Come on admit, how many times have you looked up at the clouds and saw an elephant, a dog running or a clown face?
This is my journal on learning ichimoku. When I first started trading five years ago I came across this system, however I did not have the knowledge base to understand it. A line that is displaced back, lines that form a forward cloud, at times a very cluttered chart.
I have bounced around from one indicator to another, one system or method to another. I have always tried to keep it simple. I have never understood how people have several indicators on the chart and in panels, by the time all are in agreement the trade past you by. This is what drew me back to ichimoku, its simplicity.
I have a simple way of trading now, and I will post a picture of it. As you gain more experience and confidence your style and method of trading changes as well. I still look to keep it as simple as possible.
I am a retired business owner. I operated a restaurant for 22 years. It takes its toll on you working every night, weekend and holiday, not to mention the 100 hours a week I put in. It can be very stressfull at times. I had 55 employees who have 55 attitudes, deliveries that are late, people who are always trying to get somethimg for free. It all took its toll. I sold when I started to hate going to work.
I retired when I was 42. I joined two country clubs, traveled, bought a sailboat, I did the retirement thing. It was my money manager who suggested I take some funds and learn how to invest it. This lead to learning about stocks, which lead to forex trading, which lead to futures trading.
My investor personality is conservative. I worked hard for my money and have always protected it. This is my emotional baggage that I deal with every trade. I can't tell you how many times I have been stopped out only to have the trade go on to be a winner.
This is me in a nut shell. I did make two trades on 6E today, both winners. I will post charts. The trades will be in SIM as I am new to ichimoku.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
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Here are my two trades on 6E. The first trade I thought was a good entry. The second trade was not a good ichimoku trade as the red line was still below the blue. It did feel good to have winning trades, a little success builds confidence.
Two trades +20 pips. I usually only go for small trades. I would rather hit a single and get on base than always swing for a big winner. Again I know my investor personality is conservative.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
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Overall I felt vert good about this set up. I watched Manesh Patel's seminar again last night, and this was the same set up he used. For know I will keep the indicators in the lower panels, it gives me that extra confirmation during the learning process.
I know ichomoku is a trend method and becomes clear where the trades are when price is trending. It can be confusing when all the lines clutter up the chart.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
I lost 5 ticks on this trade. I do not trade oil, I thought it would offer more opportunity to take trades and practice on.
All the elements looked fine and a good set up. I was looking for it to continue down. Overall I felt confident going into the trade. It made a lower high and I thought it would follow through.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
My second trade. When price broke the cloud I waited for it to retrace back to trend line. Placed my order and waited for it to follow through. I feel like I am following ichimoku rules, however at this point I think even if a set up is valid that it can still lead to a false breakout signal.
Today I went 2 for 3 in trades. +10 pips on 6E, two trades on CL for a +5 ticks.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
Over the weekend I read many articles and looked at examples of how traders use ichimoku. If you ask 100 people what they trade and how they do it you will get 100 different answers and none of them are wrong. Same with ichimoku. Even the two experts who did seminars on futures.io (formerly BMT) interpret it differently. The youtube videos I watched all had different ways of using it as well.
Since I usually try to get 10 pips from a trade I wanted to come up with settings that would offer more set up opportunities. I felt if I miss a trade at 3AM or miss an opportunity to reenter a trend I had alot of time wasted waiting for a setup.
This week I will use the settings of 8, 21, 34. I read an article by a forex trader who uses these settings for day trading, oddly they are all fib numbers.
Today I went 4 for 4 a totle of +40 pips. I followed Manesh Patel's cloud break set up of price breaking the cloud, red line, than blue line and the lagging span confirming. I stll used the macd and stoc for confirmation as well.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
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I usually do not trade time based bars as they tend to be choppy looking at the chart. I like using range no gap as they tend to make the chart smoother and easier for me to trade. However I was looking at a 5M chart and saw the kijun and tenkan cross under the cloud and entered that trade based on that cross.
So far I like using ichimoku, however I know I am not using it to my full advantage. So much of the information I read conflicts with each other on its usage and interpretation I am not sure what to believe.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
First trade today. Continuation of trend. Is there a possible pull back or trend reversal in the works. Look at thinning of cloud and price closed below kijun line.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
There was a cross of the Tenkan and Kijun under ther cloud. I was determined to stay with this trade and use the Kijun as a stop. I based my decision on the cross under the cloud indicating another strong move down again. I usually go for 10 pip targets and reenter the trend as price closes under the Tenkan.
My home work this week is to look at my charts in different time frames and to pick one or two and stick with those. Often times I search for a trade and hope it works out. This is how I lost the 6A trade the other day. I missed it one time frame and waited for it in another, took the trade only to see or pull back and I was stoped out for an 11 pip loser.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
Evidence of a retracement or reversal. Price broke the kijun and chikou span broke price line, clear evidence of at least a retracement. It was a very slow afternoon
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
On the 1 H chart price under a thick cloud, price closed under the Kijun line, and the Chikou span just starting to clear the price line. With this continued bearish sentiment I looked on the 15M chart and price was closing under the cloud. Was a nice 22 pip winner.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
Looking at 1H chart price is on top of cloud but between the kijun and tenkan. When price broke the komo it was in agreement with higher time frame. Entered at open of bar and stayed in trade for 20 pips.
