Reading Charts in Real Time

[Cory2679 11]

Potential EU short..,.

[Cory2679 11]

Potential EU short..,.

 

UPDATE: Full 1R loss.

 

Price bounced at an area where a bounce could be expected (I've marked it on the chart). A short was probably not a good idea just above support. I saw the support but I guess I just hoped price would break it and not look back. I think I've just really fallen off the wagon. I'm not sure what to do. I feel like it's fairly obvious at this point that I will never be successful. You may not hear from me for a while...

Edited June 14, 2011 by Cory2679
typo

[Cory2679 11]

I have an idea...

 

For the rest of the week, starting tomorrow (to give myself time to cool off), I'm not going to trade. I'm merely going to watch price.

 

With where I am right now, I think it could be a good idea to watch/mark up the charts for a few days without all the pressure and stress of actually trading. I think it could do some good.

 

I may also take some of that time to review the thread, etc., but the primary exercise will be just watching price freely.

[joshdance 10]

You may not hear from me for a while...

 

C'mon cory, give me a break dude--everyone has setbacks, none of this pity party--been there, recently in fact, and all I can say is, get right back on the horse. Re-evaluate your trading as a whole, but don't even think about giving up. I enjoy reading your posts and this thread, keep it up buddy. I think your idea of watching price and not trading is a good idea, give it a shot.

[Cory2679 11]

Just out of curiosity, I decided to chart my P/L since I went live on 5/2...

 

[joshdance 10]

But it looks like you're still in the positive right? Look, forget your P/L. The fact that you're thinking about it indicates you have your focus in the wrong place. I had to be beat over the head with that many times, and still have issues to face there I'm afraid. From what I've seen on this thread, you're a good trader. Are your trades themselves bad, your management, or is it market conditions you're not adapting to? Whatever it is, your P/L has nothing to do with it.

[RichardTodd 10]

Just out of curiosity, I decided to chart my P/L since I went live on 5/2...

 

You know, deep retracements are devilishly tricky... they fool everyone into thinking a downtrend has started. So what happens is, people get all bearish about the future right before 5 more waves up.

 

 

You can get through this. Drawdowns are normal and healthy, and part of being a pro is not letting them mess with your head. Did you think your account would never take a hit? This had to happen at some point. Watch price until you get your confidence back, and then come back strong! After all, you wouldn't be in a position to have a major drawdown if you weren't also responsible for a prolonged profitable run.

[Cory2679 11]

Potential EUR/USD short...

 

UPDATE: Stop moved down...

 

UPDATE 2: Stop moved down again (not quite to break-even, yet)...

 

FINAL UPDATE: Stopped out...

Edited June 20, 2011 by Cory2679

[Cory2679 11]

potential eur/usd short...

 

Update: Stop moved down...

 

Update 2: Stop moved down again (not quite to break-even, yet)...

 

Final update: Stopped out...

 

POST-TRADE UPDATE: Could have been a full 1R loss, as opposed to the -0.17R I took...

[thalestrader 14]

The moment my account shows a net loss, I'm going back to sim. I was up over 7.5R at one point. This is ridiculous. I was obviously on a lucky streak that has been struck. I was convinced that maybe I was getting somewhere. Obviously I was wrong. I am so demoralized right now. I cannot believe after all this time I am still as bad as I am. I guess I'm just not cut out for it. I wonder what it will take for me to finally throw in the towel.

 

 

 

 

You signed up here less than two years ago. And if I recall, you were not yet trading, at least not regularly. And here you are, a mere nineteen months later, and you are wondering aloud about throwing in the towel. You have been more dedicated than many to learning this craft. Do you have any idea how long I fumbled along? Too long. But I do not regret taking too long one little bit.

 

Cory, even when you finally have "gotten it," and you think you are "Joe Pro Hot Shot Trader," guess what? You are going to go into a draw down. Nothing will go your way. You will doubt that you should be doing this. You will be frustrated, angry, and despondent. Eventually, you will accept the fact that you are human, and because of that, you will make mistakes. Your discipline will fail you, and the market will eat you alive. But you will recognize the problem quickly, and correct it even more quickly.

 

You are doing fine. Take a deep breath, take a day or two to watch your charts if you feel you must, but do take notes, jot down entries, stops, etc. Then get back on your horse. If you are really feeling frustrated, then back away from the day trading for a while and try to play for some bigger swings, perhaps trading from the four hour or daily time.

