Shroomheads Scalping Log

Beginner Questions
62

Right my stomach has finally decided to give me some respite and I manage to get a good 8pip trade in this morning. Unfortunatley I missed the lower low and huge dropped afterwards, but oh well you canā€™t catch everything.

Unfortunatley Iā€™m only up 3 pips so far today as I lost a trade ealier, I got stopped out on a long entry on the DS1 pivot point just before my short entry (the red line on the chart). I should stick to my plan and not trade against my bias!

As this point I guess I should explain why I had a short bias, over the days Iā€™ve been ill Iā€™ve was doing some longer term analysis just to pass the time. This has actually helped a tremendous amounts as Iā€™ve been able to plan roughly where the price should react next on a longer time frame and can just scalp with a bias between two points. The chart below shows my actual screen setup, so Iā€™m not just trading with a giant M1 screen but I actually have an M3, M15, H1, H4 and Daily chart up as well.


So let me explain my short bias, if you look at the H1 chart (2nd to the left on the bottom) you can see that the 100% Fib level from the last down move was broken after a retracement from the 61.8, thatā€™s bearish. Plus then we have support becoming resistance on the M3 chart, with the fakeout as well suggesting that we canā€™t break back above 1.33133. Oh and we also started the day below the Daily Pivot Point, which is also bearish.

So this morning I was looking for shorts down to DS2 and then see what happened there, unfortunatley I only made the single trade but at least my analsysis was proven right which is a nice confidence booster. We found resistance and you can probably see a CCI long scalp using DS2 as support on the M1 chart, but typing this up means I didnā€™t take it lol.

So just so you know, there is more to scalping than just watching a single chart. Multiple charts are very useful at determining a bias or trend direction, much more so than a moving average as you can identify price levels where you might need to change your bias. Finally, I think my trading is improving :wink:

63

Hey Shroom,

I appreciate the word of warning here as this indicator definitely ate me alive on my first 10-15 trades or so. I thought it all figured out haha. Didnā€™t realize how important it is to use confirmation to filter out the bad trades. I was taking a trade as soon as I saw a hook form on just the 14 cci only to have pa whip in the other direction and have the hook turn back into a straight line haha.

I got a bit discouraged then decided to re read through this whole thread to see what I was doing wrong. Today was my first day back trading with this indicator (along with double bb, turbo cci, and trend lines) and I am VERY happy with the results!

6 winning trades, 1 loser, 1 be :slight_smile:

I was actually trading the futures market with this doing single contracts. Netted 28 ticks for $332.50 in my demo.

I am very thankful for the information provided on this thread. This is good stuff guys! Keep up the good work!

64

Thatā€™s some good work Bronzbeard, Iā€™m loving how easily people are picking up this technique. Confirmation is very important, as is having a bias (trend). Waiting for the candle to near itā€™s close is quite important, taking CCI hooks as soon as they appear doesnā€™t work as the indicator will change before the candle closes. Many people recomend waiting for the candle to get with 15-20 seconds of itā€™s close. I personally wait that long and also want the CCI to have moved at least 15 points too (hearts woodie pannel is useful for this), unless I have an order palced!

Youā€™re definatley doing great, keep up the good work.

Hereā€™s my three trades today, with the trend, using S/R to place limit orders when I saw a potential hook forming, nice and profitable at 24 pips total (8 pips TP each).

(I also called the wedge on skype too, but its not my style so I didnā€™t trade it :P)

65

Hello Shroomhead,

It was extremely interesting to read your thread from the first page and find out how youā€™re developing your trading method, but what is the most important - itā€™s that youā€™re kindly showing your method, being helpful to everyone who wants to understand it more deeply. I love unselfish peopleā€¦ =]

Iā€™m developing my trading system, trying to find what works for me, so itā€™s very useful to find fresh ideas.
Thank you very much for your contribution here to all of us !

