Caught my first 100+ pip move today!
Felt pretty good, even if its demo pips 
Rez
Congrats! Now be certain to let that good feeling go away before you start looking for other opportunities. You don’t want it tainting your analysis and judgment.
Wise words StoneColdMichael, I will forget it ever happened and try and apply the same procedure for the next one.
I’ve begun looking at only the daily and 4hr charts, possibly using the 1hr for entries.
Naked charts, check the trend, and watch for candlestick setups at S/R levels.
Before, I was mostly using the 1hr chart to look for setups and 15min for entries, because I wanted to see the results of my theories quickly, but I find I can rely on the higher timeframes much better.
Plus I don’t have to spend the whole day scouring charts for setups, just once in the morning, once at lunchtime, and at the end of the day, which means I can focus on the day job!
Rez
That is the worst that can happen toy you, begginers luck. Sorry but you had just luck. Get used to the opposite happens over and over.
Fear not Mr Gone, I’ve seen plenty of my demo trades go the wrong way since August last year.
I’m well aware the market can go the other way, and back again, but on this particular occasion, I used what I’ve learnt so far and it worked
You do need to be wary when applying certain strategies on different time frames. As you drop below 4 hr charts, there tends to be more noise and less consistent signals. That’s just because since it’s a smaller length of time, the information that is aggregated contains fewer traders. So if you have a pin bar that forms on a 15 minute chart, it doesn’t have the same kind of strength that a pin bar that forms on the daily would have.
As such- testing strategies only works for the respective time frames. If you test on a 15 minute chart that really isn’t representative of results you’ll get on a daily chart. Traders tend to pick a primary time frame and stick to it.
By all means, take some time to enjoy your win and give yourself a pat on the back. Just don’t let it affect your next decision is all. One advice point I’ve seen thrown around a lot is to wait one day after a successful or failed trade to let that emotion get out of you before looking for more opportunities. (Obviously this doesn’t work for EVERY trader.)
It sounds like you’re price action trading which a lot of people do; including myself. I check charts after NY close and trade primarily off of dailies. It’s a solid strategy and approach.
You also don’t want to fall into the mentality of focusing on pips. Focus on money instead. If you had to risk 100 dollars to make 100 dollars… that’s not a good risk to reward. So, saying you took 100 pips looks great at face value; but what did you risk to get it? 50-75 pips would be acceptable-ish.
These are traps you don’t want to fall into as you’re working on mastering your strategy and becoming profitable.
Thanks for your reply and advice StoneColdMichael,
I hear what you are saying about the noise on the lower timeframes. I’ve only recently learnt to be patient enough to watch the daily and 4hr, but it is so much more relaxing! Glad I’ve made the switch.
Regarding risk/reward, I’m looking at what the structure of the charts has to offer, and basing stops and targets on the most likely support and resistance, +/- a few pips. I won’t enter for less than 1:2.
On that last trade the stop was initially 20pips, and target 70.
I admit I did micro manage it a bit once I could see it was going my way, moving stop to BE, and I also increased the target from a horizontal resistance line to the bottom line of the downward channel that the daily chart is in, I think I just about pulled it off this time, but in future I think I’ll be a bit more conservative with the target.
My working school of thought on pip/dollar profits is using pips basically to try and remove the excitement of financial gain… the theory being if you treat it as more of a calculation, it is easier to focus on the analysis, do you give any merit to this idea?
Thanks again,
Rez
Good, sounds like you’re in a good mentality with your risk to reward. And good work on the 5:1! That’s definitely a good one.
You do want to avoid micromanaging your trade after you execute it. The prevailing thinking behind it is; you’re not emotionally attached to the trade before you place it. You’re coldly analyzing it, saw the opportunity, plotted your potential gain, and acted. Going back and fiddling with it after is not advised because your money is now floating out in the markets. You’re emotionally attached and are more likely to make bad decisions. My own rules stipulate I never move a Stop Loss backwards. I will advance it to break even after I gain the amount of pips risked, and I will advance the Stop like that. For example; if I risked 100 pips- I will move my Stop to break even after I gain 100. If I gain another 100, I will advance the Stop another 100. And so on. (Depends on if I’m using a solid TP or am just trend following.)
In regards to the pips/dollar amount- what I think about it doesn’t matter. If thinking of it as pips helps you cope with the stress better than that is what you should do. Honestly? It’s just a matter of semantics. Ultimately, you come out with the same result so long as you’re sticking tightly to your risk vs reward principles.
Congrats! if you can do that, it means you have a chance to succeed in the real world. Ride on
lol, not necessarily
I agree and on top of it you made it in a demo account. The fact that you are so excited over it shows that you have a long way ahead of you. You should neither be happy when you make money not sad when you lose. The sooner you grasp that the better for you. Having a good trade in a demo account is useless and may cause more harm then good.