Nowler's Trading Journal

[Nowler]

Feel free to question if you don't understand what I am saying.

I will but I don't want to be a load for you to carry. I'm sure you have better things to be doing than helping me.

... But say after some time your coin looses its magical ability. It doesn't generate the desired outcome. How do you fix the problem? Your entire methodology is dependent on its "magical" attribute.

That's my point, if/when that "magic coin" stops working then I will move to another one, there's no shortage of trading strategies. I can trade trends (which I hear happen approx. 30% of the time) jumping in on pullbacks and then scaling in further on subsequent pullbacks. If can't trade trends then I will trade ranges (which I believe happen 70% of the time) using S+R/Mean Reversion which I like to do and have done with at least enough success for me to value it as a strategy.

If I couldn't do either of those 2 for some reason then I could trade news releases. Sticking to say...NFP, CPI, Rates and whatever is big news at that stage (eg. Election news). This is why I am so reluctant to pigeonhole myself by only having 1 strategy and partly why I am so all over the place. I want to gain experience with as much as possible, holding onto and refining what I believe works and then ensuring I have at least 1 method for each market type (range/trend) and news releases.
Of course I will still need to be able to define those also ... but they are not complex (excluding the news release method). Mean reversion would be getting in on the trades on the extremes and riding to the mean, looking for past structure to inform my decisions. Trading trends/pullbacks then would be using the pullbacks to clearly define risk (SL), looking to the MACD to ensure it isn't giving me a warning (divergence). Again using past structure (S+R) to define my target.
NOTE: I don't really use the fibonacci as much as I feel I should...not really sure why.

Let's turn back to your case. How do you evaluate the success or lack of a method based on "being in and out quickly" or "in your opinion where price should go"? How do you fix such an approach should your trade outcomes do not generate the expected results? Is your "edge" derived from your opinion about price action or being nimble? It is often said, if you don't know what your edge is you probably don't have one.

I evaluate being in and out quickly by comparing it to all the rest of my trades. If I trade is taking longer than most of my other trades then I am going to notice it. I don't calculate time or write things down for the duration of my trades. If I can't tell that it's taking significantly longer than other trades, then it probably isn't. If it is then why is it? Did I place the trade outside of the active hours perhaps?..

I evaluate my opinion where price should go by the result. If it did what I expected to do then great (ie price slowing down when reaching levels of resistance as per previous structure but gaining composure and powering on through, etc). If it didn't then can I explain why? If what I reckon will happen is successful quite often then I suspect that I am onto something. If it's often not working then I need to either figure out why or change things up.

I have noticed that I, including outside of trading, will "lock in" or store my results (memory storage) of analysis of something with feelings toward it as opposed to remembering fine details. Would we class this as intuition? I feel that when we say intuition that it means hunch or some voodoo stuff like that. That's not what i'm saying. When I analyze something (at least I feel for the most part) I put decent attention into it but later on down the line when I am in a situation where I need to retrieve my analysis/information of this situation, then I can be drawn toward or repelled from it (good or bad, right or wrong, safe or danger), as opposed to remembering specific fine details about the situation/event/whatever. I guess similar to reading a study on something and not being able to remember the details but you remember the jist of it...it was conclusive or inconclusive or whatever. I'm not sure if this is to do with my dyslexia or whether it's something to do with emotional intelligence but I do it A LOT! Maybe not always but definitely a lot! This likely has something to do with the way I am not strict with writing everything down. I never was that person, though as I have said a lot, I definitely find use from writing some things down, I just haven't felt compelled to write every single thing.

The aim of my questions is to help you to build clarity around your own methodology. Do you have one that you can define in simple terms? If you cannot define it, how are you going to evaluate its performance and make adjustments for improvement?

Yes, I understand what you are doing. I appreciate your effort in teasing it out of me. It's definitely helping.

