Inner Circle Trader's Pro Traders Club 2012 - 2013 Series

[Jerome0808]

Could you explain your ICT rational?

Entered Cable long at 1.6130 :57:

[hopiplaka]

Or you use the ‘preflight checklist’, where you have to put all this info on (key SR. divergence, entry method, …), even the emotions part
When you create this document every time BEFORE you enter a trade, you’re less prone to let your emotions run.

EURUSD 4 Hour

Stops are simply above highs and lows.
I think what was one of the most valuable exercise for me as a trader was when ICT told us to draw horizontal trend lines (like I have done in the screenshot) on the previous day’s high and the previous day’s low and then [U]watch[/U] how price moves when it gets there.
Also do this for weekly highs and lows.
Do this for significant highs and lows.
Do this on your daily chart, 4 hour chart and 1 hour chart.
Do this on the correlated pairs that you trade, don’t do anything else for an entire week, just watch and learn. Take notes! I still do this today, it has now become apart of how I think. It is ingrained in me like a code. You have to continually remind yourself what it is that you are doing so that you dont get carried away.

Thinking about the judas swing. My “criteria” for the judas swing is that is must be aggressive. ICT said in his video, the judas swing has a purpose, it aggressivley hunts a stop and lulls you into thinking price is just going to keep on going that way. So what does aggressive mean? Well the move must be so fast and scary that I start thinking to myself “ok maybe this is going to just keep on going!”. As soon as I feel that way then I pull myself out of that state of mind and follow through with my intended trade. The judas swing is meant to make you [U]“feel”[/U] that way. It sucks you into thinking price is just going to keep on going that way. This is why I have followed ICT’s advise and I keep a notepad next to my desk so that when I am stalking a particular trade and watching price and that often leads to me being sucked into the chart, I can immediately pull myself out of that state of mind, look at my notes and follow through with my plan. Which brings me to my next point.

My weakness as a trader is my emotions. I often think to myself where does all this emotion come from? In my normal life I am the total opposite. I am controlled and level headed. So then why all the emotion when I trade?? Well ICT answered that in a video. Its not about the money. I don’t care about the money. Its about what the money represents, your hopes and dreams. It is not for myself. It is for others, my wife, parents, family and others I have yet to even meet! I think there are many here that feel the same way. It does get better with time, it becomes more like a [U]process[/U]. Suddenly “its not all about THIS trade”! This is why we have been told to submit to time and with time you will see why. Another exercise I did was to trade live for a week based on emotion. I did my analysis, marked my levels and when it came time to take the trade, I listened to my emotions. I then documented all those thoughts and feelings. The results were astonishing. I would enter 20pips too early, or chase a trade. You really have to do it for yourself to get the full impact of the exercise. This was my direct attempt at tackling my emotions. This can also be achieved through the normal process of keeping a journal but if you really have a problem I would suggest tackling it head on. Become completley aware of your emotions, identify them and the use them to your benefit! Sorry I realise this post has gone a bit off track but anyway I like forward to ICT’s article on emotions this month.

So how do you tie all this information together? Simple. 1 week following the first excercise and another week following the second exercise. Then on the 3rd week watch how price and the judas swing hunts those stops above and below the highs and lows you have learnt to mark off from the first exercise! The 4th week take time to reflect and prepare notes.

More on stops-
The Search & Destroy Market Profile

[jonnycab]

Thinking about the judas swing. My “criteria” for the judas swing is that is must be aggressive. ICT said in his video, the judas swing has a purpose, it aggressivley hunts a stop and lulls you into thinking price is just going to keep on going that way. So what does aggressive mean? Well the move must be so fast and scary that I start thinking to myself “ok maybe this is going to just keep on going!”. As soon as I feel that way then I pull myself out of that state of mind and follow through with my intended trade. The judas swing is meant to make you [U]“feel”[/U] that way. It sucks you into thinking price is just going to keep on going that way. This is why I have followed ICT’s advise and I keep a notepad next to my desk so that when I am stalking a particular trade and watching price and that often leads to me being sucked into the chart, I can immediately pull myself out of that state of mind, look at my notes and follow through with my plan. Which brings me to my next point.

I think this is a really key point. A good example of this was yesterday during the LO on the Cable. Price moved up and out of the Asian range, but it did so rather slowly and controlled, definitely not a “judas” move, as described by shaunfx. This was one of the reasons I decided to take the long.

Now compare this with the same move this morning on the Cable. Aggressive move up, and almost immediately reversed and went right below the asian low.

[anon10665397]

Great initiative. Not only you mastered ICT trading approach but also his passion to teach and help fellow traders with concrete analysis and processes… WHooa, it’s getting better and better

Mastered is a very strong word and far from the truth. When my trading reaches a level of consistent gains over say a one year period I will consider myself “competent”. I have created a ranking scale for my trading, I rank my trades and my monthly trading performance and I encourage others to do the same. This not just a pure % gain performance. It is based on your % monthly performance as well as your dicipline and execution of your trading plan. In this process you have to be honest with yourself. If you truly want to learn, this [U]must[/U] be taken seriously. If you look at last months trading journal, what would your rank be?

