Newbie Spread Traders Journal

[danboi8989]

Today i entered short again on the FTSE 100 from 5771.8 at 10.33am... the trade is current around break even however today it was more than 20 points in profit at one point. i am trying this time not to tamper with my stop loss and hopefully let my gains peak and trough down to my target price. (2:1)... i have set a limit order at 60 pips profit as this will be 3:1 risk reward ratio.

Facebook is still the same consolidating hovering between break even and maximum 30 pips profit. however i want much more from this trade. must hold on

 

[deebee1]

good luck with your trades danboi....

 

[p-lab]

good luck with your trades danboi....

Yes Dee agreed. Correct me if I am wrong but this your first week live yes? and you are giving up a lot of detail and reasoning which is excellent for the journal, very good.

2 comments
Your setups seem to be very busy - a mix of MA's, indicators, S/R, daily bias, throw in the odd Fib etc - if it works great just seems a little much to me

Are you position sizing your risk?. Your stake sizes seem quite random and by your last few posts a hit of expectation of a 2/1 3/1 RR as a market given if you know what I am suggesting. The internet is awash with 2/1 minimum etc - it doesn't mean the market owes you it.

Anyway just comments and by no means criticism. Good luck fella

 

[danboi8989]

Yes Dee agreed. Correct me if I am wrong but this your first week live yes? and you are giving up a lot of detail and reasoning which is excellent for the journal, very good.

2 comments
Your setups seem to be very busy - a mix of MA's, indicators, S/R, daily bias, throw in the odd Fib etc - if it works great just seems a little much to me

Are you position sizing your risk?. Your stake sizes seem quite random and by your last few posts a hit of expectation of a 2/1 3/1 RR as a market given if you know what I am suggesting. The internet is awash with 2/1 minimum etc - it doesn't mean the market owes you it.

Anyway just comments and by no means criticism. Good luck fella

Yes i spotted the problem with my random staking yesterday i learned all about this a year or so ago but completely forgot. I will implement something consistent as of now. With regards to the set ups this is just what i have been taught from certain DVD courses i have watched and picked on what i think are the best tools to use. If you have any other suggestions to help keep things simpler i would love to hear them. Target prices exit point and risk reward ratios is something i am still not completely sure of but I'm getting their slowly thanks to youtube lol. I'm only 23 soon to become a full time business economics student at University, so theres plenty of time to perfect my trading as i would like to do this for a living. Anyway thanks for everyone's comments and any feedback critical or not would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[danboi8989]

Last night the US market closed and my Facebook trade was 40 pips in profit. This is an improvement from its recent consolidation and hopefully this is the beginning of a new down trend (no offence Mark Zuckerberg).

The FTSE100 trade i entered last night is currently around 30 pips in profit with the market open. I will not tamper with the stop on this one as i have spotted something promising on the weekly chart. It seems as if price has hit a major resistance trend line and is looking to reverse. This hopefully will add downward pressure to help my trade on its way to success. Also the stochastic has just crossed over at over bought and indicates possible downside potential.

Today i wanted to try trading the smaller time frames like the 15m. I read all the time that this is just noise and basically it seems frowned upon but i always seem to notice a lot of good set ups when browsing and it would mean not leaving trades open for days and days, and also much tighter stop losses. Just something i am going to look into. If anyone has an opinion please feel free to post.

 

[danboi8989]

FTSE100 Trade is around 53 points in profit now. I am going to set my stop loss now to 40 pips profit that was no matter what i have acheived my 2:1 ratio... but i have taken off my limit order of 3:1 because i think there still may be a chance for further downside. I will monitor this closely

NOTE: Make sure my stakes and potential reward is the same for all trades. Had i have risked as much on this trade as my other losing trades i would of made up for 2 of the losses at least. But only risked the same as them.

I did show the graph of the weekly chart looking like it was going to drop but i am not comfortable trading these time frames as stops have to be placed much further away risking more. This was only to show which general direction the market is weighing on. And added proof that movement to the downside is likely

 

[danboi8989]

Just entered a LONG trade £3 a point in Gold based on the 15m time frame hitting a support zone and the stochastic nearly oversold. I did not wait for complete confirmation of a turnaround but this trade as i wanted to try a new tactic to get me in at the best price, before everyone else. The daily is also showing an uptrend so that is on my side also. My stop loss is placed around 1650 at about 120 points loss staking the same as my 1st trades. I will keep staking around this much from now on throughout my trades to remain consistent. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong but it is also to my knowledge that as UK economy falls the price of Gold rises???

My target price is 1662 (a resistance point close to my 2:1 ratio) based on the 15m time frame

 

[timsk]

Hi danboi8989,
Please tell me you're trading a demo account and not real money! If by chance you are trading real money, I suggest you stop immediately before you lose it all. As an absolute bear minimum, if you must use real money, find a broker that lets you trade pence rather than pounds.

