The Trading Log: Appendix

[DbPhoenix 42]

Feeling good. I had a tough month in August IMO and the spikes and tight ranges did my head in alot and tested me alot, ironically in the complete opposite way of the intended journals purpose.

 

Anyhow, today...

 

7am - we drifted up and both the MA cross and SAR said short at 7 on the dot and it dropped down 15 beautifully to kick it off... now its gone staight back up, and up, and up all the way to the top of the candle... here we go again, spike/fake drop No.1...

 

9:30am - Since dropped off slowly and S/R has worked well on the way down... Its now 9:35 and all is quiet... at the low of the day and bouncing. The lack of US participation may keep this tight today but seeing as they were open all last month and still little happened I shall carry on regardless...

 

9:40 - Just had a retest of the S/R and it moved over a few pips and dropped back but still not piercing the low. As per the plan I have moved the SL to above the last S/R and now to see if we break this low... (not just spike through)...

 

9:45 - The plan is the plan... why am I even thinking.... MA's are still short, we are at the low of the day but not past as yet and we've not pierced the higher S/R so just sit, wait and read my book....

 

9:54 - broken at last.... next S/R coming up at 40... a clean break below would be good and I can get the stop down lower and lock in a good profit and let it run (maybe)...

 

Searching for something to remove emotion from my trading... Break or no break, up, down, sideways whatever, great, good, bad ****, shouldn't be in the above dialouge but it is still, it should just be fact this and fact that equals do X yada yada...

 

From here on in I will be attempting to relate all my trading to that of a mundane job I have had... barman... each trade is just pulling a pint thats it. I know I didn't care all that much for the pint at the end of the shift but I got paid and thats the important bit. Granted, as its my money I could then look at it as the landlord and I would care too much but for now, the bartender idea seems good.

 

10am - dropped through 40... next top 16, hopefully I shall just sit, wait and if it doesn't get there for a while, I'll keep waiting... or till a new signal...

 

10:08am - doh! its going up through S/R but only just...not looking like it will nold as resistance... tempted to give it more leeway... no stopped out as per plan.... only just hit SL, not 1 pip higher, and keeps dropping back off... time for it drop like a bomb!

 

T1: +23

 

Wait now for a long signal.... the next candle would signal a SAR long but I shall await the MA's for now...

 

10:15: Long SAR signal taken in demo...Ok, having doubts about my exit now, my SL got touched but not pierced and now its dropping back down and near at the low of the day again... argh! Sod it... now at the low again and it'll probably be the best move in weeks and my fear and greed wants back in but no, I can't I must wait... ******* and down it goes!

 

S/R and trailing stops > too much room for error and sods law... too close and this happens. Too far back and reversals end up +1...! Its hard to find a good middle ground... just one pip higher and I'd still be short but that one pip would equal -£30 in the opposie circumstances.... Ho hum, just hope it doesn't go much further south...

 

As a side note - the SAR didn't work out well neither!!!

 

My panic and reluctance to rejoin the short worked out... just a bit of faith thats all you need! I SHALL wait for a long now.... As per usual, panic ensued and then it comes back up and my original exit was fine. No cross of lower S/R meant that the same SL would now be being hit and all is good again....

 

10:46: SAR Signal No. 2... exactly same place...still awaiting MA long signal... more coffee required... Funny, I never realised I thought so much!

 

3 times we've tried to drop now but still keeps returning to the 40-45 area so 'price action' says its not going lower (I think)... now it'll drop! Ahh, tried again but now pushing North again... looking for a long soon...

 

Lining up nicely and I'm getting bored... No solid long signal as yet, could be a while seeing as its now 11am and the mornings action has finished, all the big boys in the banks have probably done most of their work and are off and gone by now and of course no America this afternoon.

 

The plan, as tested, incorporates every hour of each day to the fullest regardless of current affairs and news etc but, its sunny, I have a list of things to do and a rather tempting offer of something else to do so it has half hour till I knock it on the head and do something else!

 

11:11: Hmmm, SAR 2 would have been sweet, MAs mean waiting for 11:15 and its now 8/10 higher and hitting upper S/R... I have a feeling when the long signal comes It'll drop back but we'll see... right dropping back a little now and looking for a better price for me now, unless it means no higher and we have a few hours of little movement...

 

11:15: long now and wish I'd taken the SAR long as 10 pips better but the first SAR meant a loss so it worked out about equal. Obviously this is all dependant on whether cable gets some life inside it and goes, somewhere!

 

Superb, and its off....S/R at 63/79/85 to trail behind (for now!)... Hmmm, dropped back... now back up a bit... moved stop to +1... still no clear break of 63....

 

T2: +1

 

Right, dropping right off now and out for +1... thank god for that, dropped straight through.... Now I need to wait for a new candle before the short and its proving harder than hoped as it drops through...

 

1:15: at last, short.... and it drops nice, no, damn it coming back up... here I'd normally (pre August) hope for a great run down but its labour day so we shall see.... Hmmmm, one of them candle thingys, a 'hanging man' I believe... ahh, dropping a bit, slowly mind...

 

Hmmm, bouncing about now but trying to push down... nopeback up... ok, a 5 pip range, not sure where it wants to go... no long signal yet... and back down it drops, thankfully it is in such a small range there is lttle fear as the stop is still nowehere near!

 

Okay reversing now and taken a small 5 pip loss and wait a minute for the new signal.

 

T3: -5

 

2:30: finally switched to a long and stright up from the entry into profit. Not sure whether this afternoonss market can sustain a push higher but stick to the plan and see. A rise above 60 will allow a move of the stoplossbehind to lock in a small profit for now... Now I'm not expecting much all is well...

 

Ok, slowly slowly moving but not passing my 62 S/R level to trail SL... all things considered I have moved stop to +1 and see how it goes from here. this is the last of the day regardless now. pushing up to the recent high again but not through... yet!...

 

Excellent, up it goes, no maybe not... over 62 so SL now trailed behind for a few pips depending on what happens............... As the day draws on my emotions start to become a nonchalent disinterst as I have +2 regardless and I have now resigned myself that that is how it will end up. For a bank holiday in US, I'm happy with the results regardless.. Taken the +2 and finished...

 

T4: +2

 

DAYS TOTAL > +23 / +1 / -5 / + 2 = +20

 

Thoughts on the day:

 

I never realised how much I thought during trading session for a start. The actual day vs the plan vs the actual movement was pretty good really. the small drop mid morning got me but it worked out ok and plan vs reality = pretty much the same... I caught a good proportion of the day so pleased...

 

Now to progress to trading = pulling pints and happy days.... (wasp)