Morning Mike, great documentation! Great journal. Trust me, I can feel your pain.
Would it be ok to post feedback? An objective, outside observation (s).
Don’t want to jump in if you prefer members are “read only.”
KC
Morning Mike, great documentation! Great journal. Trust me, I can feel your pain.
Would it be ok to post feedback? An objective, outside observation (s).
Don’t want to jump in if you prefer members are “read only.”
KC
Hey KC !
To answer you question…absolutely!
I’ve always wondered what people think.
Not that I NEED to know.
But would definitely welcome it KC.
Thanks for asking!
Bring it.
Good morning Journal.
Feb 22nd. Another week in the books. And boy…what a week is was.
It was a good week.
Oh…you made some money, huh?
Nope. I’m still not there yet.
But I learned a whole lot. About my strategy. And about myself. Let me explain.
Well, you have to remember, Journal, where I came from. Remember last week? I do. I came down pretty hard on myself. And to summarize that. It’s like this. I will absolutely not ever get ahead of my strategy. Again.
I mean, come on Journal. You know it by now. It is very. Very. Simple. (like me)
I follow my line. Whatever color it is, that’s the direction I better be in, with my basket of 7 running trades. Right?
Cause it’s costly, when I’ve deviated from it.
But never again.
Ok. So. Let’s unravel this…drama.
What happened?
Ok. So, here’s what the JPY trend has been looking like since the beginning of the month.
And so. Monday comes and goes. With not all that much change.
Well, all that right there tells me that not a whole lot has changed. That’s all. And so, what does that tell me to do? The same thing. I do nothing. Sit tight.
Let’s move on. Tuesday’s results.
Ok. Well. That’s nice. I made some pips this week, so far. Right? It made up for the loss yesterday, and then some. But this is what I’ve been thinking about what’s been happening, in the market.
The JPY has been consolidating a lot lately. Just look at it there. We’ve come off such a strong Yen. But it’s (the JPY trend) just not going anywhere. It’s like the coronovirus thing has kept them in the game. It doesn’t want to go away, and has kept the risk-off sentiment very much alive. And that’s what I’m used to equating the JPY moves to. Either risk-off (JPY strong) or risk-on (JPY weak). Right?
But anyway, that’s nice. All I know is that my mindset moving forward from last weeks spanking was this. Nothing in the world will make me deviate from my plan, any time soon anyway. My worst case scenario will be to change trends when the market says I should. And that would be, at the latest, a day late. This is my mindset now. And I have a feeling the market will make it clear for me. And guess what? That’s precisely what happened. This next very day. Wednesday. Take a look.
Now Journal. This was a market moving day. And believe me, I was in touch with what was going on that day. Cause I need to be. Remember. I don’t play with stop losses. I just kept seeing my account drop like you wouldn’t believe. The daily candles on all of my JPY pairs were getting greener and greener. Larger and larger.
Journal. Let me explain something here. Do you know what a piece of steel is? Well, I do. Cause that was me that day. Unmoveable. It didn’t matter what happened in the market, to me. All I kept saying to myself was that it’s looking like a trend change. Which means I will have to make a change…at the end of the day. Cause that’s my rules. And I’m not gonna deviate from them anymore.
The honest to goodness truth, was for me, to stick to the plan. I wasn’t worried. I was not shaken, whatsoever. I’m telling you Journal. After what happened last week, I was out to prove my system, no matter what. Even if my account did drop 905 pips. And guess what…I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed that much of a change. Basically, that’s well over 100 pips on each of the 7 JPY pairs that I’m in. Ok. That’s nice. So what.
Steel.
I am.
This is what it looks like at the end of day. And right before I switch directions.
So I tell myself.
Hmmm…this looks clear. Time to change with the trend.
I took this picture seconds before I switched. Meaning. I will immediately exit all of my short positions and then go long.
But Journal. I want to explain something else. This, also, has been going through my mind. Before this occurred. And that has to do with an idea I had. See. The market has been consolidating so much lately that if it becomes clear of a trend change, then I should get in with 2 positions, instead of one.
You should know Journal that I’ve had these unresolved, I should say more like incompleted, issues on my position sizing factor. Moreso having to do with when I can I add more position sizing, along with when to take some profit off the table.
Well, this seems to be the time to do it. I felt pretty strongly to go in with, not one, but two position sizing. On each pair. And that’s what I did.
That should tell you how convinced I was of a trend change. I mean. I really felt this is what I need to do. And the more I thought about it, the more I felt good about it. It’s kind of like, this is the time for it. You know? Better to do it when a high probability situation occurs, than not. Right?
This means that I’m able to take some profit off the table, (when it’s the right time), and then to be able to still have a position running.
Actually, I remember journaling this week about this very issue. In My Business Journal. And I said in there…that I believe that this might be the key to my trading strategy.
That’s nice. Let’s move on. Thursday’s EOD results.
All you have to do is look at the 5 (yellow) and 9 (green) ema lines up above. It’s that right there that tells me what the trend is. The 5 is above the 9 now, on all of them. And that’s what’s most important to me. Not even what the current price action is. Of course, the present price action IS reflected in my ema lines.
Anyway.
I would love to have a conversation about what was behind the Yen moves this week. I really don’t have the time this morning. But, in short. You would think that it would be some serious risk-on sentiment, right?
But nope. You got to see all what else is going on. Cause it surely isn’t the risk-on currencies (AUD, NZD) taking over.
Hmm…Let’s see what table I can through out here to clear this up.
Ok. So. The top table is what happened in each day, by itself. The bottom table is the weekly running totals. You can see how on Monday they were the same.
Now. What got me, that day, was how all of the news was touting What strong Dollar we have!!! Oh my God!!! It’s too strong!!!
Uh…guess what…analysts…you’re so wrong. I’m telling you Journal, they did not know what was happening that day. First off, the CAD was the strongest currency on that particular day (4.36%). Even the EUR (who would of thought) was much stronger (2.99%). The USD was only up 1.64% against every other currency. That particular day. But yeah, they were the top dog the day before (Tuesday). And even Thursday, also. But I distinctly remember that day all the news was talking about the safe haven US Dollar.
Anyway. I need to calm down. Their stupid though. I’ll just call it tunnel vision. There’s a whole lot more going on than the USD. But check out what the JPY did. A minus -10.72%. Now that’s major. Also. The Commodity currencies are not getting any kind of bid. So, it definitely isn’t a risk-on scenario. It’s more of an interest rate differential buying, than anything. And the CAD just might be having the upper hand, in that regards.
All I have to say is look at how the entire week ended. The USD was by far NOT the strongest currency. Their 4th on down the line.
Sorry Journal. I’m done now.
It just ticks me off.
Analysts.
