07/08 Day Trading FOREX

I am really late posting these, if you follow my options blog you'll know I had Internet connection problems almost the entire week, it all started on the 7th, and then went on to a total "black out" on the 8th.

I was able to trade for the morning session on the 8th, and am glad to say there were a couple of positive trades.

1) Short GBP/USD: Took this trade in 2-steps, I entered the first 1/2 when the market took over the most recent low, bouncing from the Moving Averages. As for the 2nd 1/2, the entry was at the break of the #2. GBP didn't make it to the target, and I was quick to exit when I noticed the other currency pairs were in a reversal mode.

2) Short USD/CHF: I took this reversal pattern when it broke the #2 position in the chart, this was a fast trade and went straight to the target. Notice how clear is the break of the lower trend-line.

07/07 FOREX Market's condition

Just got an email from my trading coach and friend Wally, here is the current state of affairs in the EUR/USD currency pair. As you can see, we're trading a very small range-bound market. This helps explain why many trades are simply not going and why reversals are working better than break-outs.

07/07 Day trading FOREX

I had two trades Today, they both went to the expected direction and price levels. I am still working on fine tuning my stop strategy, so the first trade got stopped out but a fraction of a pip before moving on to the target. The second trade didn't hit the limit, but when it reverted I got out with just -2 pips thanks to moving and adjusting the stop.

1) Short GBP/USD: Caught this trend-reversal, see how price broke down my lower trend-line, I waited for the retracement and entered in a lower low. Unfortunatelly GBP oscilated around my entry price and as it turns out, I moved my stop too close to the fire, so it got hit right before price moved to the limit.

2) Long AUD/USD: Got Long when AUD broke out of this consolidation wedge. The trade was in the direction of the trend and I expected it to make closer to the previou's high. It missed my limit and hit the stop. Fortunatelly I had already cut the stop to 1/3 of its original size.

07/06 Day Trading FOREX

Today we were trading in a tight consolidating channel for 2 hours. There were a few moves, but very small and quick in nature. No major break-out.

I traded 4 set-ups, 1 win and 3 losses. Out of the 3 losses, the market ended up moving in the direction I was expecting 2 times, but it first hit my stop. Now that I am working on adjusting my stops, this had to happen, right? The market has really interesting ways to test your convictions.

1) Short EUR/USD: Took this sell out of the top of the channel, there was room to the down-side. The market basically went flat and oscilated up and down, hitting my stop before going down.


2) Short USD/CHF: Took this sell on a down-side break of my trend-lines, there was some oscilation, no major heat, it made the target as expected.

3) Long GBP/USD: This one I made a mistake: Closed the position based on P&L only, My initial stop was 8 pips, however, when I entered the trade, I got filled a few pips up (3 to be exact) and when the market did a small oscilation, I closed the trade. Propper execution would be keepign the stop at the low of the entry candle.

4) Long AUD/USD: Took this with an entry order, it didn't fulfill expectations, I adjusted my stop and exited the trade with 1/2 the risk.

07/02 Performance Review & Improvements

Following the suggestion so briliantly put by Brett Steenbarger on his blog, I decided to do a performance review of all my day trading activities in the FOREX market. I know there is room for improvement and this review is mostly to find where to improve. I am going to look over my trades day by day, scanning for what I can do to improve my performance.

This may very well be a great excercise for the end of the week, but since it is my first time, it may take longer, but should run smoother if I do it weekly.

After preforming the review, I noticed improvements in the trades and set-ups I'm looking for, torwards the end of this 2-weeks period I am already using trend-lines, candle patterns and Fibonacci to determine my entries, price targets and stops.

I believe there is improvement to be made on my exit strategy. This is an age old debate for me, since I started trading FOREX. Some say it makes sense to take 3 to 4 pips, others (myself included) preffer to use a price target. I have the price targets in place, and I will maintain that, what I think needs improvement is consistency in managing the stops. Once the price goes my way, I can adjust the stop and therefore protect my capital. This will be my one single goal to improve upon next week.

I took a total of 40 trades, 24 wins, 16 losses. My win-average is 60%. On this ratio, a 1:1 risk:reward set-up will bring me a profitable week. This ratio can be improved if I manage my stops once the trade moves my way.

07/02 Day Trading FOREX: 2 trades, 2 wins (1-2-3 + confirmations)
07/01 Day Trading Forex: 2 trades, 2 losses (didn't move stops)
06/30 Day Trading FOREX: 2 trades, 2 wins (moved stop)
06/29 Day Trading FOREX: 3 trades, 1 win, 2 losses (didn't move stops)
06/26 Day Trading FOREX: 1 trade, 1 win (traded to limit)
06/25 Day Trading - Forex: 1 trade, 1 win (traded to the limit)
06/24 Intra-day trades: 2 trades, 1 win, 1 loss (managed stops, traded to limit)
06/23 Intra-day trades: 6 trades, 2 wins, 4 losses (exit too soon on wins, didn't ajust stop on losses)
06/22 Intra-day trades: 2 trades, 2 wins (more organized, 1 trade 1/2 way to target)
06/19 Bearish Engulfing bonanza: 2 trades, 1 win, 1 losses (no limit, missed a bunch of set-ups)
06/18 The "Dark cloud day": 11 trades, 6 wins, 5 losses (some chasing, fixed stops, no limit)
06/17 FOREX Trades: 6 trades, 5 wins, 1 loss (no limit, fixed stops)

07/02 Day Trading FOREX

Took two trades Today, one prior and one before the Unemployment numbers. They both worked fine. I followed the 1-2-3 pattern with confirmations such as a retracement, the break of a short-term trend-line and space to reach the fibonacci gap (aka Fibonacci projection).

1) Short EUR/USD: Took the trade once it broke the #2 on the a 1-2-3 pattern, notice there was a retracement and the trade confirmed a break of the short-term 5-Minute trendline. Also, there was room (i.e. the fibonacci gap was inside the previous low point for the day).

2) Short AUD/USD: Took this trade right after the US unemployment numbers came out, notice how the 1-2-3 is confirmed by a break of the trend-line (green line) and it had room before the next decent support at 7950. I exited with half of my target when price bounced at 7950. Notice that price eventually made it to the target. Since this was an announcement trade, I didn't want to risk a sharp reversal blowing through my stop.

07/01 Day Trading Forex

Was not at my best Today, I took two trades and made mistakes on both of them. I plan on reviewing all my trades this week to identify what needs improvement on my part.

1) Short GBP/USD:-- My worst trade this week -- One of the key issues on my first trade was the fact I wasn't clear at that point on what I was looking for. Ended up chasing price action to the down-side, got whipsawed. Notice this was a trade in the middle of the range, something to avoid in the future
2) Short GBP/USD: On the second trade, I was already looking for a sell at the top of the range, the trade went my way (1/2 of the target) but bounced right back up and hit my stop. I failed to update the stop and move it lower to protect my capital. Got frozen on my idea instead of being flexible and follow price.