Ingot54

Another indicator I regard as 'indispensable' is the Spudfyre Stochastic Thread indicator. I have attached it as a template below, and it is fully customisable to fit your color scheme. Because it is a template (sorry - I do not have it as .mq4 or .ex4) it can be used as your basic chart, and add your usual favourite indicators to it as you build. I have also attached the .pdf file giving an explanation of how to use it. Please do not underestimate the value of this indicator. When price is consolidating, the "threads" (mtf stochastic) will begin to form a fishnet pattern, warning you to close trades/not enter yet. The other things to be aware of are: 1) Watch for the RED stochastic (which is the equivalent of the 14.3.3) to cross down through the 76.9 level. This will indicate a very strong trend is underway. If all the "threads" of the "rope" are orderly, or even better - if they are "tight" like a rope, and not "fraying" - you have a very strong indication of a good trend starting. Similarly of course for the rallying kind of move, as the stochastic thread begins to rise from underneath the 23.6 line. I would also point out that the idea of the "overbought / oversold" stochastic, is a total myth. There is no such condition as an overbought position regarding stochastic. In fact, when the stochastic is below the 23.6 or above the 76.4 lines, some of the most powerful moves have occurred. In my view, the trends really do NOT end, until that 14.3.3 stochastic (red) line actually crosses the 23.6 (rising) or 76.4 (falling) levels. Finally, in the construction of the Thread Stochastic, all of the %D Period values have been changed to "1". This is so that the signal line does not appear in the final picture, and disrupt the appearance of the indicator group. The Thread Stochastic is good for ANY TF, because of its nature, but if you really want to ring the register use it in the 1H to 4H and Daily TF. I hope you like it, and are able to profit from it. Cheers PS - Remember it is a .tpl and not an .mq4, so please place it in your "Templates" files and not your "Indicators" You then access it from the "Templates" section of your MT4 chart, of course. . spudfyre stochastic.tpl Spuds Stochastic Thread Theory.pdf

Hi MysticForex I have installed this indicator, and am wondering how you read it. In the GBPUSD4H chart it is showing a dip currently, while price is holding up in a consolidation pattern. Would I be correct in thinking that it is giving advance warning of a correction on that TF?

Here is an excellent Indicator for MACD fans. At first I was under the impression that it is a proprietary indicator, but it is listed in this MT4 Indicators site, which is publicly available: http://www.search4metatrader.com/index.php You will have to register, but they are not asking for anything except your email address. This indicator, which I have attached is available under "M" of course, and you will locate it on page 4 of the "M" directory. By the way - I have found that the best setting for it are: 4 - 21 - 1 - 5 The default settings are 10 - 20 - 1 - 7, but these can be up to 5 candles/bars late in getting you into a move. A bonus of using the MT4 site, is that the top downloads for the month/week/ever are listed on the front page, and I am sure you will find something there - even hard-to-find indies. There are truly thousands of MT4 Indicators listed on this site, which does look like an official MT4 site. Bookmark it for the future. Cheers Macd with EMA BDv8_12_31.mq4

The earlier Johnny Cash appealed to me more than his later stuff, though his music increased in popularity in other quarters. Yet I could not watch that video without everything about the man coming back - Man in Black, Folsom Prison, The Reverend Mr Black, and The Wreck of the Old 97 to name a few ... My main thing has always been 'ballad-type" songs, and as this style only appeals to a few, I won't bore you with some of the stuff in my head! So for today, we can take a trip back to nostalgia-town again, with Simon and Garfunkel ... classic stuff. There were live recordings of this available, but I decided to sacrifice the video content in favor of the pure musical treasure and delight that the original song is. Best appreciated with good headphones this time. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdKjEHfHINQ]YouTube - Simon and Garfunkel The Boxer (Original)[/ame]

Tams - ordinarily this might be the case. But in this instance it is clearly a case of manipulation emerging, which killed any 'business' that may have been budding. It might also be tested that no business exists where there was no formalisation of such. A view could be taken that it was just a profitable hobby, even though the process might have been en train to actually formalise a business. I would have to agree with ScottB on this - run the other way, and keep the intellectual property. The 'friend' has shown himself to be an opportunistic parasite, and I think he is in the throes of realising he has mightily soiled his trousers!