You have a general idea about fundamentals but you don't know how fundamentals are applied in trading. It is a lot more complex than what you think. I use 50 % fundamentals and 50 % technical to trade. Market pricing on prospective interest rate movements is constantly in a state of flux and is very much driven by economic data. For example, last month the market priced in above 80 % probability that the BOE will raise interest rate in November but since then that probability is closer to 60 % because of recent inflation data especially with wage growth or to be precise a lack of. It is a highly complex approach and not as you think. This topic is a big subject in itself and I will stop here.

I certainly wouldn't disagree with you saying that I merely have a general idea of fundamentals. How do I develop it further? (trial and error?) I understand that just because something is likely to happen one day (your example of the 80% prob of a rate hike), that it might be significantly less likely the days or so after due to other factors. I have also sort of noticed what I believe might be damage control in regards to economic release triggered movement?.. I'm not entirely sure of this, it's just something that caught my eye a few times. For example the Yanks make a statement that favours them on the Cable pair. The Brits would have a release of their own 30mins later and to me, it sort of seemed like it might be to control/counter the push against them as a result of the US release 30mins prior. This may be nothing more than a coincidence of course. I have not thought much about it yet... I just jotted something down about it to come back to at a later point. It just came back to me now when I was typing this...just thought i'd voice it. Perhaps you could confirm or shoot it down?

This issue is best discussed using your own trade examples where you might have conflict in using different TF. I can give you examples but that might not be meaningful to you because of your trade methodology.

I suggest you post a trade plan where we can discuss.

I have a trade I took today on the West Texas Oil, i'll post the screenshots I took and explain my process.

A win rate of 46 % with a RR of 1 is negative expectancy. Your account will bleed. It is simple maths. Just google if you are not familiar with how expectancy is calculated.

Of course.
I do have quite a lot of trades that are over 1:1 but still, id really like to raise that percentage.

How long you would hold your trade is a function of your trade plan. If you don't have a trade plan or if you are confused by multiple TF, then you effectively don't have plan.
Having a trade plan is an important component in developing a discipline trading process. If you don't have one, you will be building your trading on sand.

Generally speaking, if I take a trade in the 15min TF then I am expecting to be out within 3hrs...4hrs for sure...if i'm not then i'm not comfortable and will be figuring out what to do...to bail out or to ride it out.

If I take a trade in the 1hr window then id give it till the end of the day...if it's in the 4hr then of course i'll swing it for a few days, generally speaking.

I do about 20 trades a week, I have a trade plan for every trade I take with documented trade screens using SnagIt and archived. I have been doing this for years. Some times I slack but over time it becomes part of your daily routine.

Do you document audio also? As in, do you record you verbalising your trade process? That is actually something that would make me document my trades...if I didnt have to write it down.

Myfxbook shows that I have 330 trades since I started 5 and a half months ago. I haven't really established a limit or target for my daily/weekly trades but I have put a little thought into having a cut off point for a daily loss. Once I hit that, no more trading for the day. I haven't implemented it yet, but then again, I have been making money over the last month so haven't been forced to make an official call on it yet. Perhaps even after reaching a daily profit, the next losing trade after that, the days trading is over. Maybe just start getting up earlier and be on for the 8am London session and finish at it's close. I mainly get on around the US kickoff. These are things I need to work out also.

I'll go gather those screenshots I took of my West Texas Oil trade today so we can have a closer look at my thinking. This is an interesting trade because it was only an hour or some after I took it that a voice in my head said "MACD's are not reliable in ranging markets" which the WTO market was... The MACD was showing divergence.

 

[Nowler]

This is the West Texas Oil trade I took not too long before the London session ended. I typically trade the Brent if i'm looking to trade Oil but since the US session was still alive I went with a short on the West Texas.

My reasons for taking the trade:
- MACD showing divergence
- Price had reached a previous high (marked with the lower of the 2 broken blue horizontal lines) and I suspected it was further confluence for a drop in price
- There was another previous high not too far away from the high in question (highest of the 2 blue lines) and I was happy to put my stop behind that.


I only remembered reading about the MACD not being reliable in a ranging market after an hour or more. Price went on to stay in and around that area, breaking the lower of the 2 blue broken lines. Again, my SL is behind the top blue line.