Regards,
goras99

66

Well i hope some of this stuff is of use to you Goras. Simple trading is the key and this is definatley one of the easiest methods around, I think. :slight_smile:

Hereā€™s an update of this mornings trading session, Iā€™ve tried to add a bit more detail so you can see whatā€™s going on. Let me explain the chart, the blue rectangles are how I drew the resistance lines, orange circles show where we might change bias (long only, shorts only or ranging) and the red circles show possible entries (of which I took a few). Oh and the red cross is where i got burned making a short trade :

Firstly check the M15 and H1 charts for bias, you can see that we rebounded from a previous low (orange circle) so we are now looking for longs only until the price re-tests one of the highs.

So, on the M1 I drew up key S/R lines and waited for the price to rest on them as support on the way up. Profit targets are set at the next S/R line, or if you want to hold the trade you could set a SL at 1:1 when you reach the line and see if we can break upward. Sounds pretty easy, and it is.

Then it was just a case of placing some orders if the CCI showed us good signals that the support would hold. I wasnā€™t waiting for the hook to form, but if we were close enough to 0 or well over the 0 line then I was confident enough that the level would hold. Hint: The Turbo CCI at +/-100 is a good indicator that the resistance will hold, and it might even be pointing the other way when the price reaches the line. Get in at the swings for max profit and cheap get outs if the price doesnā€™t do what we want. Notice the hooks and oversold values formed quite nicely afterwards, so really Iā€™m anticipating the CCI now after watching it for so long lol. I got burned on the short, the price now looks like ranging for a while before we see a breakout in either direction.

Lets rack up those pips today :smiley:

67

:wink:

Recently Iā€™ve been picking the tops/bottoms of larger moves pretty well, so Iā€™m tempted to start trying to trade them or at the very least the first retracement (the one on that chart I missed was an OTE trade as ICT would put it). Perhaps then Iā€™ll try to hold the moves for longer periods of time if Iā€™m at the bottom and continue to scalp additional profits along with the move.

As you can see on that chart I called the bottom but didnt start taking some pips until the price was over 50% to its previous high, which is bad trading really. I need to be in closer to that bottom so that I can hold my position and/or lock in more pips. It would also be lower risk to trade closer to the reversal as the closer we get to the previous high the more likey we are to find supply and for the price to fall back down.

For those who are interested my account is still hovering around B.E, Iā€™m not making enough pips to cover up my mistakes! Iā€™ve got to stick to my bias for longer and keep my eye on that H1 and M15 chart. Perhaps trading some bigger moves will help yield better results. :33:

68

Just lost 3 shorts like a total moron

Quite clearly a range/consolidation broke upward so why the hell was I shorting? Thereā€™s even an obvious double bottom, talk about ignoring basic rules, ARGH! See what I mean by inconsistent, thats 1.5% of the account blown in 5 minutes! I give up!

[I][B]edit:[/B][/I] not to mention these trades completely broke my own trading rules, not a ā€œhookā€ in sight. :56:
I think I might be finished with forex trading, I canā€™t make myself profitable after months of trying. Itā€™s either back to the drawing board or be done with it I think, I canā€™t waste any more time getting nowhere!

69

Shroomhead, donā€™t give up !! You canā€™t do that because itā€™s not working temporarily. I would suggest you to make a little afternoon break and come back again with lower stress point.

What I would suggest to you: it seems you put all your focus mainly on 1 min TF. Itā€™s not good ! I know in this TF there are more action and seems to be more opportunities, but this TF for my opinion can only be used mainly for looking to enter trades. If you miss the bigger picture , at least 5 min- 15 min, 1 min can be very deceptive (all those candlesticks - dojis, hammers and other attractive patterns) and you canā€™t see stronger support/ resistance levels.

You 3 lose trades, it looks like you were looking for top or for revenge, cause all trades were executed in a row. And as you said in post, there was double bootom jus formed ! Your emotions and your ego counldā€™t let you see true, what price action is doing and you were deceived.

If youā€™re trading live, stop for some time, open demo again and try to figure out problems, make some changes.

Learning curve can be very hard, Iā€™m still learning, making a lot of mistakes but not giving up because itā€™s not working. I know those who can stay determined, passioned and fight here till last drop of blood, can succeed.

