My journal; improving discipline in my FX trading
- Thread starter Dogtrade
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D
Dogtrade
Thank you for checking in!
My stops are generally based on technical levels, and I try to add some "fuzzy pips" to allow some volatility around the levels without triggering my stop. I fell that this is one of the things I have to work with in my trading.
I don't actually have profit targets in most cases. Generally my exit strategy is; trail my stop to a point where it is in substantial enough profit for me to want to keep it. The new, trailed level doesn't have to be based on TA although it often is. And from there on I auto trail it. This way I get many wins around 0.8R and the like, but ever so often in a trending market i will get high R-multiple wins.
D
Dogtrade
I would like to post some more charts but FXCM closes down the charting station at odd times during the weekend.. And this is one of those odd times.
I really need to switch brokers.
I really need to switch brokers.
andycon
Active member
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Presumably you have a potential amount of move, otherwise you wouldn't know if it looked like a good risk reward?
D
Dogtrade
I guess you are right, never thought about "targets" that way.
If I don't have any basis to think that a favourable move larger than the distance to my stop is likely to happen, I won't take the trade, so in this sense I have targets.
However I don't have targets in the sense that I exit on pre-defined price levels.
When it comes to what my pseudo-targets are based on, well they are based on price action and/or price action relative to the mean(moving average). If for instance trade in a consolidating market, and buy near the bottom of the range, I know that if the "box" is wider than the distance to my stop, my potential reward is better than 1R if I manage the trade right.
Within a trend, generally I try to catch a portion of a swing. If the swings are very narrow, the pair is less volatile, so I can have a tighter stop and try to catch two swings in one trade. If the swings are wider, I must be patient to find an entry where my stop won't have to be too wide, and also consider if we have dispersed too long from the mean for another substantial move be realistic.
If the swings in the trend tend to reverse at around, say, 3 ATR's from the moving average, and I have a quality setup based on TA/support and resistance, near to the moving average, with a stop only 1.25 ATR away, I know I have a potential for high reward to risk if I trade the setup right.
Sometimes I entertain myself with marking the targets that are given from classical chart patterns (Bruce M. Kamich, Bulkowski), they often play out fairly well but I don't use them to time my exits.
Thank you for making me think through and reflect some more upon this part of my trading setups, it is really something I don't pay much attention too, which I possibly should.
D
Dogtrade
Setups for week 31
I have decided that uploading all the pics and analysis takes too much place on the forum. So I've embedded a .zip containing a .pdf of my thoughts and all relevant charts in folders based on pair. The zip is 1.70 MB large and contains no executables or other funky stuff.
Here is the "short" version of my weekend analysis(frankly, the long version isn't much more detailed).
I might come back and edit this post later to display some charts of the most relevant pairs for this week, or even in hindsight after the setup has been taken. This charts will be taken from the given .zip file if I do so.
EURUSD
No setup except for an eventual decisive break of the triangle floor. Current climate re news, fundamentals makes me disinclined to trade this pair.
GBPUSD
D1 shows significant resistance ahead but I see no clear setup to the short side except for a breakout of the countertrend channel that the pair is currently trading in.
H4 chart shows a range/box, a long setup along the bottom of the box with stop < 1.6200
USDCHF
Requires patience as the trend has run off, no immediate setups probable.
EURCHF
Entry upon retrace of the latest breakout with a stop in fair distance. Eventual re-enter within dynamic SR (between 30/60 MA) if the trend is still valid.
USDCAD
Short only.
Pin bar on D1 could provide a valid setup. Sharp return to previous range in H4 chart would coincide. Setup B) - A continued bullish move towards 0.96 or even 0.9650 in which case I would look at some sort of reversal setup from there, pin bar or range breakout on H1/H4 chart.
USDJPY
Fading the latest move seems inherently unsafe. A short entry within dynamic SR (30/60 MA). No probable trade this week. Retrace to somewhere near 78.00 could provide short entry.
EURJPY
Hoping for short entry near the top of the box (d1), stop at 50 MA.
A breakout to the downside of box alternatively, but only after pullback and with stop based on H4 TA levels.
AUDJPY
Short setup; decisive break of the old SR line, or preferably an entry from the top of the channel. Long term I would prefer a long posit.
NZDUSD
Just missed a setup in the H4. Hoping for reentry upon a dip near tech levels. No clear setup now.