Essentially, I fear you're trying to run before you can walk. Sure, we all have to start somewhere and you're just finding your way - nothing wrong in that - so long as it's with funny money! At the moment, you're all over the place, trading different instruments - FX, commodities and stocks - in different timeframes. Would Usain Bolt be an olympic champion if he ran the 100m one day, the 5,000m the next, then tried his hand at field events like the discus and long jump before returning to the sprint track? No sir - he would not! Everything he does is focused to make him as fast as he can be over 100 and 200 metres.

Experimentation is good and worthwhile, but it needs to be backed with clear focus. So, if you're wanting to continue as you are, (on demo only!) then make a note of what you like or dislike about the different markets and timeframes. There are just so many possibilities and options available - the problem we all face is to strip away the ones that don't work for us so we're left with a simple set of tools and techniques that harness our trading strengths and minimises our exposure to our trading weaknesses. Imagine you're like Michelangelo chipping away at a lump of stone to reveal the statue of David. Okay, a bit flowery I know, but you get the idea, hopefully. Going back to the analogy with Mr. Bolt, he may have tried all kinds of different events when he was younger, before concluding that what he liked best and excelled at was sprinting.

I hope all that makes some sort of sense. As to where to start, take a look at the links in my signature.
Enjoy!
Tim.

 

[danboi8989]

Hi danboi8989,
Please tell me you're trading a demo account and not real money! If by chance you are trading real money, I suggest you stop immediately before you lose it all. As an absolute bear minimum, if you must use real money, find a broker that lets you trade pence rather than pounds.

Essentially, I fear you're trying to run before you can walk. Sure, we all have to start somewhere and you're just finding your way - nothing wrong in that - so long as it's with funny money! At the moment, you're all over the place, trading different instruments - FX, commodities and stocks - in different timeframes. Would Usain Bolt be an olympic champion if he ran the 100m one day, the 5,000m the next, then tried his hand at field events like the discus and long jump before returning to the sprint track? No sir - he would not! Everything he does is focused to make him as fast as he can be over 100 and 200 metres.

Experimentation is good and worthwhile, but it needs to be backed with clear focus. So, if you're wanting to continue as you are, (on demo only!) then make a note of what you like or dislike about the different markets and timeframes. There are just so many possibilities and options available - the problem we all face is to strip away the ones that don't work for us so we're left with a simple set of tools and techniques that harness our trading strengths and minimises our exposure to our trading weaknesses. Imagine you're like Michelangelo chipping away at a lump of stone to reveal the statue of David. Okay, a bit flowery I know, but you get the idea, hopefully. Going back to the analogy with Mr. Bolt, he may have tried all kinds of different events when he was younger, before concluding that what he liked best and excelled at was sprinting.

I hope all that makes some sort of sense. As to where to start, take a look at the links in my signature.
Enjoy!
Tim.

Erm... Thanks for the advice, but if you read my 1st posts you'l see that i am using demo money and its clear i am experimenting to see what is good for me... I agree with everything your saying and that's what I'm trying to do. If you have any ideas on how i can cut this learning curve they will also be greatly appreciated...

P.S I read an interview once about a very successful technical analyst who would trade anything from FX to Indeces Stocks etc... It was just a chart to him... I cannot remember the name of him unfortunately but its true.

 

[danboi8989]

Days Trades Summary

Facebook - Still open market closed with it 43 pips in profit
FTSE 100 - Stopped out 40 pips in profit... good trade, hit my target... shame about my staking being abit random
Gold - Still open hovering around 20 pips in profit

 

[timsk]

Hi danboi8989,

Erm... Thanks for the advice, but if you read my 1st posts you'l see that i am using demo money and its clear i am experimenting to see what is good for me... I agree with everything your saying and that's what I'm trying to do. If you have any ideas on how i can cut this learning curve they will also be greatly appreciated...

Apologies, you did indeed say you're only demo trading. When I read your OP, I got the impression (perhaps wrongly) that you had been trading real money and would do so again as soon as you found a job.

With regard to ideas, I'd suggest you stick to one thing at a time, i.e. one market and timeframes based around either day trading or swing trading. Most members (but not all) will advise against day trading with a spread betting account. Once you really know a market - and understand its pros and cons - you can then make an objective decision as to whether you want to stick with it or move on to another one. Check out the Trading Plan Template in my signature - there's lots of ideas in there which should help in this regard.

P.S I read an interview once about a very successful technical analyst who would trade anything from FX to Indeces Stocks etc... It was just a chart to him... I cannot remember the name of him unfortunately but its true.