My target is pretty much 1:1 here but the trade is 4%. 1 unit = 4% and its the least I can put on it. The target was chosen due to past structure likely to cause resistance and I didn't care to risk going beyond that point. I do however expect another test of that recent low. Perhaps not as low as the wick of it, hence my TP being at the body close on the 30min chart attached.

Note: The 2 broken white lines are the bid/ask prices and the yellow are to show the divergence as per the MACD

Question: See the initial show of divergence on the 5min and then the decline in price? Is the divergence between that first part and the part after the initial divergence valid since there was already a decline in price? Price was still making higher highs but the MACD wasnt making a high higher than the intial divergence calculation level...if that makes sense

 

[Brumby]

Refer to my comments in the image below :

 

[Nowler]

Refer to my comments in the image below :
*IMAGE*

Firstly,
The trade is now closed for a 2.4% profit.
I moved my stop closer to break even as price moved down the page and I also decided to move my take profit up a bit closer as the trade is going on too long (nephew and sister visiting from the UK in a short while) and is due to hit some resistance before reaching my initial TP level.
I know I closed this trade 1.6% before I was going to, but for the sake of locking in that 2.4% and not having to deal with the longer than expected trade...I was happy to do so.

Thank you for your analysis of my trade, though I respectfully disagree with it being an up trend. I am however open to discussing how I might be wrong.

I have attached some screen shots of the West Texas Oil chart and as you can see in the daily, I have marked how I read that chart in terms of there being a trend.
To me, that market is a range... and where it made a lower high (in blue) I expected that price would only test the previous high and then fall a bit, which it did. The MACD added confluence to my expectation by showing divergence also.

The 12 hour chart, again in my opinion shows no uptrend, nor does the 1hr, 30min or 15min.

Perhaps you can explain to me why you believe it's an uptrend? If I'm wrong then i'd like to correct it.

Should or shouldn't I be using wicks to define trends? I do, and did in this instance but if I shouldn't be using the wicks then I withdraw my claim that it's not an uptrend.

PS: My stop is based of previous highs out of the screen shot. That's what the blue broken lines are for. Those are the next 2 previous highs. I often trade like this... price retests a high and then moves away again. I then place my stop behind that retest. Here I identified 2 previous highs (blue lines) and I reckoned it would not test the higher of the two but I wasn't very confidant so I placed my stop behind the highest one instead because my TP was such that I was still on for at least a 1:1 even with the stop further back. It was the divergence on top of this that really made me confidant that I was correct in expecting a fall in price.

 

[Nowler]

Here is the 4hr view which shows the levels of resistance I was talking about.
My drawings and indications should be accurate

 

[Brumby]

Firstly,
The trade is now closed for a 2.4% profit.

The actual outcome of one trade is not the point of the conversation. Just like the casinos we trade when the odds are in our favour. A single trade is a random distribution of events. The games in a casino are stacked in the favor of the house. Some punters will win but in the long run the house always win because the odds are in the favor of the house.

though I respectfully disagree with it being an up trend. I am however open to discussing how I might be wrong.

An uptrend is by definition a series of higher highs and higher lows. In the 5 min and 30 min TF chart that you showed that is what we have.

This is precisely the point I was making all along. Which one is your trading TF? A trading TF chart is the one where your trade decisions are made. Some traders use the triple TF system. I think it was an idea that was made popular by Alexander Elder. If that is your approach that is fine but is it? Think this through logically. If your TF is large enough, prices would most likely had traded at that level but is it relevant to the trade that you are taking? TF that you make trade decisions are also where you are going to determine your price target and stops.

If we go back to your original trade, the question hasn't change. Which was your trading TF? In addition what was your trade rationale? Is it a counter trend trade? Is it a breakout and failure trade? Is it a channel trade where you sell at the upper channel?



I have attached some screen shots of the West Texas Oil chart and as you can see in the daily, I have marked how I read that chart in terms of there being a trend.
To me, that market is a range... and where it made a lower high (in blue) I expected that price would only test the previous high and then fall a bit, which it did. The MACD added confluence to my expectation by showing divergence also.