MP-TT Thank you for that well-thought-out post. I readily accept the challenge you issued in disagreeing with some of my points and will re-read your post a couple of times to ponder it. I may not respond because it is not necessary to cross every 't' and dot every 'i' in order to enjoy a discussion. Similarly I have enjoyed the responses of Rande, although it has been hard for me to discover some common ground with his contentions. At the end of the day I have found that I carry much baggage from a very 'fortunate' life with the word 'fortunate' having a meaning peculiar to my own interpretations on this occasion! But at the same time I have found that I can allow such baggage to be pathological and constraining, or I can allow it to be stimulating and enabling, as some latent 'something' drives (all of) us to climb to the higher levels of Maslow's Pyramid. http://www.futurehi.net/docs/Maslows_Hierarchy.html Thus my use of the words "fortunate life." I note that to the original 5 steps, 3 more have been added, and I think that has been advantageous in explaining to any lay person why it is that we set goals and are driven to achieve - whatever those goals and achievement might be for each of us. My point in throwing Maslow into the mix at this late stage of the discussion is to illustrate that all of us have a common need for both the basic necessities and the 'higher' cognitive, appreciative and enabling-of-others skills. The 'enabling-of-others skill' is actually a need we either have innately, or may/might develop as our other needs are met/achieved. How that relates to trading is this: Just as we 'achieve' other standard milestones in life , so we can in trading. Trading is not hard stuff - once you 'master it' - just ask someone who is there already. But there are principles to be observed, rules to be obeyed, preparation to be done, and procedures to be followed. YOU can do this if you truly wish to. But you have to make it an 'inner need' in much the same way as the need to eat or the need to keep warm is an inner need. One of the later additions to Maslow's hierarchy, has been that of 'Transcendence' or the enabling/teaching of others. Not everyone will have the 'need' to be teaching what they have learned to others. But the existence of this quality, or need would go a long way towards explaining the success of forums world-wide - not just trading forums. And indeed, it would explain why some are so strongly motivated by this, that they make it a vocation. This explains the springing up of the support industry for traders. Some are involved out of a need for satisfying the need to teach, and others are in there for purely altruistic reasons based on the same needs. Still others are in it for their own reasons. One thing is certain: For he teacher, there is nothing more satisfying than the success of the student, and indeed, the surpassing of the teacher! I would say this to traders who are struggling: Relax ... don't give up ... keep going ... be methodical ... remain thoughtful about what you are doing ... enjoy every part of the journey towards fruitful trading. Don't accept that "everyone else can do this, but I can't." YOU CAN. It is a process just as everything else you have achieved to this point has been a process. In this case, you have taken on a very big process, but in this you will also reap rewards that those who do not undertake the journey will NEVER see. Cheers

Just reading back ... is this a reason the browser window has been widened? If so, then I guess I don't mind keeping the status quo. The ability to read code clearly is important, and a valid reason for having the browser setting quite wide (22" as opposed to a standard 16"). I can live with the wider setting - just didn't think about those who actually benefit from having it in this format. Cheers

Hi The Negotiator I just posted here: http://traderslaboratory.com/forums/showthread.php?p=113518#post113518 regarding a few glitches I am encountering technically. On the topic of "Content" I am wondering if that is what you meant here. If so, I enjoy mucking around with systems, indicators, ideas and systems. I have a few proprietary systems I have used in the past, and still retain some of the best features of some of them. Also I have found a great site for MT4 indicators, and would love for other members to have access to some of these lovely goodies they are free - you just need to register - a fair exchange - your email address for thousands of MT4 indicators - and I do mean 'thousands". Can I post links to these things? How do we treat "Commercial" things/ideas without being seen to be promoting the interests of a vendor? For a long time I have had a proprietary MACD that has a feature that gives me the signal of turning price at least 5 bars earlier, sometimes many more - than standard MACD. I can put members on to this via the MT4 site, and because it is listed there for free, it is NOT a breach of copyright. The site is an official MT4 one I believe. What I am saying is that I would like a section that can discuss Commercial systems that traders already own. This might need to be a private room, but I don't want that, unless unavoidable - I would like very member to be able to benefit from this stuff. And while on the topic, can you tell me what a "Premium Member" is? I found it down the bottom of the "Forums" list. When I click on it, a message comes up: So what is behind this door? How do I open it? Will I like what I see when I get inside that 'room'? Cheers

