Cory2679

Hey guys, I took the first couple of days off this week to do some work, but I'll be back trading/posting for NY in the morning... I like posting...it helps keep me accountable and focused... -Cory

Exactly one month to go! I typed in today's closing prices to SIUYA's spreadsheet and it looks like R3VBR is currently in the lead... EDIT: and it looks like DylKay is in second place, and stevensSJC is in third (going by the absolute value of the difference between the person's total and today's total)...

EUR/USD futures (CME Globex symbol: 6E)

Click here to view the post! (It's relatively short.) NOTE: This will be the last time I post a link to one of my log posts to this thread...for those of you who have a monogomous relationship with this thread and privately thanked me for the link I posted last time, simply subscribe to my log thread to get an e-mail alert when there's a post...I really hardly ever post to it anymore so it certainly won't flood your inbox. -Cory

The First Amendment to the Plan After careful thought and consideration, I have decided to make an amendment to the plan I laid out a few weeks ago. The amendment is...rather than the goal being "four weeks in a row of 2.5+ net R," the goal will now be 10R, period...however long (or short) a time it takes. I had really already made an amendment to Thales's original plan...rather than 50 ticks per week, I "translated" that to R (2.5R). That amendment was in the spirit of position sizing/R-multiples ala Van Tharp. This amendment is in the spirit of trading for infinite yield... I essentially already explained the dilemma in the Reading Charts in Real Time thread... I'm not going to write paragraphs explaining and justifying my decision (like I had planned) because I think it's fairly straightforward. The only thing I will add is that I will allow a "reset" of my track record at the end of any given week if I am down overall on my quest toward net +10R (for the demo account only)...although, in the past three weeks since my previous post, this would have not been an issue...I'm overall profitable since my big post (you can follow/review most of my trading in the Reading Charts in Real Time thread...I've been posting a lot there). However, I'm going to start from scratch this Monday at "0R." I believe that this amendment will help eliminate one of my current barriers to success. ---------- On another note, I have a correction to my previous post…I said I was trading Tokyo AM hours, which I said was 7pm-11pm Eastern Time. However, I was confused at the time and it turns out that currently, according to Forex Factory, the Tokyo AM hours are 7pm-10pm Eastern Time (9am-12pm Tokyo time). However, my “trading hours” are not set in stone…if it’s 6:55am, I’m not going to refuse a trade because it’s not 7am yet. In fact, my trading hours are really looking more like 6am-11pm Eastern Time.

I think I'm all done for the week. Had 2 trades this morning...one very small loss and one break-even. I actually posted every single trade I took this week to this thread. Looking back, I think I did a relatively good job of choosing my trades carefully (although of course I didn't get everything)...that has been my recent focus...choosing my trades carefully, not trading every little swing/overtrading/ignoring context/etc. Looking back, I got a very decent move out of almost all my trades (although often after I was flat!)...and yet, I'm only up 1.44R for the week. I attribute this to poor trade management...I chose my trades well (in my opinion), but I managed them poorly. I have put very little time or thought into trade management lately as I've been very focused on how I choose my entries, but I think I need to spend some time on it (without neglecting entry choice!...this is key). Also, I'm constantly battling emotional issues. If you look at my daily results, there's an obvious pattern...I start at X, then do a little worse, then do a little worse, then do a little worse, etc. My emotions snowball during the week...over the weekend I can usually refresh and recharge, but I get bogged down during the week. I think part of the problem is my target of 4 weeks in a row with 2.5+ net R......once I hit 2.5R for the week (which I did after the close of Tuesday), it's really hard to put that at risk to make more (and if I do, and I drop back below 2.5R, it's really demoralizing), and it creates problems (like squeezing stops way too tight, cutting profits way short, getting to BE too soon, etc.). I have a possible solution to this that I'm going to post to my log before the end of the day. Have a good weekend everyone!

Well, I was dedicated enough to trade Thanksgiving evening (it's not a holiday in Tokyo), but was only rewarded with this loss on the EJ... I probably should have passed on this one the way price was acting fairly choppy/back-and-forth/go nowhere/etc. I think I wanted a trade too badly...