[U][B]Ranking system[/B][/U]
[B]-10[/B]: Being the worst
[B]0[/B]: Being breakeven
[B]10[/B]: Being the best

“competent” I would consider [B]+5[/B]. I have a current overall ranking this year of [B]0[/B] and I have been at this 2 years come december and that should in no way be taken as “bragging rights”. If anything it is gross underperformance. This is hard work and you only end up making it harder for yourself if you are not diciplined. If I had developed and stuck to my routine and plan without fail I would be in a different position today. Please do not be under any illusion think that I am shaunfx the great because I am just shaunfx the student like many of you. If I come across as professional it is because I take this seriously. This is what I do and this is what makes me tick. I have an intense passion for this stuff and I will succeed, whatever it takes. Hopefully what I can bring to the table and share with others is experience. I am a walking encyclopedia of mistakes. I have done everything that shouldn’t of been done from overtrading, to trading with emotions yet I am here today because I have one unbreakable rule in my trading plan. Risk management. I have never blown my account, I have never had more than 10% draw down in my account. Take not of that. It is easy to make money, I do it all the time but what I don’t do all the time is keep that money! The more you treat this as a process, the easier it becomes. Your risk management is what keeps you here, forget about dollar value, focus on percentages. Lose the emotion of that attachment to dollar values. That was probably the hardest thing for me to overcome. As a South African, the exchange rate is roughly R8.50 for $1. $30 risk per trade was like WHOA HALF A TANK OF PETROL! WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING!! Over here in Dubai $30 is AED110 which is A FULL TANK OF PETROL(we have good petrol prices over here). The average person earns approx R10 000 in SA. A mere $1176 per month and for most they can live pretty good lives off of that. My challenge was to elevate my mindset, to start thinking in percentages and lose that value attachment to money. Have a plan, set your goals and stick to them. At the end of the day I am here for myself and “my world” and hopefully through sharing with you I can learn more from myself and others while at the same time helping another on the way. I am not concerned for the person that looks down on me, or the troll that spits at me, that is why we have an ignore button. Hitler had millions of followers, Jesus had just 12. It only takes one person to make a large impact in anothers lives. It is in that spirit that I share.

[anon10665397]

I think this is a really key point. A good example of this was yesterday during the LO on the Cable. Price moved up and out of the Asian range, but it did so rather slowly and controlled, definitely not a “judas” move, as described by shaunfx. This was one of the reasons I decided to take the long.

Now compare this with the same move this morning on the Cable. Aggressive move up, and almost immediately reversed and went right below the asian low.

I also use Chris Lori’s teachings on inefficiency when it comes to the Judas Swing. I like to see price move fast and leave a large inefficient move during the Judas Swing. It adds more comfort to the trade knowing that price should reverse and come back and fill in that inefficiency.

[purplepatchforex]

I also use Chris Lori’s teachings on inefficiency when it comes to the Judas Swing. I like to see price move fast and leave a large inefficient move during the Judas Swing. It adds more comfort to the trade knowing that price should reverse and come back and fill in that inefficiency.

Yes, that’s what my ‘Stoch Spring’ setup kind of represents.

[thedude]

I think of Market Structure, where the swings are, and it’s absolutely fundamentally essential that you understand this principle probably above all else IMHO.

hi purplepatchforex

just to make sure. ie; a bearish market structure starts after a htf swing high occurs, and continues until a htf swing high forms.

am i right about market structure?

thanks

[purplepatchforex]

hi purplepatchforex

just to make sure. ie; a bearish market structure starts after a htf swing high occurs, and continues until a htf swing high forms.

am i right about market structure?

thanks

Just looking at the 15m timeframe on the EURUSD, I took a short this morning at 1.3113, I was seeing lower highs and lower lows, took TP half at 30 PIPS, I couldn’t be at my desk to close the full lot, I might not have done, but anyway, it didn’t make a new low past that 82 support so no lower low, then it went up, now it’s a short term higher high.

But it is a search and destroy pattern.

[thedude]

thanks.

so you look for swing high and lows in lower TFs for market structure bias? i thought we need to look for swing points in H4 and above TFs.

Just looking at the 15m timeframe on the EURUSD, I took a short this morning at 1.3113, I was seeing lower highs and lower lows, took TP half at 30 PIPS, I couldn’t be at my desk to close the full lot, I might not have done, but anyway, it didn’t make a new low past that 82 support so no lower low, then it went up, now it’s a short term higher high.

But it is a search and destroy pattern.

[purplepatchforex]

thanks.

so you look for swing high and lows in lower TFs for market structure bias? i thought we need to look for swing points in H4 and above TFs.