The 12 hour chart, again in my opinion shows no uptrend, nor does the 1hr, 30min or 15min.

Perhaps you can explain to me why you believe it's an uptrend? If I'm wrong then i'd like to correct it.

Should or shouldn't I be using wicks to define trends? I do, and did in this instance but if I shouldn't be using the wicks then I withdraw my claim that it's not an uptrend.

PS: My stop is based of previous highs out of the screen shot. That's what the blue broken lines are for. Those are the next 2 previous highs. I often trade like this... price retests a high and then moves away again. I then place my stop behind that retest. Here I identified 2 previous highs (blue lines) and I reckoned it would not test the higher of the two but I wasn't very confidant so I placed my stop behind the highest one instead because my TP was such that I was still on for at least a 1:1 even with the stop further back. It was the divergence on top of this that really made me confidant that I was correct in expecting a fall in price.[/QUOTE]

 

[Nowler]

An uptrend is by definition a series of higher highs and higher lows. In the 5 min and 30 min TF chart that you showed that is what we have.

The basis for a trend, for me, was violated and therefore not a trend. I have attached a picture to make this point. I'm interested to see why you believe there's an uptrend though.

Some traders use the triple TF system. I think it was an idea that was made popular by Alexander Elder. If that is your approach that is fine but is it? Think this through logically. If your TF is large enough, prices would most likely had traded at that level but is it relevant to the trade that you are taking? TF that you make trade decisions are also where you are going to determine your price target and stops.

I was unsure of what the triple TF system is (had a guess) so I did a quick google of it. In the explanation I saw there was mathematics involved, which means this is not what I am doing. I like to keep trading as simple as possible. I look at the markets and if I see something worth looking into, I flag it. If that is on the 1hr window then I will have a look at TF's to either side of it so I can see the overall picture. I spotted the Oil trade on the 1hr TF, I found the levels of resistance from the 4hr (maybe 12 too) and then I looked for my trigger in the 30 min TF. In recent times I have been using the 15-5min TF's more as I have a closer view of what is immediately happening. I gather information and then I make a decision based on my interpretation of that info. I give more weight to setups on higher TF's so I always want to have a look at higher TF's to make sure I am not going to get steamrolled.

If we go back to your original trade, the question hasn't change. Which was your trading TF? In addition what was your trade rationale? Is it a counter trend trade? Is it a breakout and failure trade? Is it a channel trade where you sell at the upper channel?

My trading TF after identifying resistance on the 4-12hr TF was the 30min TF. It was in the 30 that I was watching for the retest of the high.

I guess you'd call it a S+R trade?... I was waiting for the bounce after hitting resistance (which to me was further confirmed by divergence) and I identified the past traffic of price at the level of my TP as a valid place to put my TP. I mean, it could have went lower than that but I didn't care... I was happy to take profits where I planned to.

 

[Nowler]

Grabbed just under .5% from the EUR/USD after the economic releases.
I was busy with other things and ended up being late to the party but I got in on the last spurt down after a pullback.

That move completed the second shoulder of the H+S pattern on the daily (retraced a bit then) and I now have an entry sell order a little below that break of the neckline. If price hits that then I have my SL about 20pips back behind that breakout line.

The TP is at 1.1447 which is about 3:1 RR

 

[Nowler]

Month 5, Week 2
Drawdown was 51.08%-------Soft target is 45%-------Currently at 48.13% (2 weeks to go)
Profit so far this month = 6.1%

Verdict: I am very pleased with the progress on this month's target so far, especially considering I had no electricity in the first week of this month, well, not till Thursday anyway. Also, considering that I didn't do much trading this week as I was focusing on the theory and educational side of things, this is very pleasing progress. I won't get too carried away though, perhaps next week will be more difficult...

 

[Nowler]

Thinking to myself after the market kicking my ass...