Looking at this chart, it looks like my stop was squeezed soo tight...almost break-even...but would you believe that I took a 0.44R loss on that?! I probably need to only take larger swings when I'm working with a 2.5 pip spread! EDIT: It looks like slippage played a role, too...although it was less than 1 pip...but it all adds up! haha

FINAL UPDATE: I got stopped out for a reasonably small loss, as expected. Price eventually made it to PT1 without me...that hurts because I was honestly at one point planning on just leaving the original SL and PT's and going to bed, but instead I stayed up hours later than I usually do to aggressively manage it...oh well...unfortunately no trading today...holiday...

UPDATE3: Stop moved even tighter... UPDATE4: I'm tired and going to bed...I was tempted to simply pull this lousy trade, but instead what I'm doing is squeezing the stop very tight, and leaving the trade on while I sleep (so effectively pulling it, but giving it one last chance to make profit)...goodnight!

UPDATE: Entry filled and stop now moved tighter...it's unfortunately not really taking off... UPDATE2: Moved my stop even tighter...I've pretty much lost hope in this trade, but I'll give it a chance rather than pulling it...

Potential long on the UJ...

That should read: "we had recently tested potential major support"

I can't tell you what you did right or wrong as far as your strategy is concerned, and you have to take what I say with a grain of salt as I am not yet a successful trader, but I'll share with you my thoughts on that trade (I was watching the same market and did not consider that entry for a trade)... You can see on the 240 minute chart that we had recently tested potential major resistance. Then, if you look at the 15 minute chart, I've drawn 3 blue lines...3 potential longs or adds to longs... The first blue line I would have probably taken had I been up (although the EUR/JPY would have been better). The second blue line I was up for, but I didn't take it because I didn't like the way price was approaching the potential entry (I drew a picture in paint to explain what I mean). By the time that third blue line was being approached, all I was thinking about is how that blue line may serve as resistance...particularly due to the lack of momentum that price was exhibiting as it approached it...in fact, if I had been long at either of the other 2 blue lines, I would have likely been taking some profit at the third blue line. I could have been wrong and price could have blown through the third blue line to enormous gains...but the PA leading up to it did not make it appealing to me. Again, take what I say with a grain of salt.

Currently long the UJ...I've moved my stop tighter once so far... UPDATE: Stop moved to break-even... UPDATE2: Stop moved for 1/3 of the position (I posted the 1-minute chart for this update to show more detail)... FINAL UPDATE: I was stopped on 1/3 of the position where I had I moved my stop for a tiny profit, and at break-even for the other 2/3...

Was short the UJ but was already taken out at break-even...I am ok with my decision to go to BE based on the PA, but it was a relatively small swing...so with the 2+ tick spread, the entry being 1 tick below the blue line, and then locking in +1 tick when I got to BE to counter potential slippage, there was just no room for it to breath when I moved my stop to break-even and I got stopped out. Oh well...I'd rather be out wishing I was in than in wishing I was out...I'll just observe what happens now...from the sidelines...

Thanks...I got the precipitous decline I was hoping for, but I unfortunatley squeezed my stop too tight...cut it less than half way to my original profit target (which would have long been filled by now)... I got a little caught up in some sideways movement last week with very little follow through, and I think it is having an affect on me this week (I've had two trades so far this week that both turned out to be decent runners, and I cut the profits both times by squeezing my stops too tight...because I was really expecting little-to-no follow through...I wanted to lock in as much as I could). It depends what you mean by advance...it was "planned" within an hour of taking it...I saw the potential for it when I got on between 6:15AM-6:30AM ET this morning...it filled at 7:16AM...I was not planning for it or anticipating it when I got off the computer yesterday at around 2:30PM. I do mark potential S/R on my charts in advance and watch what price does once it gets there, how it got there, etc., and trade based on that...so yes, I do plan my trades in advance...but I won't necessarily know way ahead of time what my exact entry price will be until closer to the actual trade. EDIT: If you meant planning when I will move my stop, etc., yes, I also plan that...however, part of the plan is to trail my stop by "natural" stops of like-degree...that's where I can mess it up and squeeze too tight...I'll sometimes take a trade off of one degree of swing and erroneously trail by a smaller degree...which will often result in premature stop-outs...it's just one of the virtually limitless list of things I continue to work on.

FINAL UPDATE: Stopped out for some profit...

Currently short the EJ...stop has been moved tighter... UPDATE: Stop moved to break-even... UPDATE2: Stop moved tighter and locking in some profit... UPDATE3: Stop moved again...

FINAL UPDATE: Ninja's back online...I squeezed my stop tight on the second half (possibly too tight) and got stopped out for some profit...