FIRST ISSUE When I first bring up the TL page to log-in, I am confronted with a pop-up box that offers an opportunity to log-in (or Register). Excellent idea. Except ... if I log-in using the pop-up box, the log-in is temporary, and expires fairly quickly. Any log-in using the pop-up facility does not allow me to reply to a post. If I do, it redirects me to a large page that invites me to register. That page already has my log-in and password ALREADY FILLED IN! If I use it, then I receive a message that I am ALREADY REGISTERED. The only way I can defeat the bot is to trick it! I accomplish this by using the log-in facility at the top right corner of the browser. This allows me to remain logged-in for as long as I keep one TL browser window open for the day. If I close the browser, then I have to log-in all over again. My current strategy is to immediately close the pop-up log-in box when it appears, and use the more formal link in the top right corner of the browser - see attachment. It appears there is NO sync between the two options to log -in. Can this be checked out please. If the pop-up window is no use to me, I'd rather not have it getting in my way when logging-in. SECOND ISSUE The information on the pop-up window is in conflict with the info on the 'home page.' The home page says we have 80,017 members (at time of writing) but the pop-up box tells me we have 61,580 members. The figures are understating the true number by 30%. Is this legal? (joking) THIRD ISSUE I run Firefox on a 24" iMac. When I am on Traders Laboratory, I have to have the browser nearly fully sized to the 24" screen in order to read everything on the site without having to used the slider toolbar to bring everything on the right hand edge of the browser into view. Other websites auto-fit the site information into whatever size window I have open (within reason) down to about 16" screen. But the TL browser needs to be about 22" size before the slider bar disappears, and everything is in view. As I like to have my desktop icons and other items also visible during my time on TL (eg I run Windows Vista on the Boot Camp function of the Mac computer, and I like to keep the chart prices visible in the background on the right side of the browser, while on TL. This allows me to take prompt action if a currency situation occurs when trading and browsing at the same time. FOURTH ISSUE When uploading images, it is necessary to click on "Manage Attachments". This brings up a smallish box that allows the user to find pictures etc to upload. But the actual "UPLOAD" button is situated out of site at the extreme right hand end of the upload pop-up box. There seems to be too much space between the "BROWSE" link and the "UPLOAD" link. This again means I have to slide the contents inside the pop-up box along until the "UPLOAD" button becomes visible. Similarly with the "Close Window" link - it doesn't become visible until wither the upload window is fully expanded, or the slider bar is used to make the links visible. Can the upload window be engineered to make all buttons/links visible in closer proximity to each other? Nice to have this feedback facility. It took me awhile to locate the sticky, but that is because I need more site-knowledge. The feedback thread might need more prominence, but then again how do you make all the threads "more prominent?" They are all good! :missy: Attachments supplied for most points of discussion. Cheers

