Learning Trade Forex

Sitting in a trade risking spikes against me and slowly losing patience. Getting out with nothing and then watch how idea finally play itself out. This position trading require nerves of steal.

+2 pips

I was widening my stops and take profit targets. Really regretful that on second trade after such support was created and I was aware of it I closed trade on first bump. Not really scalping, not really position trading. I need more trading wit.

+29 pips

Six pips seems little smallish but it was profitable day all within parameters of new rules. I had a spike against me on first trade and widening of spread to ten because of the news on last one. Following rules today felt better. Now five trades are over and I can't trade any more, grrrr. :)

+6 pips

I'm trading now like it's a slot machine. I even have five poker chips for five trades I'm allowed to use. So when I make a trade I put away one chip. This is also not a way to trade but I'm glad that I'm sticking to my rules. It's a bit unpleasant to have those rules and this trading is like some kind of unconscious revolt. My trades are the ones when I don't guess that I will make money on it but I have feeling that it's certain. Even then many times things came out different then expected. This shorting before the break is guessing, so I don't find it like something I want to trade. I guess that I will have to find my rhythm. Maybe it won't work but I rather do this then things that I done before.

-22 pips

-8 pips

Today wasn't really a situation for me to trade but I didn't trade for a long time and I wanted to start even for experimenting purposes.


I want to limit myself in a effective way. Previous problem of averaging that was my number one problem is solved by using whole margin. So averaging went away. If for some reason I start again to have more money in account than it's necessary for position averaging would be back in no time.
So I made few changes to address current problems. Changes that I can follow and not deviate. First of all I wanted to cut my exposure to market when I'm heat up. So I decided to allow myself only five trades a day. Previously I had experiment with one trade a day that wasn't success. With five trades I can trade but I'm omitted in doing twenty or more trades when I have a bad day. For some reason I believe that I can follow that rule even I couldn't follow rule of having max loss of -25 pips which was basically designed to do the same.

Second thing I'm lowering my take profit level to maximum of +15 pips. I'm not allowed to earn more on any trade then that. Why I chose to do it? Firstly when I have theoretically unlimited potential on any trade I'm prone to fantasize about big profits, that leads to big emotions, greed and who knows what. I abandon efficient scalping and drift in some dream land, then I do it in losing trades also. So I move stops because I can afford to lose -20 pips because of big profits that are awaiting around the corner, off course just in my mind. If big profits are impossible it would be much harder in my mind to justify big losing trades when they are in the making.

Third thing that I changed is nice little feature that Oanda allows me. That is I changed position sizing from fix round number to 99% of margin available. With that I address an issue that I have with changing size, it allays affect me in negative way. Now on my every trade size is different, so I hope I will detach from number of units that I trade.


My idea of where I want to be with my trading is in doing few good scalps in a day when I trade and nothing more. I want it to be stable and uniform, without oscillations in my strategy and expectations. Taking five to ten pips in a trade and having similar stops day in and day out.
Wish me luck in sticking to my rules.

1. Careful trading, trying to be positive and dreaming about big move. (eur/usd chart)
2. Clumsy trades, losing head start gained in eur/usd (first three trades in eur/jpy)
3. Disappointment in what's happened, changing style of trading from scalping to some kind of position trading having big losing swing (4th eur/jpy trade)
4. Instead of quitting with around -20 pips down day around my max loss continuing, now trying to cut loss down. Again mix of position trading ideas with bad scalping execution, going for reversal. No success.
5. After break at 11:30 continuing with trading just simply not wanting to stop. Addiction style small loss trades one after another doubling loss.

After all of it feeling what a mess. So many mixed up things. Instead of scalping always that need for a big move like it's last trade that I will ever make so it have to be big. Mixing of position trading ideas with scalping. In the end sequence of nonsense trades that are not based on reality but on need to make day less bad, making it worse.
All that is changing smooth inside of me so I don't have a feeling that I'm that wrong when I make those bad things. Feeling stupid because I can see potential if staying away from the dark side. Clearly not being able to make it happened.

Even if I said to myself yesterday the goal now is first to stay disciplined and being positive is secondary I didn't do it. It's surreal. I'm laughing now because I was all weekend contemplating that idea of getting strong foothold in discipline regardless of my results. On the first day it's all gone. Can't believe it.
I guess that trading when money is involved produce strong chemistry in brain. You can't explain yourself in that moment what is good, what is bad. System of values is totally changed.

Don't know what to do. Maybe really restrict myself to max of four, five trades in a day. But who am I kidding: me-trading-restrictions. That three words don't really work with each other.

-66 pips

Maybe sometimes I know how to scalp, but I'm not immune to this kind of days, they are regular occurrences. When you add those two together I'm heavy net negative. I can add that something personal was bothering me today, but then I shouldn't trade in first place.
-121 pips

New trading day, over the weekend I managed to leave Friday behind. I'm pleased with my trades today. Entries were good by my standards. Market moved little bit nervously whole morning, not really knowing where it wants to go.
+16 pips

I got intimidated by my success this week. So I chose path of giving it all back. Those behavioural patterns feel very unpleasant when they play out yet again.
-82 pips

I'm not that satisfied with my trading today, even though result in the end is great. My second entry on aud/usd was in worst moment jeopardizing nice gain on first trade. I was simply saved by strong trend. Somehow I enter add on trades poorly.
Eur/usd was better but choppy to trade. First set of trades I didn't allow moves against me and that is good. On last trade overall situation favored break to the new lows so I waited it out.

Capturing videos is fun for me, it maybe even have positive influence on my trading.

+35 pips

Not much, market wasn't in real mood to move up.
+4 pips


And video:

Successful session due to nice volatility. There is another real time video capture posted for detail view of trades.
+20 pips

I started long and I was in that mood whole time so I didn't switch to short side. I didn't fight it either, so it's all good.
+23 pips

Well, this is really scalping. Adequate speed of price movement for me to read it correctly.
+23 pips

By courtesy of spike around 12:10 I finished positive. Just look at my exit :)
Really powerful session.
At 11:10 I was ahead and that trade was 10 pips in my favor. It didn't break out, I closed at the worst moment and after it made terrible calls. So in three trades I was down -27 pips. All because I messed up that profitable trade.
From that point slow recovery. Tried to call a top in eur/jpy, was close but few minutes too early. Then successfully called a top in gbp/usd and then switched back to eur/usd trying to catch a bottom. What a show ending with +24 pips spike trade.

Mistakes, too slow on closing losing trades giving away 5, 6 or 10 pips. I'm satisfied with my scalping, I can see where I must improve, at then it's all golden.



+10 pips

Half size trades
+7 pips

Nothing special. Late trades in aud/usd were too late when nothing really moved. In first part of aud/usd I messed up with adding new trade and then closing both. I could carry that first long if I wasn't pressured by having two positions for some time.

-6 pips

Let's keep it positive and head out to the pool.
+16 pips

Still at mercy of my emotions. After starting gain in eur/jpy I made few mistakes in eur/usd leading me in anger. So from that followed many steaming trades. No reason for them except releasing me of emotional pressure. Hope trades that just churn account.
-31 pips

21.
+1 pip






20.
Mixture of bad trading at first and good trading later. In gbpusd trades were half size and after first loss all day was catching up positive p&l.
In eur/usd I started with in&out, in&out, then when I noticed mistake of ruining good starting trades I reversed direction and started angrily to go against the trend. I made a break, get myself together and started looking at the price and not my ideas in the head. Didn't capitalize much but I started to trade better.
+7 pips






18.
+17 pips