GBPAUD
No go on this pair because of psychological reasons. I think a good short setup is in play here but I can't take it because I'm still pissed off because of missing last weeks move. Giving myself a restraining order on this one.
I have decided that uploading all the pics and analysis takes too much place on the forum. So I've embedded a .zip containing a .pdf of my thoughts and all relevant charts in folders based on pair. The zip is 1.70 MB large and contains no executables or other funky stuff.
Here is the "short" version of my weekend analysis(frankly, the long version isn't much more detailed).
I might come back and edit this post later to display some charts of the most relevant pairs for this week, or even in hindsight after the setup has been taken. This charts will be taken from the given .zip file if I do so.
EURUSD
No setup except for an eventual decisive break of the triangle floor. Current climate re news, fundamentals makes me disinclined to trade this pair.
GBPUSD
D1 shows significant resistance ahead but I see no clear setup to the short side except for a breakout of the countertrend channel that the pair is currently trading in.
H4 chart shows a range/box, a long setup along the bottom of the box with stop < 1.6200
USDCHF
Requires patience as the trend has run off, no immediate setups probable.
EURCHF
Entry upon retrace of the latest breakout with a stop in fair distance. Eventual re-enter within dynamic SR (between 30/60 MA) if the trend is still valid.
USDCAD
Short only.
Pin bar on D1 could provide a valid setup. Sharp return to previous range in H4 chart would coincide. Setup B) - A continued bullish move towards 0.96 or even 0.9650 in which case I would look at some sort of reversal setup from there, pin bar or range breakout on H1/H4 chart.
USDJPY
Fading the latest move seems inherently unsafe. A short entry within dynamic SR (30/60 MA). No probable trade this week. Retrace to somewhere near 78.00 could provide short entry.
EURJPY
Hoping for short entry near the top of the box (d1), stop at 50 MA.
A breakout to the downside of box alternatively, but only after pullback and with stop based on H4 TA levels.
AUDJPY
Short setup; decisive break of the old SR line, or preferably an entry from the top of the channel. Long term I would prefer a long posit.
NZDUSD
Just missed a setup in the H4. Hoping for reentry upon a dip near tech levels. No clear setup now.
GBPAUD
No go on this pair because of psychological reasons. I think a good short setup is in play here but I can't take it because I'm still pissed off because of missing last weeks move. Giving myself a restraining order on this one.
D
Dogtrade
Trades entered
GBPUSD long at 1.6312
Weekend analysis (d1, H4)
"D1 shows significant resistance ahead but I see no clear setup to the short side except for a breakout of the countertrend channel that the pair is currently trading in.
H4 chart shows a range/box, a long setup along the bottom of the box with stop < 1.6200"
Entry
I am sorry for the crappy image quality. Anyone got some tips in this regard? I export my pics from the fxcm platform and they are resized to new resolution by the site. I have tried to resize them manually but the results are even worse!
GBPUSD long at 1.6312
Weekend analysis (d1, H4)
"D1 shows significant resistance ahead but I see no clear setup to the short side except for a breakout of the countertrend channel that the pair is currently trading in.
H4 chart shows a range/box, a long setup along the bottom of the box with stop < 1.6200"
Entry
I am sorry for the crappy image quality. Anyone got some tips in this regard? I export my pics from the fxcm platform and they are resized to new resolution by the site. I have tried to resize them manually but the results are even worse!
D
Dogtrade
Entered trade: AUDUSD
AUDUSD long at 1.0929
Weekend analysis
"No clear setup for me here"...
Well I guess I second guessed my self when I took this trade.
*Smacks self over fingers with imaginary blackboard ruler*
The rationale was; an entry towards the lower end of the range set by the sideways action after the latest move. In addition the level is within the dynamic sr area in the H4 chart. This tends to be a good entry for me, don't see why I didn't pay attention to it during the weekend analysis. I might have some subconscious resistance to this pair since I also forgot to include it in the short list (however it is in the long list in the .zip file).
Entry
AUDUSD long at 1.0929
Weekend analysis
"No clear setup for me here"...
Well I guess I second guessed my self when I took this trade.
*Smacks self over fingers with imaginary blackboard ruler*
The rationale was; an entry towards the lower end of the range set by the sideways action after the latest move. In addition the level is within the dynamic sr area in the H4 chart. This tends to be a good entry for me, don't see why I didn't pay attention to it during the weekend analysis. I might have some subconscious resistance to this pair since I also forgot to include it in the short list (however it is in the long list in the .zip file).