I for one appreciate the very tight ship that is run here. As recently as 6 months ago I created and contributed to a very large and well-known-but-unidentified forum. The thread was trashed by another member. I made many complaints and "Report Post" messages, but by the time anything was done, the thread was history. The reason I am here is because I can never see such an event happening here. The moderation is good, and the quality of the contributions is streets ahead of "that" forum. Some might not agree, but after being at the hands of bored "old-boys" and forum bullies and their trolls, in that much larger forum, I can tell you I prefer this model to that one. I think we all get a fair go here, and I support the Mods because I know that. I am also certain that a cooling off period for Kiwi may (or may not) help him decide that the issue is not worth shooting himself in the foot over. Regardless - he will always have my respect, as do the mods here. I really enjoy Kiwi's posts, and more than once was tempted to PM him over one or two things I would liked to have discussed, but didn't. If he is reading this, I would say to him - "You have lots of friends here - let it pass mate." I don't think any less of him over what has happened in any way - and nor do I blame the mods. The truth is that some people have a business to protect, and that makes them ultra-sensitive to criticism - and they will want to test what is said in court. As MMS and The Negotiator say, while we happily post away our inner feelings, it is the owners of the forum who take the blow-torch on the belly. Let's get on with what we do best - the market is our adversary.

Well ... blow me down ... Chuck Norris is on Trader's Laboratory under the Username "Glass Onion" ... or is that "Mr Onion" ?

Thank you for the encouragement, N00btrader. I have pulled back from the thread because basically I have said what I wanted to. The problem with me is that I get upset when I perceive the topic is being manipulated - whether in reality, or just a perception. Then I ultimately take it personally - back to the person that annoyed me, and back to myself. For me, there are few grey areas when I see truth at stake. Sure - I am an imperfect person, and not Pollyanna54! What I wanted people to understand, is that they CAN do a GREAT DEAL to improve their trading ALL BY THEMSELVES, if they only seriously want to. I have given them the tools, ideas, seeds of thought, and it came from the heart, because I speak from my own pathway. I do not see everything as black-and-white of course - that would be too simplistic. But neither do I see things as needing to be complicated. One of my favourite cynical sayings, is: "Why use 'simple' when 'complicated' is available." It is a wry saying, but there is also a depth of truth in it. I have stopped going to doctors generally speaking, when I am feeling unwell. Why? Because I find that generally, I get better spontaneously. Similarly, I find now that in the modern world, there are a whole lot of "doctors" springing up, willing and offering to 'cure' any and all illnesses. I would invite traders who are truly fair dinkum about turning their trading record around, to seriously apply the principles I have mentioned in my posts, and then come back and tell me their success rate has not improved. I really wish I was in a position to be a coach or mentor for people. I know I would be a good one. I might be wrong about that, but having turned the corner myself, and understanding what I actually did to make that breakthrough, I am confident I can now go on making more discoveries. There is wisdom that is written that says: "You will search, and you will find, when you search with ALL YOUR HEART." That is an adaptation from the Bible, Jeremiah 29: 13. The point is made.

Ah yes - nice music indeed. Jake will be a good player when he gets older ... lol! That is seriously excellent playing skill - best I have seen ... thanks Mystic. My high school years were in the late 1960's and so I was fortunate to imprint the best music of the 20th century! (Along with the EType Jag, the Ford Mustang, the Monaro, GTHO Falcon, and ... mini-skirts, Colour TV, Transistor Radios ... Bell bottomed trousers, Paisley shirts, pointy-toe shoes ... * ) But this song came along later, and unfortunately I only discovered Dan Fogelberg's music when he passed away prematurely in December 2007. Enjoy one of his best! This song will touch you. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NmdFgFyhnk]YouTube - same old lang syne[/ame]

I was going to reply via PM, FxGirl, but I feel I might have over-laboured the point on this thread. Consequently I would like to tone it down a bit, and offer an apology for my size-12 boots stomping all over people who do mean well, and who probably do have good things to offer traders. That includes you, and Rande. My last couple of posts were not kind. and I think my grumpiness has spilled over a bit too much. Would have been nice to have found a good mentor much earlier - at the stage I was willing to pay for such assistance - but today the cynical side of me prohibits paying for such things. You know - "Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me!" And I think George W Bush added a third "fool me" to the adage! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ux3DKxxFoM]YouTube - President Bush -- Fool me Once[/ame] Thanks for your grace and patience.

It is possible to place as many windows as you wish under price, with the MT4 platform. However, there will come a point where their effectiveness diminishes visually, because of the "flattening" of each window as another is stacked within the same space. It is possible to resize the windows one-by-one, but it becomes a bit tedious, as each window above/below has to be moved individually to get a clearer look at the others. I have attached a screen shot of the 4H AUDUSD, showing some of my indicators, and how I have them set up.

Hi Ajax Thank you for sharing your indicator values. I will apply them to my charts and see how they fit with my own strategy. Stochastic is a very under-utilized indicator, and when useful values are applied to it, the results can be spectacular. Currently I use a few windows stacked under the main chart, and some might say that it is not simple enough. But each indicator has its own purpose, and I have tried doing without them with poor results. One of the tests is to try to work out if the indicator is one you glance at first when you assess a chart. I used to have the RSI Histogram, but got rid of it in an attempt to de-clutter my charts. From that point I was taking false entries, and since bringing it back, I have been making money consistently again. I will get back to you on this thread - thank you for sharing so freely. Ingot

Hi Ajax I am unsure whether you really mean having the MACD and Stoch display in the same WINDOW. If so, all you do is drag the stochastic from "Indicators" or "Custom Indicators" into the SAME window as the MACD, instead of dragging it into the chart window at the top. Check the attached pic ... is this what you are looking for? Also with regard to the "Stoch leading the MACD on the chart" ... this is not strictly correct. I would not say I am an expert on Stochastic, but it is certainly one of the least understood and worst utilized indicators of the whole MT4 family. I find so few traders actually know how to use it, that they don't bother with it, and it is discarded before they ever get to the holding hands and kissing stage with it!!! To tease you a bit with what is possible with Stochs, have you ever experimented with changing the %D Period, %K Period or Slowing Period? Try changing these settings while keeping the MACD settings the same, and you will discover that the 5.3.3 is not as accurate as the 14.3.3, or the 8.3.3. The settings are critical if you want early signals. I have much more to share with Stochastics, and would do so if the interest exists. But I am just as happy to keep it to myself. .

The idea of this thread is to try to identify ways we can improve our success rate in trading, without going down the costly route of becoming involved in the world of psychological counseling and therapy. I have no issues with it (psychological therapy for traders) in particular, except I have reservations about its effectiveness in producing an enduring positive outcome for the trader. In fact I think enough of a smattering of sound coaching/mentoring might be thrown in to some courses, to enable some kind of improvement, which can then be put down as successful "psychological" assistance. I might be wrong, but in the absence of evidence to the contrary (eg a few traders who can stand up and say that the sessions with a psychologist turned their trading around) I am standing on the premise that seeking psychological remedies for failure to break through in trading is a waste of your time and resources. In particular I would be very interested in how a 'diagnosis' of a psychological issue is formed. And at that point, I would like to see if there are other ways traders can take responsibility for themselves in working out the remedy. My contention is that there is indeed quite a lot you can do to assist yourself, and it has to do more with sticking to a strategy until you nail it (master the strategy). Further, many traders have NEVER written out their rules (I was one of them) and thus exposed my trading to my personal bias, and subconsciously then overlooked meeting all the conditions and rules of my trading plan. There is a very expensive industry built up around the notion that traders need to "deal with issues" such as pathological fear, greed, anxiety, inability to cut losses, or inability to pull the trigger on entries. In another thread http://traderslaboratory.com/forums/f37/your-mama-doesnt-trade-so-wise-9278.html there have already been suggestions of ways that traders can deal with many issues, and some great breakthrough ideas and experiences have been shared here: http://traderslaboratory.com/forums/f208/breakthroughs-led-trading-improvement-success-9057.html I hope to add to the list of things we can do for self-help and self-improvement over time. So feel free to kick this can further down the road anytime you discover a gem that you think would make a difference if applied to trading strategy and management of trades. I am a great believer in traders taking responsibility for themselves and in the way they conduct trading. It is not easy, no. But it is also not possible for you to fly while someone is holding on to you. Trading is a very personal and sometimes lonely pursuit. There is a wealth of information on this forum, plus some knowledgeable members who have shown an aptitude to help. Just ask, or start a thread. The answers will come if you persist.

Will participate too. I have a few constraints, but will be fun to be involved in a challenge. There may be a conflict with my live trades at the same time as demo. When I am in a trade, it has my undivided attention, so the comp. will be secondary. I could overcome this by switching to a different TF for the comp trades, so this will be a great learning opportunity at the same time. Will open the a/c in next few days and get some practice using the platform, so it won't be too much of a learning curve in April. Cheers

Again, I have to defer to the post by Todds, he has stated the issue better than I can. In other words, it is unlikely that a person who has achieved "success" in other fields would be wrought with psychological problems to the extent that it would interfere with their ability to manage trading well. Indeed, Todds goes on to nail the true reason traders lose confidence and begin to experience difficulties: I agree 100% with this - it is a healthy reaction to become fearful and anxious when trading, if you get punished by the market for having poor technical skills. And why wouldn't someone "believe in their edge"? Because their "edge" was faulty, based on technicality. So the problem is NOT with the psychological makeup of the trader, or the acquired psychology secondary to failed trading experiences. The problem lies in the lack of skills of the trader, and until THIS issue is addressed, the trader will continue to feel anxiety, and the rest of the negative emotions that can affect the execution of a winning trade. How can you deal with a faulty technique by providing expensive therapy for anxiety which is labeled by therapists as "fear" and "greed"? You can not. Indeed fear and greed are also healthy emotions or attributes - we are in trading for the money - unless we are truly challenged to find a better hobby! Therein lies the remedy - not in a $3k or $7k course/webinar/book/worksheet/ etc. Once the trader understands their true edge, and executes it flawlessly, he will begin to experience confidence. Try telling a losing trader that losses are a normal part of trading, when all his trading does is drain his account. But a winning trader will embrace losses, and agree whole-heartedly that indeed losses are a part of trading. The difference is that a confident and winning trader is not anxious about losses, because he knows his edge will provide more wins over time. The losing trader on the other hand, becomes more anxious with each loss, and begins to doubt whether trading will ever fulfill his dreams. By addressing the technical deficits, the anxiety problem disappears eventually. And this could be a reason many traders trawl the forums looking for that wonderful indicator that they can use with confidence, to turn their trading around. I am open to discussion on this, but so far, this has been a far more believable and logical reason for traders lack of success. I have always believed that if we get the method right, the money will follow. Once a trading plan is in place, with a trading strategy providing an edge, and once sound money management is utilized, the rest will eventually follow. But it will take time. Trading needs to be learned like an apprenticeship. Except in the trading world, there are few master traders willing to take on a new trader, and bring him through to the end of an apprenticeship, and to a full trading qualification. Oh yes - there are plenty of "trainers" out there who will take your money, but few genuine mentors who know how to bring a trader through the trading minefields to success. I believe money earmarked for psychological therapy would be better spent under the guidance of a decent mentor, if you are fortunate enough to find someone inclined to help. It is obvious that many would-be traders are willing to part with money in order to learn the art, but forums are filled with the tales of disappointment and rip-offs.

