Trade Journal #2

You damn right!
185.935 already.
Today I totally trade on wrong side of market, fortunately is just on demo, not real acc :8:! Still need a lot of practice!
Glad to see now you back to 1st place at FXCM contest! Good job!
By the way I think you still quite risky at the moment with 1000.00 lots of orders! Why not think about a smart strategy to hold your top position, I mean you just need to be a little more profit than your competitors then wait for their mistake. Only if they passed you on ranking table then you should take more risk to pass them again. But if 2K or 3K is not much to you or you want to play fair then just go ahead with your risk!
For your reference, your runner up competitor malchish is now 1st place at Alpari Virtual Reality contest:
Virtual Reality: Real Money from Trading on a Demo Account
Take care to a really professional contest competitor ( I think he using EA with very scalping strategy)!

You’ll get the hang of it. How long have you been trading?

For now i think 1000 lots is okay. I want to distance myself as much as possible from 2nd and 3rd while there is still time left. I don’t want to be placing bad orders and setups in the last few days just to reclaim top. Too much pressure by that time.

Wow. He earns a lot from contests. Good for him.

TRADE 69 11/24/14 06:58

Yikes!! Was kind of itchy to trade some more. Entered a short position at 185.84 with mental SL at 186.15 and TP at 185.25 for a rough 2:1 reward/risk ratio. 10:1 leverage used.


As i’ve mentioned earlier, price is potentially forming a double top pattern. Candlesticks, imo, are looking weak for the bulls. However, my entry price and timing for this trade are very poor. Was a bit impatient. Anyway, the last cs on the 1-hr chart looks like a bull exhaustion cs, may be reversing right now to the bearish side.

UPDATE 11/24/14 08:10PM EST

TP hit on all positions at an average of 185.22. Trade went against me by -21 pips so 3:1 reward/risk ratio. Another lucky trade that was pushed by JPY news. If it had been the other way around, i’d be looking at -100-pip loss. Anyway, +60 pips for me.


That’s me for today. Will be more picky for the rest of the week. 3 trades closed already and its only Monday. Got to mind the volume.

Nice pips!
xxxJ run too wildly this morning!
You may take a rest now!
For me is just a begin of work day

TRADE 70 11/25/14 07:50AM EST

Left an entry order at 185.25. It was around 4am. Mental SL at 185.52 and TP at 184.25 for a rought 4:1 reward/risk ratio. 8:1 leverage used.


Mentally, no stress yet so far. I’ve been in positive for 2 weeks now. Trying to keep neutral and not be overconfident with my trades. By now my trading mindset may not be used to seeing losses on screen. Thus i may have a hard time closing losing positions. By saying it here in my journal, it may help a bit.

UPDATE 11/25/14 11:15AM EST

Closed all positions manually at 185.37 for -12 pips. Did not like the cs formation. The bulls are pushing higher highs and lows starting with the 7am push on the H1 chart.


TRADE 71 11/25/14 11:26AM EST

Entered long on 185.35 with SL at 185.05 and TP at 186.00 for 2:1 reward/risk ratio. 10:1 leverage used. I am skeptic about entering on middle of ranges but this has good bull support that i think will retest the 186.00 area. Bears were rejected first on 184.50 area then the 184.85 area, which created a higher higher and higher low.


UPDATE 11/25/14 11:52PM EST

Sad day for me. Much stress and no profit. What’s aggravating is the fact that i closed my short positions earlier and decided to reverse bias. My short positions were only negative by -12 pips. I did not even give them space. Anyway, -41 pips for me. I also got kicked fro the 1st rank on the contest, which is another bummer.


The only thing that’s going my way is the fact that i’ve been promoted to junior member here in Babypips. Nice.

I think problem with your trading these 2 days is that GJ trapped in so narrow price then it’s impossible for you to archive 50 pips or more per day.
As you more try to archive this target, you got more stress and even got more wrong set up!
Relax on these days, do not trade and wait price gain momentum and join in, I think the best for you now!
For your FXCM competition, as my suggest to you before. You already pass malchish with more than 10.000% profit, why not stay here and wait for his mistake. Even he do not made any mistake, maybe he can not passed you.
I think smart trader do not need to trade every day!

I have been unable to record my last 3 trades due to personal reasons. I’ve been screwing up on the contest too but there is still 2 days of trading left so i’ll see if i can salvage at least top 2. Anyway, [B]trade 72[/B] was closed at -40 pips and [B]trade 73[/B] closed at breakeven. [B]Trade 74 [/B] was closed at +40 pips positive, did use too much leverage though which was not worth the risk.

[B]TRADE 75 11/27/14 10:34 AM EST[/B]

Took a short trade overnight at 185.36. Was stop hunted at 185.65 for -28 pips. I had a feeling my stop loss wasn’t safe at that area.

TRADE 76 11/27/14 10:40AM EST

Took a long trade at 185.18. SL at 184.95 and TP at 185.9 for 3:1 reward/risk ratio. 10:1 leverage used. Price was hitting the support area of the triangle formation at the H1 time frame. Short-term it looked more bearish, but i figured it may set a trap for traders who are expecting it to be a full bear reversal.


UPDATE 11/27/14 05:32PM EST

Closed all positions manually. Not liking bull’s chances here. Anyway, closed at 185.31 for +12 pips.


[B]TRADE 77 11/28/14 06:36PM EST[/B]

Took this trade overnight at 185.70 i think. SL at 185.42. Got stop hunted again overnight only for price to retrace back above my entry level. more like a gamble than a trade setup. Anyways, -28 pips for this trade.

Week 9 was a sloppy week for me. As you can see from the previous posts, i was unable to detail my trades.

One of the predominant reasons i was unable to was because i was distracted with trading my demo account in the ongoing FXCM contest. I slipped from rank 1 to rank 5 and lost half of my winnings. I was so eager to get the rank back and secure the prize money that i lost my trading mindset in the process. I scalped and scalped until the positions on my real account were left unchecked. Fortunately, my wins on the early start of the week was enough to offset the losses. So i still came out positive.

Mentally, i was stressed from Wednesday to Friday and, to be honest, until now. I am still ranked 3 and only have a day to regain the top ranks. Hopefully, this weekend will serve as a stress reliever for the week to follow.

Technique-wise, i really hate scalping. I’ll best leave it to computers. The triangle formation on the H1 of GBP/JPY was also a bit chaotic for me. I didn’t understand where to enter or exit. In the future, i’ll be more careful of this pattern.

TRADE 78 11/30/14 06:54PM EST

Took a long position at 185.57 with SL at 185.25 and TP at 186.50 for a 3:1 reward/risk ratio. 10:1 leverage used. Traded a long position after weekend gap was filled, hoping for it to act as a good enough support for price to finally break out of the 186.00 area.


UPDATE 12/1/14 10:53AM EST

The trade went positive by up to +24 pips but quickly made a sharp down move which compelled me to close it last night. -22 pips average.


Psych-wise, still bummed about not winning the FXCM contest. Trying to snap myself out of it by reading inspirational quotes and stories from successful people. It is kind of working, but there are still lapses.

TRADE 79 12/1/14 10:56AM EST

Decided to re-enter another long position at 185.38 average. Mental SL at 184.90 and TP around the 186.50 area for a rough 3:1 reward/risk ratio. I initially entered with 8 mini lots, but then added 2 mini lots at 185.97 to run with the same profit target.


Took trade based on subsequent same sized cs which offers good support at h1 chart. Also, still looking for a breakout at least up to 187.00 before price makes any sharp fall.

UPDATE 12/1/14 01:02PM EST

Decided to close all positions for +73 pips average. Price was heading towards the key resistance area again and i didn’t want to hold it for another few hours only for it to consolidate. will enter again once there is a clear signal of either a breakout or reversal.


TRADE 80 12/1/14 08:21PM EST

Long position entered at 186.24 with SL at 184.95 and TP at 187.15 for a rough 3:1 reward/risk ratio. 10:1 leverage used. Entered with anticipation of price finally breaking out to the 187.00 area. Risk/reward ratio is also decent. Candlesticks on H1 chart forming higher lows.


UPDATE 12/2/14 11:21AM EST

Trade went up overnight by +67 pips, unfortunately my tp was higher, at 187.15. Anyway, i decided to add 2 mini lots more at 185.39 with same TP. I will be moving my stop loss at 186.00.

UPDATE 12/3/14 08:13AM EST

Decided to close trade at 186.98 for +71 pips. I was aiming for 187.15 but was a bit impatient and instead closed it manually. From hindsight, it seems like the 187.15 target was possible, just was too impatient to stick to the plan.


Note to self: Leave trades alone and let them reach potential

TRADE 81 12/3/14 10:03AM EST

I hate it when i leave profit on the table. I know waking up early is good for many traders, but for me it has often become a detriment. Instead of letting my trades ride to their intended profit targets, i close them manually only for it to soar +70 pips more.

out of bitterness i guess, i’ve entered a short position at 187.72 with SL at 188 and TP at 187. I may close much earlier than that but for now that’s my TP. targeting at least a 2:1 reward/risk ratio. 10:1 leverage used. Still skeptic about the trade. There’s no clear signals on a trend reversal but at the same time, bulls may be overextended.


UPDATE 11:20AM EST

Still holding the short position. Mental SL hit but price has not closed at 188 yet. I am still mad about that 100 pip potential profit that was left on the table. Would’ve been enough for me to stop trading this week. Arrghghh!

UPDATE 01:07PM EST

Decided to double my total position at 188.09. If it goes down enough to break even, i’ll close all positions. I pull this desperate move rarely but it has been working.

UPDATE 01:21PM EST

Closed all positions manually for an average of -22 pips at 188.00. Could’ve gone deeper based on the forming evening star pattern.


Still up to 118!
Did your sell hit SL?
Run so crazy due to GU up

Not yet. on the next cs i’ll close.

TRADE 82 12/3/14 01:39PM EST

Decided to forget about the missed 100-pip move on GJ earlier and move on. I opened a long position at 187.94 with SL at 187.75 and TP at 188.50 for a 3:1 reward/risk ratio. 10:1 leverage used. Hoping for a continuation of the bull trend at least for a few pips more. I entered at a decent pullback cs which also happens to be forming an evening star, which could serve as a trap for eager counter-trend traders who want to short. I also like the fact that it is Wednesday, which means rollover is higher.



UPDATE 12/4/14 09:38AM EST

Closed trade manually at 187.83 for -11 pips. Didn’t like the cs formation so i pulled out. Short-term bias is bearish.


TRADE 83 12/4/14 09:46AM EST

Took a short position at 187.77 with SL at 188.00 and TP at 187.15 for a rough 3:1 reward/risk. 10:1 leverage used. I see at least 4 attempts to push higher by the bulls on the H1 time frame. The last one was at 8AM followed by a big bear cs where i entered.


UPDATE 10:44AM EST

Doubled position again at 188.09. Twice this week. Got to be more careful on entries!

UPDATE 07:42PM EST

Closed the first half of my total position at 187.50 for +28 pips. I will move my SL to breakeven at 188.09 and TP within the 187.00 area. Would push for more but considering its Friday tomorrow, don’t want to hold the position overnight and then see it consolidate.

UPDATE 12/5/14 09:04AM EST

SL was hit overnight for breakeven. Good thing i was disciplined enough to leave a stop loss. price soared past 188. have some trades open but cant record them today. using only one hand. the other one’s swollen up.might be carpal tunnel.