Case in Point
My Gold trade went against me so I re entered at x 3 Lot size
modest TP with the two original positions to close at BE
Hopefully all will be well
Gold Campaign worked out.
Two original Scout positions, one Broke even and
the second lost 30 pips, but my subsequent Main Entry
made 40 pips x 3 = 120 pips
Net profit 90 pips.
1 Like
Scout in progress
On my NZDJPY my âScoutâ trade went astray
but my Main Entry is a Sell Limit order placed
just below 20. That will be a good price if hit
and price should come down after that for a nice
46 pip profit
If it doesnât hit I should still make 51 pips on the
original Scout position ( at 50% Lot size )
so I would prefer price to retrace against me
which is a great psychological advantage, as
price invariably does retrace against me!
but if it doesnât the modest win from the scout
is worth having ⌠a winner is a winner and it all
adds up.
Nice. But NOW I want to ask you some questions (and be honest which Iâm sure you will be):
First of all: was the 3 x lot size opened at market, or was it a stop order (price was above already), or was it a limit sell order (price was below when placed)???
Notwithstanding your answer to the above:
What was your plan if price just kept going up with a vengeance (as did stocks yesterday) for the rest of the day or for the next couple of days??? No TPs were hit at all i.e. it just kept on going.
Curious to know how you would handle this scenario.
Rules are Rules!
I would like to think Iâm starting to shape up
but weâll see
Previously I would have taken this Strategy 2 setup
but not now!
Price never closed decisively out of BB and
mainly I donât like the weak angle of Stochastic
BB is opening up indicating increased volatility
but thats not enough in itself
All were entered at market although I donât understand why it makes
any difference, whether Pending orders or Market I have no
predictive ability in either case. I would place Limit orders mainly
because I would not always be at my computer, and most may
likely not be hit anyway. This is a relatively new strategy for me
so in Gold I probably opened the 3x larger position at market because
the option suggested itself in real time.
I currently have ten Limit orders placed.
If both Scout and Main second entry go against me,
my decision would be largely based on Fib levels or key S/R level
if there is one nearby I would likely enter a third position if
there was a qualifying setup at that level.
If price continues against me past key S/R level and no new
setup is formed, I would retire the trade, and monitor the next
key S/R to see if anything changes there
Well the first part of the question was more for the sake of interest than anything else. If there were stop orders to sell then it means you waited for price to go up and would only have gotten into the trade if it then went in your favor. If it simply carried on up then youâd only have been long your one position so any resultant loss would have been far less. Market and limit orders: well I get the logic i.e. both used so that if price came back youâd make something or break even.
However: second part is the important part and I see you have a plan in place. Thatâs all I was trying to establish in order to hammer my point home about having an ironclad plan in place JUST in case youâre wrong on the trade and it just continues to bulldoze its way against you is all.
So you carry on then. No problems or worries.
Iâm sure there will be plenty of both ) but to be clear, I
am trading cents because I am not a trading genius,
which is why my account is 12% DD
From my very first post on this thread this has been
a work in progress. I sincerely hope the 25k views
donât represent thousands of newbies following me
into oblivion
There are some very talented traders on this forum but most
do not keep a regular journal.
My journal is more consistentr than most, and whilst I may be a good example
in that regard, that doesnât make me a consistently profitable trader
Regular journal keeping is extremely important and I am learning
all the time, but as of now I am still not consistently profitable
My posts are just me thinking out aloud, and Iâm sorry to everyone
if I sound in any way authoriative in my writing
that might be very misleading, I have no special trading ability or
insight, and results regularly fluctuate between mainly winners
followed by losing runs
So far quite an unimpressive thread historically.
2 Likes
Nah. I wouldnât say that.
Campaign
I used the word âcampaignâ to describe two or three
approaches in order to win the war, maybe at the expense of
losing a battle or two
KC introduced the word âScoutâ, and sorry to sound so callous
but a scout is expendable.
what to call Position 2 and 3?
Here is a campaign in progress where scout has failed
âReinforcementâ trades must have very easy to hit TP
@Jerome32 I was thinking about the scout situation and for me itâs such a âheadgameâ! Continuing the thought process I was thinking that instead of a âscoutâ drop in a âlisteningâ device or âhidden cameraâ in the simple form of some type of anchor or mark where the scout would be. Perhaps a square/oval etc⌠or maybe cross hairs using the vert & hor. line tool. It would be doing the exact same thing as a scout but wouldnât incure casualties thought you wouldnât garner any âgoldâ either.
For me getting in is the hardest part. That sounds silly but once Iâm in itâs managing and adding to positions. Itâs a learning journey for sure!!
KC
You donât really know what is going to happen until
youâre in. so best not go in too big until you can see
what price is doing
You could do this by monitoring only, but an expendable
scout seems to work best. of course we are not talking about
a human scout or a real military operation, so I find myself
quite hoping the scout fails so that the trade falls back to
the next âline of defenseâ with bigger returns
Iâm not sure I need to actually defend anything, but these
are only metaphors. You could even say â the US cavalryâ
to the rescue, or bring in â the heavy artilleryâ
it is indeed a headgame, so whatever works best for
the individual trader.
I certainly like the concept of plotting a military campaign,
which fully anticipates casualties along the way
firstly a reconnaissance, then move in with a Limit order and/or
a Stop order
and âDamage Limitationâ ⌠very often scout position will move far
from entry, and you re enter at next setup. It becomes obvious that scout,
now well DD, will unlikely hit original TP, so you may close scout at the
same TP level as new Position, so you will still incur a minor loss on original
scout position, but DD will be reduced on it by about 50 pips, and as its
a small Lot size it really is an expendable business expense.
In fact many pros who use the campaign approach, never use the word
âlossâ, but rather ârentâ, as in business there are always business expenses,
and when you pay rent on your office each month, you donât usually
cry over the loss, you just accept that rent and business expenses are par
for the course.
For positive trading psychology this is a very helpful way of thinking
What am I talking about?! and no one picked me up on this!
I have placed so much stress on only trading the picture
perfect setups, and then place ten Limit orders? and what
kind of setup am I expecting them to form?
We have the hottest heatwave in history here in Poland,
and Iâm obviously not concentrating.
Iâve canceled all limit order, and will monitor the scouts
that were entered because they were a qualifying setup.
Of course the idea is to go again when the next setup
presents itself, if scout didnât work out
But overall things seem to be shaping up, I think Iâve
got a feel for the strategy, which is launching a campaign
utilizing two strategies, and is not just about recouping losses,
its also about maximizing profit. Some of my S1 winners
have really moved right out of a wide open BB and may
likely provide an S2
Here is a good test of discernment. The same pair, same TF
Should I take S2 on left or S1 on right? answer below
The answer is there is no setup!
An almost S2 with a non qualifying Stoch, and note what happened
to the previous bad stochs! and what happened to the one good stoch
Also I donât like BB. it doesnât look like its reversing, bottom BB
pointing up etc.
What about Strategy 1 (S1) on the right?
What S1? Thats nothing like an S1!
It hasnât formed symmetrical pullbacks
if the trend had been pulling back to say, 20, and
had now formed an engulfing pattern at 20, perhaps
with a pin bar, with the body resting on 20
and tail dangling underneath, that would be a strong
indication to go Long, but we havenât got any of that!
I wouldnât even take a guess where price is going now,
I have no idea
Another Scout win on EURJPY.
Looks like I missed a good setup on AUDUSD
price had been bouncing off 33 and I could have
gone in at red arrow for 50 pips although 200 was
available.
if price retraces back to 33 I could go in if a convincing
engulfing pattern forms and 33 becomes a bit more
Bearish looking, looks a bit sideways at the moment
PS what MA am I following? I will literally follow any
MA 14- 20 - 33 - 50 - 100 - 200 if it is an MA that
price has been following, ( bouncing off )
I donât recommend anyone read this thread in its entirety.
There has been much trial and error.
Much of this thread before June was a capricious work in progress
and will be a waste of your time. A wiser use of time will be spent
reading Mark Douglas â Trading in the zoneâ or âMarket Wizardsâ,
or even a thread authored by a consistently profitable trader on
this, or another forum like this.
Since June 2019 I have simplified down to two strategies,
one trend following and one Swing trading. They seem to
be shaping up well, but still, time will tell.
I would prefer this post be at the start of thread but that
doesnât seem to be an option.
I may just have to repeat this from time to time
Nevertheless, I am flattered by the 25k+ views which
are a great help in keeping me accountable, and also
appreciate the many helpful contributions along the way.
This has been a big issue with me. Have to wait for the set-up and not place limit orders based on assumptions.
âScout out!â
KC
I tried âmarkingâ only scout entries ⌠wonât work for me. I need someone in the field. Maybe itâs a quantum mechanics kind of thing! 
if the âWhat the bleepâ team researched Forex trading I
seriously think our jaws would drop
a lot of very strange things do seem to happen
Actually there is a Quantum Mechanics thread on FF, but
with no reference to Forex, just a lot of pseudo intellectual
waffle. not useful
Another winner, one by one they seem to hit their targets.
Most trades doing well, except three
thee scouts that seem to have lost their way
How I deal with these will be crucially important
Ideally, waiting for a Strategy 2 to form
Here is the most delinquent scout trade thus far
sweet my im following