Entry
Last edited:
D
Dogtrade
USDCAD short at 0.9558
Weekend setup chart:
Entry charts (d1,h4)
Weekend setup chart:
Entry charts (d1,h4)
D
Dogtrade
I am so f*ing frustrated that I gave myself the no-go on GBPAUD for this week. The short would be on this instant if I let myself.
Trying to calm myself. Off to work soon. And I will stick to my plan all though it hurts to see a good setup pass by.
Trying to calm myself. Off to work soon. And I will stick to my plan all though it hurts to see a good setup pass by.
Last edited:
D
Dogtrade
Well good thing I guess, my stop would have been blasted by now and that would have been two losses taken today instead of one.
D
Dogtrade
Thank you.
D
Dogtrade
No access to my account from work but so long today I have managed to make a complete ass of myself trying to reenter the AUDUSD trade, and also in frustration jumping in on some short term trades in the USDOLLAR index (not the USDX but the DJ-FXCM us dollar index), which I'm obviously grossly undercapitalised to trade in.
My GBPUSD trade was well into profit when I left my home and I had a stop loss on at about +60 pips or circa 0.6 R (this is from memory).
It becomes more and more apparent that I am not emotionally mature enough(as a trader) to trade this market.
There is a concept of specificity to all traits, skills and developed faculties; for instance, a bodybuilder might posess extraordinary muscle strength, which he commonly displays through specific exercises such as barbell curls, squats, bench presses etc.
However, outside of the gym, a mover or a fireman of lesser muscular development might still outperform him in feats of strength which requires odd objects to be handled.
Even still, inside of the gym, a basically trained olympic lifter with a year or two under his belt might outperform the bodybuilder in motorically challenging lifts that the bodybuilder has not trained specifically for. Let's not even start to compare the ability of the bodybuilder to impact force through a punch, with that of a trained boxer several weight classes and shirt sizes under him.
Emotion and Circumstance
I consider myself a fairly disciplined person in the way I live my life, and also highly capable to override my emotional responses in accordance with a long-term outlook and the weighing of consequences. These traits, let us call it emotional maturity, have been developed in me through a somewhat isolated way of living and almost constant contemplation of philosophical and moral issues, practically since I was a child.
However, the arena where I have developed this general capacity to offset emotion and short term needs has not been in front of my computer screen. On the other hand, perhaps in front of the computer screen, through playing computer games or even more so through writing fiction, has been where I have let out some frustrations and found an outlet for the more spontaneous and hot-headed side of myself.
Thus I can say that the principle of specifity is perhaps, for now, specifically against me when it comes to trading.
The only way I can become better at controlling my emotions and discipline in the specific setting of trading is by practicing trading and practicing discipline and emotional control in the context of trading.
However what can very possibly happen if I do not constantly remind myself these points, is that I do not succeed in practicing discipline and emotional control; I merely practice trading. This means that the danger remains that I by making rash and drastic decisions actually will make profits rather than losses; thus short changing my own evolution as a trader, reinforcing bad habits.
I am now at work and what is going on at my account is out of my control. I can't even check in to see how my positions are going. I will spend whatever time I get while at work on developing a plan on how to continue practice on my account while ENSURING FOCUS ON DISCIPLINE AND PATIENCE.
This might involve; trading set hours or a more fixed(systems/mechanical) approach to my entries, it might involve trading only the D1 time frame or trading fewer pairs.or something as like performing a self-survey at the end of each trading/analysis session.
It might even involve quitting trading for a while but spending time looking for the entries without actually taking them.
My GBPUSD trade was well into profit when I left my home and I had a stop loss on at about +60 pips or circa 0.6 R (this is from memory).
It becomes more and more apparent that I am not emotionally mature enough(as a trader) to trade this market.
There is a concept of specificity to all traits, skills and developed faculties; for instance, a bodybuilder might posess extraordinary muscle strength, which he commonly displays through specific exercises such as barbell curls, squats, bench presses etc.
However, outside of the gym, a mover or a fireman of lesser muscular development might still outperform him in feats of strength which requires odd objects to be handled.
Even still, inside of the gym, a basically trained olympic lifter with a year or two under his belt might outperform the bodybuilder in motorically challenging lifts that the bodybuilder has not trained specifically for. Let's not even start to compare the ability of the bodybuilder to impact force through a punch, with that of a trained boxer several weight classes and shirt sizes under him.