I took myself out of a trade went on for 50 pips. I need to let the trade run, this is hard for me to do. I have always gone for 10-20 pip targets.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
I was looking at Chris Capre's website over the weekend, he has 6 different strategies that he uses with ichimoku. One of them is called "Wx shadow 3M chart." I found two different definations of "shadow" the first was it is the cloud behind the current one. The other defination was flat spots on the cloud.
My take on it is that is a breakout strategy that is anchored by other aspects of ichimiku trading.
This is the trade that I made.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
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I was not going to take this trade because price was still above the komo om the 1H chart. The steep angle of the kijun and tenken lines made me think otherwise. I thought it indicated strong momentum.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
The following user says Thank You to ollie for this post:
Not much going on today with ichi 5M chart. I missed a trade at 7:30 Am ET. Not much after that. This is the one thing I do not like about ichimoku. It can take forever for a set up and if you miss it that can be the only one for the day. I need to watch multiple instruments to trade. There were nice trades on 6A and 6C, since I usually only watch 6E I missed these setups.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
The following user says Thank You to ollie for this post:
Nice 6E trade. Price broke cloud, I like to wait for it to pull back to either the kijun or Tenkan lines and enter when price moves past the Tenken line. I used the Tenken line as a stop placement.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
The following user says Thank You to ollie for this post:
Chris Capre has a strategy Called " Kijun ATR cross on a 5M chart." I understand that he is buying into strenght, I am not sure how he uses it, or even how he sets up his chart.
My take was to use the Kijun cross the same way as a moving average cross and use the Eco 2 for momentum. I did not take into account the position of the Tenkan line. The only other filter I used was to take trades in the direction of the future cloud.
I made three trades for + 25 pips, the arrows show where I entered.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
It was very choppy, trying to be patient waiting for an ichimoku signal. Finally made two trades for +15 pips.
First trade, price broke cloud on a flat spot. I was not going to take this trade because of the flat area. Usually price will retest these areas. I was anxious to make a trade, I know, not a good frame of mind to be in. Went ahead with trade and it worked out.
The second trade retraced back. Price broke the Kijun line and I entered into trade on the bar that closed below the Kijun. I could have stayed in trade longer, I was happy ending up with + 15 pips on what I thought was going to be a choppy day.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
The following user says Thank You to ollie for this post:
Site Administrator Swing Trader Data Scientist & DevOps
Manta, Ecuador
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Trading: Futures & Crypto
Posts: 50,092 since Jun 2009
Thanks: 32,552 given,
98,579
received
Congratulations on your journal!
In the spirit of our March Trading Journal contest, I am asking everyone to spend a few minutes and share their journaling experience.
A) What are the top five benefits you have seen as a result of regularly posting in this journal?
B) What are the top five problem areas you have identified as a result of regularly posting in this journal?
C) Were you initially reluctant to start this trading journal? If yes, why?
D) How do you feel, overall, about your journaling experience?
E) Would you recommend to others that they should also start a trading journal?
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I appreciate your posts, and I hope you have benefited from your journal. I also know that others will benefit as well, just by reading about your own experiences.
The benefits that I realized were to be accountable for my actions. This journal was for me, however for every action there is a consequence. To expose yourself to public scrutiny can be a real blow to your ego. However having people looking who are not vested in my actions, will see things in another light that I may not have and offer a suggestion or an insight. I believe this is what this forum is about, traders helping traders.
My biggest problem is that I try to make everything better. Ichimoku has been around fot over 70 years. How can I improve upon that? I tried. I changed time frames, ichimoku settings, ways to enter a trade, trade management, and anything else you can possibly adjust.
I was very reluctant to start a journal. That is why I have never done so in the past. I never thought I had anything of value to offer. The other reason is that I did not want people to see what I was doing, it is very hard to be criticiized.
I will keep making journal entries. Going back and reviewing my trades helped me see things that I did not when I was in the heat of the moment. I would suggest to anyone to keep a journal, documenting your trades is for you and you only. Do not let the fact that it is done publicly deter you.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
Made two trades today with ichimoku. The first price was above the cloud and closed above the kijun indicating a continuation of the trend. You can see price finding support on top of the cloud.
The second trade was a continuation. + 20 pips total
I was on vacation for the past 10 days, no trading.
Keep things as simple as possible, but no simplier. Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it to an eight year old it's to complicated
I just wanted to share my experiences with the Ichimoku, and see what comments are returned. It has made a big difference keeping me out of bad trades.
I am a new adopter of Ichimoku. I too started with additional indicators (MACD in particular), but things got better when I removed them (too laggy to be useful). I have tried HA candles & price bars, but they remove Price Action from the equation.
I have been using the Ichimoku to provide my setups, and looking to PA to provide the trigger. The I look to PA again to provide my exit triggers at resistance points provided by the Ichimoku, Trend Lines, or psychological numbers.
Everything I have read & experienced says don't change something that works, so I use the Ichimoku with the default settings. I have been trading a demo Forex account on the D/4H/1H, and sometimes use the 5M to confirm my exits.
I look forward to your comments as well as from other Ichmoku followers.
Site Administrator Swing Trader Data Scientist & DevOps
Manta, Ecuador
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Trading: Futures & Crypto
Posts: 50,092 since Jun 2009
Thanks: 32,552 given,
98,579
received
Sorry to learn about your car accident. As you may have read in my main thread, I've had a lot of back problems and pain as well for the last ~2 years.
Out of all the surgeries and procedures I've received, the thing that has helped me the most is therapeutic yoga. I hired a private instructor with just me and my wife three times a week, 90 minutes a session, and it's made all the difference.