70

I do have other time frames up, but I donā€™t think I have a decent enough strategy to trade them. Too much infomation is the problem, I canā€™t keep on top of it all and it makes me uncertain about what and when to trade.

Iā€™m not giving up based on this one bad experience, but back in the thread this sort of stuff has happened to me before. I struggle for consistency, make a small profit and then blow it all up a few trades later. Frustrating is definatley the word, I canā€™t keep that emotion in check when stuff like this happens.

Looking at this from a career perspective, Iā€™ve failed to make any decent progress in months despite everything Iā€™ve tried to improve my trading. Hovering around 0 profit, despite trading live for a month simply isnā€™t good enough. My conclusion, I am the problem and perhaps trading just isnā€™t something Iā€™m good at. As with trading you just have to cut your losses, for me it might be best if I cut these wasted hours and move on. :55:

71

How much time elapsed since you first started to learn Forex? Also how much time elapsed since you started staring at creen and trade ?
Maybe the problem is that itā€™s too early to want for good results. If youā€™re on break even in your account, so itā€™s ok, youā€™re not broke, youā€™re surviving this Sparta environment! Yes, right itā€™s frustating, but imagine how would you feel when you reach consistency and profitability, wounldā€™t it pay all those painfull moments and hard challanges?

72

I first came across forex about March '11, so its been 10 months. I like a challenge, donā€™t get me wrong, but theres only so long you can keep getting punched in the face before you decide maybe its not worth the broken nose.

Itā€™s very nice of you to try and convince me to keep with it, I want to, but Iā€™ve lost all moral. 10 months later and still not able to get your head around the problem is pretty crushing, a chistmas break might regenerate my enthusiasm, but I doubt it.

73

It is the same amount of time for me. And you know what I can say: I am down on my account and still struggling every day. I had a lot of frustating moments too, there was not one time when I thought of giving it up too, but somehow I find strength to come here again and learn to win.

10 month is very very short period of time becoming good at trading. You should know that. Everyday you come infront of your screen and watch charts you get something. In first glance you get nothing, just stare at stupid price action and test various strategies, but what you could not notice, is that you interanalize all this stuff. Every day you become one tiny step better, cause your mind familiarize with thousand variations of price action and patterns. This is one of keys to become good.
I donā€™t know your life situation, maybe you need to earn money as soon as possible, itā€™s neccessary for you. Then off course, trading canā€™t be in first place of your daily activity. But if you feel traiding as career is very attracting to you, you canā€™t give up!!

I finished university, have no job, everyone is telling me that forex is nonsense and that I canā€™t succeed at it. I get a lot of pressure from my environment and you know what, this situation doesnā€™t break my spirit, cause I feel I can reach this goal, whatever it takes, and 10 month is just a beginingā€¦

74

Well then youā€™re in the same boat as me. Personally I donā€™t think 10 months is too short a time to get good at something, especially if you spend 12+ hours a day doing it, thats more than 3600 hours. Thereā€™s perseverence and then thereā€™s being blind to the truth, my results are telling me something I canā€™t ignore any longer. Iā€™ve reached the limit of my patients and any further time invested would be a waste as far as I can see it.

I wish you luck.

75

Sometimes we have too big expectations. Take a little break, it helps to recover psychologycaly. You have a strong spirit, cause you showed how determined you can be. Itā€™s very good ! I think you have proper personality for this occupation, but donā€™t rush for results. You have competence, now you need to get expertise. Look at your trading journal, crystallize every detail, there must be somithing what keeps you from better trading.

But what I hear about your experience and your attitude - You have fitting personality for Forex !! Donā€™t give up, hold up just a little more !

76

Shroomhead I have kind of similiar situation with you, Last Tuesday I lost 2000USD in 5 mins, now still struggling hard to recover that losses, but your thread have given me hope! I dunno I can continue this or not but I will try until this capital is toasted for one last time, really appreciate the effort you have made I know the frustration too, not even one times I think of crying and banging my head to wall , but still i try to convince myself to get back and go on, also in dilemma whether to continue trading or just stop at all:confused:

77

Focus on money management.