Emotion and Circumstance
I consider myself a fairly disciplined person in the way I live my life, and also highly capable to override my emotional responses in accordance with a long-term outlook and the weighing of consequences. These traits, let us call it emotional maturity, have been developed in me through a somewhat isolated way of living and almost constant contemplation of philosophical and moral issues, practically since I was a child.
However, the arena where I have developed this general capacity to offset emotion and short term needs has not been in front of my computer screen. On the other hand, perhaps in front of the computer screen, through playing computer games or even more so through writing fiction, has been where I have let out some frustrations and found an outlet for the more spontaneous and hot-headed side of myself.
Thus I can say that the principle of specifity is perhaps, for now, specifically against me when it comes to trading.
The only way I can become better at controlling my emotions and discipline in the specific setting of trading is by practicing trading and practicing discipline and emotional control in the context of trading.
However what can very possibly happen if I do not constantly remind myself these points, is that I do not succeed in practicing discipline and emotional control; I merely practice trading. This means that the danger remains that I by making rash and drastic decisions actually will make profits rather than losses; thus short changing my own evolution as a trader, reinforcing bad habits.
I am now at work and what is going on at my account is out of my control. I can't even check in to see how my positions are going. I will spend whatever time I get while at work on developing a plan on how to continue practice on my account while ENSURING FOCUS ON DISCIPLINE AND PATIENCE.
This might involve; trading set hours or a more fixed(systems/mechanical) approach to my entries, it might involve trading only the D1 time frame or trading fewer pairs.or something as like performing a self-survey at the end of each trading/analysis session.
It might even involve quitting trading for a while but spending time looking for the entries without actually taking them.
D
Dogtrade
I haven given this some thought today and so far, this is what I have come up with.
Please let me know what you think. Suggestions would be helpful.
Plan to exercise for more disciplined and rational trading:
Ask myself these questions every time I sit down at my trading workspace
- What is my goal with the time I'm spending at my desk right now? (in writing)
- Am I pissed off or out of balance in any way right now? (if so, go work out instead)
- Is something other than trading really needing my attention right now, and probably
taking up part of my mental resources? (if so, go work that thing out)
- Are my blood sugar and hydration levels satisfactory(otherwise get in the kitchen)?
Getting my **** together, and differentiated
I must distinguish between what I'm trying to accomplish the various times I'm sitting down at my trading station. This is the point of the first question I always have to ask myself. For instance, on a friday I sit down to analyze the market ahead of the coming week. This might be before the market actually closes. Still I'm not planning to make trades so I shouldn't make trades and I certainly shouldn't be distracted by something exciting going on in the 1h chart of the Congolese Juju Beads or whatever.
Getting "inspiration" and varied experience from a demo account, while maintaining my live account for FX
I will open a demo account to do both short-term and longer term trades but first and for all to practice reading the market!
I can have any number of ideas both for intraday and longer term trading. I will use my demo account to play around with these ideas and to get as many "chart workouts" as possible. I will not try to keep myself from looking at other markets and instruments than my four currency pairs. But I will not entertain these ideas on my real account and never during my "real account" time.
I can use my demo account for instance just to watch a couple of correlated market as they unfold in real time, without taking any trades. Or I can use it to try to trade a rangebound market. Or whatever. I can pretty much do what I want as long as a) I have a general idea before I sit down and b) I never do play around with this stuff on my live account.
Acting according to a plan for my live account
My setups remain the same. General price action, chart patterns, and swinging the 30/60 MA's. No indicators. Exit on trailing stops or important price action levels.
1) reduce my instruments to the four pairs that make up the DJ-FXCM USD index plus the index itself.
2) Do a thorough analysis of them in D1 and H4 timeframe, on the weekends as before. Lay off the other timeframes. Try to spot potential/probable setups ahead of the week and get a feel for the general direction of the USD. Monitor the markets daily from there on.
3) It is okay to zoom into H1/M30 for the precise entry level when placing my orders.
4) No market orders.
5) Max 10% of equity risk, globally. This will most often effectively mean, trading one position at a time - something avdfntrader has already suggested on this thread.
6) I'm not capitalised to trade the index, but I can do it on the demo or I can even just mark my long-term setups in the chart without placing orders.
7) Recalculate the max risk every month.
Being more accountable towards myself
- Actually creating forms for my self to fill out whenever I take a trade with the rationale behind the trade and also some key numbers such as risk metrics, to train myself on maths etc.