Anyway. How did the week end, for my trading?
Sure. I lost a good deal of money this week. It’s ok. But, I also gained back some, also. Going in with 2 sizes on each makes a big difference. You can say that I took advantage of the situation. Believe me, it felt good to see the trend continue that way Thursday and Friday. See. Now I have the opportunity to take some profit off the table, while still having a stake in the market. Cause I still believe in my system, in which states that “I will be profitable in the long run while continually being in the market with the stated trend”.
But I realize I still need to iron out the issues relating to when I should take some profit out of the market. Yesterday (Friday) I was contemplating taking some profit off, just before the market closes. Why? Well, due to the fact that I am in some profit. So why not? But…I decided not to.
Why? Well, I guess it’s because I think the answer should be more about when there’s a clear counter trend happening, than anything. Know what I mean? Like when my line, up there, starts pointing downwards. Cause I really don’t know what’s gonna happen next. I should wait for that kind of signal. That’s what I’ve been thinking. And that’s why I didn’t take any profit on Friday.
I’ll clue you in Journal, when the time comes.
Well, I got to run.
Thanks for listening.
Mike
P.S. — I almost forgot. Don’t mind me. I need to get this out there for documentation purposes. It’s what my account looks like now. I need to track it every weekend. It’s not pretty.
And my latest chart.
All right, open statistics will allow you to orientate yourself more quickly in your strengths and weaknesses and think out a quality plan of action depending on it, it is very nice to see how people are beginning to treat trading more thoughtfully and clearly, it is a great strategy to get real earnings in the real market.
Good morning Journal.
Let’s see…where do I begin…
What a week it has been.
What a month it has been.
And that’s precisely where we’re at right now. End of month. February in the books. And this is the moment that I’ve been dreading. Cause I need to find out where I’m going wrong. Actually, I have many questions. About my system. My strategy. Myself. Everything. But…in all of this reflection, right now, the biggest thing I keep asking myself is this…
What do I really need to learn?
As I proceed through this (and trust me I’m not looking forward to this), I will be coming up with the answers to that question.
Ok. Let’s begin. From the top.
This year is a year of “Simulation”.
Simulating how I would run and operate my very own trading business. I do have a strategy that I am following. I guess you could say that it’s pretty close to being mechanical as possible. As opposed to a discretionary type. Therefore, a lot of my efforts are pretty much revolve around following a system.
That’s nice. I’ll get to more of that in a little bit. But what’s more important than that is…how am I running my business?
Well. I would say that the most important time for me, in my business, is at the end of every month. This is the time for reflection, stats, and …oh yeah…pay myself. Cause I got bills to pay. And frankly, this is the reason for a business. To generate an income. Right?
Well, I got end of month now. And I got accounts to square up. Whatever happened up until this point, kind of doesn’t matter (well, of course it does). But I’m gonna have to withdraw some money from my trading account. This is how I want things to go. I work on a month to month time frame. Sure, it’s probably how most businesses operate. But, I like it. I think a months time period should be plenty of time to generate what I need. And even if I don’t generate a profit out of the market, I still want to get all of my expenses taken care of in one shot. Like at the beginning of the month.
As I have explained before, I primarily have 3 accounts. My trading account. My business account. My checking account. And at the present time, my business account needs built up. There’s nothing in there. See. If there was, then I would have the option of paying myself from out of that account (at the end of a month). But that’s not how I’ve decided to start the year with.
Anyway. That’s nice. Yesterday, I did reset my demo account to reflect what it should be if I withdrew out of it what I needed. I mean, that’s my priority. Cause in real life, this is precisely what I’d be doing right now.
Look. I’ve spelled out all of the details in previous posts. Plus. And I’m sorry Journal, but you’re not my most important Journal. “My Business Journal” is. Yep. Good old fashion paper, pencil, & notebook. Yeah boy, I’ve been filling that thing up a lot lately. Much documentation has been going into that. Anything business related goes in there. My strategy details. All of my trading actions. My thoughts behind any of those actions. And of course the end of month transactions. Cash flow statement. Income statement. Balance sheet.
Hold on Journal. I need more coffee.
Alright.
Well, I’m gonna need more than coffee to get through this. But, here we go anyway.
My trading.
For the month of Feb.
Bad.
But what haunts me is, what happened yesterday.
And, I’m not even going to run the numbers to find out the what if scenario. You know what they say about hindsight.
Yeah…it’s evil!
Anyway. Well, I did what I did last month. I jumped out of the market for the very last day of the month. Oh, that’s right. I came across another problem. Man…I need to figure this out. I’ll get to that later.
I took the last day off, to adjust my trading account. I talked about this last month. It’s a good time to take a breather and get ready for the next month. Right? Right. Well, I accepted the fact that I had a losing month. Lots of things happened over the course of the month. And I did talk about that stuff. But the thing is (and this is so evil to do) if I would have stayed in my 7 JPY short positions, I probably could have made up for all of my losses for the month, just in that one day!!
Unless you live under a rock, Journal, you would have known how big of a day the JPY had. And I was in with them going in the correct direction. Just hours prior. But I jumped. And my strategy dictates that my trading decisions are only made around the end of the day time (NY closing). And at no other times.
Well, when I woke up, at London’s open, I figured I’d check in to see what’s going on. You know, to see if I made a good decision or not. Well, it turns out that if I would have stayed in, all of my losses…mistakes…and turmoil that took place this month would have been erased. By the days end. And I would have looked like a genius.
But nope.
The 7 JPY pairs generated 1304 pips that day.
Talk about a sick feeling inside. And I’m talking about, all day long!
I don’t think you understand Journal. I’m in the market, cause it’s my strategy, perpetually. Basically, I’m always in it. My trades continually run. The only time that I’m not in is, well has been, at the last day of the month. I’ve talked about this last month. It seems like a good time to reset everything. In fact, I don’t know any other way to do it, frankly.
And what I’m saying is, that one reason why I like being in the market perpetually is because of the fact that we don’t know what’s gonna happen, and precisely when these big moves take place. Therefore, I can get lucky moreso than not. And I’m talking about with the trend here. All you have to do is look there. This wasn’t that much of a surprise, was it? Absolutely not. Take a look at the commodity currencies at the bottom. In fact, all of them! This week (the last 5 days) went JPY strong. It was the trend. As opposed to counter trend.
And my strategy dictates that I trade with the trend. Stay in it. And hope that it continues, more than not. Coming out as positive, in the end. That’s all.
Journal, that right there is my strategy. In a nutshell.
Yeah man, yesterday hurt. And I’m not used to this. I know it’s called FOMO (fear of missing out). Look. There’s not any other time of the month, OR EVER, that I’m not in the market. Except this one day. Of a month.