 

At any rate, Cory, as you can see from the responses that you have received here, many are still watching this thread, which means they are primarily watching you. And all of those posting in response to you over the last few days are watching and rooting for you, and not watching and waiting for a train wreck. I'm sure those folks are out there too. Don't given them what they are hoping for - you are a hard worker, and your work is being rewarded, even at moments like these where you feel you have merely spun your wheels while stuck in a wallow of delusion. You are making progress toward your goal. You have moved forward.

 

So take a deep breath. You are doing fine. You are not the only person who has had to struggle to reach trading consistency. You are not alone.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[joshdance 10]

Well said thales!

 

Cory, I know what you have has been working well, just wondering if you had considered trading one instrument, maybe the euro, in a slightly smaller time frame like 5m. I know thales mentioned a larger time frame--on the flip side of that is the opposite idea, trading off a smaller time frame. This is just how I like to trade so it's not based on anything but my personal preference, just wondering if you've done it before.

 

I trade oil, and find that I am getting to know oil like a good friend--I can read it much better than even a few weeks ago, as I'm focused only on it, and I trade the 5m time frame primarily so every day there are usually several opportunities, and with a currency like the euro I'm sure this would generally be true as well. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches of course.

 

Whether you go with several instruments with a larger time frame or one instrument with a smaller one, or increase your time frame, or change nothing, I have no doubt you will continue to do well!!! Keep up the good work buddy!!

[Cory2679 11]

...Best Wishes,

 

Thales

Thanks so much for the post, Thales. It means a lot.

 

...wondering if you had considered trading one instrument, maybe the euro, in a slightly smaller time frame like 5m...just wondering if you've done it before.

 

Thanks for the advice. I have indeed played around with faster time frames and focusing on only one pair. With the smaller time frames on the currencies, I found it was a bit noisy for my taste, plus the huge spreads I'm trading with have a larger impact with the smaller swings. As far as focusing soley on one pair, such as the EUR/USD...been there, too. I've kind of come to the point now where, since they're so highly correlated, I basically look at the four pairs I trade (EUR/JPY, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, & USD/JPY) as one market, more or less, and try to pick the best opportunity in the moment. For example, there may appear to be a trade setting up on both the GU and EU at the same time, and based on such and such, I'll choose the EU.

 

And don't think that because all I post is 15 minute charts that it's all I look at. I frequently pull up a 5 minute or even a 1 minute charts in certain situations, as well as hourly, 4-hour, and sometimes even daily charts. I'll also pull up range charts from time to time. I just think the 15 minute is a good primary chart and a good timeframe for posting when daytrading currencies.

[joshdance 10]

And don't think that because all I post is 15 minute charts that it's all I look at. I frequently pull up a 5 minute or even a 1 minute charts in certain situations, as well as hourly, 4-hour, and sometimes even daily charts. I'll also pull up range charts from time to time. I just think the 15 minute is a good primary chart and a good timeframe for posting when daytrading currencies.

 

Cool -- I also like the 15m, it's a great intraday view for context IMO. Happy trading!

[Cory2679 11]

Potential GU long...

 

UPDATE: Stop moved up...

Edited June 21, 2011 by Cory2679

[Cory2679 11]

Potential GU long...

 

UPDATE: Stop moved up...

 

UPDATE 2: Stop moved up, again...

 

FINAL UPDATE: Stopped out...

Edited June 21, 2011 by Cory2679

[joshdance 10]

Hey Corey, I have an unrelated thought but still relevant to your trading perhaps. I was posting an online journal at another side, and was twittering my trades live, and all this kind of stuff, and what I found was that it distracted me and made me nervous so much that I had to stop my journal and stop basically letting anyone in on what I was doing, because the pressure of thinking that perhaps others would see my trades (perhaps thinking that they are stupid, or whatever), it made me feel like there was a camera in my office and anyone could watch if they wanted to. It was almost creepy. So, I stopped doing that, and focused on just the market and my own trading, and have since seen lots of improvement. I'm not afraid to take trades that I think will work because I'm not worried about others criticizing it--however, I do post trades after the fact and ask for feedback for example. Just a thought, and certainly not trying to discourage you from posting, but remember that this is YOUR trading life, and if posting the trades in real time help you, then great--I know they help everyone else here. But if they are hindering you in any way, then you may reconsider having such an open door into your trading life.

