Done for the day, putting together the details.

I completed the 3 ergodic and 1 inside bar trades today. The inside bar trade did not set up until 10:45, so I took 2 of the ergodic trades first.

The initial ergodic trade was at 9:57. It was a bit close to the 10 am news release, but I thought I could complete it before the release. In reality, I should have entered about 2-3 minutes earlier but I was watching the long term ergodic on the 610 chart. I entered at 103.45 and exited at 103.39, which was about at the exact bottom. Too close for comfort.

The second trade came at 10:15, with entry at 103.91 and exit at 103.97.

The inside bar completed at 10:45. The next bar opened near the bottom of the inside bar, but if you will notice the moving averages on the inside bar chart are pointed up, and the ergodics on the other charts indicate upward momentum. Entry came at 10:47 at 104.16 and exit at 104.22.

The last trade came at 11am with entry at 104.25 and exit at 104.31.

I did only the trades allowed in the plan and stuck to the number I planned. I also focused on meeting all the criteria for entry.

Was an interesting day today. Wednesday is the usual oil inventory report day and it is best not to trade inside bars before that report, so I was not looking for that trade setup until after 10:30.

I did see an ergodic setup at 9:43, well after the oil pit opened and the NYSE opened. I took the trade, going short at 104.29 and exiting at 104.20, using a 9 tick target.

After the oil inventory report, I saw a setup around 10:40. It was a bit closer to the news release than I normally trade, but the parameters were met, so I entered short at 103.52. Market went 7 or 8 ticks favorable, then reversed, stopping me out at 103.64. Market continued up, then chopped around a bit, finally breaking above the chop. I was able to enter long at 11:20 at 104.40 and exit at 104.48.

No inside bar trades setup before 1pm. The bar that closed at 1 came close but broke below the prior bar's low just before 1, so no inside bar trade today.

I took only the trades per the trading plan and limited the number to my criteria. Using the larger targets allowed the day to be positive with 2 of 3 trades being winners.

Papa15

An interesting day. Had a huge run up in price at 9am on the open of pit trading, with price going up well over 100 ticks. Towards the end of the candle there was some selling, leaving a rather lengthy wick. With such a large candle and wick, it is little surprise there was an inside bar that finished at 9:30. I was willing to enter a trade if price continued to go down, but I was a bit concerned about more upside movement since there was such a prominent wick. Price did go up and break to the upside, but I stood aside. Price came back down and went back and forth for a while. Another inside bar formed at 10:15. On the 233 and 610 tick charts, all ergodics were above 0 and short term ergodics were above their signal lines. I was not overly thrilled with the setup though as the long term ergodic on the 233 was barely above 0. Price seemed a bit heavy to me, but I went with the setup. I entered the inside bar breakout just before 1015 (like at 10:14:50) as I put my buy stop in place just before the bar completed, but price spiked through my stop the last few seconds of the bar. Price went a few ticks my favor, then started chopping. At the 3 minute point, I started looking to get out but price dropped through my protective stop before I could cut the trade near breakeven.

I stepped aside a bit. Price went down. I saw an entry below the first inside bar low, which is also where R2 is. I set up an entry stop at 106.11, was filled at 10:22, and set the exit at 105.99. The profit target was hit. Price continued to chop back and forth. I saw another setup at 11:02 at 105.99. I entered but I used a reduced target on this one because price had previously stopped at 105.93. My profit target was hit, and then price continued to drop. I waited and waited to get the last ergodic trade in. At 12:09, I saw a long setup. I entered at 106.25 and exited at 106.33.

Done for the day.

Done early today.

Market up overnight; media credits it to situation in Libya, but who knows or cares why. It is what it is, and I am to trade what I see.

I made a change to the charts in that I switched my ergodic charts to range bars, using 6 and 13 range. I have seen several times this week that Sierra Charts will print double bars on tick charts. When I see them I suspect they are double prints, but I am never quite sure. I don't see that on range bars. Additionally, with range bars I see where to place the entry better. I am still using the same 2 setups, the inside bar on the 15 minute time frame and the ergodics setup.

After the employment numbers news release at 8:30 the market went up. I saw a setup for a long at 8:53, entered at 107.54 and exited at 107.70. The market started going down after the pit open. I saw a short at 9:02, entered at 107:42 with an exit at 107.32. Market continued to drop. I saw a chance to re-enter at 9:06 going short at 107.09 and exited at 106.99. The 2 shorts were taken off the same downward move in the market. I play it by using multiple entries rather than holding for the entire move; a limitation I accept as a one lot trader.

I waited for an inside bar setup. The inside bar completed at 9:30 as a retracement of the long down bar that completed at 9:15. The price broke through the high of the inside bar and I entered at 106.96 and exited at 107.04. I did not try for more on this since the price was moving against the large down candle. Sure enough, shortly after my exit the price reversed down.

I did the 3 ergodic plays and the one inside bar and done for the day. I am going to put together a weekly summary and will post when complete.

I just completed my first week trading while working on specific self-discipline issues. Based on Big Mike's suggestion/direction I made a list of 10 issues that have I have struggled with in the past. From that list I chose to work on trading only setups in my plan and not over-trading. I only have 2 setups in my plan (the inside bar on a 15 minute chart and the ergodic setup) and I stated I would look for 1 inside bar trade and 3 ergodic setups per day.

I met that goal. I took only those trades, and when they were finished, I turned off the charts and did other things. Some may find limiting yourself like this to be confining or a constraint, but I find it to be just the opposite; it was liberating. I know when I come to my trading station every morning exactly what I am looking for; nothing more, nothing less.