Maybe I should change this rule.
But then how would I square off my accounts?
I don’t know.
I’ll have to think about this. I need some kind of rules in place. Guidelines.
So. Getting back to my most important question.
What do I need to learn?
Trust my system.
I think this is gonna be a reoccurring theme. And I’m ok with that. Trust me. I’m aware of the fact that I’ve said this before. I’ve beaten myself up. And always have come to the conclusion that my system works. I mean, this is a good thing. I would rather be proven time and time again that my system proves profitable over time, than to find out it’s flawed. Know what I mean?
I’ll show you what I mean.
This is the month of Feb.
I’m not gonna explain all of this. Cause I did before.
Anyway. I got a point to make.
Well, I guess I have to, to some extent.
The top line graph, which goes with the table directly underneath it, is the JPY aggregate trend. Green is JPY bull market, red is JPY bear market.
Then underneath that is the 3 things I’m keeping track of.
The perfect system – impossible to follow.
The day late system – easy to follow.
My actual trading – theoretical numbers.
Now, within those 3 groups, there are 2 sets of numbers. The top number is the daily pip count, all by itself. And the bottom number is the yearly running total. These are actual pips. More precisely, the amount of pips of the 7 JPY pairs.
Cause, you would want to know how many pips, of a result, you would have at the end of the day.
And I’ll give you an example of the difference between the perfect system and the day late system. On Feb 19th, the trend changed. But, I didn’t know that it did until the end of the day. Well, on that day, there was 905 pips to be had. In a perfect world, being all knowing and switching trends before the day began (impossible), that would be positive pips. I just want to know what this number would be, that’s all. So, on that day the perfect system produced 905 pips and the yearly total turned out to be 2092 pips. And underneath that shows the day late system, which was -905 pips, and a yearly running total of -1410 pips. And underneath that is for me. I didn’t change beforehand, therefore I was a negative 905 pips. With a running total of -781 pips. But…on Feb 26th, I did change around the end of day time. Actually it was 4 hours later though (9pm).
Coming into this week (as of 2/21 EOD) the YTD’s running totals are:
At least I’m doing better than the day late system. Cause anybody can follow that. It’s simple. All you do is see the results at every end of day, and then position accordingly.
Then the end of the week (present) the YTD’s running totals are:
And let me explain the trend here. In hindsight, last Friday was when the JPY only got stronger, from then on. The pip counts this week were:
If you were holding all 7 JPY pairs, going south, this week. That’s your results. And frankly, on Friday, that’s a record. As far as I have kept them.
Unbelievable.
What a great time to be on the sidelines. You dummy.
Oh well. What can I do. I made some mistakes this month. And for me to think that one day should make up for them, is just not right. What I think I need to be most concerned with, is trusting my system. I hope I won’t be having to always say that to myself. I mean, you got to admit that even on the day late system going from a -2206 pips to a -595 pips running yearly total is not bad at all. That’s a total of 1,611 pips of a gain. All just by sticking to the plan. That’s the easy plan, mind you.
Look. There’s merit in following the trend. That’s what my strategy is all about. As opposed to finding out when to get in the market and when to get out of it. I’m sure every single trader out there has that in mind. My obvious here.
But you know what?
I’m not one to follow what other people do. In fact, I despise that. The game is, for me, trying to find a way to profit from the market, in a consistent manner. And I think it’s best to follow, instead of speculating.
Alright Journal.
I got a lot of work to do this weekend. Like getting a good summary of what happened this month. I’ll then throw it up here for ya. Concerning:
Thanks for listening Journal.
Mike
Emotions… The head game is the hardest part. I wrestle with it all the time.
I understand your strategy’s premise. I like it. It’s almost the simpler the better.Given that, I am often thinking how to garner the most pips, and here’s my thought(s) on this.
A pip is a pip. It’s not like the value of each pip goes up dramatically the longer I hold it with the trend. So I have adopted the mindset that 4 trades for 50 pips is just as good as 2 for 100 pips or 1 for 200 pips. (technically I guess they do go up a small amount but for this discussion I would say it’s irrelevant given the amounts we’re talking about.)
I started thinking of my positions as dump trucks. Each position can only hold a certain amount of pips before it has to be emptied - This may sound stupid but it’s been working for me - @Lang15 did a video that confirmed this process for me - My dump trucks hold 50 pips, and has to be emptied.
Once my dump truck is emptied I set it back on the roadside with a stop/limit order. @tommor has mentioned this quite often - at a sign of weakness TP and can always get back in at a better price. This practice has required me to improve my chart reading and placement of entries.
For me, I have found this takes a tremendous amount of discipline and patience but I have started to continually take pips off the table. While still being in the market.
It’s kind of like a “see a penny pick it up… now” strategy. Up until recently I was using the “see a penny come back for it later” strategy and often found the market beat me to it!
These are just some thoughts that I have had while reading your journal, which I enjoy very much!
Mike, thanks for sharing your thoughts, insights and analysis.
KC
Hey KC!
Thanks for that.
That is awesome. You’re definitely thinking.
I remember thinking about that premise. Having a predetermined amount of pips you want to capture.
The only thing about that is you have to take into account exactly what pair you’re trading, when it comes to the 50 number. Cause 50 pips of a GBP pair does not even compare to a USD pair.
From one extreme, say GBP/CHF, could swallow that amount up in an hour or so. To say the USD/CHF, which would take about a week to attain.
But I understand where you’re coming from. It is a good premise to be coming from. You just factor in everything else around that. Like these points:
Then, when the time comes and you pull the trigger, all you would do then is set it and forget it. See what happens. Right?
Then learn something from each trade.
Just some of my thoughts on that.
Thanks for sharing KC!
Mike
That’s an excellent point! And I embarrassingly admit I have to be more conscious of that!
KC
Good morning Journal.
March 7th now. First full week, in the books.
Where we at?
Well, all is fine. I mean, I feel good. Like, really good about my trading system that I got going. Now…do I feel good about how I traded in Feb? Nope.
There is a huge difference between my trading strategy, and how I actually trade. Therefore, I’m not gonna throw up here my results from last month. Look. I did spend a whole lot of time on that, last weekend. That’s where my time was spent (instead of in here). But boy…do I like writing down everything in my Business Journal. But, the thing is, I got everything out there on the table. All my stats. What I did wrong. What I did right. A Cash Flow statement. An Income Statement. I’m even dissecting every JPY trend from beginning to the end. That’s a process that will continue on. Presently we’re on trend # 5. Bull trend.
Anyway. That’s nice. I just know that I’m covering every aspect of my trading. And for the month of Feb, I do have it all down. I am moving on now. Therefore, I do not want to rehash all that (nonsense) again. I’ve dealt with it all. Needless to say, I am learning a lot.
