January 2008. results

+166 pips

+9%

Well, it's great. I still do some really bad trading but I can see that I'm improving. Latest thinking get me to decision that it would be best just to only take small profits as I usually do just because I enjoy in that. Where is enjoyment there are positive results. Let's put aside mathematics and optimization of trading to get the best risk reward ratios. I got to put me and my mental strength and weaknesses in equation. Whenever I'm in deeply red trade, or string of trades with averaging I'm thinking how will I swing other side with that size and take 50, 100 pips. It's just wishful thinking that does me any good. I just don't stay that long in positive trades and it's better for me to accept that, it's reality.

If I know that than I don't expect big trades and maybe don't bet the farm on any losing trade, because there is no big trade that can substitute loses made with that. If I trade small I take small wins and also small loses. I don't use all the potential that is available to me in markets. But that's me and I got to adapt to that. I should focus on thing that I do well and disregard anything else.


My new idea is also to take small winners if I have them and call it for the day. Staying longer by the screen put me under the pressure. I start to think and trade defensively to save my new profits. That sometimes give me the worst mistakes in a way that I don't want to take next loss in order to secure just made profit. That takes me into moving stops, averaging, insane risks. All that could be prevented if I took the winner, or winners however small they are and quit for the day. If I'm happy with that small winner I should listen to myself and stay happy.

Why did I exit my first trade?

Something was fishy and to me looked like there will be brake. I entered gbp/usd long and exit after +3 pips. Well I hate when I don't want to wait and risk that tiny profit however tiny it is. Maybe it's because I know that sometimes after some profit if trade goes back I would not exit it on b/e or some reasonable stop.

Than few minutes later brake came but in eur/usd and especially usd/chf. It was pretty much unusual that gbp/usd won't follow even from a sympathy. So I thought maybe 920 level is really hard and that mean only down action. From that idea came my second trade for +6 pips.

But all in all everything is range like so I'm happy with the scalp trade. I got to have some broader move idea to initiate the scalp. I exit it fast, and it's ok. It's better to get used to that than break my head with why I don't stay in trends.

Today I was trading yesterdays market

+6 pips

My trading today was poor

I had whole day for trading and I done nothing. Some bad averaging,saving positions, fighting the trend result is -8 pip for the day.

First two eur/usd trades were bad but lucky I was up +18. Than in the afternoon I was pushing for lower and with no reason got stuck heavily long. Stupid. I could get b/e but took -42. I could also bought 730 level, but no. Another example of not trading what I see and what is happening.
Eur/jpy trade and other eur/usd trades were on because I wanted to get loses back. Eur/jpy gave mi +16 and other eur/usd was just taking risks and no reward.

Blogs

I was surfing around today and I found various new blogs that I put in my Bloglines reader to check them out.

Attitude Trader

The Art of Day Trading

10kthrownaway

Daily Trading Log

Market Monk's Musings

The Impatient Trader

LearningToTrade

Trade Pilot Pro

Make Me Some Money

Scalper is better than loser

EST. 2007

Bad trading quit early

I'm showing some very bad trading. I'm forcing the trades. My mind is on the money not on trading. So I will stop trading for today.

Both trades were only on because market moved fast, sometimes it works.When I saw that I entered gbp/jpy after spike of 40 pips in 30 seconds without even really looking at the chart before I entered, I realized that I'm trading like I'm drunk. I was from first second in deep loss, moved stop and who know what would I do next if market didn't return back.
On days like this it's the easiest thing to hold losers and average and lose as much as my stomach can take.

So with b/e (-4 +4) on the day I already took too much risk and better to shut down early.