It’s up to you what you use, when and where, that’s just focusing on one chart, and I’m not saying it’s a 100% correct even, but it’s good practice to look at the market from that point of view on all TFs.

[mostwantedpips]

Could you explain your ICT rational?

Sure would love to :18:
But first a quick update on the trade : i moved my sl to BE and took 70% off at 30pips profit. Will let the reminder run and see what happens.

I did my market analyses yesterday and predetermined a level which was exact that level to go long on.
I was only looking for longs this as market structure is very much bullish up to this point.

reason for entry.
Predetermined level.
market structure flow bullish
Fib OTE area which i pulled from yesterdays HI/LO which gives us that 1.613.
Major smt divergence usdx made a higher high whilest cable failed to do so which indicated to me that there is some major buying going on for that currency.
Price was ranging around that OTE area which means we have an accumulation phase going on.
ms1 pivot.
stoch oversold.
I asked my self where is price trying to reach? Previous high>?
USDX was approaching that 70.20 level and i was expecting a bounce from it.
As per ict vid Tuesday normally posts high or low of the week so from there on the direction is like be heading the same as wed tue

When i logged in the price was consolidating around that predetermined area so i went to 5 min chart and pulled a fib from Asia hi/lo to get my self in sync with the price .

[mostwantedpips]

Sure would love to :18:
But first a quick update on the trade : i moved my sl to BE and took 70% off at 30pips profit. Will let the reminder run and see what happens.

I did my market analyses yesterday and predetermined a level which was exact that level to go long on.
I was only looking for longs this as market structure is very much bullish up to this point.

reason for entry.
Predetermined level.
market structure flow bullish
Fib OTE area which i pulled from yesterdays HI/LO which gives us that 1.613.
Major smt divergence usdx made a higher high whilest cable failed to do so which indicated to me that there is some major buying going on for that currency.
Price was ranging around that OTE area which means we have an accumulation phase going on.
ms1 pivot.
stoch oversold.
I asked my self where is price trying to reach? Previous high>?
USDX was approaching that 70.20 level and i was expecting a bounce from it.
As per ict vid Tuesday normally posts high or low of the week so from there on the direction is like be heading the same as wed tue

When i logged in the price was consolidating around that predetermined area so i went to 5 min chart and pulled a fib from Asia hi/lo to get my self in sync with the price .

Got stopped out plus 1%

[anon10665397]

I also use Chris Lori’s teachings on inefficiency when it comes to the Judas Swing. I like to see price move fast and leave a large inefficient move during the Judas Swing. It adds more comfort to the trade knowing that price should reverse and come back and fill in that inefficiency.

Talking about Judas Swings and inefficiencies and all that today

GBPJPY
EURJPY

[PIPhanger]

I think my previous post so far is pretty much dead on, pretty happy with my analysis and how the pairs are trading…judas up and now we are heading down…usdx is on its way up…lets see if it continues…

[palmy]

Congrats PH,

Looks like you are back again. Good stuff!

GLGT!

I think my previous post so far is pretty much dead on, pretty happy with my analysis and how the pairs are trading…judas up and now we are heading down…usdx is on its way up…lets see if it continues…

[jamieb121]

Cable is currently bouncing off the 6115-6120 level so does it seem sensible to wait until we break below that and maybe retest it before looking for shorts? I took a short on Tuesday for some reason and got stopped out for 30 pips so I’ve kind of scared myself out of taking another trade.

I’m currently in the USA for a few weeks and I just don’t know how to make trading work in this time zone. By the time I wake up all the juicy stuff seems to be done. Although I did wake up at 2am this morning and thought I’d have a look at the charts, but everything just looked like a red and green blur

[purplepatchforex]

Did my bit for charity today, but H£ll man I’m lucky to be alive!!!

CO poisoning!!!

Faulty gas flue in kitchen, where I ‘work’ , felt awful yesterday, mild headache, lethargic etc etc, rang Doc to make appointment, then realised what it was, after a bit of thinking, switched gas heater off, half hour later felt 10 times better!

But, the point I want to make is, that I thought of cancelling the docs appointment, but no, I still went in the interest that it just may jog the docs memory if someone goes to him with similar symptoms, and he realises straight away what it is rather than give medication, just might save someone’s life.

It’s not all about giving, it’s about doing too

EDIT: My 30 PIP TP was hit too while I was at the docs.

[hellogoodbye4201]

I think my previous post so far is pretty much dead on, pretty happy with my analysis and how the pairs are trading…judas up and now we are heading down…usdx is on its way up…lets see if it continues…

Isn’t it fun being right! Idk what just happened, but my short on GU is picking up nicely LOL.

[Kuzia]

wtf just happened? google loses?

[peterma]

And the chinese data, and the banks - it’s pound selling - see eur/gbp

And you know what they say - what goes down must go… (from the hrly 62% ? )