But Journal. I do have to say that I’m very intrigued about my system. Do you by chance remember how I’m tracking this systems Proof of Concept? Well yeah, that’s an ongoing process. And the results are getting very interesting. I will get around to showing you what I’m talking about shortly.
But first, more coffee.
Then, let’s see where we’re gonna go next.
Alright.
Well, let’s talk about the market a little. Unless you live under a rock, you’ve got to know that the market is moving. There’s pretty much only one thing it’s concerned about. The coronavirus. And all of this is affecting my currency, the JPY, in a major way. Let’s take a look.
I’m gonna unveil what’s going on this way. Comparatively.
I track the JPY trend.
It’s strong now. But how strong?
I’m gonna show you a shot of when the JPY got the strongest last year.
I’ll throw up the same pick, but with the actual daily pip count that corresponds to that.
You get the idea. This should shed some light on what happens during, and within, the life cycle of a trend. Well, this particular one anyway. Let me highlight the important numbers.
What I’m saying here is that if you had the 7 JPY pairs running continually (short, JPY strong) for the entire month of Aug, plus the last 3 days in July, that’s your result. A lot of pips. 2496 pips.
All I’m doing here is looking at a trend. It’s output, in pips. And how it transpires. This was the biggest JPY bull trend of 2019. Now. Let’s compare that to the latest JPY trend happening right now.
For some perspective, I backed it up to the beginning of Feb. So, what do we got? Well, technically speaking, the JPY bull trend started Feb 26th. But it got a running start since Feb 24th. In hindsight, that’s the day the buying of the Yen started, right? Cause the 24th produced 629 pips in favor of the JPY. The next day produced 171 pips JPY strong. And so forth. Ok. So. Let’s look at the metrics of this JPY bull trend so far.
This trend, so far, is producing 2,535 pips.
But the story is not over. But, so far, to compare this to last years strongest trend (above), I think, is interesting. Look up there, at both charts.
What was the top trend strength number, for last years one?
Where are we at presently?
I am not making this stuff up. What that number right there means is this.
Anyway. That, right there, is how I come up with my trend indicator number. And right now, that number is 441. Which is shown on my line chart.
Let me state the obvious. Every trend will be different. Between the strength, and the duration, no one trend will be the same. Just like every single snow flake that falls to the earth. Different.
But, according to the way I measure the trend, we have matched last years strongest run. And I can’t believe it actually has matched exactly.
Look.
And look. I’m not going to put this out there (like a lot of analysts do) to insinuate that the market will do the same thing next. Like go down from here.
No way. Know why? Cause in my trading all I will do is follow this trend, to the end.
I think there’s a big difference between speculating and following. Man…I’ve thought about this, this week. I kind of think that mostly everyone who trades, speculates. As opposed to follows. And I think that just might be what separates the winners from the losers. In the long run.
I don’t know. This can be a very insightful discussion. For me, I would need much more thought on this subject. And it would come down to this very question.
Do you speculate or follow?
Is there a difference?
If there is, could there be anything else?
Does our trading boil down to this?
Is there any other reason behind HOW we trade?
Speculating.
Following.
Yeah, the more I think about this, there’s a difference. It comes down to answering the question of what makes us do what we do? It’s a psychological matter. In fact, that’s what trading is. Our decision making abilities.
Anyway.
Enough nonsense.
I’ve run out of time.
Got to go.
Mike
P.S. - For documentation purposes.
Man Journal…I guess I didn’t get around to telling you about my take-profit action. Well, in short, do you see up there, on every pair the sell .19 lines (19,000 units)? That number comes from my account balance being $19,000. That’s one standard position size, on each. Well, I start out with 2 sizes on each, which was .38 (38,000 units) on each. But come end of day Thursday this week, I took profit. Why? Well, NFP was coming up next. And plus, I was in much profit already. So, I took .19 off of each pair. And this is the result. See. Now, I’m able to continually have a position in the market at all times. While having the opportunity to bank some profits.
Now, when will I go back to another size on each?
Alright.
I’m done.
Mike
Good morning Journal.
It’s Sunday morning now, and I have some time.
Well, I did mention this to you yesterday. And now I want to talk about it. Cause I’m very perplexed about this.
I’m talking about my proof of concept, regarding my system.
Ok. So. Let’s begin from the beginning.
What is my system?
Point by point explanation.
This explains my system. But will also explain the charts below.
See. I’ve been trading the JPY this way since the beginning of the year. Yeah, that’s nice, I know. But, I’ve tracked this system as if I traded each of the other currencies also.
So. How about some results of this trading system with the respective other currencies. This can simply be called complete currency trading results.
-GBP-
Well, I started with this currency. Which is the worst of the 8. Know why? Well, it’s because the trend changes frequently. But also when it does, there are a lot of pips lost, due to the day late way. Let me show you a little of that.
Anyway. This system is easy peasy.
But, with the GBP, it’s not looking like a profitable way, right? Well, let’s move on to the others. Will there be a difference, between them all?
Next up, the CAD.
Not bad at all. You can see that most of the time the running daily results were in the positive (above).
Next up, the AUD.
Getting better. Most of Jan was in the negative territory. But on the 23rd trading day of the year, Jan 31st, the system hit a top, came back down, but really didn’t go into negative territory. So…lots of positive results since.
Next up, the USD.
Again, the systems expectancy started to turn around beginning of Feb. After the 23 day. Well, I guess you can see that my system didn’t produce much during the month of Jan. Kinda across the board. But then things did turn around.
Next up, the EUR.
That is a lot of changing of the trends, which adversely affects my system. It was only in the last 7 trading days which brought up the YTD total amount, a whole lot. So…is interesting.
Next up, the CHF.
Now we’re getting somewhere. If you would have traded the CHF as a complete currency, this year, just letting their 7 pairs run continually, there’s a whole lot of potential with my system. Many pips equates to positive expectations. But then you have the position sizing factor. That’s for another discussion.
The best for last. The top currency.
NZD.
Well, just like most of the others, Jan was not so good of a month for my system. But things did take off heading into the end of the month Jan.
Mind you…we’re looking at the day late system results. This is easy to follow. Seriously. At the end of every day, whatever the trend turns out to be, that’s the direction your trades will be running in. And nine times out of ten your not gonna have to do anything. Just let them ride. See. For instance, the NZD. The only time you would have any action to take would have been on Jan 7th. At that end of day, you would have exited out of the long NZD positions, and then re entered going short. I’ll show you.
Anyway.
What am I looking at here anyway?