[Cory2679 11]

Hey Corey, I have an unrelated thought but still relevant to your trading perhaps. I was posting an online journal at another side, and was twittering my trades live, and all this kind of stuff, and what I found was that it distracted me and made me nervous so much that I had to stop my journal and stop basically letting anyone in on what I was doing, because the pressure of thinking that perhaps others would see my trades (perhaps thinking that they are stupid, or whatever), it made me feel like there was a camera in my office and anyone could watch if they wanted to. It was almost creepy. So, I stopped doing that, and focused on just the market and my own trading, and have since seen lots of improvement. I'm not afraid to take trades that I think will work because I'm not worried about others criticizing it--however, I do post trades after the fact and ask for feedback for example. Just a thought, and certainly not trying to discourage you from posting, but remember that this is YOUR trading life, and if posting the trades in real time help you, then great--I know they help everyone else here. But if they are hindering you in any way, then you may reconsider having such an open door into your trading life.

 

Thanks for the advice. I've been down that road before, too! I'm not too worried at this point about what people on the internet think about my trades or me. I've posted on and off (stopped posting for the very reasons you present) and I've found that consistently posting, at this point, personally does me more good than harm...it helps keep me focused and accountable in a way. It's also nice to be able to scroll back through my week, although of course that could be done via a private journal, too.

[joshdance 10]

Thanks for the advice. I've been down that road before, too! I'm not too worried at this point about what people on the internet think about my trades or me. I've posted on and off (stopped posting for the very reasons you present) and I've found that consistently posting, at this point, personally does me more good than harm...it helps keep me focused and accountable in a way. It's also nice to be able to scroll back through my week, although of course that could be done via a private journal, too.

 

Cool--I guess I would say that I don't care that much what others think, but it still felt like pressure when posting a trade, so I guess that means I do care :-) Instead of fighting it, I just did the best thing for me at the time. I'm glad this thread is keeping you focused, I look forward to reading your posts!

[Cory2679 11]

Potential GU short...

 

UPDATE: I have to go to work now, so I won't be posting real-time updates for this trade...just one after-the-fact update.

 

UPDATE 2: Well...just one...stop moved down...

Edited June 22, 2011 by Cory2679

[mslk 10]

however, I do post trades after the fact and ask for feedback for example.

 

do you post those on TL? I would love to see these trades as I'm sure everyone else following these threads would too.

 

thanks - mslk

[mslk 10]

Cool--I guess I would say that I don't care that much what others think, but it still felt like pressure when posting a trade, so I guess that means I do care :-) Instead of fighting it, I just did the best thing for me at the time. I'm glad this thread is keeping you focused, I look forward to reading your posts!

 

Same here ... please continue posting to your log it is great being able to follow your setups

-mslk

[Cory2679 11]

Potential GU short...

 

UPDATE: I have to go to work now, so I won't be posting real-time updates for this trade...just one after-the-fact update.

 

UPDATE 2: Well...just one...stop moved down...

 

FINAL UPDATE: Well, it was a good call, but a poorly managed trade...I cut my profit short pretty bad...

[Cory2679 11]

Potential EU short...

 

UPDATE: Order canceled...

Edited June 24, 2011 by Cory2679

[Cory2679 11]

Potential GU long...

 

UPDATE: Stop moved up...

 

UPDATE 2: Stop moved up, again...

 

FINAL UPDATE: Stopped out...

 

POST-TRADE UPDATE: Reading back through the week, I just realized that I never posted a "post-trade update" for my first GU short. It's something that's helpful when looking back through...knowing what eventually happened...

 

I cut this trade short...wasn't a crazy runner, never even really approached PT2, but it could have been a small profit. I squeezed it too tight...I probably should have taken my cue from the most recent runs up, which were slow and steady...I was expecting/hoping for an explosive move and when I didn't get it I squeezed too tight....

Edited June 24, 2011 by Cory2679

[thalestrader 14]

Cory,

 

Try this for four weeks: Don't move your stop. Place entry, stop loss, and profit target(s), and then let it go. You have everything down except you are trying to finesse your stops as the trade ages, and you just don't have that feel yet. You will get it, but you will get it by watching your trades mature on their own.

 

Trade small enough that you do not worry about the $$, or demo trade if you must, but let your trades mature on their own according to your initial analysis - entry, stop, profit objectives. You may end the four weeks net +/-, but the pnl is not what matters. You need to stop actively micromanaging your trades and learn to watch and enjoy price moving again.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales