Site Administrator Swing Trader Data Scientist & DevOps
Manta, Ecuador
Experience: Advanced
Platform: My own custom solution
Trading: Emini Futures
Posts: 49,780 since Jun 2009
Thanks: 32,308 given,
97,567
received
Hi guys,
Continuing in the tradition of encouraging journals on FIO, I am announcing a new Journal Challenge for February 2019.
The rules are extremely simple:
a) The contest begins February 1 and ends February 28. All decisions made by futures io are final.
b) This thread that you are reading right now will act as the repository for all journals that are entered into the contest.
c) The author of a journal can enter his/her futures io journal into the contest by posting a link to his/her journal in this thread. Only the author of the journal can do this. Please post the link to the journal ONE TIME, AND ONE TIME ONLY in this thread.
d) Members of futures io will cast their votes for the best journals by using the "Thanks" button on the post that the journal author has made in this very thread. This is why it is very important the author of the journal make only one post, because only one post will be used to count the total number of "Thanks Received" in this thread, and that is how the winners will be decided. Members can vote for as many separate journals as they want by following the same procedure.
e) There will be three prizes awarded, based on the highest number of "Thanks Received" per the above. 1st place @ $200 amazon gift card + 1-year subscription of Journalytix (valued @ $399), 2nd place @ $150 amazon gift card + 1-year subscription of Journalytix (valued @ $399), 3rd place @ $100 amazon gift card + 1-year subscription of Journalytix (valued @ $399).
f) As we increase the number of these events, we find the need to keep it fair for everyone - so you are only eligible to win a prize in this event if you have not won any other prize within the prior 3 events on futures io. Feel free to participate in the process, but know prize eligibility will be a deciding factor in the final award process.
Thank you to Journalytix / Jigsaw Trading for sponsoring this event. You can ask questions about their program here, and get answers directly from Pete, the Founder of Jigsaw Trading and Journalytix:
Peter Davies, Founder of Jigsaw Trading, will be monitoring this thread so that he may answer any questions that you post here relating to Jigsaw Trading products and services.
Please keep in mind that some customer service/technical support issues …
All participants of the Journal Challenge can request a free 30-day trial of Journalytix, make your request here in the thread so that Journalytix can reach out to you.
My goal with these contests is to encourage the journaling process, as I firmly believe the more you participate in the journal process, the better trader you will become.
In addition, for Elite Members, Jigsaw Trading / Journalytix has a special offer -- $40 discount off any Jigsaw Trading / Journalytix product, using this special link:
Site Administrator Swing Trader Data Scientist & DevOps
Manta, Ecuador
Experience: Advanced
Platform: My own custom solution
Trading: Emini Futures
Posts: 49,780 since Jun 2009
Thanks: 32,308 given,
97,567
received
Reminder to all members:
All participants of the Journal Challenge can request a free 30-day trial of Journalytix, make your request here in the thread so that Journalytix can reach out to you.
Important: Serious Preparation, Forming Habits, Knowing Yourself = Trading Well
Enough dithering!!!
Its time to finally make a serious attempt at trading. Treating trading as a hobby has gone for too long. Its time to take this seriously enough …
The premise of my journal is very simple, so when I am again tossed into the uncertain waters of the raging markets here is what you can expect to find:
1. My actual trades in real time, thanks to the fantastic NinjaTrader plugins developed on this very site.
2. My 'no care' attitude towards money - Why I live frugally, without caring about money, and why I trade if not for money.
3. How I trade uncertain markets without adding the emotion of Hope. Why money management and my proper trade size allows for a 0 percent risk of ruin. Why Hope is different from expectation, why hope means that you want a winner because you are sick and tired of losing, why Hope comes up when the markets are one tick away from your stop. To put it ironically, I have No Hope!
4. How I manage Greed. It all happens when I start wanting more - it is an emotion stemming from deep insecurity. Why I impulse trade - its usuall when I think than others are doing better than I do and I don't want to miss out. Greed is often Fear with a mask.
5. How I handle my emotional disorientation on a daily basis. Why being emotionally disoriented is a result of silly objectives, and why being down to earth can prevent such hijacks. WHY STOPPING WORRYING ABOUT BEING RIGHT OR WRONG IS THE KEY. And how having modest expectations manage the account better than those 50 percent return per month you see on TV when there is no evidence that anyone can churn out that kind of statistic consistently.
6. How I manage fear. Secret tip: By CONFRONTING it before it becomes Fear with a capital F. By not letting it HIDE. By assuming that the trade you are in WILL LOSE before you hit the entry button!
7. Confronted with tough tests like TopStepTrader or OneUp Trader or the Gauntlet, I add to this negativity: I expect to lose not only the current trade, but I also park my imagination on the fact that my worst drawdown is about to begin. My longest losing chain of trades is starting this very moment, my winner is just a proverbial carrot before the dark forces in the market are about to unleash the maximum adversity on me - I remember the market's power and my puny account that I've to defend continually against its fury. That alone allows me to pass any combine, gauntlet or evaluation I willingly enter, instead of becoming a victim.
8. My trading life is basically managing pain successfully. Following the trend is misery, staying in chop is misery, losing is of course misery, but I will go far and say that even winning is misery, because it may go even further and you think about how much more you could have made. If you cannot accept pain as a daily continuous dose flowing from the chart to you as an interminable stream, stop reading now. If you are ready to become hurt, vulnerable and join me with the same numbness that I NEED TO MAKE happen (it does not automatically become habitual). If you simply learn that trading is nothing but conquering pain, and being paid to stay put though pain, then follow my journal.
And if you read this far, I am hoping you found some value, and perhaps you can lighten up my trading day and be a buddy by clicking the THANKS button right below this post?
My new journal reports a trading system that takes advantage of the morning weakness in the EURUSD. The functionality is explained quickly: As with my little-DAX strategy, this system uses the slope of a Daily SMA as a filter. If the filter condition is met, trading takes place 5 days a week at different times of the day, only short selling in the morning (GMT-time).
I'm trading my system in a real money account and I'm trying to document each trade and report each weekly and monthly summary.
Take a look and press the THANKS Button
Thank you,
OldGerman
The biggest risk you can ever take is not betting on yourself! (Bill Williams +)
The following 5 users say Thank You to OldGerman for this post:
Trade Plan - Based on Market Profile with Footprint set up.
Trading Hour - US Session
Trading Instrument - CL
Market - US Market(NYMEX CL), Indian Market (MCX CrudeOil)
Risk & Reward Ratio - 10+Ticks/Trade
Detailed explanation 'll add on next …
yawaniga
The following 2 users say Thank You to yawaniga for this post:
I day trade RTY at thinkorswim. Im not a good trader. Im a classic weak hand and I scratch most of my trades. I am comfortable with my system and loathe to change. I see trading as a grind, that offers the same effort/earnings …
I had to show my face in an attempt to get free stuff in Battlestations!
Here is my thread on the Feb 2019 Trading journal challenge. I hope this keeps me on point with respect to journaling to keep myself accountable and develop the daily tasks and habits that makes winning traders win. My target is be become …
Above is my thread on the Feb 2019 Trading journal challenge. I hope this keeps me on point with respect to journaling to keep myself accountable and develop the daily tasks and habits that makes winning traders win. My target is be become consistently profitable on SIM & go live in April. 1st target is 0-$500 / week including commissions trading 1 contract, and then up from there.
Summarized Trading Plan :
- Trading mostly ES in Globex session somewhere between 7 - 10 pm EST (with CL and NQ on standby in case ES chart is sideways or choppy).
- Start in Sim with 10k acct, trading 1 contract for no more than 1% risk at any given time. Daily target is $200 on average, daily max loss is $200, target is to have 75% winning days. Max & ave winner to be greater than max & ave looser. Walk away after 2 consecutive losses, either shut down for the day or way for a new trend.
- Method is trend trading ema bounces with usual targets of about 5-6 ticks, increased target to 8-10 ticks on bigger retracements, pivot magnets, etc. I will either sit on my hands, not trade or lower my targets to 2-3 tick scalps, in the case the market is whippy choppy, having a difficult time picking a trend direction.
- Trade approx. 5-10 trades / trading session.
- Trade using tick charts. My main entry chart is 89ticks, using a larger time-frame (as an anchor chart) at 233tick. Mostly using price action with Ema's to help determine overall trend direction and retracement bounces. Also have a sensitive MACD to indicate divergence (or energy), and ST/LT scholastic for to help with cycles or timing.
Journal :
- My journal start with a summary of market, times, any red flags etc, as I start.
- My journal will then list each trade including the specifics of each trade.
- My journal will include a daily report card, the good-the bad-the ugly.
- Will include marked up charts that refer back to each trade.
- After the week, I will look at weekly stats vs targets.
- Then similar for the month.
Thanks
The following 2 users say Thank You to BougieNT8 for this post:
I am entering the journal February challenge and will keep a detailed account of my trading
methodology and trades for the month .
I am a day trader and trade the AUS.200.
I use a couple of different analytic methods for trading. I look at analysis as a language as there a various ways to analyse the market each with there own terminology.
The analytic methods that I use are :
There was quite high volatility today in the AUS200 I was not really expecting it. The S&P500 had been bullish in the overnight session making an all-time high today the AUS200 has been in a three day balance. My daily plan was to target 5786 and maybe …
1. 3 HTT's with No Trader Errors
2. 0 Stops
2. Better Than Average
1. Execute my plan with no trade errors.
2. I will not cover trades unless I hit my target, or I can see clear rejection (NOT …
I've never posted on here before; so it would appear I cannot post a legit link to this contest. So I'm not trying to break the rules, but it appears I'm the victim of a bit of policy and opportunity. Hoping the mods see this as ok.
The following user says Thank You to nyjbarnes for this post:
I please request 30 day trial to something that can organize my thoughts, actions and results. My journal consists of chicken scratchings on scraps of paper that are more emotional outbursts of technical insights. Sorely lacking in structured format that allows for critical review and forward progress. As a result, I seem to always be 'shooting from the hip' and plunging with reckless abandon. Please, will journalytix help, can I get 30 days worth of it to feel like a pro? Thank You, Big Mike and everyone!
The following user says Thank You to BohdanRoman for this post:
Sorry friend, I can't vote for a competitor. But I can give your excellent post some memetic momentum.
Yes. Hope is for those that aren't emotionally satisfied with reality.
Yes. The nuances of greed could be a whole discussion. Trader's greed is different from the popular conception of greed. I think it begins when we create expectations beyond what is verifiable with observation.
Yes, and I would add that its equally important to visualize being carried through the targets. See previous comment.
Thanks Cory, found it and tried it .. much appreciated. I'm no excel wizard but now I will try to find an existing excel file "journal" that might not be too complex but do some analysis for me. I see Mike has a thread that went viral but that may be too complex for me
I had not been on the FIO site for some time and the first thing I saw yesterday was the Challenge.
Have meant to participate in the past but never did , so lets give it a go.
up 36 tics
Did OK: Did not panic when trades went against me
held on for 20 - 30 tics on some of the winners
Closed some trades at the right spot when there was no follow through instead of waiting to get stops hit
Not …
The following user says Thank You to trade888 for this post:
Trading: All Micros, especially the ones that move
Posts: 2,384 since Feb 2017
Thanks: 16,414 given,
8,997
received
Hey all, I'd like to submit my journal for this month's challenge.
Started off here a few years back with zero experience, and these days I'm trading M6E live (on my third small account no less LOL.) Hopefully third time's a charm, so far I am breakeven but still striving for consistency. Seems like two steps forward, one and a half steps back... or vice versa at times
Cruise on over to my journal when you get a chance; I document my trades both good and bad, plus we have some lively discussion on a variety of topics such as psychology, trade management, scaling, etc.
I'm very interested in checking out the Journalytix software, and an Amazon gift card would go a long ways towards upgrading my second monitor (currently a 15" Dell from... oh... probably 10 years ago LOL...)
If you find the journal of value, please hit the THANKS button!
Greetings all! Finally getting around to making this first post after lurking for a month and absorbing everything in sight. Apologies in advance for the TL;DR... this is as much a record for me as it is to introduce myself to you.
Waaaaay back in …
Thanks a lot!
Shane
The following 19 users say Thank You to Rrrracer for this post:
