xXTrizzleXx's Journal [AMENDED]

DNA Trade 2

My second trade, is a [B]LONG[/B] trade on the [B]USD/JPY[/B]. Entry was made at [B]88.24[/B] using a one candle CBL, drawn from the candle indicated by the yellow arrow. The stop-loss was set at [B]87.99[/B] according to my Trade Plan. My first profit target is the middle Bollinger Band, where I will close 1 out of my 3 trade contracts.

Mental State at the time of initiation: Calm :slight_smile:

The trade hit all desired profit targets, and was overall a good trade! :slight_smile:

[B]Trade Summary[/B]
Pair: [B]USD/JPY[/B]
Direction: [B]LONG[/B]
Entry Price: [B]88.24[/B]
Take Profit Targets: [B]88.55, 88.96, 88.64[/B]
Stop-Loss Values: [B]87.99[/B]
Overall Outcome: +143 pips (all 3 contracts); +3.7%

How did your first trade go?

DNA Trade 3

My third trade, is a [B]SHORT[/B] trade on the [B]AUD/USD[/B]. Entry was made at [B]0.8791[/B] using a one candle CBL, drawn from the candle indicated by the yellow arrow. The stop-loss was set at [B]0.8857[/B] according to my Trade Plan. My first profit target is the middle Bollinger Band, where I will close 1 out of my 3 trade contracts.

Mental State at the time of initiation: Slightly Annoyed :o

The trade was stopped out, but I shall re-enter once again where it is possible. :slight_smile:

[B]Trade Summary[/B]
Pair: [B]AUD/USD[/B]
Direction: [B]SHORT[/B]
Entry Price: [B]0.8791[/B]
Take Profit Targets: [B]N/A[/B]
Stop-Loss Values: [B]0.8857[/B]
Overall Outcome: -198 pips (all 3 contracts); -2%

It has been updated in its respective post. It was closed at a [B]loss[/B] of 2% of the account.

Happy pipping!

Hey Trizzle,

   I'm a Noob at Forex myself currently trading on a demo account.  I'm following your journal with great interest, and I love the amount of detail you went into creating your trading plan outline. Inspires me to do the same.  Bollinger bands are something I am reading into right now.  I'll be following this journal and wish ya the best in your endeavors.  
  • PipPirate

Hi xXTrizzleXx,

Great work on the journal. :smiley: I am still trying to become confident/competent in the use of Tymenā€™s method, so I will be following you log closely. Hopefully, it will give me some insights into where I am making some mistakes. It also makes me realise that I need to be more thorough in recording the detail of my trades.

Lets hope the 2 current trades are winners!

Hey [B]PipPirate![/B] Although they are generally frowned upon, I truly believe that Bollinger Bands are among the cream of the crop of indicators! I trust hope they bring you much success, and good luck with designing your Trade Plan - [B]do not overlook this step![/B] Thanks for the encouragement! :slight_smile:

Heya [B]madpipa![/B] I hope you will be able to gain insight from any mistakes I make as well! :stuck_out_tongue: I trust that you will soon become an [B]expert[/B] in the DNA Method, and look forward to your input as the journal progresses. Looks like your good luck is paying dividends, as the [B]USD/JPY[/B] trade is unfolding quite well - the [B]AUD/USD[/B] leaves much more to desire! :stuck_out_tongue: Thanks for the encouragement!

Happy pipping!

Nice to see you analyzing you trades!
Good job mate!

Anyway, your eur usd trade, im not sure if your trade could be prevented had you add a few pips (for spread) on top of the high of your cbl entry.

From what i learnt, the trade is most likely triggered, however on your chart the high did not actually touch the cbl entry. Thatā€™s what it appears on my mt4 platform.

Perharps had you add the few pip spread to your cbl entry, you might have missed that trade and prevented a loss.

DNA Trade 4

My fourth trade, is a [B]SHORT[/B] trade on the [B]EUR/JPY[/B]. Entry was made at [B]112.86[/B] using a one candle CBL, drawn from the candle indicated by the yellow arrow. The stop-loss was set at [B]113.27[/B] according to my Trade Plan. My first profit target is the middle Bollinger Band, where I will close 1 out of my 3 trade contracts.

Mental State at the time of initiation: A tad hasty :stuck_out_tongue:

The trade hit TP 1 and TP 2, and had to be closed near TP 3 due to the Friday Market Close.

[B]Trade Summary[/B]
Pair: [B]EUR/JPY[/B]
Direction: [B]SHORT[/B]
Entry Price: [B]112.86[/B]
Take Profit Targets: [B]112.00; 111.92; 112.34[/B]
Stop-Loss Values: [B]113.27[/B]
Overall Outcome: +232 pips (all 3 contracts); +3.9%

DNA Trade 5

My fifth trade, is a [B]SHORT[/B] trade on the [B]EUR/USD[/B]. Entry was made at [B]1.2691[/B] using a one candle CBL, but the [I]candle indicated by the yellow arrow is erroneous[/I]. The correct CBL candle is the one just after the very large bull candle. The stop-loss was set at [B]1.2738[/B] according to my Trade Plan. My first profit target is the middle Bollinger Band, where I will close 1 out of my 3 trade contracts.

Mental State at the time of initiation: Asleep!

The trade was stopped out, but I shall re-enter once again where it is possible :).

[B]Trade Summary[/B]
Pair: [B]EUR/USD[/B]
Direction: [B]SHORT[/B]
Entry Price: [B]1.2691[/B]
Take Profit Targets: [B]N/A[/B]
Stop-Loss Values: [B]1.2738[/B]
Overall Outcome: -141 pips (all 3 contracts); -2%

Hey there [B]fartist[/B]! I used to make special provisions for this before, and eventually I found out that it was not really worth it. Unfortunately even adding a few pips would not have saved me from the rest of this trade! :o If you are referring to DNA Trade 1, the CBL entry is the line entitled [B]ā€œBuyā€[/B], not the one entitled [B]ā€œSell Limitā€[/B] - the candle did penetrate that line, thus signaling entry.

Happy pipping!

DNA Trade 6

My sixth trade, is a [B]LONG[/B] trade on the [B]EUR/GBP[/B]. Entry was made at [B]0.8354[/B] using a one candle CBL, indicated by the yellow arrow. The stop-loss was set at [B]0.8312[/B] according to my Trade Plan. My first profit target is the middle Bollinger Band, where I will close 1 out of my 3 trade contracts.

Mental State at the time of initiation: A tad hasty!

The trade was stopped out, but for all three Take Profit Targets. :slight_smile:

[B]Trade Summary[/B]
Pair: [B]EUR/GBP[/B]
Direction: [B]LONG[/B]
Entry Price: [B]0.8354[/B]
Take Profit Targets: [B]0.8368; 0.8397; 0.8360[/B]
Stop-Loss Values: [B]0.8312[/B]
Overall Outcome: +63 pips (all 3 contracts); +1%

Hey Trizzle, nice to see that youā€™ve updated your journal! Its always one of my favourite reads on the forum. Keep it up!

Just curious, what was the rationale for taking DNA trade 5? To my eyes, it does not look like the PA has reached area P yet (then again I suck at identifying P unless its fits the textbook chart).

Interestingly, while I trade the H1 TF because Iā€™m hoping to get more entries, over the last week I realise that there may not be a strong correlation between shorter timeframes and increased number of setups. Sometimes the charts are just too confusing to discern a pattern. To add on to that, trading the H1 means Iā€™d be staring at the screen almost all day, which is rather tiring. Maybe I should consider moving to a larger TF. Was this your experience before too, Trizzle?

Ah icic thanks for sharing!

Good questions, Iā€™d like to hear the response as well.
Iā€™ll give my 2 cents - and wait to see what others have to say.
DNA trade 5 I believe Point P was way back there, 1.2640 there was two candles to pass this point like 30+ (36 candles I think) candles back , Iā€™d think I would have labeled that point P, from that point forward, there isnā€™t a bubble nor a sausage, so its in a tradeable range?

Your comment on a lower time frame vs. more entries - sort of like you , I think I am still confused with ā€˜validā€™ entries - so at this point - it doesnā€™t matter if there is more of them, if we/me canā€™t recognize them.
I am following in Trizzle steps - by trading ONLY the 4 hr at the moment, and I am happy to announce that three of 5 I have matched not to the pip, but close enough to call the ā€˜sameā€™ tradeā€™. And at the moment, I have the belief that if I master the 4 hr - there will be nothing futher to check out- Iā€™ll be busy enough managing winning trades on the 4 hr charts - why cause more stress on a lower time frame.

Hey PerchTird, appreciate your inputs. If you were referring to Trizzleā€™s 2nd chart for DNA Trade 5, then yes I believe I see the ā€˜area Pā€™ you are referring to (36 candles back from the latest in the chart). However, my concern is that the PA is hitting the upper BB instead of the lower BB. If you refer to the first page of this thread, Trizzle posted some examples that Tymen discussed earlier and for a bubble like this, I assumed that area P is strictly at the lower BB. Not sure if Iā€™m clear, but do check out the diagrams. What Iā€™m rather fuzzy about is if the rules for determining area P have no room for deviation (i.e area P can be either the upper or lower BB). In any case, I would have skipped this trade altogether.

And about timeframes, yes I have to agree that not being able to properly identify setups may have cost me some entries. But I suppose my main grouse is having to watch the charts like a hawk all day, whereas if I were to trade the H4 or higher, I would not need to be stuck in front of the screen so often. Another problem is that by trading the H1, I may miss certain entries while Iā€™m asleep. I assume that moving to a higher timeframe should reduce this issue somewhat (we can only sleep so much). Iā€™m also not sure if there is a relation between lower timeframes and increased entries, maybe someone else can comment on this?

That said, my last couple of trades on the H1 have been going well. :slight_smile:

Hey guys, thanks for the interest, comments and suggestions so far! Before we begin, I would like to particularly address [B]DNA Trade 5[/B] and [B]Point P.[/B]

[I][B]Point P,[/B] is the point where the Price Action hits the [B]opposite Bollinger Band[/B] from which it was walking during a Sausage / Bubble.[/I]

I see that you all have successfully identified [B]the first Point P,[/B] which is about 36 candles behind. However, after this Point P, we see the Price Action forms a Bollinger Band Sausage, until [B]a second Point P[/B] is reached - this one being the (almost) doji candle which hits the Lower Bollinger Band.

[B]After Point P,[/B] the Price Action can sometimes bounce around from Bollinger Band to Bollinger Band, after long sausage/bubble moves. Since I missed taking an entry at [B]the second Point P[/B] (the almost doji candle). I tried to enter [B]SHORT[/B] when the Price Action hit the Upper Bollinger Band, but unfortunately, the trade was stopped out. If you look at a 4H chart of the EUR/USD, you can see the wonderful trade that we could have had if only we had entered at [B]the second Point P.[/B] It is at this point that sleeping makes you a bit disappointed! :stuck_out_tongue:

[I]Also I would like to note that the entry candle in that diagram is erroneous, the correct entry candle is a few candles back![/I]

I know many of you have heard about about [B]indicator paralysis,[/B] but as of late, I have been suffering from [B]entry-opportunity paralysis![/B] What I am seeing is that because I have so many charts open, as soon as I scour through them, I often find a few opportunities happening simultaneously. I then rush to perform my calculations such as candle body-size, position sizing and whatnot, and then quickly try to enter the trades. Sometimes this results in erroneous position sizing, or incorrect entry opportunities, and this would be detrimental to a successful trading strategy.

Initially, just like [B]TimberWolfMK2,[/B] I wanted to begin on 1HR time frames, as these would present me with way more opportunities! However, it would result in me being glued to my screen, which is something I would not want. In addition, I find Price Action on the lower Time Frames to be more unpredictable, and more susceptible to spikes such as News Reports. I thought that the 4HR time frame, would produce fewer, high-quality entries, but it [I]still[/I] enables me to get several trades a day, and I would still be somewhat occupied by the screen.

I thus have two options - switch to a 12 Hour Time Frame, or reduce the number of pairs I trade. I am thinking of seriously switching to the former, because the Price Action on the 12 Hour is less unpredictable, and I would suffer from less [B]ā€œentry-opportunity paralysisā€[/B]. My trades would be patiently calculated and then executed, as I wait for Price Action to approach my Outer Bollinger Bands. :slight_smile: As an advantage, I would not have to be glued to my computer screen, which is important for me as I will not have loads of free time to dedicate to Forex, since I will be starting University in the fall. I will also suffer from fewer missed entries - and the feeling of missing an entry and then watching a trade rocket off in your intended direction, is one which I have recently experienced, and although I know there will be more trades around the corner, it is something I inherently do not like.

The only disadvantage I can see is that there will be a reduced number of entries, but this is something I am willing to accept, as I believe that it will pay dividends at the end of the day. Additionally, if the entries are too far and few between, I can simply increase the number of pairs I trade, until I find that optimal combination!

However I am not advocating that trading on the 1 Hour Time frame or lower time frames is not worthwhile - if you have the time, you can make [B]bundles[/B] on these time frames, by virtue of the [B]huge[/B] number of entries which exist intra-day. However, it is something I cannot do psychologically, and if one cannot execute his/her Trade Plan in psychological comfort, then the results will be mediocre at best.

[U]Thus I am waiting for DNA Trade 4 to be completed, before I make the move to a 12 Hour Time Frame.[/U]

Hope this helps!

Happy pipping!

Hey Trizzle, good to see that your trading plan is always evolving!

Regarding the definition of point P,
[I]Point P, is the point where the Price Action hits the opposite Bollinger Band from which it was walking during a Sausage / Bubble[/I]
Wouldnā€™t it mean that in the case of DNA Trade 5, the first point P should be at the lower BB since the PA was walking the upper BB? In your chart, the first point P identified by you was an area where PA had broken through the upper BB. Not sure if my understanding is accurate, but I tend to encounter quite a number of these confusing scenarios.

Iā€™m also heartened to see that youā€™ve experienced the same concerns trading lower TFs as I do. I look at a number of pairs at once too, and my solution for a scenario when setups occur on multiple pairs is just to simply trade the one pair that I feel most comfortable with. Iā€™m surprised that you can find several trades a day using the 4H timeframe, Iā€™m lucky if I can spot a good entry once a day using the 1H.

Iā€™m also familiar with the feeling of watching a missed trade moving in the direction you were expecting (which usually happens when Iā€™m asleep or out for the day)! Its one reason why Iā€™m considering moving to the 4H timeframe. But I must say that having fewer trades on a longer timeframe need not necessarily translate to reduced profits, since the price movement tends to be larger on longer timeframes (or so Iā€™ve noticed).

All the best with your trading :slight_smile:

Hi Trizzle

You are doing the right thing by making sure that your involvement doesnā€™t demand all your time. Especially that you will starting University, you must ensure that your are not deflected from your studies. You have been very disciplined and are a great example to many of us. I wish that I could be as focused!

My thought on changing to a longer Time Frame is that, if I am correct, it will have some effect on your Money Management, unless you make changes to either your lot size or your Stop Loss position. Would this be possible with your account size?

the very best of luck.

Ken.

Hey Trizzle, this journal sure is a good idea!

Posting your journal on BabyPips is an even better idea! Since it puts you under pressure to be honest to yourself - this is something I was challenged with early on.

Great to see you being disciplined!