Recently i have started to take trading a lot more seriously and in this time my performance has been improving fast. I guess it took me a while to find my footing with trading as i didn't really have a 'category' so i never really focused on anything specific which can be a bad thing. The majority of my trading now is Intraday Trading and i prefer to focus on Indices, my favourites being Dax and Dow Jones although i also look at some Forex pairs. My trading style is fast, i like to get in taking my points and then get out as soon as possible, sometimes maybe a few minutes although i often have positions open for much longer than this if conditions allow.

Typically when trading i will go for between 10 and 30 points per trade, even if i end the day with just +10 points i would consider the day a success but i often may take up to +50 and sometimes more. The methods i use are dead against overtrading, typically i take about 5 trades a day... i like to stick to just a few methods that i find work for me, i don't see the point in trading 20 different set ups / methods as it can cause issues. My favourite method is trading breakouts... the hardest bit i find is spotting the false breakouts from the juicy ones, the more i trade them the better i get. Personally i like to place my entry level about 2-3 points above the last high / low and then enter when it looks to of successfully broken this area, the line on the below chart would be an entry and i would typically go for about +15 with a set up like that.

Apart from breakouts i like to trade a method which is called Aktionszone Trading (AKZ) and this is basically using the open and closes as a reference point of where to place trades. I'm sure you have all noticed that on certain instruments the price often likes to move away from the open price and then return back to that point at some point in the day. As a method this depends on the market conditions and this will not work on trendy days. An example of an AKZ trade would be like this: Lets say that Dax opens at 7500, if it moves 30 points below or above that point i will long or short and then have the open price as the TP, however if the previous nights close closer than the TP area this will be taken in to consideration and i may close my position at this point.

Another method i am looking at in the preliminary stages is placing overnight pending orders, currently i am trying this with the Dax and basically what i have been doing is placing a Limit Long 20 points above the night time close and placing a Limit Short 20 points below the night time close. This is in early stages but looks ok up to now, the TP is usually around +30 but the one thing i don't like about this method is that it needs to have a big stop of about 100+ to be left overnight although i would close before i hit this type of a loss and it would be unusual for the market to move that much overnight anyway. Again this is not a 'fixed' method, its discretionary and on thursday night i chose not to trade this as i didn't like the conditions.

Ok so you have heard what i like to trade and a few different methods that i like to trade, i plan to trade Monday - Friday. Conveniently for me i work in front of a computer anyway and i'm self employed so i will be able to give the markets as much attention as i want to. I will update this journal at the end of each trading day with my + or - points and i will give my thoughts on the day and will sometimes post pics of the trades that i took. This journal will hopefully help me improve my trading as my biggest downfall is breaking my own rules.. it would be even more painful to write "bad day today, broke my rules again". Anyway this journal will be active from Monday the 1st of August, all comments welcome whether its questions or constructive criticism.. however if you have negative things to say, please don't bother. I hope that things are going to continue the way they are, if they do then i'll be very pleased. Also if anyone learns anything useful from this journal i'll be very happy.

Anyway below is a pic of a typical breakout that i would like to trade:

Good luck with it.

One suggestion: if you're already trading YM, why not add ES and NQ as well? You'll essentially be getting the same action, it will just give you a greater choice and allow you pick better set ups.

Thanks Paz, and yeah i am looking at other instruments but for now will keep it as basic as possible so intend to focus on Dax & Dow... i'll always be looking at Dow anyway even if trading Dax as it has massive influence and if them two are not performing i will look at EUR/USD. I intend to broaden my horizons in the future and will possibly be opening an account with Ducascopy for swing trading Forex, but for now i am focusing on whats in front of me and want to get this as solid as i can.

Hope it goes well for you, will you be trading through NFPs' and while the so called American default is looming?

LittleKnown said:

Hope it goes well for you, will you be trading through NFPs' and while the so called American default is looming?

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Yes i'll be trading in any conditions although depending on the market sometimes i'll only trade breakouts looking for +10 each time... i find that if something is going on, other signals are less effective, also i have alarms set for news time and intend to be out of the markets at any time there is important news

Wish you good luck with the discipline needed to day trade. It is hard thing to remain disciplined and upbeat with day trading especially after a series of losses.

Cheers Safvan, and yeah the discipline is a massive part of day trading but i'm getting a lot stricter over time and if i have a big loss i tend to go for a little walk rather than trading anything to try and get it back

My somewhat sober suggestion is to learn to tape read one or two of these markets
''the hardest bit i find is spotting the false breakouts from the juicy ones, the more i trade them the better i get.''
Tape reading should help with that .

Also if you trade the ES, trade flag re-tests on low tick charts, seriously it's immense...

Hi Chartsy... yes tape reading is something i'm looking at, someone said that if i could tape read properly it would add a massive benefit to my trading, a friend is sorting me out with a log in for Ninja Trader next week, do you think this would be a great place to start?

Good luck

that it needs to have a big stop of about 100+ to be left overnight although i would close before i hit this type of a loss and it would be unusual for the market to move that much overnight anyway

I think your 100 pt s/l is a bit big but up to the individual I guess, To close before it hits the buffers means you have to be up all night watching ?