78

Hey Shroom,

You canā€™t give up! And as you can see there are many followers of this thread and We are all intrigued by the trading method you have. I have been having a tough time lately as well, but itā€™s still early in the game! I think you should take a day off, then just spend some time observing and making no trades. This has been a bit therapeutic for me. You will be surprised at the new discoveries you will make when you are just observing with a clear mind and not having your thoughts constantly clouded by how to setup the next trade.

Stay in the game shroom!

79

I think you should just take the Christmas and new years holiday off. We are going to enter thin markets for nearly a month anyway so just take a break and donā€™t even open a chart. If you has been trading the last month live it had so many holidays and waning capital flows since thanksgiving. Anyway I hope you donā€™t give up, I am barely a net profitable live trader and it took me 4 months live. You also know I am a huge advocate of taking time off and reevaluating. So spend some time with the family and just enjoy yourself. Being in a stress and grinding yourself down with negative self talk isnā€™t going to help the cause. So after the holidays in mid Jan(thatā€™s when I start seriously again) decide if you want to give it a go again. Never make a decision in an emotional state. I personally believe you can crack this as many others here who follow you.

80

Shroom,

I demoā€™d for two years and have been live for just over a year to date. Even now i am still learning, as is everyone else in this business. I have burnt two live accounts in my first three months of trading, and now I am taking it steady and slow while keeping my feet on the ground, and my eyes on the charts.

We all get kicked in the face, or punched as you put it, and itā€™s our job to take those blows and actually stand back up and get it right. You have to remember, this is a kind of market where there are no barriers to entry, anyone can start up trading Forex. Can you think of any other business where there are such low barriers to entry, because there really are non. Your only financial cost is your bank roll and your social cost is the time you put into working and analyzing. So what do I mean by this barriers to entry stuff?

Because of this, this is the most competitive business in the world, it really is. Everyone can take part when ever they want, and they can do so directly or indirectly. This is why we keep hearing of the 95% failure rate, ok?

We all work hard in this game, and only after you realise what mistakes you have made can you start to build up on that foundation. Eventually all will drop into place, and you WILL have a much better understanding.

I struggled to even break even on demo, it took me over a year to have a winning month. Now im making well in excess of 50% ROI a month. So, like you, I went from being down in the dumps, annoyed and frustrated, to actually outperforming people who have been at this longer than me.

Once you start getting positive results, this will motivate you far more than the feeling of giving up when you cant get good results. What Iā€™m trying to say is that the benefits heavily outweigh the feelings of little faith. You will see this when the time comes. Iā€™ve seen so many people give up after a year or so, people that are actually not to far from the mark, they just need that little bit more dedication.

Dedication does equal success, this is not about me but i spent each and every day at the charts for a good few hours learning and trying new ideas out. Eventually some of the positive ideas become common in all winning systems, and these are the little gold nuggets that you will find.

So get hunting, they are out there, and when you find them you will be over the moon my friend.

81

How many months did you spend with study the basics? How many months did you spend looking for systems one after another? Subtract those from your 10 months. How many left?

How many months did you spend to study money management and trading psychology?

You started your thread in september. Your psychical learning just has began :slight_smile:

I am very grateful because I was reading your trading log and I took the idea to start my own.

These words were inspiring me so much:
"[I]Yeah that seems to be the case, Iā€™ve certainly felt a lot more pressure with the knowledge that my results are up for everyone to see. But on a positive note if I was using real money I would have a similarly stressful incentive to get the account to perform at such a high level. If I can build the account up under this level of stress then I should be better prepared for the pressure of live trading.
[/I]
[I]I know that the method is solid as I traded it well for over a month in a pressure free environment. All I have to do now is master the confidence and psychology when under pressure. I guess time will tell if I can cope[/I]"

ā€œ[I]Plus I do intend to do this full time, so waiting around is not a problem for me.[/I]ā€

Read more: 301 Moved Permanently

I am very sorry Sir. You must not quit. :slight_smile: Go to the gym take a boxing bag and unleash your anger and frustration. I want to see you back with clear mind and refreshed strenght of will.

Best Regards