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I want to start my trading jounal. The reason for do it is that i learned some new concepts a year ago, more and less. Now i feel ready for journaling that with the intentions to find a consistency and see my weak areas and where i have strenght zones. I will trade using like always the jigsaw tools but i will use to a footprint chart for locate what i will identify like my WORK areas. This areas are specific zones that i will use for locate trade actions.
Trade Process:
Observe: this will be the less important step on my trading process, because is based on the tools i will use. Observe is based in to look what buyers and sellers are doing and looking at the tape and the footprint chart will be enough. In the process of observation i will keep it the simple i can, and this is why i will use only 2 charts for trading. The first one will be my footprint chart, and the other a volume profile chart. The second one will be necesary for to look at bigger time frame zones,and for to know sentiment.
Analize: This step will be the more important, because will be the base for take the trades. In this step i will analize diferent actions made it by buyers and sellers, like sellers loosing money, buyers controllling zones, rejection areas, balanced zones... and a few more. When i have clear where they are and i will be able to localize his strenght areas and his weak areas i will be ready for the next step.
Execution: Push buy or sell button. But a little more than that. In this step i will locate direction for the trade. Stop price, entry price and objective price. Regarding at a positive risk and reward, the trades that i will take need to have 1:1 in his first way, but will be focused in take a profit bigger than that. This is why the second step have the importance for give me this kind of trades.
Management: The hard step, because is based on lefting runner profits and cutting losses. i will be activily managing my losses and my profits. Risk in every trade 6 tics and managing for lose less. Actually i'm averaging 3-4 tics and want to keep it in that way. Basically the name for this journal is based on that step and want be disciplined with that. i know that consistency is based on risk management and this is why will be the strenght step for keep it up.
Pre-analysis:
Nothing special. i will avoid to do that because my trading will be a short therm trading and with the flow information that i will have looking at TS and footprint chart will be enough. Only will be looking very closely to open session for knowing sentimental direction.
Rules:
Trade what i see.
Cut losses the fast i can
Profits: no limitation, the market gives and the market takes out.
3 Losers in a day i will be out of trading
Psicological stop have more importance than material stop
Work space:
Image attached
I will start posting tomorrow. My work hours will be the american session.
I want to let you and all your readers know that in October nexusfi.com (formerly BMT) has a Trading Journal contest w/prizes. The contest runs October 1 to October 31, and the three best journals (as decided by nexusfi.com (formerly BMT) members) will receive a 150K combine from TopstepTrader.
Continuing in the tradition of encouraging journals on futures.io (formerly BMT), I am announcing a new Journal contest for October 2014.
The rules are extremely simple:
a) The contest begins October 1 and ends October 31. All decisions made …
That thread will be open for posting starting Wednesday, October 1. As the author of your journal, you need to make a post in that thread linking to your journal, and then ask users to press the "Thanks" button on that post if they want to vote for your journal to win the contest.
Members can vote for as many different journals as they want. Votes are cast in the Contest thread only, and only on the first post made by the author of the journal that contains a link to their journal. This is done so I can easily count the "Thanks Received" by author/journal, and award the three prizes.
Yesterday the open was very bearish, down from value areas (Thursday, Friday) and with a potential close gap at 53 to 45. But no sellers were present in the open with intentions to drop down. My bias was long when i saw buyers working at 58, read it in the TS.
First oportunity comes at 62.25 where the markets was cleanning area for running up. A nice volume was created for supporting this new move, but in this case don't take the trade because my stop location was inside of the cleanning area and is a location to avoid. Good contol on that. Entry point objective, and potential risk and reward bigger than 1, potential target at 68 price.
The second oportunity appears at 66 area. First the market creates a balance action and with the buy agression to it, the long opportunity was present. Objective location in price, stop and target. Risk and Reward bigger than one, first exit target at 69 area and second target exit at 75 area closing the open gap.
Follow all of my rules. Only poor profit in the close of the second contract. MFE nice because the trade was jumping with my 3 contracts up, and then close 2 at 69 and left the last one to close it in BE
Work for the next day:
Running profits. The entry long area take it was a nice area for lefting the trade working but the negative period created with agression made dificult to left trade. Looking at potential lost in my last contract i close the trade. I think i followed my rule cut losses fast i can, but maybe don't follow the rule to run profilts. Really is a confilct, but i think my decision was well, most looking at the tape and seeing sellers in an agressive mode.
i will use an specific charts for monitoring what i'm doing and what i must to do. I know that some traders are focused on metrics, but i will try to understand my psicological aspects more than my metrics. I will know them, too.