- Actually creating a form for the four questions and fill it out and file it every day.
- Write my trading diary on the back side of the form, file it, go through it on the weekends(for the whole week) and also monthly (for the whole month).
- Posting my progress (or lack thereof) t2w, especially regarding the live account.
Okey, that's what I have. Please share your thoughts on my plans and ideas.
Please let me know what you think. Suggestions would be helpful.
Plan to exercise for more disciplined and rational trading:
Ask myself these questions every time I sit down at my trading workspace
- What is my goal with the time I'm spending at my desk right now? (in writing)
- Am I pissed off or out of balance in any way right now? (if so, go work out instead)
- Is something other than trading really needing my attention right now, and probably
taking up part of my mental resources? (if so, go work that thing out)
- Are my blood sugar and hydration levels satisfactory(otherwise get in the kitchen)?
Getting my **** together, and differentiated
I must distinguish between what I'm trying to accomplish the various times I'm sitting down at my trading station. This is the point of the first question I always have to ask myself. For instance, on a friday I sit down to analyze the market ahead of the coming week. This might be before the market actually closes. Still I'm not planning to make trades so I shouldn't make trades and I certainly shouldn't be distracted by something exciting going on in the 1h chart of the Congolese Juju Beads or whatever.
Getting "inspiration" and varied experience from a demo account, while maintaining my live account for FX
I will open a demo account to do both short-term and longer term trades but first and for all to practice reading the market!
I can have any number of ideas both for intraday and longer term trading. I will use my demo account to play around with these ideas and to get as many "chart workouts" as possible. I will not try to keep myself from looking at other markets and instruments than my four currency pairs. But I will not entertain these ideas on my real account and never during my "real account" time.
I can use my demo account for instance just to watch a couple of correlated market as they unfold in real time, without taking any trades. Or I can use it to try to trade a rangebound market. Or whatever. I can pretty much do what I want as long as a) I have a general idea before I sit down and b) I never do play around with this stuff on my live account.
Acting according to a plan for my live account
My setups remain the same. General price action, chart patterns, and swinging the 30/60 MA's. No indicators. Exit on trailing stops or important price action levels.
1) reduce my instruments to the four pairs that make up the DJ-FXCM USD index plus the index itself.
2) Do a thorough analysis of them in D1 and H4 timeframe, on the weekends as before. Lay off the other timeframes. Try to spot potential/probable setups ahead of the week and get a feel for the general direction of the USD. Monitor the markets daily from there on.
3) It is okay to zoom into H1/M30 for the precise entry level when placing my orders.
4) No market orders.
5) Max 10% of equity risk, globally. This will most often effectively mean, trading one position at a time - something avdfntrader has already suggested on this thread.
6) I'm not capitalised to trade the index, but I can do it on the demo or I can even just mark my long-term setups in the chart without placing orders.
7) Recalculate the max risk every month.
Being more accountable towards myself
- Actually creating forms for my self to fill out whenever I take a trade with the rationale behind the trade and also some key numbers such as risk metrics, to train myself on maths etc.
- Actually creating a form for the four questions and fill it out and file it every day.
- Write my trading diary on the back side of the form, file it, go through it on the weekends(for the whole week) and also monthly (for the whole month).
- Posting my progress (or lack thereof) t2w, especially regarding the live account.
Okey, that's what I have. Please share your thoughts on my plans and ideas.
mattboffey
Member
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Just tuned into this good luck 
D
Dogtrade
Thank you mattboffey
D
Dogtrade
So I have not posted my weekend analysis this week. I'm going off to holiday the upcoming weekend and will be away for a few weeks. I've given myself some assignments to sort out during the weekend;
1) Make the checklists, forms etc for whenever I sit down at the trading station like I suggested earlier.
2) Write some trackable goals on which to focus during my trading sessions in the upcoming weeks and months
3) Write some more long-term goals regarding my trading and decide upon a loose action plan(account size, markets, timeframes etc)
I might check back in the forum during my holiday but I'm not going to be able to check into my charts etc.
1) Make the checklists, forms etc for whenever I sit down at the trading station like I suggested earlier.
2) Write some trackable goals on which to focus during my trading sessions in the upcoming weeks and months
3) Write some more long-term goals regarding my trading and decide upon a loose action plan(account size, markets, timeframes etc)
I might check back in the forum during my holiday but I'm not going to be able to check into my charts etc.
D