Isn't it amazing how we can warp our own reality!
About 2 months ago I thought I was ready to deposit far more into my account and then one day I got myself into a mess on a trade and lost about 15% of my account.

While I did learn some lessons from that, I ended up making a similar mistake last night.

1) I made a decision to make a trade but I didn't wait for it to quite get to the best probable entry.
2) Price did eventually reach the desired level so I jumped on again with another 2%
3) Then the price went insane on the news release (which I was totally out of my depth with anyway) and ended up hitting my stops.

If I had left it at that then I could have just dusted myself off and told myself off for the less than surgically executed trade, but nooooooo...

4)Mr. Im-understanding-trading-fast decided to sell into the upward spike, using about as much careful planning as a hillbilly puts into brushing their teeth.

5) Paid no attention to the spread that was now as wide as that Kimdashian's big fat ****. This pretty much put my entry where I was putting my take profit

...if I had left it at that...but I didn't!

6) I went along and sold into what I "thought" (but more like hoped) was the top of the spike.

Long story short... price went against me another little bit over the next while and I just closed out the lot because I came to my senses that I had no idea what I was doing.

I am laughing at it now but I'm not underplaying the seriousness of what I did. It may have only cost me 6% this time as opposed to the 15% that the similar trade cost me 2 months ago but the point is, I thought I was developing very well but in reality, I made the same rookie move as a while back.

Granted my risk/money management was much better this time, so progress is visible, but still...c'mon like! What was I at! I only made a thread yesterday asking about prop firms and I made out like my 1 month smoothly positive equity curve was indicative of the future... what a muppet

It's a mini live account and even if I was to lose the max against the 50/1 leverage I am using, it would not ruin my life but I need to take this more seriously! I am taking it more seriously than before and I can see so much progress but I had almost convinced myself, like I did 2 months ago, that I am almost ready to put some significant money on the line (relative). Tsk tsk Gavin. Tsk tsk.

Again I got some invaluable experience, i've reinforced old lessons and my account lived to fight another day. But this needs to stop happening...

 

[Brumby]

deleted - posted to the wrong thread

 

[Nowler]

deleted - posted to the wrong thread

Truth be told... I got a little anxious when I saw your name as the most recent poster. I thought you were going to give me a bollocking for being such an idiot :|

This recent mess up has provoked some thinking and highlighted some decisions that need to be made.
A month of a positive smooth record gone down the crapper... for what? A chance to make 4%... on a 4% risk trade... totally not worth it!

 

[Brumby]

Truth be told... I got a little anxious when I saw your name as the most recent poster. I thought you were going to give me a bollocking for being such an idiot :|

This recent mess up has provoked some thinking and highlighted some decisions that need to be made.
A month of a positive smooth record gone down the crapper... for what? A chance to make 4%... on a 4% risk trade... totally not worth it!

Frankly. whatt happened to you is not unique. If you have traded long enough we have done the same and more. So do not beat youeslf over it. Move on to the next trade.

 

[Nowler]

...Move on to the next trade.

Exactly

 

[Quantt]

Thinking to myself after the market kicking my ass...

Isn't it amazing how we can warp our own reality!
About 2 months ago I thought I was ready to deposit far more into my account and then one day I got myself into a mess on a trade and lost about 15% of my account.

While I did learn some lessons from that, I ended up making a similar mistake last night.

1) I made a decision to make a trade but I didn't wait for it to quite get to the best probable entry.
2) Price did eventually reach the desired level so I jumped on again with another 2%
3) Then the price went insane on the news release (which I was totally out of my depth with anyway) and ended up hitting my stops.

If I had left it at that then I could have just dusted myself off and told myself off for the less than surgically executed trade, but nooooooo...

4)Mr. Im-understanding-trading-fast decided to sell into the upward spike, using about as much careful planning as a hillbilly puts into brushing their teeth.

5) Paid no attention to the spread that was now as wide as that Kimdashian's big fat ****. This pretty much put my entry where I was putting my take profit

...if I had left it at that...but I didn't!

6) I went along and sold into what I "thought" (but more like hoped) was the top of the spike.

