Welcome to NexusFi: the best trading community on the planet, with over 150,000 members Sign Up Now for Free
Genuine reviews from real traders, not fake reviews from stealth vendors
Quality education from leading professional traders
We are a friendly, helpful, and positive community
We do not tolerate rude behavior, trolling, or vendors advertising in posts
We are here to help, just let us know what you need
You'll need to register in order to view the content of the threads and start contributing to our community. It's free for basic access, or support us by becoming an Elite Member -- see if you qualify for a discount below.
-- Big Mike, Site Administrator
(If you already have an account, login at the top of the page)
Hello everyone. Apologies for the length of this post..
About me
Been learning for the past 2.5 years now and have finally gone to a live account as of February 2017 after doubling a demo account twice in the second two quarters of 2016.
Trading style
I'm a mixture of a swing/breakout/momentum trader. I used to be completely technical but now, however, tend to use fundamental analysis to create my own sentiment, using technical analysis to then define my entry. I then have two 'trend-catching' exit strategies that aim to keep me in the trade until they tell me to close.
I use standard candlestick charts, often with 2 EMA's (10, 20), and also heiken ashi candles for identifying trend momentum. I use candlestick patterns (hammers, engulfing, inside bar etc) draw patterns (wedges, channels, flags), and am aware of S/R levels, but don't often trade from them.
I don't like being in the red, so my losses are small, and using stop orders means I've often avoided losing money from not having my order triggered if the trade goes the opposite way. I tend to aim for at least a 2:1 reward:risk ratio, however, in times of strong trend I will hold until momentum slows or my strategy tells me to sell.
Performance
As stated above, I doubled two demo accounts. Yes, they were small demo accounts. Why? Because my learning process is in four stages:
1. Large demo account.. if consistently profitable, then;
2. Small demo account.. the purpose here is to concentrate on the method. $10,000 is a lot of money to me right now, however, it's barely anything on a large account, so by dropping the demo account to a measly $1,000 it eliminates the monetary element and forces me to focus on the method. If I can consistently grow that small account (no matter how fast) then;
3. Small LIVE account.. this is where I currently am. Same as step 2 but this time live. Focusing on the method, rather than the money. The purpose here is to maintain that mentality whilst overcoming the psychological factors arising from using real funds. If still consistently profitable then;
4. Deposit x amount of money each paycheck (I work full-time) until account and position sizing is large enough that the profits start looking good from a monetary point of view.
Since going live I've noticed a drop in performance – I'm guessing from the psychological issues of using real funds. However, I have improved the past 2 weeks, meaning that I'm overcoming these issues and starting to trade more 'mechanically'.
Platform and broker
I use MT4 with Pepperstone.
Purpose of this journal
Pretty much every forum or book I read, and successful trader I talk to, recommends a trading journal. So, better listen to those who know what they're talking about, right?
Please keep in mind that I'm still rookie, so I will without a doubt make mistakes. I would appreciate positive support and please keep any negative criticisms/mockery to yourself. Everyone starts somewhere and this is simply me documenting the progress of my journey.
I welcome any advice / comments / tips / tricks you have as what may be simple to you, could be eye-opening for me.
I hope you enjoy my journal.
Bring on profitability!
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
We all know that whilst everyone is watching Trump, the real issues at hand are the Euro.
The head of a money management firm that I regularly network with even thinks that by the end of 2017 there will be no such thing as a "euro" anymore.. which I find interesting.
Nonetheless, I found a triple-banger technical setup on the EURGBP.
The above image is of the monthly. As you can see from 1, there is a strong wick, followed by a very strong bearish candle at 2. IMO number 3 shows a small pullback, again with a large upper candle suggesting strong selling.
Dropping down to the weekly, a possible change in trend? There was a Lower High formed and consolidation.
Dropping down to daily, a bearish doji formed at the intersection of both upper and lower wedge lines, as well as the horizontal resistance line.
Looking for an entry I dropped down to the 4hr to which I see a strong bearish candle, followed by consolidation. My expectation is a breakout below, initial target where the T1 line is.
XJO
Looking at the daily I can see we broke a resistance level, followed by a small pullback consisting of bullish candles.
Dropping down to 4hr, I can see a clear trend for the pullback. My thinking is to wait for a break of the upper resistance line.
For this trade I will most likely use Heiken Ashi for entry and exit. Currently the last candle is red so no trade will be taken until the first green candle of size, combined with a break of the upper resistance line mentioned above.
I'm not normally one to chase an instrument that's already moved tremendously.. however, I spotted this sweet maribozu setup on the NAS100 weekly chart.
Looking for an entry, I've placed a buy order above the consolidation currently happening on the 4hr. If it breaks up then whoohoo, if it breaks down then hopefully my trade wasn't triggered..
Because of a small account I can only afford to place one standard lot. Admittedly this is a large position for my current account size.. but this is what learning is all about. I never put more than I'm willing to lose into my trading account until I can become consistently profitable.
