What are the best Best Position Sizing Calculator & Trading Journal S/W out there?.
Many Thanks
Take a look on [B]forex4noobs[/B] website for an excellent [B]free[/B] journal. It really is very good once you get it going.
Juicyt
google adaptrade
PositionSizer uses % risk model for on screen order entry.
You actually trade right from the chart. The order entry process is as follows.
You click on the entry price, then stop price, and then trade direction and based on the size of your stop the add-on gives your proper position size with risk reward ratios. If you like what you see you click Trade Position button and the order is entered to the broker. It is a bracket order so when you get filled on entry your stop and profit targets are placed automatically.
The main reason I bought was because it gives you your pip values on screen and does all the currency conversion if your account is not in USD. Mine is in GBP so my position size is based on 1% of my balance in GBP and the onscreen numbers give me risk in GBP. This is a lifesaver because the contracts are in dollars for FOREX and every time I need to convert my risk per contract into GBP from USD before I can get a proper position size.
I hope this helps. The add on is only for NinjaTrader and eSignal so if you do not have them then you are out of luck. GOOGLE PositionSizer to find them.
The Pip Thief
RISK = POSITION SIZE * STOP LOSS.
The consensus is to risk no more than 2% of your account balance per trade. It would take 50 consecutive losses to blow the account. I wouldn’t bother reading trading journals. It is the same old regurgitated stuff that causes 95% of traders to lose. Your time would be better spent reading the work of Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
I made a simple onscreen risk display:
xOPEN.zip (4.87 KB)
This is really a personal decision on what you can accept as draw downs. Here is a trade from this morning on the GBPUSD. This trade risked 1% and brought in 23% and it gave the opportunity to scale in as well.
I ofter lose many trades straight and then get one like this 23%. I cannot handle risking 2% personally. I get to scared when I have a losing streak of 5 or more and I was risking 2% then I would freak, but that is just me!
You can still make big money risking a little. This could be discussed for hours but it all comes down to every trader making himself comfortable with their system and tolerance for risk.
Check out the chart using 1% this morning. Pretty cool.
The Pip Thief
Incredible. Two more ABC patterns this morning. I did not get in them because I was sleeping. Who created us to sleep anyway.:rolleyes:
I sized the position up for a GBP account but the risk reward would stay the same in any base account currency.
This one gave another offer to scale in.
Check out the pick.
The Pip Thief
Here is another example of proper position sizing with a different system. This is an inside low range bar system. If ATR is for red for short. That means we look for short trades. Now if a bar with a low range appears which are color pink we look to see if it is inside the previous bar. If yes and the low is broken then we enter short and follow the ATR stop. If the bars high is broken then the signal is canceled.
Check out the photo to understand more. One thing to remember is that the smaller your bar, the smaller your stop, which in turn gives you much more profit on a smaller move.
I have to state the disadvantage. You will get stopped out more but I find it well worth it when you get in for 9 pips and the market falls 150 pips. With a win rate in the 40 % range you can still make money.
If you were to have gotten in on this trade you would be out with a 7% profit in less than an hour.
Look at the pink inside bar just before the entry bar. Not taken because the ATR was blue and the inside bar broke to the short side.
Again it is the money management side of the business that makes all the difference. I was able show how to size right up to your intended % risk. This is important to keep all losses the same since it is the only thing we can quantify in trading.
Put another way. You just paid for your next 7 losses.
The second photo is a 2 minute chart. Just ask yourself how you would have trade this set-up and if your position sizing would have resulted in the same 13R win in 2 hours. 99 pound risked and 1300 reward. This is trading. Now you just paid for 13 next losses. Maybe you can start to risk 2% for the next couple of trades.
The Pip Thief
You are correct that a trader must be comfortable when trading and you can make a nice return with a small risk.
What are you doing that would cause you to lose 5 times in a row? 
I ask myself the same question all the time xtraction. Believe me:eek:. The reality of trading is that it does happen or at least my reality. I posted a loss below. I am not even close to being a perfect trader but I must say that position sizing and PositionSizer in general have saved my life.
More inside bar trades with low range. The first is a loss for 1R and second makes it all back and then some. Check out the pics. If you are using proper position sizing with this kind of set up then the risk reward can be nice and since you are following with a trailing stop your risk is free quite nicely in timely manner. In the second pic your risk was cleared in 2 minutes.
It is all about risk management. You need to protect what is yours in order to be alive for the big ones. These are what really grow your account. The plus 20R trades. They are rare but do happen. 6-10R can happen quite often if you can get in with a 10 pip stop. Then the market only needs to move 60 points and you are up 6R. In this case you only need to win 18 out of 100 to break even. 28 out 100 and you are up 60%.
I showed at the bottom the pip value in GBP. Having your risk in your base currency is vital to success. There is a 60% difference in how much you can buy between the pound and dollar. That is a big error. Instead of risking 1% you are actually risk 1.6% or .4% depending on the conversion.
The Pip Thief
Do not chase trades. This is so much easier when you use PositionSizer. I think most people do not understand Position Sizing. They think it is for risk management. Yes it is for risk management, but mainly it is to allow you to buy much more with the same amount of $ Risk.
When you start to see this you will become more patient and not chase trades. WHY? Because you will see that getting in at a latter time can actually make you more money.
Check out the Photos and Calm down and do not chase trades. Just use Position Size to your advantage! The first Pic would make 241 at target and the second 402 GBP.
This trade is actually winning.
The Pip Thief
Small stop big reward. I lost 2 before this for 1% each. If this one hits then it paid for these two and up 5%.
The risk was cleared on this trade several minutes after getting into the position.
Look at photo.
The Pip Thief
Update, almost there. 27 Minutes in! I am going to manage the trade ATR stop on a 2 minute chart now to let the trade breath but protect my profits.
The Pip Thief
Added 66000 to my position. Notice how my average price is still lower then where my trailing stop is. This is important because you never want to turn a winning position into a loser. Lets see if this one hits. Now using a 2 minute chart for the to manage the trade.
The Pip Thief
Almost there! See Pic. If this works out you will have seen an excellent way to manage a trade and scale into it without hurting yourself.
The Pip thief