At AZ suggestion on his thread, I purchased the book Golf is not a game of Perfect. So to use a golf analogy, when a golfer plays a round of golf, he knows he is going to play 18 holes. His job is to make maximum use of his skills, etc to make the best possible score on those 18 holes. I know I am going to do 4 trades. My job is to make the maximum I can from those trades. Just as a golfer will not play perfectly, I will not trade perfectly. So each day, I know the day is to have 4 trades and I look to maximize those.

This week, there were only 4 inside bar trades as I did not see one on Wednesday. I was 3 for 4 on the other days, for a net of 5 ticks. One of the trades I cut short because it went over my time limit. The loser I suffered did come after 10 am. I did a review last weekend and found the best time for inside bar trades for me is between 9-10am. I will also look to improve my profit target on these.

I was 13 for 15 on ergodic trades during the week for a net of 68 ticks. One loser had a larger stop loss. I also have started working on improving my profit targets for these trades.

Overall, I found that focusing on the two self-discipline issues helped my trading. It was a very good week. Additionally, I find that I am better at most of the other 8 issues also.

Next week, I continue to work on using just the setups in the plan and on not over-trading. I hope everyone has a great week end.

I started my second week focusing on correcting self-discipline issues. I continue to work on trading only setups that are in my trading plan and not overtrading. I look to do one inside bar trade per day and 3 ergodic setups, and then quit for the day.

I saw a short ergodic setup at 9:14, entered at 107.92 and exited for a 10 tick win at 107.82. Market then made a brief pullback and started back down in price. I re-entered at 9:17 at 107.68. Market went down to touch my 10 tick target, but I was not filled. Market came back up and hit my stop at 107.80. Four bars after I entered the short term ergodic crossed its signal line going up, and I should have cut the trade then, but I did not. At 9:35, the short term ergodic on both the 6 and 13 range charts were above their signal lines, headed up. I entered long at 107.99. Again the market price went up to touch my 10 tick target without filling me, and then dropped. After 5 bars, the short term ergodic crossed its signal line going down, but I did not cut the trade. It was stopped out at 107.89.

I waited until 12:00 for an inside bar to form. I put a buy-stop above and a sell-stop beneath. The sell stop was filled at 12:09. The price should have been 107.99 but for some reason I don't understand it filled at 108.05. I moved the price target down to 107.91 which was the original target. Price then went into a stall mode. Normally after 2-3 minutes I look to get out near break even, but this time I held on, and watched the short term ergodic and its signal line. Price finally looked to be going down strongly, and the short term ergodic was opening up from its signal line. I moved the price target to a couple of ticks above the previous swing low. Price came within a couple of ticks of my revised target and then reversed up. I was stopped for a 11 tick loss.

Overall, 1 for 4 for -23 ticks. Given that on 2 of the trades the profit target was touched and in truth the profit target was met on the inside bar trade, this could have been a 4 for 4 day for +38 ticks. But I accept it for what it is, and now it is time for lunch and then to cut grass.

papa15 

I started my second week focusing on correcting self-discipline issues. I continue to work on trading only setups that are in my trading plan and not overtrading. I look to do one inside bar trade per day and 3 ergodic setups, and then quit for the day. I saw a short ergodic setup at 9:14, entered at 107.92 and exited for a 10 tick win at 107.82. Market then made a brief pullback and started back down in price. I re-entered at 9:17 at 107.68. Market went down to touch my 10 tick target, but I was not filled. Market came back up and hit my stop at 107.80. Four bars after I entered the short term ergodic crossed its signal line going up, and I should have cut the trade then, but I did not. At 9:35, the short term ergodic on both the 6 and 13 range charts were above their signal lines, headed up. I entered long at 107.99. Again the market price went up to touch my 10 tick target without filling me, and then dropped. After 5 bars, the short term ergodic crossed its signal line going down, but I did not cut the trade. It was stopped out at 107.89. I waited until 12:00 for an inside bar to form. I put a buy-stop above and a sell-stop beneath. The sell stop was filled at 12:09. The price should have been 107.99 but for some reason I don't understand it filled at 108.05. I moved the price target down to 107.91 which was the original target. Price then went into a stall mode. Normally after 2-3 minutes I look to get out near break even, but this time I held on, and watched the short term ergodic and its signal line. Price finally looked to be going down strongly, and the short term ergodic was opening up from its signal line. I moved the price target to a couple of ticks above the previous swing low. Price came within a couple of ticks of my revised target and then reversed up. I was stopped for a 11 tick loss. Overall, 1 for 4 for -23 ticks. Given that on 2 of the trades the profit target was touched and in truth the profit target was met on the inside bar trade, this could have been a 4 for 4 day for +38 ticks. But I accept it for what it is, and now it is time for lunch and then to cut grass.

Is your rules to not move to BE ever even after so much time or bars? Just curious.

bluemele 

Is your rules to not move to BE ever even after so much time or bars? Just curious.

Only on the inside bars; I have typically used a 2 or 3 min time limit and if profit target not reached, I look to get out as close to b/e as possible. Easily could have done that today, but I was watching the ergodics to see how they would play out. I know what I am about to say is not what you want to hear, but I did it only because I was trading sim today. I really am focusing on correcting my discipline issues and the two that are the ones I am working on are following the setup in the plan and not overtrading. I have always used a fixed target, and many times folks have commented that my targets could be much bigger. I was trying to see if I could make the target bigger.

What I took from today, is that for a relatively choppy day, a 8 or 9 tick target seems to work better than a bigger target. If that is the case, then I should use one of those for all days. Yes, on a trend day I give up a lot of potential profit, but how do you know it is a trend day or a choppy day early. I have not figured that one out yet, so if I trade conservatively, it should work out in the long run.

Haha....

You knew what I was going to say! haha..

Good analysis!