If there are truly psychological reasons for trading problems, then I don't know what they are, and despite some good responses by Rande and FxGirl, I am unconvinced that a trader experiencing negative outcomes will be helped by the vagaries of psychology. Psychology can be useful in treating traumatic stress conditions in the acute phases - but it will take Psychiatry to manage ingrained and resistant problems, in my view. The saying goes around like this: When asked why she became a Dermatologist, instead of a General Practitioner, the reply was: "My patients never actually get sick, they never really get cured, and they don't wake me up in the middle of the night." (and she could have added: "And they pay me a fortune because I am a specialist.") On my list, (trading) Psychologists rank about the same - they never actually treat the acutely unwell, they don't actually have a cure, and they are not bothered by their clients after hours. That may seem a little unkind, but it was not meant to be personally directed at anyone. But the facts speak for themselves. Without the fronting up of many thousands of dollars for courses, books, one-on-one sessions, assignments, more "homework" and so on, you won't get a Psychologist to help you. And there is no guarantee you CAN be helped in this way to begin with. When you fail to reach a positive outcome, does the Psychologist refund your money ... or does he just say "I have given you the tools, I have done all I can for you, now just go and apply it." Delving into the realms of psychology conjures thoughts of pathology that requires counseling and therapy, both ideas of which I reject at this point in time. For starters, we only have someone's opinion that the "problem" is based in issues that can only be "helped" by psychology and "applied remedies." The main "issues" I believe traders have, are related to previous unsuccessful attempts to break into trading as a means to bring money ... and that is as simply as I can state it. 1) So what kinds of things happen to a trader, to bring out these anxieties/problems? 2) Were these pre-existing - perhaps the trader is unsuited emotionally/psychologically to trade? 3) Did the problems develop as a result of negative trading experiences? 4) Were these trading experiences a result of poor preparation technically, and thus can be rectified in the same way? 5) Can Psychological therapy/counseling really bring a trader with a poor strategy/approach to trading to a condition of positive outcome? My contention is that the reasons traders are experiencing anxiety in the first place (more about that in next post) is exactly as Todd said in post #56: We have an expectation that trading is somehow a mysterious pursuit, and that to be "successful" means we are making heaps of money. Indeed, there are forum members on Traders Laboratory who post with an "air of success", but we really have no idea about that. But somehow we want to "be like them" ... to be able to say "I made it." What is success after all? To me, it begins with making more money through trading than I am losing, and from there it moves forward into better outcomes. There are no rules that state we all have to become full-time traders, though we think this is what we should be doing. This week I made 2 trades - both successful - and the total dollar value was about $400 profit. Last week I made three trades, with a nett loss of $120. Am I successful? I say that I am. Because I am learning the things that work FOR ME, and the things that don't. Do I need more breakthroughs? Yes I do, and in my own way, in my own time, I am achieving them. So where do the anxieties come from? See the next post!

By the way, having a written trading plan need not be the complicated exercise that it might seem to be when looking at the above posts. Those points are some of the wider things that would be considered by anyone who sits down to think about what they do. It is possible to simply write down your plan as follows: 1) Trade only non-USD pairs during the London Session. 2) Enter when the 5EMA crosses the 8EMA, but only when the 8EMA is on the appropriate side of the 21EMA, all on the 30-minute time frame. 3) Exit when the 14.3.3 stochastic begins to cross the 20/80 line from below/above respectively. 4) Risk set at 2% of a/c balance, and stop loss position calculated as 30% of the Average True Range (ATR) calculated from Daily chart. 5) One trade per pair per day, and no more than 2 trades running at one time. There are heaps of other things to think about, as we have seen, but because they will be already second nature, it is not really necessary to actually write them down. What you do need to do, though, is actually look at all of the other issues, to consider their appropriateness to your own circumstances. You want to avoid being under-capitalized, for example, when attempting to trade full lots, when it might be wiser to be trading minis with your particular a/c size. Those are things to be done once. The rest of the trading plan needs to be written in the form of a check list. The above example is not my own check list, but it does give an idea, even though I regard it as incomplete. Other traders might think it is enough, or too much. But what a check list does, is it keeps you accountable. and gives you an assurance that you have followed some rules consistently. If the strategy does not work - find out why and fix it, or use a strategy that does work. An interesting point arises from the use of arbitrary Stop Loss methods. If your entry happens to be in the worst possible place, then having a stop based on "30%" of the Daily ATR is a guarantee of disaster. Arbitrary SL are ok when entries are placed "correctly" but could also be just a waste of money. Stops are designed for two things - to serve as an exit point for failed setups, and to protect our a/c during a catastrophic event, such as major news. There is no need to actually wait for stops to be hit if you "know" the trade is not going to work - simply close the trade and move on to the next. And finally, each pair will have its own particular requirements for safety stops. The AUDUSD might be good with a 20-pip SL on the 15M time frame, but you might need 40-pip SL for the GBPJPY on the same time frame (example only). Didn't mean to get into specifics on this thread - had to throw that in there though! I like to use examples to show why it is useful to have things worked out, and written down.

