News scalps

I wasn't really trading today, I forgot about the news also. I came like 2 minutes after, made 2 little scalps and that's it.
+8 pips

This is how I suppose to trade

Add on profitable position when it proves correct in the direction of the market. I would hold for fast break down through 900 level, with hesitation I'm out. +15 pips

Long trade

I was sitting in the trade 2.5 hours. There wasn't really short signal for me watching all pairs so I didn't want to hit s/l. It was all some kind of retracement. US didn't pickup trend from earlier. I wasn't too anxious about the loss and the trade, I didn't want to play "save the trade" game with averaging. Nothing was really clear for me. Finally break out through high was slow and heavy and it wasn't suppose to be like that. I decided that it's better 5 pips than b/e.
+ 5 pips

b/e

The market wasn't responsive for my style of trading today. I was looking for a breakouts and fast moves but I didn't get much. In the end b/e.

07/24/08 trade

I expected meltdown through previous support but it didn't happen.
+5

Thought process

My thought process in first eur/usd trade was something like this: We have now run towards 720 which so far was support two times. Something got to happen it will break down and I will short it from 720 or we are just testing strength of support and we will have bounce up and possible reversal to the up side. So when it stopped around 725, I was also watching unsuccessful break on usd/jpy pair. That is the point where market can't stay on current level it's going one side or another. I decided for a bounce and I got it. It was great opportunity to stay long with good buy price but I chose not to go for it.

Second eur/usd trade was break even. There was all set up for break of yesterdays low to the upside but it just didn't have force for it. It did break few minutes later but I was busy in gbp/usd trade. Break in the end failed.






Maybe not so good idea in gbp/usd was to short it because all other pairs were reversing dollar weakness. The thing is that was strongest pair for a whole day. It's attractive because it's stretched so profit covering can get nice opportunity but it also can be very costly if it goes on the other side when it's so strong. I was watching 025 level which was R1 pivot so when price touched it and fall back I short it.
When it finally started to fall it was very slow compared to other pairs. It went 20 more pips down after my exit but it also came back for the whole move. I didn't want to risk my scalping profit when I was second guessing my decision of shorting it in the first place, so I was happy to take home profit on that trade.

+18 pips today


Catch up with great posts on Simon Super Trader blog, I had nice conversation with him from post "The reversal in thinking" toward the most current post.

1-click trading is great

I didn't know how much attention was drown away with managing order windows in crammed up space with several charts. Now when I have it on a left side 1-click away I can react in an instant and catch really good price. I notice that I'm really much more focused, funny how little things change a lot and you don't even know it beforehand.

Market isn't much suitable for trading in the morning, but I did catch some volatility and ok profit. That second trade was mistake, I wanted to go in in gbp/usd but I clicked on wrong box, it wouldn't do me much good anyway.
+15 pips

Trading on vacation

Well isn't it really nice that I spent boring summer morning watching forex screens and scalping. Now it's time for lunch and beach :)))

First I had a mess with gbp/usd long which was breakout buy that turned on me. Bad thing that I didn't stay, I was to much concentrated on 10sec and it would be better if I watched 1min. I just expected stronger break so I was afraid of another turn.




Again in first eur/usd trade I was glued to 10sec and didn't want to let market go against me.
Third trade in the day I decided to stick around and not get out again too soon. I had nice opportunity to close the scalp so I did.




I was ready to quit trading for today but at 13.00 market started to move with speed. With nice new feature 1-click trading on OANDA I managed to have two trades in less than one minute.

+15 pips today

1 click trading on OANDA

OANDA finally gave us 1-click trading now on fx-trade beta. Well today I had opportunity to really use it as my edge. In really short term trading, scalping, speed is everything. So when opportunity arise there is no time for messing around with order windows. As you can see on that 5 sec chart I had sell than cover because it started coming back and than again sell and quick cover. If I had to open order windows and change it from sell to buy I wouldn't be concentrated on the screen and I probably wouldn't be so quick. Now it's enough just to click on buy or sell field on the rates window and I'm in or out in a second. So this is great new tool and with ultra small spreads OANDA is just great for trading forex.

Interrupted news scalp

I was all ready for Bernanke and at exact minute I was interrupted on my work so I had to move away from screen for a moment. So I entered late for a scalp.

