Cory2679

Update Well, I've been doing really well SIM trading a micro account "privately" (thankfully...this is quite an improvement...made possible by my success last week, I believe...see the above post). My next step is to move toward SIM trading publicly...posting my daily results in the P/L Thread. I tried this week, but soon realized it was going to be different and got thrown off a little bit. This next week, to the best of my ability, I'm going to pretend that I'm going to be posting my results...trying to have the mindset that I'm going to be...then the NEXT week (the week beginning April 11th), I plan to really start posting results. I think that will be a good step toward trading a live micro account ($0.10/tick per lot)....I can't imagine having to go from SIM straight into trading standard lots...$10/tick per lot. Thankfully, I don't have to with currency. There's been a lot of talk about transitions in the P/L Thread this week which had me thinking about myself...once I have the size, I'd like someday to transition to currency futures. That being the case, I'd like that transition to be as smooth as possible...daytrading the EUR/JPY, including during the Tokyo session, does not make that transition as smooth as possible (EUR/JPY doesn't have tradable liquidity in futures and during the Tokyo session, volume in futures is considerably lower...and the spreads are wider). So, I'm going to go back to trading solely the EUR/USD, daytrading only during the 6E regular trading hours (8:20 AM - 3:00 PM Eastern Time). While trading until 3pm, in reality I'm watching for the inevitable die off of price anytime after 12...I just play it by ear each day. I already began trading solely the EUR/USD the last couple days...and I already trade during RTH (I just trade Tokyo, too)...it really hasn't had any impact on my trading, so no big deal (although I think I do like the EUR/JPY a little better...it seems to trend better...or at least it seems to stretch its legs more when it does trend...) I have a couple of notes/reminders to myself: If a major trend is in place, and I attempt to fade it (or exit a position that I'm in that is with it), do not be afraid to reverse/re-enter if the trend resumes. Focus on the 15 minute chart, use the 4 hour chart (and others) for context, sometimes watch the 1 minute chart for certain entries when appropriate. Remember 123's AND Trader Vic's 2b. Never forget...highs, lows, trend, consolidation, support, resistance. This weekend, I don't really have anything specific I feel like I want/need to work on. I think I may just do a little reading...perhaps a re-read of Trading in the Zone wouldn't be a bad idea...seems appropriate. Have a good weekend! -Cory

Are you under the impression that it is more difficult to make a living trading "solely the e-minis" as opposed to trading something else? If so, what else? What makes it more difficult to make a living trading solely the e-minis? I'm sure there are successful traders that trade solely indices, or solely currencies, or solely energies, or whatever. I'm not sure what difference it makes...?

It's too bad there aren't smaller crude oil lots like with spot Forex (ie $0.10/tick, $1/tick)...I would think that starting out that small would make the transition from SIM to live easier...

Well, once again, change of plans! I'm not going to post today...I need to get some things worked out...not with my trading plan, but with my head! In the mean time, I don't want to waste space on this thread. It's not even about the money for me...it's about whether my trading "counts" or not, if that makes any sense. I began this morning trading nothing like I had been because I knew I was posting and that it "counted"...it really screws me up. However, after I made the decision that I wouldn't post (and that it wouldn't "count"), I started trading like my old self and doing well. I know I've made something of a fool of myself, but I WILL BE BACK here to post my P/L soon...in a week or two...currently planning to begin April 11....with my $1,000 SIM account... -Cory

The ADP Employment Report had some effect on the EUR/JPY..this news was NOT "market moving" or "high importance" on Econoday or DailyFX, yet it still caused the Oanda spreads to widen to 10 ticks! I have a feeling I'm going to end up getting taken out on one of those news spikes one of these days...

Let me just mention...it won't be until the end of tomorrow...probably between 11PM-12AM Eastern Time. A "day" the way Oanda keeps record for me is 12AM-12AM Eastern Time, so that's how I'll log it here...since I trade in the mornings and evenings, I'll wait until I'm done with Tokyo to post. -Cory

Hey guys, Change of plans...I'm actually going to begin posting SIM results here beginning tomorrow. I haven't touched my $100 real account, yet. I was jumping into the live account because I did incredibly well last week trading SIM. However, the reason I did so well last week is that, in my mind, it "didn't count." See this post in my log for more details. When I began this week, I was so nervous and scared to death to go live that I decided to SIM for the first day (well, sort of...my SIM platform wasn't working well so much of it was just logging entries/exits)...but I haven't done quite as well...since in my mind this week "counts," I've traded differently. Just like last night...I had PT's in place, blah blah blah, but I pulled the trade early (with no technical reason to do so) for a net gain of 1R for the night, and cut myself short of what could have been 3.5R! That's the kind of thing I wasn't doing last week that allowed me to be so profitable. This quote from Dinero spoke to me: I think at least a couple weeks of SIM trading...SIM trading that "counts"...would be good for me before I jump into my real account...that's why I'm going to post the results here...so that in some way it's "official" and "counts" so that it will be good emotional training for me. It's frustrating...I know that I "have it in me" to do extremely well (thanks to last week...it has me excited again...I was beginning to lose hope! )...it's just a matter of freeing myself from all the baggage that the money concerns weigh me down with. -Cory

Current look at the 15 minute EUR/JPY... It's probably just my inexperience, but I don't know anything to do but wait when price looks like this. I'm just waiting for it to start "swinging" and/or reach one of my blue lines.