By now those interested in isolating the essential elements of a trading plan would have read the threads linked in post #2. If you haven't, then skip to that post, and skim quickly through a few of those threads. to get the idea. Some great responses so far, and it looks like we are beginning to get the bones of some ideas here, for the kinds of issues that need to be addressed. Basically a Trading Plan covers what you do when trading. I said "basically' ... meaning there is sometimes more to it than that ... or there should be. In fact there is probably merit in examining your whole operation, starting from things like Capitalization, Strategy, Money Management, Instrument traded, Time frame, Indicators, Charting package and platform, Broker and data feed, and so on. You could even include the idea of having a Business Plan to cover all aspects of your trading operation. For now, in addition to the suggestions made already by others, I will just throw into the ring, a heap of things that I think need to be considered ... in no particular order: Instrument to trade (Forex, Equities, Indices, eMinis. Metals, Commodities, Futures, Energy etc); Capitalization ($500 ... $2,000 ... $5,000 ... $10,000 ... $50,000 ... $100,000 and so on); Leverage; Contract size (micro ... mini ... Full Contract/Lots for Forex, and Position sizing according to Account Size for other instruments); Money Management (again - the 2% Rule is standard, but will vary according to skill level and currency pair traded, Volatility, Time Frame and Stop Loss level chosen etc); Strategy (Counter Trend, Scalping and Intra-day trading, Swing Trading, Position Trading etc); Set-up and Rules for Entry and Exit (here you just include what you regard as conditions for entry, placement of stops and take-profit orders, how you decide your exits etc). Once you choose your instrument to trade, will you specialize in one or two pairs or indices etc, or will you scan for setups amongst the many other charts available? There is always bright interest in strategy, and it is because we, as traders often like to see how others do things, so that we might borrow an idea, or sharpen what we are already doing. But it has been said that even a poor strategy can win with sound money management; and even an excellent strategy will lose with poor money management. Enough siad - MM deserves a high place in our considerations of what to include in a trading plan. (Money Management is not rocket science - it simply involves some year 4 calculations based on what % of your a/c you will risk on a trade, and how large a trade you can place based on those figures.) I have said before that traders need to understand their own trading profile - are you comfortable with holding large positions, or better with small ones more frequently? Many can't handle the draw down that goes with trading the higher time frames, despite position trading coming out better in the stress-of-trading assessments. Scalping requires a lot of screen time, and constant supervision of the trade. It also requires quite a lot of waiting, unless you are in possession of good screening tools and alert generators. Others like to look at the screens once a day for about 15 to 20 minutes, place a trade and turn off the computer. Do you know what kind of trading profile you have? What about risk? Do you have chest pains when a trade goes against you? What size loss does it take to get you to sweat? One of the things traders need to master initially, is: "how to take a loss." Will you base your trading on Fundamental Analysis? (some do quite successfully); Technical Analysis - Moving Averages on charts, and derived indicators based on price - momentum, trend, lagging and leading, oscillators, bands, channels, or proprietary indicators? A mixture of both? Will you trade purely from Price - using one of the forms of "Price Action" setups, or candlesticks, bars, line charts, Renko, Point and Figure charts, Heiken Ashi ... and so on ... all have their place ... and all have their disciples. What sessions will you trade? Each day we have the Tokyo Session, which is usually fairly quiet. There is good activity in the YEN pairs, but the rest of the world is asleep during this session, and many traders prefer the higher-activity sessions - Euro/London, and the US session. There is a far greater amount of News released during these sessions, along with higher volatility and liquidity. These are the things we had to consider at one time, before our trading reached the point it is at today. Perhaps it would be good to revise the full list, and actually go over what you do, get in on paper, and see if there are any surprises there. It might surprise you to find that what you think you do, based on what you write down, is NOT actually what you do in reality. Keep the ideas coming - and feel free to share your own Trading Plan. I will share mine in a day or two as well.