Second trade was scalp looking for a bounce of 900 level. I did exit too early but you never now with this kind of trades. It fall too much in the first place on all time high day so I didn't want to risk much of the gain. I for sure didn't expect 40 pips bounce that happen at the time I write this.
+21 pips

New blogs I read

I refreshed my blogroll with new additions

Orion Machine - my biggest comments contributor and trader with similar style to me. I only wish that he blog more often.

Proprietary Trader - Great view from longer term perspective.

Bzbtrader - I enjoy to read how easy trading look when he trade QQQQ with pivot levels, it's not easy but he is good.

Tokyo Trader - He recently take over running VO from Dinosaur Trader


And two new journal type blogs:

Trader Ghost

Hunt for the daytrade

Summer

Market is in the nice mood but I'm not. I just wait for my summer vacation that starts at the end of next week. I don't feel about doing anything, working, trading... In today's rally I was just looking where to go against the trend. So it's great that I didn't trade more. Too bad off course that I didn't stay in that first long trade. To be honest I don't know why did I exit, but for sure I wouldn't stay in 100+ uptrend. On the other hand week is positive and why should I ask for more. I need rest from it all.
+10

Waiting for break out

First trade I patiently waited for long signal and 30 sec before I had to reconnect internet connection, than I finally got in about 10 or 20 seconds later. Market didn't move, I was waiting and than I had to go because of job related emergency and I didn't want to leave it on unattended. When I came back after 10:00 I was angry when I saw nice uptrend. Than I had that trade in yen that was emotional, it was to early for reversal to late for a scalp.
Than I entered short in eur/usd, I had close stop in mind. It was nice situation where something got to happen, new high or reversal.

Later I go long in gbp/usd because it looked strongest and ready to break out on it's own. It didn't move in my favour but it didn't show signs of reversal. So I was again patient. There was a major fight across the board at the attempted break out. Again gbp was strongest but others start to go back and I was because of it out. I did hope on brutal break out from 800 level but it didn't happen in the end.

+13

Not so accurate

I wasn't really accurate today but in the end it all went well. I was in new mind setup of close stops. It's ok but it's whole different way of trading. If I know in advance that I will not average to save the loss I want get out of loser as quick as possible. On the other hand I got to give it a room to disprove idea if it's totally wrong and if not to come back. There wasn't much going on. I hoped that new push down will follow after Asia session big fall. There wasn't one really and I didn't belive in upside potential.
+10 pips

Retrospective and readjustments

I used Sunday afternoon productively. I researched my April and May trades through my blog posts trade by trade. Basically a lot's of my scalps go in the profit immediately, going against me less than 5 pips usually. On those scalps my holding times are 1-3 minutes sometimes up to let's say 6 minutes. It's a scalp so if I see that something is happening my idea should be proved right immediately, if not it's not right idea. I had some trades that lasted 30 to 60 minutes, there were no need for close attention for them. Simple s/l and t/p would be enough. I just use my attention and drain it for no reason.

The majority of bad trades in which many of them I used averaging would get to b/e with stop of -20 without taking out the stop. The ones that gone beyond -20 were disasters with risky averaging and in best case b/e result with heavy averaging. So there is no need for me to hold any trade beyond -20. I do use small t/p so it's not idea to let every trade to go to -20 but to have it as last line of defense. I really want to take averaging out of my repertoire. Only valid case would be in -15 trade where I have good idea for average there, let original trade to -20 and add on to -5. It's big IF for that kind of averaging also. I'm not saying that I will not average from now on because I know myself. This are guidelines and I would be very happy if I could trade by them.


Also I will stop using "half size - full size" terminology. I don't trade in full size except when I average so it's not using me well. From now on size is size. I can add new trade if I want. I will gradually up my position size because of intention to allocate more capital for my trading. That is process in the development so I don't have much to say about it. Real return can easily be seen on the monthly result post in percentage terms until new size and allocation would be fully implemented.
My basic profit target is 50 pips per week and I would like to size position so those 50 pips represent 2.5 - 3 % return. It's little to big position sizing for me right now. The thing is with my half size positions I was making 50, 100 up to 170 half size pips per week in my ten profitable weeks period. Size was small so it was easier to have big weekly return. I don't know which proportion is optimal for me yet.

Scalping suits me and no matter what other opportunities be out there I can always find nice scalps and make my profit only with them. My "swing mood" as I call it brings more problems than averaging. I don't take nice scalp profits in that mood, I ride losers and worst let winners turn to losers and than average more in a losing side. Swings can develop from successful scalps and trailing stop. If I don't want to trail the stop, fine just take the profit.