My system, simply is :
So far, as you can see, it’s being proven. Now. Over how long of time? Time will tell. What would we say if I ran these numbers for the month of January only? That this system doesn’t produce much results. Right? Well, for most of them anyway. Forget the GBP. I don’t know. Maybe they will sometime throughout the year, we’ll see.
Now. Where does my JPY stand, in comparison with those?
Did I pick the best currency to trade this system with? Or not?
Here’s the line up.
From worst to best.
So yeah, I almost picked the worst one. Maybe that’ll explain much of my struggling, so far this year. Let’s look at it, in the same format as the others.
Uhhh…yeah Journal.
Now do you understand my struggles?
I have made some very good trading decisions this year. Cause if you remember, for the month of Jan I came out in the positive. My account ended +2.18%. And if you look up there, that was at the end of day 23rd trading day. -429 is the number (it’s hard to see I know). So, for that month I did better than the day late system. Now…for the month of Feb, I made some grave mistakes (which won’t happen again). And as you can see, making mistakes, along with a naturally producing negative expectancy, turns out not-so-good.
Ok. I’m about done here.
But, I got one more chart to show you.
How about this question…
What would it look like if I had combined every currency, and run this system?
Or more like, if I had 8 separate trading accounts (one for each complete currency), what would the total outcome be?
Stand back.
Here it comes.
You can forget about that top green line. That’s the perfect system.
The bottom line is the day late system.
Look at where the last day of Jan was (23rd). See. I’m telling you. There’s truth to the fact of the end of month flows. It surely escalates.
Where’s the last day of Feb? It’s the 43rd trading day of the year. So, going into Mar has been a very positive expectancy of my system. Aggregate.
Well, the bottom line number is 6,609 pips.
That’s the total amount of pips, from the beginning of the year, if you ran this system on every one of the 8 currencies. All totaled up. Day late system.
Well, my bottom line is this.
I will continue to do what I am doing.
JPY is my currency to trade.
I will continue to keep track of the others.
Thanks for listening Journal.
Good things are happening.
Mike
Mike, love your discussion here. Can you please help with the list of the books you read? I will love to read them too. Thank you man.
Good morning Journal.
It’s Sat. Mar 14th.
Well Journal, I do have to say, it is getting interesting around here. And I’m not particularly talking about trading wise either. I’m talking about life. Let me explain.
This Coronavirus. It has affected my life. Now. To begin with. Let’s get one thing straight. I do not have it. And I do not know anyone who has it. But. In the most simplest terms. I am out of a job for the next 2 weeks. As you know, Journal, I’m a school bus driver. And well, yesterday, it was just minutes before we were to pick up the high school kids (at days end), that the word came out from the schools website that there is not going to be any school for the next 2 weeks.
This was precisely at the time when Trump was in the middle of declaring a national emergency (live on tv). Also it was around the same time that our mayor, of PA, announced that every school in the state will be closing. Man…I’m telling you, there was much going on ever since about 2:30 pm yesterday. Friday the 13th, mind you.
You know Journal…in my lifetime, I honestly haven’t experienced something like this before. A pandemic. A disease spreading, contagion that is globally reaching. But look. I understand what’s going on at the present time is a lot of precaution. Sure. Because who doesn’t want to get it. Right? I mean, the good thing for us is that we were not the first country to experience it. China. Then South Korea. Japan. Then on over to Europe, particularly Italy. Geez.
Sure. It has had a very big affect, on a lot of people. Worldwide. But…is it real? All I want to do is put this in it’s proper perspective. Is this being blown out of proportion? Like. Have we (as a people) ever focused on the influenza before, like this? It seems like we haven’t. Because, annually speaking, there are many, many deaths that occur because of the common flu. It’s just what happens out there. When old people get sick, well, a lot of times it just doesn’t end well. You know what I mean? And now, the whole world will all of a sudden become experts on how many people die due to the flu. In particular, this strain of the flu.
I don’t know. I would like to know what’s important about this and what’s not important. What’s the nonsense, and what do we really need to understand. Know what I mean? All I know is…because of this…I’m not able to go to work. For the next 2 straight weeks. And they even say that it might even be longer. Cause they have to assess the situation, come then.
But that is what’s real. Having to stay home. And you want to know what else is real? Check this out. See. Me and Trish do our weekly shopping every Sat. But, due to what’s going on out there, we thought that we should get this done sooner, than later. And well, yep, we went out last night. After work.
Talk about a run on the shelves. It was bad. Look. It wasn’t a complete apocalyptic scene, but surely it was close. This was something you normally don’t see. Good luck trying to find some toilet paper. There’s simply none to be found. I’m so glad she picked some up a couple days ago, or else we’d be in trouble. But yeah, a lot of empty shelves. Both at Walmart, and Aldi’s.
See. I really don’t know if it’s normal for people to go shopping on Friday nights. Cause we never do. So I don’t know for sure. But it was crowded. I guess everybody else was thinking the very same thing that we were. Kind of like, tomorrow just might not come. Get what you can now. Whatever is left, that is.
As we were shopping, I kept calling it end of days. Cause that’s exactly what it looked like. I mean, it is hysteria. No doubt. So therefore, we can play that game too. You never know, maybe people are on to something. We are dealing with an unknown here. Maybe, just maybe, we will be holed up in our house for a long time. You never know.
This was the prevailing thinking, last night. No joke. But…is this all blown out of proportion?
Well, I do know one thing. If we would have waited to do our shopping today, we wouldn’t have gotten anything! Cause we surely contributed to the emptying of the shelves. I’ve taken the last of many different items.
Anyway. I’m done talking about this. It is kind of stupid. Look. There was a run on grocery items last night. Sure. But the shelves will get restocked. Life won’t collapse. Not now, anyway. I just got to think about what I’m gonna be doing for the next 16 days. Now that’s real. I will be filing an unemployment claim, today.
Well Journal, you know what the first thing comes to my mind, don’t ya? Sure. I’ll be working on my business. I’ll have to find something to do regarding that. Maybe I’ll run some more back testing on my system. Or some kind of project. I just don’t know yet. I got to think.
Hold on Journal.
Time for some more coffee.
Then, let’s talk market.
Alright Journal. I’m back.
But I’ve decided to cut this short.
I want to talk market, and trading stuff on a clean slate.
See ya shortly.
Mike
Journal.
Here we go.
What a week I had.
All I have to say is this.
There’s some really good advantages of having a strategy of perpetually being in the market. Being in the trend. And the trend continuing. Mind you, with no stops.
I just remembered. I took a picture of what the market open looked like. Look.
But yeah, let me back this up a little.
I am not restricted to stop losses, or even take profit places. There is a method to my madness. As I have stated before. Time and time again. I am not playing that silly game of trying to guess when to get in, and when to get out.
Why?
Cause you never know what’s going to happen!!!