I forgot that Oanda pays interest on their accounts. I've made $0.0004 each day since I opened my account! EDIT: From Oanda: Every second, OANDA uses competitive interest rates to calculate interest payments on account balances, and to calculate interest on currency pairs held in open positions. (Either a charge or a payment, depending on the interest rates of the currencies in the pair and whether the position is long or short.) So, even on each trade, interest is paid/charged. -Cory

Best. Week. Ever. My experience this week was phenomenal. There are two reasons why... 1 I began exclusively trading the EUR/JPY, which I like alot. However, it may just be the placebo effect...I began trading the EUR/JPY at the same time that the "#2 reason" was taking effect, so it may just be that I was trading better... 2 I was truly able to "stop fretting over the money and start having fun" this week!!...something that I didn't think was going to be entirely possible... But, I inadvertantly was able to do it this week!! Let me explain... Basically, toward the beginning of this week, I made this post... I wasn't planning on actually trading that new account until this Monday because I figured it would take some time to clear, time to fund, etc. So, I thought, what do I do while I wait for that account to be ready? I guess I'll just trade my SIM account...for fun...since it doesn't "count"... It actually took me a day or two to realize what had happened...and it really couldn't have happened any other way...if I would have said to myself, "All right, Cory...This week's not going to count. Stop fretting over the money and starting having fun" it wouldn't have worked...it had to have been by accident. As you can imagine, I'm stoked...I did unbelievably well this week...consistently day to day. I'm just hoping I have learned something this week and can ride the momentum into next week when it does "count." I'm really not planning to work on trading much this weekend...I don't want to get sidetracked from the role I'm on. I know now that it's not so much my trading that I need to work on...it truly is my state of mind..."stop fretting over the money and start having fun." I'll be posting my P/L on the P/L thread next week... Have a good weekend, Cory

Just following up...PT's 1 & 2 filled, PT3 would have been filled had I not added the 20 tick trailing stop (the trailing stop took the last 1/3 out around the PT2 level).. -Cory

Well, I'm putting my SIM money on a retest...I'm quitting for the evening but I have my orders in...stop @ BE (it's kind of tight but I want to be at BE before I shut the computer down) and three profit targets (PT1 has already been filled). I've done this stupidly again...having 3 PT's, I should have 3 separate "trades" but I don't...Oanda doesn't offer OCO orders, so I could potentially get stopped out, then price climbs and fills my short (PT) and creates a huge mess. Oh well, since it's SIM I won't worry about trying to split it up...just maybe this time I'll learn: when trading Tokyo, with the potential for leaving trades overnight, split up the trade by PT's!! :crap: Goodnight! EDIT: I added a 20 tick trailing stop to the last 1/3.

Current look at the 4 hour EUR/JPY chart... It can't decide whether that bounce off resistance was a bonafide rejection/reversal, or if it wants to give it another test. It initially tricked me into thinking it was going for another test.

Hey guys, I just funded a new Oanda account with $100, which I'm going to begin trading next week. I plan to post my P/L here. I'll be exclusively trading the EUR/JPY...8am-2:30pm & 7pm-11pm, Eastern Time. I'm risking no more than 2% per trade, with on average just a handful of trades per day. No daily goals, weekly goals, etc...just taking it one moment at a time, trading the best I can with what I'm given. -Cory

I just ran across this black on black Cayenne S on AutoTrader for <20k! And that's a dealer's list price...you could possibly get it for thousands less! I can't understand why people would buy something like a brand new RAV4 or something like that for around the same price (or more!)...this Cayenne is soo much cooler! EDIT: But I guess that's just me...I can understand the Cayenne is less "practical," is used so has many more miles on it, etc.

I hope the recent PA on the EUR/JPY isn't just a fluke...it's so easy to trade! Maybe Thales's daughter is on to something! Or maybe I'm just trading better. lol Whether the EUR/JPY is really "better" or if it's just the placebo effect, it doesn't matter to me!