Currently short the GU...stop is at break-even... UPDATE: I made my PT's slightly closer/more conservative... UPDATE2: Stop moved for half of the position... UPDATE3: Oddly enough, PT1 has filled (although it would not appear so on my Ninja chart)...stop on the remaining half is at break-even... UPDATE4: Stop moved tighter...I've posted a MT4 chart for this update because my Ninja connection has quit on me...

Hey Guys, Well, I’m unable to trade this morning…my internet is acting up. It is continually disconnecting, and only allows for brief periods of internet access (one of which I used to make this post). I had to mute my speakers because of the annoying sounds Ninja and MT4 make every time they connect and disconnect. It’s doing it with all the computers in the house. I’ve double checked the connections, unplugged the modem/router, etc. and nothing helps. It’s something that happens very infrequently (with many months separating the incidents), so I’m not too worried about it. I feel sure it will be back to normal this evening. If it’s not fixed by Sunday, I’ll trade somewhere else until it is (I trade on a laptop). I’d have a backup internet connection if I was a real professional (retail) trader trading full-size, but for now I can’t justify the expense. NOW TO THE MAIN TOPIC…I want to address yesterday’s outburst…I was letting my emotions take over. This week was tough for me. Monday I was totally off the wagon with overtrading…it was so bad that I really have no idea how the market behaved that day…lost the forest for the trees (usually I can think back on a week and remember each day). Tuesday and Wednesday were tough as well…the markets I trade had a lot of tight sideways movement during the times I trade, with little-to-no swinging and/or directional moves…there was one blatant exception on Tuesday…one good opportunity that I actually posted after the fact to comment on, but I missed it. It happens. I’ve even seen Thales post trades he’s missed before. It’s not that big of a deal. It’s going to happen again. It looks like there's some good movement today I'm missing out on...from what I can tell...I'm only getting bits and pieces. Other than the short on Tuesday that I missed, I could make a case that it was probably not a bad idea to be completely flat those days. I know Thales has said before something like don’t think you have to have a trade every day. I know he’s said that, and I trust his wisdom, but deep down I know I don’t believe it…if I go a day without a trade, I feel like I’ve definitely missed something, traded poorly, etc. That’s just something I’m going to have to work on. I also have to work on my emotional control…I’m down less than 1R…actually less than 0.75R!...after a couple days of more or less tight chop and I got totally distraught and my confidence plummeted…it’s the end of the world…I must be missing everything and I just can’t trade…I know Thales would be up 7R by now this week…blah blah blah. Also, when there aren’t any good trades available due to tight sideways movement, I tend look hard enough for them that I find them. My mind shifts from “keeping my eyes open for good opportunities” to “trying to predict where the market could possibly go next from here”…very different ways to approach the market…with very different results! I’m going to make mistakes and trip up…the best thing I can do is work hard to keep my head straight and emotions in check, and try to learn something from it. Discouragement, anger, pity parties, etc. are not productive!! I fell off the wagon this week, but I’m confident that I’m back on and back with the program. I couldn’t trade Tokyo last night, I can’t trade today because of the internet, and I won’t be able to trade Tokyo tonight, so I’ll be back Friday NY. However, I won’t resume my posts here until the start of next week. Have a good weekend! Cory

Thanks, fxT. You're right.

I think I'm frustrated because perhaps I have further to go than I realized. After my post from a couple weeks ago on my log and the subsequent winning week, I honestly anticipated knocking out 4 weeks with 2.5+ net R on this demo account with no problem. It's proving more difficult than I expected (which is pretty pathetic for how long I've been around this thread). Maybe I just need to accept the fact that I have much further to go than I thought and it may be some time before I can knock out 4 weeks in a row with 2.5+ net R...much less 5 or 10 R. And maybe I need to accept the fact that the odds truly are that I will NEVER get there...that the most likely thing to happen will be that I have the next 4, 8, 12, etc. weeks unprofitable. I need to genuinely accept these realities and trade day to day fully expecting losing results...and just try to learn and get better. Just some thoughts...as you can probably tell, I'm a little discouraged/disappointed...

Another afterthought... You know, looking at that 4H chart, you can almost see a big upsidedown head and shoulders...could be bullish...plus the break of the down-trendline...BUT, it didn't manage to break the high, which isn't bullish...I still think that it was worth a try...and I managed to cut the initial risk down by almost 70% before I got taken out...