Should I trade with bigger size?

Things seam today like the day before yesterday, but they weren't exactly. First I had two little trades. If I didn't exit second trade where I did I would at the bottom of the spike after.





Than I had attempt to go with break of high. Break didn't happen and I was suckered in with very slow action after my entry that it will go up and not down. Place where I add next trade was very good for it with bottom of channel and fibonacci level but I made mistake of not getting out when that setup failed.

I remembered what I was talking about with fellow traders in comment section so I was accepting risk and wasn't just emotion ruled.

I was waiting for break down to reverse but there were no acceleration at all. That was odd to me. So I stayed in long trade because it didn't start to fall like mad. Finally I reversed (on chart: -1-1) with full size position. Break started and bounced so I closed that trade and reversed with double size now up (+1+2). Than range started. I was ready again for reversing to short but it was all just watered down. There were few attempts to go up and it sure did look like bottoming. I was on the trigger to close when break down came, but when it stooped and reversed I add one full size position which I intended to use as a scalp. I did got about 5 pips on it. I wasn't sure will it go up or down and I wasn't just blindly averaging. Break up came but I didn't like it much so I just exit it before my target of 713.
Euro was pretty much weak while gbp/usd was showing nice strength and bounced nicely from the lows. So I wasn't sure in possibility of uptrend in eur/usd.
Result today is exact b/e. I didn't know it until the end




Well I don't like all of this. I risk too much, add too much. I think that there is possibility that I'm trading with to small size and leverage. Problem is that losing side is relatively too small for me money wise until it's too late. In the end when I was trading with double of full size I wasn't prepared at all to average. If I'm wrong I'm wrong. It would be to costly to average and lose. On my trade around the high I had plenty of opportunity to get out but I didn't. I was ready to bet a little. It isn't good for my style. When I'm right I'm right fast, other times I lose more times than win.
You can say that it's probably unwise to take leverage and size up without clear indication of profitability. It's all in psychology. I proved myself with 10 positive weeks that I can be profitable. Any way I had plan of allocating more money for trading purposes any way but I was waiting with that. I planned to add it gradually. Maybe I should just start trading with targeted size and not wait. I think that I would be more afraid of losses and that I wouldn't do crazy things because of it. I'm not entirely sure, I will see. My size would be 4 times bigger so it would be serious for me. Now it's only serious when I gather few averages and it's the worse time to have size in the market because than I'm against the trend and down a lot.

I will not trade any more today because I want positive week which is so far.

My piece of action

In the morning I tried for a meltdown trade but when it immediately stop I was out. I got my piece of action after the news. It was wild later also but I got to be happy with scalp just as I like it. + 10 full size pips

Intoxicated

I had first little scalp in eur/usd that was ok and usual, nothing special.

After that those spikes on eur/usd were at the same time when gbp/usd fall, so action on eur/gbp going higher. When it stop I went long in gbp/usd playing for catch up of going to highs in eur/usd. Well eur/usd action got hammered down. I still was bullish on gbp/usd and it ability to hold the lows. It wasn't weak so much, it was fighting. At the same time I slowly started to go in my state of insanity totally intoxicated with trading, risks, everything. As I added more size I was more in emotionally. Nothing else exists, there is only this trade and current market action. It's make or break, all in. Probably gamblers feel like that.
After averaging in gbp/usd I bought eur/usd with full size. It was also fighting and trying to get of the lows. It was so intense. Every second counts, every tick is important. I averaged again in eur/usd again with full size, so I had 3 full size positions bleeding on me. At the lowest point I was -40 full size pips of open loss and it could get double that in a matter of second if fast brake came.
When it was going up in the end I exit by the feel and it was b/e for the day. Funny, I got my excitement and pain and in the end I was flat.

At this blog you can at least read about real trading problems. Not everything is peachy. I can't explain my behaviour. It always stun me again. I'm saying myself I will not do that again at the start of the day and I do it again. It's like they say alcoholics or addict do. It's so funny and stupid, I don't even do that to earn money but not to lose money.

Now while I'm writing this market is 50 pips up from my exit.

I don't have answers only questions.

Just news scalp

Scalp for the sake of scalping when the news spread came back down. +3 pips