Ended up stopped out for about +4.5 ticks (+0.65R)...it looks like it hit PT1 on my Ninja chart, but it didn't quite fill my order. I just realized this morning that it was a dangerous trade...the PT's were not part of a OCO order...so basically I could have been stopped out, then gotten short at those levels had price moved that way. It didn't though, but I need to be more careful (I guess I was tired last night and wasn't thinking.) Anyways, I thought I'd share some context for that trade... Earlier, price had traded to resistance and choped sideways. During that chop, price tested the 122.23 level multiple times before breaking out long. Then, once price reached resistance, a great short opportunity presented itself. Then once price traded back down to my original long entry, it presented another long opportunity, and that's the one I posted. I'm not sure if it's just the past day or two, but I think I really like the PA of the EUR/JPY! BTW, I know I haven't been posting as religiously as I was last week, and I don't think I'm going to for the rest of this week...I'll just post periodically. I think I got what I was looking to get out of it from doing it all last week...I realized I was still "on track" after I was too tired to post, but was still making (what I thought to be) well put-together analysis/trades, etc. -Cory

Currently long the EUR/JPY...I'm quitting now, but I'm going to leave it in overnight... I've attached my Oanda chart...entered at 122.325, SL currently at 122.370, and PT's at 122.509 & 122.607. We'll see where we are in the morning...

This is easier said than done. I believe it may require divine intervention. :o That is exactly what happened again this week! My first trade last night was a loser for a full 1R loss, after which I was pretty depressed. However, I was very happy to get a +3R winner off a short this morning! Price then stopped falling and started rallying from within a zone of anticipated support, but I was basically still so in shock from my win that I failed to get long, which would be sitting on a handsome profit now. Today could have really been a homerun kind of day. ---------- On a separate note, I think I'm going back to live trading. I think no matter how hard I try, I just can't treat demo trading quite the same way as real trading. It's just different...it's not real! So, I'm going to be opening a $10,000 account with Oanda. Just kidding...I'm going to be opening a $100 account with Oanda. :o Oanda lets you dial all the way down to 1 unit "lots," so with a $100 account, I think I'll size my positions based on 100 unit lots. I figure even if I end up down something like 20R, that's only 40 bucks...big deal...

Trading is certainly worth including on your resume...I would put it under something like "activities." You could maybe include P/L under one of the bullet points.

My only trade for the evening... Price had barely penetrated the support that was Friday's as well as last week's low, then provided a 123 long opportunity. I took the full 1R loss. Sorry it wasn't in real time...I have been very tired this evening and didn't feel like posting it, but I've finally worked up the will... -Cory

Well, I haven't been able to devote as much time to working on trading this weekend as I would have liked...I got stuck with pile of springtime yardwork. Plus, I just realized this next week I have my brother's birthday, my girlfriend's birthday, AND my girlfriend and my 7 year anniversary! So...gotta make plans/go shopping. (Probably more information that you needed, but hey, it's my log! ) Nevertheless, I feel like this weekend's been about as productive as I could have hoped. I think I am as prepared for next week as I can be...I realize this week may be a bit of a bumpy ride if I'm attempting the new type of entry, but I know this ahead of time so I should be all right emotionally... Now it's just a matter of keeping my head on straight...I realize that every weekend I pump myself up and convince myself that this week's gonna be the week!, and after my first trade is a loser, I get all off track. I'm going to do my best not to approach this next week the same way, but instead just take it one moment at a time, do my thing, and do the best that I can to take it lightly, stop fretting about the money, and "start having fun!" -Cory

Thales, I have a question...how exactly did you pick the range 1.3698-1.3720? I can see why that area, but how did you decide on those exact numbers? (For example, why 1.3698 and not 1.3697 or 99?) Thanks, Cory

Update Just a few minor changes... First, my avatar/profile picture. Second...in my (limited) experience, while there are exceptions, the EUR/USD is just not very active during the Tokyo AM hours. I considered changing my daily trading schedule (which is currently 8am-2:30pm & 7pm-11pm, eastern time), but instead, I've decided to change pairs. From now on, I will be trading the EUR/JPY. I figure I'll get the best of both worlds...the movement in the Euro during the London/US hours, and the movement in the Yen during the Tokyo hours. This is more than just theory...looking at a chart, it really does seem to be that way. Plus, I figure it's just gotta be good luck to trade the same pair that thalestrader's daughter primarily focuses on. (kidding...) Third...I'm going to be making my best conscious effort to "stop fretting over the money and start having fun." Part of that, for me, means not even talking about money/finances...here on TL or in person with anyone I know. In fact, I may even periodically say out loud something to the effect of "This is a game. I'm having fun. etc." Fourth...I'm going to continue regularly posting all my thoughts/analysis/trades to the Reading Charts in Real Time thread. I think it helps to put thoughts into words. I slacked off toward the end of this past week, but I'll be back at it Monday. I will try to do a better job of keeping my posts concise/well-written, free from rambling, free from emotion/negative thoughts/whining/excuses/etc., and so forth. And finally...I'm going to be experimenting with an new entry (see recent posts in the Reading Charts in Real Time thread if you want to be filled in). I'm spending this weekend basically studying the entry, studying charts, etc., and devising a game plan for such trades...as well as just working on general study & review. In fact, I haven't even left my house today...I won't be leaving until Sunday afternoon to get lunch out (for a break) before I sit back down at my computer to begin next week! Cheers, Cory

Hence, the "bucket shop"...or typical modern spot forex broker!