So why pretend and convince yourself that you can figure it all out.
I’ve learned, and realized that.
All I want to do is ride out the trend. That’s my strategy in a nutshell.
Look up there. You can see the trend, on all of my JPY pairs. It’s the 5 & 9 lines. When the yellow line (5 ema) is below the green line (9 ema), on the Yen pairs, that means it’s a JPY bull trend. And when did this start? Well, you can clearly see that it was some days ago. On each and every pair. I just got lucky that it’s continuing.
See. That’s the theory behind my strategy. By following what’s going on in the market, will prove to be profitable, over the long term.
But, to give you some kind of idea of what it looked like on my account balance. When the market closed, last Friday, it was showing around $1,100 in profit. Then at the open, it basically doubled. Take a look.
I started the month of Mar with an account balance being $19,118.00.
Needless to say, I’ve seen some awesome numbers on my account this past week. It all fluctuates of course. And remember, the good news is that I’m not being stopped out of the market. But, the bad news is that I’m not taking all of the profit either. This is a perpetual running thing.
I have incorporated some adding of position sizing this week. And I’ve taken some profit also. So, I’ll just try to show you a little bit of that, with the pics.
Anyway. This is when I took that profit off the table.
See. Here’s the proof.
So. Let’s see what the present situation looks like now.
Ok. So. Now what? Are we gonna have a change in trend, moving forward?
I don’t know. And guess what…nobody else does either. Everybody can guess what they think is gonna happen. Great. Go right ahead. All I’m gonna be doing is following my trend indicator. In the long run, it’ll work out. I’ll show you what I’m watching.
Uhh, that’s it. That’s the only real thing that’s important to me. I follow that.
But, some metrics.
Here’s another look. This is the yearly cumulative running amount of pips for my system, for the Yen.
And speaking of proof of concept, Journal, you would not believe how my system fared with the other currencies. Truly unbelievable. Let me show you that aggregate pic, like I did last week. But up to date now.
But what is this saying about the market? I’ll tell you.
Ever since March (starting on the 44th day) the market is trending way more than it’s counter trending.
Alright Journal.
I’m done with this nonsense.
See ya tomorrow.
Mike
Good morning Journal.
It’s Thursday Mar 19th.
Well Journal, I figured I should update you on things. Plus…I have the time to do it.
See. We (the whole world it seems), are stuck at home because of this coronavirus scare. And I know I’ve talked all about this previously, but as more of this unravels, the more interesting it’s getting. And we’re (I’m) not even a week into it! Needless to say, this is uncharted territory.
And there’s no end in sight.
Yet.
But, let’s see. What have I been up to?
Actually, a whole lot.
I realize that I have to make the most of this opportunity. Of being home. Of having time on my hands. And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. I still wake up very early. I mean, I don’t set my alarm or anything. But since I’m a morning person it’s very easy for me to wake up at 3 something on my own. But, being honest about it, some days I’ll sleep in till 4 something. And the closer to 5, the more upset I get with myself. Cause look. There’s no excuse of not being productive. For me anyway. It’s just how I am.
And, I also won’t sacrifice not starting the day out without Him. Reading…Praying…Just spending time with Him. That is what’s most important to me. First things first. Then everything else falls into place.
Alright. Enough of that. I know.
But then…I’ll be getting to work. See. I knew I was gonna have this time coming, ever since this past weekend. So, I decided on a project. My project was gonna involve doing some back testing of my system. Journal. I’ve told you, and shown you, all of my proof of concept data. But, I’m doing that as this year is progressing. I’ve been very curious of what last year results would be. Hence the undertaking.
Hold on. Let me explain what I’m talking about proof of concept.
In my mind, when I say that, I’m thinking about my system’s results if I were to use it on every one of the other currencies. Cause, as you know, I’m trading it with the JPY. Only. I just would like to know what the results would be if I traded the “XXX” currency. And what the differences would be, between them all. Therefore, proof of concept, means how I trade. It’s my strategy. That’s all.
Man…before I forget. I had an idea of trying this strategy out on other things, other than currencies. Say, for instance, on a commodity. You know, in the futures market. Then, after that, I would venture into the bond market. But, the last thing I would try would be stocks. Man…I have such an attitude about the whole stock market thing.
Why???
I know why. Journal. I absolutely just hate being a follower.
The whole world seems to flock, follow, and love the stock markets. And deep down inside of me, I don’t want to be like everybody else. And also…the stock market is nothing but buying and wanting it to go in one direction, only. How’s that interesting? I don’t know. But it isn’t to me. I mean, think about it. Everybody is putting their money into a company. Supporting it. And over time, hopefully to reap it’s benefits. That, to me, is investing. Ok. Great. No problem.
It’s just not my cup of tea.
To me, trading involves much more.
Alright Journal. Sorry about that. Where was I?
Oh yeah. I just wonder what kind of results I would get if I used my method of trading, say, in the futures market. I mean, all we’re looking at here is trends. Right? The more something trends, the more effective my system will be. Man…I need to remember this thought. It’s kind of hard because currencies was my first love. And all I want to do is continue down this road.
Anyway. Speaking of currencies. Let’s get to it. What have I been up to lately? Well, the market is flying like crazy. And you wouldn’t believe my account. I want to talk about that. Plus, I do need to document how this month is turning out.
Journal. I’m gonna cut this short.
I want to come right back with the numbers, and charts.
See ya shortly.
Mike
Journal.
Here we go.
Documentation time.
I will put some pics to these. In chronological order.
Let’s move on.
This is what my account balance looks like at the end of the first week of Mar.
So then, in the second week of the month, this is when I added on another size.
Then, this is my account balance at the end of the second week of this month.
And now, I’m in the third week of the month.
This is when I added my second sizing, at the open of this week, by a couple hours.
This is Wednesday’s EOD pic. My last running one.
Back it up a little Journal. Remember me telling you about those huge wicks on the AUD, and the NZD? Well, yep, it did turn out that way, didn’t it. Especially on the AUD/JPY, and moreso.
Well, you should know, Journal, that my trades continually run. I am always in the market. All I do is follow.
But, as we speak, and what has been going on today (Thurs), I think we have some kind of turn going on. Therefore, I’m gonna be losing some pips, coming up. It’s ok. That’s the game. It’s been a great run.
Alright. I guess I’ll leave you with a live shot. The most present look will be right now. Here it is.
Mind you, this is not the end of day. It’s mid day. But, those wicks that extended down on the AUD, and the NZD, I feel are telling. We’ll probably start going up now. It’s ok.
The USD/JPY is heading it all up. Literally and figuratively.
Good thing I too profits off the table yesterday EOD!
Alright Journal.
See ya later.