Long story short... price went against me another little bit over the next while and I just closed out the lot because I came to my senses that I had no idea what I was doing.

I am laughing at it now but I'm not underplaying the seriousness of what I did. It may have only cost me 6% this time as opposed to the 15% that the similar trade cost me 2 months ago but the point is, I thought I was developing very well but in reality, I made the same rookie move as a while back.

Granted my risk/money management was much better this time, so progress is visible, but still...c'mon like! What was I at! I only made a thread yesterday asking about prop firms and I made out like my 1 month smoothly positive equity curve was indicative of the future... what a muppet

It's a mini live account and even if I was to lose the max against the 50/1 leverage I am using, it would not ruin my life but I need to take this more seriously! I am taking it more seriously than before and I can see so much progress but I had almost convinced myself, like I did 2 months ago, that I am almost ready to put some significant money on the line (relative). Tsk tsk Gavin. Tsk tsk.

Again I got some invaluable experience, i've reinforced old lessons and my account lived to fight another day. But this needs to stop happening...

No worries Nowler, we all have done it, that's why you'll have to have a written plan and have to follow it to the dot... to avoid mistakes like this one...

 

[itspossible]

Nowler after about 5yrs of trading shares and spreadbetting on a 20k account i managed to have some wild swings and ended up in profit a little-
strong advice after all that is to just trade small and never swing for the fences-just try to make the odd few hundred here and there.keep losses small and use stops-be in control.the trend is usually your friend mate-dont short the spike lol.also news can destroy your account if you aint got a stop(im pleased you had them)TRADE small mate.just imho.
when i was very green i once made 3k in one day-i then lost the 3k and another 3-i then swung back to the 20k mark.
That was a massive shock and a lesson and i learnt from that.i went on to drop a few clangers after that but not to that extent.

 

[Nowler]

Nowler after about 5yrs of trading shares and spreadbetting on a 20k account i managed to have some wild swings and ended up in profit a little-
strong advice after all that is to just trade small and never swing for the fences-just try to make the odd few hundred here and there.keep losses small and use stops-be in control.the trend is usually your friend mate-dont short the spike lol.also news can destroy your account if you aint got a stop(im pleased you had them)TRADE small mate.just imho.
when i was very green i once made 3k in one day-i then lost the 3k and another 3-i then swung back to the 20k mark.
That was a massive shock and a lesson and i learnt from that.i went on to drop a few clangers after that but not to that extent.

No worries Nowler, we all have done it, that's why you'll have to have a written plan and have to follow it to the dot... to avoid mistakes like this one...

Thanks for the support folks
It's comforting to know that this is indeed a part of the process for many if not all traders. I'll take this for what it is and then use it to avoid doing it again.

If I am going for a prop job then there's no need for me to be risking 2% per trade.
The elevated risk size is a response to my financial situation. Making less than 1% per trade on an account that I could afford to fund would be nothing more than a hobby with my savings. I simply don't have 20k to put into an account...I could probably stretch to 2k initially and then it would be monthly deposits of very modest amounts.

If I scale back my risk and try to forget making my mark with my own account then I have a better chance of establishing a record which would open the door of a prop firm to me. As someone here rightfully pointed out, if I could get a job in a prop then after 1 year I could afford a bigger account. AND I will have been trained by people who have an invested interest in me making money (for them).

I wouldn't leave after 1 year but you get my point.
What's more realistic? Turning 2k into 30k or building a nice smooth record and getting hired in a place that could very likely see me earn 30k/year after a year or so of training...

 

[David Knight]

Thanks for the support folks
It's comforting to know that this is indeed a part of the process for many if not all traders. I'll take this for what it is and then use it to avoid doing it again.

If I am going for a prop job then there's no need for me to be risking 2% per trade.
The elevated risk size is a response to my financial situation. Making less than 1% per trade on an account that I could afford to fund would be nothing more than a hobby with my savings. I simply don't have 20k to put into an account...I could probably stretch to 2k initially and then it would be monthly deposits of very modest amounts.