Sure, there are the trading equivalents to Usain Bolt. Then there's the rest of us! FWIW, I don't know of and, in the 10 years I've been a member of T2W, I don't recall hearing about - a single trader who successfully trades multiple markets in multiple timeframes. I've met traders who - for example - day trade US stocks and swing trade UK stocks. Or index futures traders who occasionally - and with good reason - trade some commodity futures. It's quite common for equities traders to trade the index futures - as they invariably look at the main market index as much as they do individual stocks. But that's as far as it goes.

The problem with mixing and matching is that you'll never get a sufficient body of trades to analyse in order to work out the key ratios that tell you whether or not you're onto something. If anyone is able to develop a profitable strategy that can be traded across multiple markets and timeframes - then I'll bet they're extremely experienced and are walking encyclopedias of all the markets. It's possible in theory I suppose - but I certainly can't think of anyone that's ever achieved it.
😉
Tim.

 

[danboi8989]

Hi danboi8989,

Apologies, you did indeed say you're only demo trading. When I read your OP, I got the impression (perhaps wrongly) that you had been trading real money and would do so again as soon as you found a job.

With regard to ideas, I'd suggest you stick to one thing at a time, i.e. one market and timeframes based around either day trading or swing trading. Most members (but not all) will advise against day trading with a spread betting account. Once you really know a market - and understand its pros and cons - you can then make an objective decision as to whether you want to stick with it or move on to another one. Check out the Trading Plan Template in my signature - there's lots of ideas in there which should help in this regard.


Sure, there are the trading equivalents to Usain Bolt. Then there's the rest of us! FWIW, I don't know of and, in the 10 years I've been a member of T2W, I don't recall hearing about - a single trader who successfully trades multiple markets in multiple timeframes. I've met traders who - for example - day trade US stocks and swing trade UK stocks. Or index futures traders who occasionally - and with good reason - trade some commodity futures. It's quite common for equities traders to trade the index futures - as they invariably look at the main market index as much as they do individual stocks. But that's as far as it goes.

The problem with mixing and matching is that you'll never get a sufficient body of trades to analyse in order to work out the key ratios that tell you whether or not you're onto something. If anyone is able to develop a profitable strategy that can be traded across multiple markets and timeframes - then I'll bet they're extremely experienced and are walking encyclopedias of all the markets. It's possible in theory I suppose - but I certainly can't think of anyone that's ever achieved it.
😉
Tim.

Thanks for the advice, i think your right... FTSE100 is what i have most experience in from the past... maybe I'l stick trading and studying the price movement of this. I am aware of a lot of the factors that can affect this market so it may be good for me to focus all my energy onto mastering it. Thanks

 

[danboi8989]

Right so my Gold trade was 160 points in profit and within one hour i got stopped out of a 144 point loss and the price darted back up again... was there a news announcement or is it just normal for such volatility... anything i missed?? check out the last hourly bar i could really use some feedback on this one...

 

[markmc27]

Right so my Gold trade was 160 points in profit and within one hour i got stopped out of a 144 point loss and the price darted back up again... was there a news announcement or is it just normal for such volatility... anything i missed?? check out the last hourly bar i could really use some feedback on this one...

Bernanke opened his gob ...

FRB: Speech--Bernanke, Monetary Policy since the Onset of the Crisis--August 31, 2012

 

[101116]

I think you should have moved your stop up at some point. No reason for it to be at -144p. Or was it not a trade on the hourly chart?

 

[danboi8989]

I think you should have moved your stop up at some point. No reason for it to be at -144p. Or was it not a trade on the hourly chart?

Yer it was by the hourly using the 15 min to time my entries and exits.... You're right i should have moved my stop but am just experimenting at the min, the last time i moved my stop price seemed spike exactly to that point, stop me out, then go back in the direction i needed it to... so after that i said 'no more tampering with stops!!' probably not the best move and definitely some thing i need to read more up on.

 

[danboi8989]

well today i'm going to avoid entering pointless trades for tradings sake... unless i see something special i will spend the majority of the day researching market psychologies as i believe this is a massive part of trading.... No posts yesterday because i pretty much did the same thing plus the US market wasn't open and everything seemed quiet.

 

[danboi8989]

The market closed with my Facebook trade still open at 178 pips in profit. regardless, i have moved the stop to zero. i cannot see another potential good winner turn into a big loser

 

[danboi8989]

Change of strategy again today... By using just the FTSE100 to spot my trades there simply is not enough set ups. I need more charts to analyse but also need to stick to one category to specialize in. I have chosen today to stick to Day Trading FX. I can imagine there will be a good few trades made so i will not report them all down individually on here but i will report on my overall profit or loss...

 

[danboi8989]

This mornings trading went terrible. I followed a system i learned online that used pivot points as entries and exits. none of my trades where successful and i netted 50 pips down. I realize copying other systems is not the way forward and from now on i will continue to use my own knowledge of technical analysis and tools and time frames that suit me best. taking the rest of the day off. Better start tomorrow....