Doomberg
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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:
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:
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