Mike
Hey Mike, what are your criteria for the trade? On any chart, if 5EMA is below 9EMA, you buy and if 5EMA is above 9EMA, you sell?
I ask because I saw your charts and thought looks like you’re onto a winner, so I coded up a quick EA to back test it, but my results are nothing like as promising as yours (across all 28 major pairs).
Good morning Journal.
Well, it’s the weekend. Mar 21st.
Actually, every single day around here seems like the weekend. So like, no difference today. I mean, look. I’m not all that upset about what’s going on. No one’s sick. In fact, I can’t even find anyone who I know that’s remotely sick. So, that’s good. And plus. Who doesn’t need time off to relax. This is all kind of like a mandatory relaxation time. That’s not a bad thing.
Sure. I know we all need our jobs. And I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t worrying a bit. Of course. Especially after yesterday. Listen to this. So. I get a text on my phone (from the school district) telling me to go to the school’s website. There’s a very important message there, for me. I’m like, ok. So I go there. And there’s an alert. Can’t miss it. It says…
Wait. Back it up a little. The last word for us (our school bus company) was that we’re gonna be closed until the end of the month. Like 2 weeks. Until further notice. Ok. I mean. We all know that things will probably change. Cause, this is all uncharted territory, right? Well, I just got the next change.
My school district will be closed until May 1st. And that basically means I won’t be able to work until then. It’s like everything’s contingent to the school district. Cause it’s very, very big. And mostly all of our work, and in fact the community, revolves around them.
Man…I was sitting there. Starting to panic. Thinking. I mean, just thinking about everything. The whole big picture. Like. Do I need to start making some changes? For my employment? Cause, I just went through all of this last year, around the summer time. That was a very tough time for me. The whole getting back out into the work force thing. Changing careers, or whatever you want to call it. Cause I jumped out of the car business (of the last 21 years).
Yep. I started to panic. No lie. But then. It hits me. You know what? I really don’t need to be worried. Honestly. God is in control. Of my life.
Look. I can continue on, with this point. Believe me. But I’ll just shorten it all, by saying this. In life, there’s a purpose for everything that happens. And my only job, on this earth, is to follow His will for my life. It’s getting to know your creator. I mean, nothing else makes any more sense. To me, anyway.
But anyway. Things are gonna get interesting. And all I know is, if I’m to make some kind of move, then I will do so. If not, then I’ll just stay put. He’ll let me know. We’re gonna have to see what happens.
That’s nice.
I know.
But, other than that. Yeah. I’ve been busy. With my business.
In particular, I’ve been working on the back testing of my system. 2019’s results. It’s a daunting task. No doubt.
This morning I finished up the numbers for what happened this week. So let’s take a look at them. For documentation purposes.
This is my account balance for the third week of Mar.
That’s the current unrealized running totals.
And I have to do it that way, cause I’m always in the market. There’s not a time when I will take profit and basically start over.
Well, adjusting my accounts at months end is another matter. I don’t want to get into that now. Cause, there’s a big difference between live accounts and demo accounts.
Wait. I’m not too sure about that YTD figure, up there. Cause I’ve drawn out money every months end. That’ll be twice (Jan, & Feb). Man…I got to think about this. Somehow I don’t think it’s as easy as taking the current balance and subtracting it from my original starting balance of 30k, then dividing it by 30k. Know what I mean?
Well then, I’ll have to go back and see what each month’s result was. Then just add them up. Hold on.
Total = +22.15%
That’s how much I generated out of the market, so far this year. And since I followed my strategy, that’ll be how much my system produced this year, so far.
But, when you account for all of your expenses (paying myself, and my broker’s financing charges), it’s a different story. This reminds me of the difference in the numbers of my cash flow statement and my income statement. The latter takes into account my expenses. The former doesn’t.
That’s business for ya.
And I absolutely love it.
Ok. Yeah, that’s nice.
I’m happy with my system. I do feel it’s working.
Therefore, let’s look at those proof of concept numbers and prove it.
Boy…this month is unreal Journal. You have to see these figures.
This is the aggregate total.
Well, let’s start looking at the individual currencies. How about we start with the USD. If I ran my system with them, only, what will the results be? That’s running the 7 USD pairs, continually in the market, according to their stated trend.
Ok. Enough explaining.
The USD boomed this past week. In fact. Let’s add them up. At this time last week, the running total was 302. That’s 302 pips since the years start. And the latest pip count is 3,253. Ok then. Let’s subtract. 3,253 minus 302 = 2,951 pips. That means that if you had the 7 USD pairs, running perpetually all week, that is the result. And of course they are in a bull market. So you would be long the USD. According to my trend, they turned bull on Mar 12th. Which was the Thurs prior. That’s important to know, right? For the direction.
Ok. Now. I’m done explaining. Let’s move on to the others.
Oh…one more thing. All these charts follow under the day late system. So…there’s absolutely no excuse why anyone couldn’t produce this. Honestly.
Here’s the EUR.
The GBP.
The CHF.
The AUD.
The NZD.
The CAD.
I’ll show you what I’m looking at.
Follow me. On Mar 9th, CAD short (in a bear market), produced 2,051 pips. Then on the 10th resulted in -830 pips. Again, this is all CAD short. So that day was +830 pips if you were long the CAD. All of these results are contingent on what market they are in. Look over to the 13th. Their result was -1570 pips. That’s a big loss. On that day (it was a Friday) the CAD got strong. Basically, it was a counter trending day. I base the resulting pips off of what trend their in. If it’s with the trend, then positive results. If it’s a counter trended day, then it’ll be negative results.
Being in the trend = positive pips.
Negative pips = counter trended days.
And that’s the reason why I’m keeping track of the perfect system. Cause there are clues. Don’t get me wrong, we will always not know what’s gonna happen tomorrow. But, in hindsight, we can learn some kind of edge. And if used with some risk management, well, then there’s an opportunity for ya.
All I’m doing here is showing what following a trend can produce.
It’s the heart and soul of my strategy.
Alright Journal.
I’m done.
Again. Bottom line is.
My system is proving itself.
Well…this month anyway.
Mike
Good morning Journal.
Let’s see, what do we got?
Today is Sat. Mar 28th. We just completed the 4th week of the month. 2 more trading days to go in the month.
Still living the quarantined life. I mean…I’m ok. See, for me, this all reminds me of last year. That was the year, an entire year, that I was home and out of the work force. I was living the day trading life. I’m sure you remember Journal. Cause I was coming in here a whole lot. Remember the pictures I shot over to you of what my office looks like?
Well, at least I had the chance to experience my dream life. Having my own trading business. Believe me Journal, I am grateful for that time. It was what I’ve always wanted. Having my own business. Being the boss. Not having to answer to anyone. But…having all the responsibility of failure and success rest upon myself. Not having to rely upon anyone else. Having my decision making skills really mean something. And possibly produce something really great. Just being self supporting, sustaining, and independent.