Today the open was closely to yesterday vah. This open was interesting because we don't have nothing special up from that point. Expecting buyers in the open, i saw sellers with an agressive movement down. I found an specific zone were locate sentiment in any direction. Was an area were sellers was controlling movement down, and looking closely at this area for trading.
1 Oportunity:
Long in the potential break of sand in the line sell zone. Trade with a high risk and reward ratio, expecting retest minimum yesterdays highs and 80's area.
I follow all of my rules. The previous day i fail in lefting running profits. Today i was focused in forcing my mind in do that and was happy to see that the markets proves me in that way.
Work for the next day:
Controlling emotions, like fear and confidence in the areas that i specially locate for trading. Control losses.
Today the openning was bearish, down for yesterdays VAL and near a significant support area. Really the openning was very fast and with actions related for sellers.
The only and first opportunity was in the open and looking at the break of the support zone. The analysis of this area is this one:
The entry was in a period where the market lefts a LVP and take it at 57.75. at the expected break price down.
Rules: Follow all of my rules. The less i feel was more stronger was trade what i see. Really i was trading what i was looking, but my trade seems to be more intuition, feeling than other thing. It's true than in fast markets if you don't jump fastly you can lost great opportunities speaking about location, but my entry was risky. My stop was bad located, but the trade was taked for the velocity of the movement. The execution was poor and not well executed because the entry price was at 58.25.
Work for the next day:
Impulsivity. Today the trade was more lucky than other thing. Impulsive trade is the best definition for it. See closely for that in the next trades, and control execution and analysis.
Yesterday the open was closely to wednesday's lows. This was a signal to try to find active sellers in the open. Open really choppy and the movements was very unlogical.
I don't take any trade. In the open the action was very confused. I begin to understand somenthing one and half hour later, when the market was stablishing the first zone were sellers was controlling down. In the first hour and half i see 2 failed patterns for going long and this affects me in confidence for trading.
When i start to see things the market was running fastly. The first short oppotunity was not take it because i saw buyers very active. But ok, when the market blew up them, why i didn't take the short? Really paralisis. Previous confusion, long patterns failed and buyers active, no nice cocktel to trade.
The only intentions with a limit order to take a short was in 27 area, looking that the previous pattern with sellers in control was right, i was expecting the continuation, knowing my target area was 22. Later limit order and not filled
The last oppotunity for take a long was in the lows but was discourage to take any other trade looking how i was loosing the previous short opportunities.
Really a hard day, speaking about psicology. Confusion, failed patterns, later intentions to trade, loosing opportunities.... but at the end seems that this day was like to see a nice futbol's soccer. i was not playing but looking. Tomorrow more.
Why o at Analisis and Execution? Failed looking a few actions, missed others. Late analysis for take action. Execurtion was controlled by fear and missed a few entry points.
Rules:
I feel i fail in trade what i see. I was seeing things but was the first hour affects me to loose the confidence in trading my logic. When this was reinforced i miss one short opportunity and was not able to take the last long trade.
Work for tomorrow:
Built again the confidence and looking closely to execution. Looking to feel ready psicologically to trade again, looking at volatile day with non payrol farms in front for trading tomorrow.
Like you know i'm in the contest for winning one 150k combine from topsteptrader. I have one month in front and i was thinking why not take this time to prove me if i'm able to pass it. I will simulate this same combine. if i will pass it then i think will be in your hand give a vote for try to do it with them in reality.
The methodology will be the same, only i will update like always entries and trade process, but i will add my topsteptrader stats (they are simulated )
Today the open was bullish, up from yesterday's value and highs. Tipical openning for to look at buyers pushing up. In the openning were present some sellers with interest but no with control and buyers come agressively trading up from 46. No trading opportunities clears till 55 area and when the markets was balancing up from the way up.
The first trade was take it at the lows of the balance action, expecting a continuation up. The respect of the low volume price at 52 and then the trend line up was key for understanding or expecting a new move up, not maybe the breaks at highs, but finally do it.
Today i have arribed at my first level, up in front i have 5 more. I will work on monday to arrive at the second level. The consumer trust remains in the highs i will work for keep it at this level. All of my areas of trading has been well executed and with this nothing to say. The most harder today was analisis and understanding the situation. Nice to see the patience for trade accordingly for what i was seeing. i will work on monday to be careful that the good starting don't keep overconfidence on analysis and execution.
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