Hi Pat, the overnight pending orders thing is something new.... the people i know who have been doing it actually put a stop of 150 points but say that its very very rare that this will be hit as volume is so low at night time anyway, its usually morning the big moves happen when i'll be in front of my computer... this will probably be a system i tweak myself as time goes on, will see how it goes

Monday 1st August

Ok so today was a perfect start to the month and i finished +80 points with 5 winning trades and no losers... Some of you may of noticed that the markets were a bit crazy today, these conditions don't really suit my trading style to be honest so i didn't do any AKZ trades in the morning and since it was monday i had placed no overnight pending orders... I may not have time to list each trade with entry & exit each day but i'll list my trades today, i live in Spain but the times are in UK times as my broker has UK time, and it will probably be easer for most to understand anyway... i was being careful in the morning but as the day went on i was presented with some nice opportunities.

The spreads are taken in to account here and these are realied profits:

Dax: Enrty 12:39 7215 (long) Exit 12:40 7219.5 +4.5 I pressed closed with 10 but the market dropped rapidly a second i pressed

Dax: Entry 13:45 7198.3 (short) Exit 14:01 7189.5 +8.8 I was uneasy with the markets to was happy to take what i did wit this trade.

Dax: Entry 14:52 7181 (short) Exit 14:55 7160.8 20.2 Was a good trade, a mini breakover like the above but more substantial

Dow: Entry 15:36 (short) 12240 Exit 15:42 12219 +21 Although i was happy about my +21 i wasn't happy that i closed before target of 45, it was hit.

Dow: Entry 18:08 (long) 12005 Exit 18:38 12030 +25 Was happy with this trade, it was not in my normal strategy but i used 12000 resistance.

All in all i am pleased about today, the way i trade i am happy with just +10-20 so today was a good day with no losers

Solid stuff Doom, yes today was wild, and it looks easy, but there's always the chance to screw up, and it's so depressing looking back on a day wondering how you didn't make money. good start!

All the best m8.

What does the MM look like?

Hey Hotch thanks for the kind well wishes i wish you all the best with your trading too... i intend to spend much more time in this section now and yes there will of been 1000's who messed up today... i know someone who was adamant the news would be great and took a rather large long this afternoon and kept holding thinking it would return, needless to say they are in big trouble :/

YANF some people will say my money management is aggressive & unorthodox but this has been working for me like this (but only if i trade set ups i am comfortable with, and not junk) which i have been known to do. Anyway to cut to the chase right now 10 pips = 1% of my account and i set my catastrophic stop for each trade at -50 although i would probably close before -30. A lot of people will think that between 3-5% maximum loss on a trade is too much but if i win more than i lose its not a problem. To help stop a blow up, i intend to switch my computer off and go out if i lose more than -100 in a day

I took a screenshot of one of my breakout trades yesterday, it was a short trade.

The line was my entry area of entry at 13:45:

Good day today only made 4 trades but all were winners and i ended up +73 so its been a good start to my week.

Here are my trades for today:

Dax: Entry (long) 9:14 6902 Exit 9:17 6912 +10 took +10 at the perfect time as it fell through shortly after i TP.

Dax: Entry (short) 9:23 6896.5 Exit 9:26 6872 24.5 was a nice trade took profits in the safe i'm comfy with.

After the two above, the market wasn't in my preferred conditions so waited until mid afternoon when it was better.

Dax: Entry (buy) 15:38 6869.5 Exit 15:40 6886.3 16.8 another solid trade, took profits at 16.8 as i was unsure.

Dax: Entry (sell) 16:52 6852 Exit 1659 6830 +22 was happy with this trade nothing else to say about it really.

I'm off to the gym now and then out for a bite to eat, hope you are all well

Great Job!

Had a nice day today, made 8 trades and won all 8 with a daily profit of +112 which means this week has been 18 wins and 0 losses.

It would be good if the start of every month was this good

I'd be completely happy with 20 points each day but recently i have been presented with some juicy opportunities

Dax: Entry 9:35 (long) 6722.5 Exit 9:38 6727.5 +5 early on i was uneasy but am happy to take even +1

Dax: Entry 9:41 (long) 6740 Exit 10:09 6752.8 +12.8 standard rule following, i accidentally opened the next one.

Dax: Entry 9:43 (long) 6742 Exit 9:44 6745 +3 this one was kind of a mistake as i longed and then forgot i also set a LL

Dax: Entry 10:21 (short) 6760 Exit 10:51 6733.3 +26.7 market changed and from this point on today i took no more longs.

Dax: Entry 13:23 (short) 6742.3 Exit 13:26 6735.5 +6.8 i was uncertain whether i had shorted at the right time, as it returned i closed.

Dax: Entry 13:30 (short) 6733 Exit 13:41 6731 +2 it was up and down like a yo yo and after evaluating, i closed.

Dax: Entry 15:38 (short) 6703 Exit 15:43 6685.5 +17.5 i was waiting for this short for a while.

Dax: Entry 16:11 (short) 6670.3 Exit 16:16 6632 38.30 this was my favourite trade of the day and after this my platform was switched off.

Good day today, and tonight i'm gonna meet a lady friend for a few drinks

Doomberg said:

Had a nice day today, made 8 trades and won all 8 with a daily profit of +112 which means this week has been 18 wins and 0 losses.

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Is that £ or points? What do you attribute your 18 wins in a row to?