I don’t know…who doesn’t want that? Right? I mean, that’s what having your own business is all about. Having all the freedom and possibility to make something of yourself. Totally out of your own control.
Being the master…instead of the slave.
All my life I’ve dreamt to experience this. And…for an entire year…it was mine. I am deeply grateful. I mean look. I’m even made this way. Do you think it bothered me not being around other people? No way. For an entire year, I was thankful that I didn’t have to physically talk to anyone. Each and every day that went by, I realized that. Which made me very happy. See. I’m not a social person. (I know I get that from my dad)
It’s just one side of me. See. We all have sides to us. I happen to think that because we come from 2 different people (a mom and a dad). My dad was a loner. Big time. He was a shy person. Not popular. Just not gifted with any kind of social attributes. Just like me. But, my mom on the other hand, was pretty social. I don’t know…she just liked people. Being around them. Talking to them. Relationships. Just like how women are, I guess.
That’s nice.
What’s my point anyway?
I was formulated, made, to have my own trading business. And I lived it. And everything that comes with the territory, was absolutely awesome!
Except one thing.
I wasn’t successful.
I couldn’t sustain it. Reality shows up and teaches us what’s what. See. Every business needs to generate a profit. And I couldn’t do it. At the time anyway. Sure. I learned a whole lot about myself. My business. And all the reasons why it didn’t work out. Mostly…I learned about truth. What my truth is. The truth about my business. The truth about who I am. And the whole purpose of life.
A lot of it comes down to timing. This is still who I am. I’m not living a lie or anything like that. I’m not deceiving myself. I believe I am a trader. I’ve always told you Journal that I was born to be a trader. That is truth. My truth. But…also…I was born a child of God. I belong to Him. Therefore, I needed to put all things into the proper perspective. First things come first. And the trader in me, my business, shouldn’t come first. He does. Now that was my mistake.
When I think about it, nothing makes more sense than to follow this logic.
God knows everything.
He knows me.
He knows trading.
He knows business.
He knows success.
God knows perfection.
Therefore, why don’t I follow his lead, in the way I should be doing things?
How should I trade?
Why should I trade?
Well, that’s what I’ve been doing lately, Journal.
Sorry about all that.
Every now and then I like to put all things into perspective. Which requires me to look back and see where I came from, and where am I going.
And my whole point is…I’m not bothered, at all, by being stuck at home. (I’ve told Trish time and time again that I wouldn’t mind it if I didn’t have to see another human being.)
I also know that He’s working on me.
But…I’ve been busy with the business.
Backtesting.
Journaling.
Therefore, how about I come back with some results.
I’ll show you what’s been happening, Journal.
Thanks for letting me type.
Mike
Journal.
Let’s talk trading, market stuff.
Well, I’ll get the documentation out of the way first.
My latest account balance.
Yeah man, those are some good numbers. I’m encouraged. And look. Believe me. I’m not bragging, by any means. See. I need this. Cause this week, I’ve been pretty discouraged. The reason why is because I’ve been back testing my system for last year. Man…last year was absolutely horrible for my system. Well, for the first 3 months anyway. That’s how far I’ve gotten, so far. And I’m really trying to continue on with it.
I realize that this year is some kind of year. In fact, I do believe this is unprecedented. The volatility is like never before. It’s all what we’ve been reading lately. Right? But what does that say about my system? Do I really have a good system? Or does anybody and everybody who has a trend following system feel like their genius’s lately. Know what I mean?
Look. It’s written, in just about every literature, including BabyPips school of pipsology, how certain strategies work well in certain market conditions. And how they will not work well in other market conditions. Ok. So. What are the conditions we are talking about. Well…the market is either trending or ranging. I can say that, or I can say this. The market is trending or it’s counter trending. It depends on what perspective you’re coming from. My perspective is more of the latter. Cause I believe the wording of what’s considered ranging is way too subjective. What I think ranging is, is not necessarily what the market might think ranging is. But…when you simplify and boil it all down to a trend (a positive), the only other possible thing you can have is the opposite, which is a counter trend (a negative). Right? Plus. You can always have degrees of trend. Long trend. Short trend. Quick trend. Drawn out trend. Constantly switching of the trends.
Anyway.
It really doesn’t matter. My point is.
What makes a good system?
Simply whether it works or not? Cause my system is working this year. But it didn’t last year. So far, anyway.
Believe me, Journal. I’ve been asking these questions all week. Here is what I have down in my Business Journal.
In fact, I’ve had to go back to the beginning. And ask the most important question.
WHAT IS MY SYSTEM?
WHAT IS MY MAIN OBJECTIVE?
I think that about sums it up.
Wouldn’t that be considered success?
In my mind, anything else would be entirely subjective. Like putting an amount on how much I should be generating. I’ve realized that a long time ago. And that’s the reason why I can’t trade in the most conventional method. Which is trying to find the best place to get in a trade, and when to get out. Being such the perfectionist I am, that’ll end up putting you in a mental institution. It’s a very hard thing to do. Therefore, my methodology is :
So, when you think about it, what makes my system work or not will highly depend on how much it trends? Right? Because the more it continues in the trend, the more it should produce. Well, now we’re getting into the factors of the trend that makes a lot of difference ( which I mentioned above). Which are:
That’s nice.
Let’s get to what happened this week. We had a switching of the trends.
The JPY switched from a bull market to a bear market. But, before that took place, I made a move at the open. I added on another position size, going with the trend. Which was JPY strong. Cause that was where they were at, at the time. I didn’t know we had a change in trends coming. So, look.
This is the pic just before I added another position size, at the open.
The 5ema is above the 9ema (yellow above green). But of course, my final trend indicator is the aggregate of all 7 of those pairs. And it was this end of day that told me to change. And that’s what I did. And now, going north (JPY bear market), with .25 lots. And at this time, I did forget to get in with 2 sizes on each (that’s the plan). So I had to immediately get in again with another .25 sizes on each. That’s why you see some double lines up there, cause there’s 2 .25 lot sizes on each pair.
So, let’s see what happens next.
Alright Journal. I’m done babbling.
I guess I’ll see ya when the month ends (next week). Cause that’ll be when the first quarter officially ends. So I’ll have to put a summary to it.
That’s what I do best, Journal. Putting all things into it’s proper perspective.
Thanks for listening.
Mike
You never answered my question, Mike. I tried backtesting your system with an algorithm, far quicker than manually doing it. Last year it would have been just better than break even and the year before it was a loss. But that’s assuming I got your strategy right. I think the extraordinary trading conditions this year have helped your system.