If I scale back my risk and try to forget making my mark with my own account then I have a better chance of establishing a record which would open the door of a prop firm to me. As someone here rightfully pointed out, if I could get a job in a prop then after 1 year I could afford a bigger account. AND I will have been trained by people who have an invested interest in me making money (for them).

I wouldn't leave after 1 year but you get my point.
What's more realistic? Turning 2k into 30k or building a nice smooth record and getting hired in a place that could very likely see me earn 30k/year after a year or so of training...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/20-facts-about-leonard-cohens-hallelujah/

'Cohen once told Bob Dylan that it took him two years to write the song'

I just saw an interview this week where he mentions that he liked a Dylan song and Dylan liked one of his songs and they asked each other how long did it take you to write?

Dylan=15 minutes
Cohen=2 years

Then Cohen says to the interviewer ' I can't write songs quickly. I just go with it. You have to play the hand that life deals you'

Doesn't mean you can't reach your goals..

 

[mpups]

Thinking to myself after the market kicking my ass...

Isn't it amazing how we can warp our own reality!
About 2 months ago I thought I was ready to deposit far more into my account and then one day I got myself into a mess on a trade and lost about 15% of my account.

While I did learn some lessons from that, I ended up making a similar mistake last night.

1) I made a decision to make a trade but I didn't wait for it to quite get to the best probable entry.
2) Price did eventually reach the desired level so I jumped on again with another 2%
3) Then the price went insane on the news release (which I was totally out of my depth with anyway) and ended up hitting my stops.

If I had left it at that then I could have just dusted myself off and told myself off for the less than surgically executed trade, but nooooooo...

4)Mr. Im-understanding-trading-fast decided to sell into the upward spike, using about as much careful planning as a hillbilly puts into brushing their teeth.

5) Paid no attention to the spread that was now as wide as that Kimdashian's big fat ****. This pretty much put my entry where I was putting my take profit

...if I had left it at that...but I didn't!

6) I went along and sold into what I "thought" (but more like hoped) was the top of the spike.

Long story short... price went against me another little bit over the next while and I just closed out the lot because I came to my senses that I had no idea what I was doing.

I am laughing at it now but I'm not underplaying the seriousness of what I did. It may have only cost me 6% this time as opposed to the 15% that the similar trade cost me 2 months ago but the point is, I thought I was developing very well but in reality, I made the same rookie move as a while back.

Granted my risk/money management was much better this time, so progress is visible, but still...c'mon like! What was I at! I only made a thread yesterday asking about prop firms and I made out like my 1 month smoothly positive equity curve was indicative of the future... what a muppet

It's a mini live account and even if I was to lose the max against the 50/1 leverage I am using, it would not ruin my life but I need to take this more seriously! I am taking it more seriously than before and I can see so much progress but I had almost convinced myself, like I did 2 months ago, that I am almost ready to put some significant money on the line (relative). Tsk tsk Gavin. Tsk tsk.

Again I got some invaluable experience, i've reinforced old lessons and my account lived to fight another day. But this needs to stop happening...

Great post nowler its interesting to read your description of what we suffer from sometimes: losses that are incredibly hard to take and lead to further losses!

 

[Nowler]

Great post nowler its interesting to read your description of what we suffer from sometimes: losses that are incredibly hard to take and lead to further losses!

I did manage to cut my losses sooner than I did before but the simple fact of the matter is, I shouldn't have need to cut those short... I shouldn't have been in the subsequent trades!

I did put some planning into the initial trade (not enough, but some) and getting stopped out of that was fine...we will lose many many trades in our trading careers but active throwing money away... silly Gavin.

I have not traded since that... I sickened myself for making such a stupid move. I decided that I didn't deserve to even try trade the BoE hike or the NFP. Sort of a punishment for my error. (Probably best as my news trading skills are "a little off")

I'll be back in the market Monday though because you can't keep a good man down

I really hope this journal gives other new traders some insight and hopefully they can avoid my mistakes. Unlikely, but maybe