hey pipbandit. Good to see you are doing even better in everything lol.
I see that you have done in 15M timeframe more often now. what do you think of that?
These days, I am not so successful in squeeze zone. Many pairs seem to have very short squeeze time. A new trend starts sooner, it seems.
Thanks Zaboon. Iāve shifted into the 15 min timeframes a bit more often as my trading time has been reduced due to work ramping up quite a bit recently. With the Boll DNA method I keep missing the entries setting up so Iāve had to go hunting for other entries using price action, momentum, S&R lines and fibonacci retracements. Checking back over charts during the day I can see entries that I missed where the method wouldāve worked out fine but I havenāt been able to get in sync with the currency pairs this last week for some reason. Just not sure where things are going and I donāt use the Boll DNA method just on itās own for entries - like to have a general agreement in my head with the entry based on other factors in the market too.
I hear you. 1H gives like 3 or 4 chances daily, sometimes less than that I think if you just use bollinger band. That is the reason I used to use 15M a lot so I can scalp some. And now I use 5M.
I guess when I want a lot of pips, I use bollinger though for an extreme candle to appear on 1H chart. But it takes time. So, I use other methods (MA, Pivot)for scalping while waiting on a big wave.
I will keep watching on your journal with 15M timeframe. But my experiences tell me that 15M can be a bit noisy. Its outer band is usually middle band in 1H chart.
Happy trading,
Trade 28 - 19/11/2010
Pair: Gold Spot
Timeframe: 15 mins
Had gone long with this pair with 2 mini lots early this morning trying to catch a ride on the move up. Entered at 1356.50 and price went my way nicely for a while. Probably shouldāve cashed out as I saw price start to come back a bit but then China released itās banking reserve requirements increase news and price plummeted all of a sudden back to my stop at 1354.00. Oh wellā¦ mixture of bad timing and staying in a trade for too long when it had already returned a nice profit for me. Should have moved my stop to breakeven too which I normally do but with work kind of busy it slipped my mind until too late. Some lessons to absorb and not a major loss.
P1: -25 pips
Total Account Risk: 2.83%
R/R: -1.00
Account Balance: -2.83%
Overall Account Balance: +71.38%
Trade 29 - 23/11/2010
Pair: EUR/USD
Timeframe: 15 mins
Went short with 1 mini lot just before the 1.36 level as price seemed to be hitting a resistance zone and there was a bit of a hint of divergence in the stochastics. European indices were well down as well so figured it was worth a go all in all. Stop was placed at 1.3620 as if PA got up to there I thought thatād invalidate the trade idea.
PA took a turn south not long after the trade was entered but seemed to be holding up around the 1.3588 mark when it suddenly dropped down to near 1.3550 at which point I closed out immediately. Been my experience that those sort of sudden drops for no apparent reason are often clawed back relatively quickly which does seem to have happened in this case.
P1: +39 pips
Total Account Risk: 1.34%
R/R: 1.70
Account Balance: +2.28%
Overall Account Balance: +75.28%
Trade 30 - 24/11/2010
Pair: EUR/USD
Timeframe: 15 mins
I went long early this morning at about 7am GMT with this pair at 1.3390. Was thinking that we might get a bit of a retrace this morning after yesterdayās monster move down which I missed out on due to work keeping me busy elsewhere. Entered with 1 mini lot and stop was placed 20 pips below my entry in case things didnāt work out.
And things definitely didnāt work out like I hoped. Was +20 pips for a while but once the European bourses started to open and more traders come online price dropped rapidly and I was stopped out. Was on my way to work at the time so hadnāt moved stop to breakeven after being up a bit.
So, one step forward and then one step backward lately. Been stuck around this level for a while now. To be expected though I suppose. Some weeks are going to be better than others.
P1: -20 pips
Total Account Risk: 1.14%
R/R: -1.00
Account Balance: -1.14%
Overall Account Balance: +73.28%
Trade 31 - 25/11/2010
Pair: EUR/USD
Timeframe: 15 mins
And the see-saw continues. Went short with this pair at 3:45pm GMT at 1.3775 after it took a quick leap up. Entered with 2 mini lots. Given the thin trading conditions I placed the stop pretty tight at 1.3790. Held at entry point for a few minutes before dipping back. Didnāt seem to have much momentum after pushing down a bit and once price started to recover decided to close out for a small profit. Not been my best couple of weeks all in all but at least Iāve managed to preserve my capital which is something. Hopefully next week can start to pick out some better entries again.
P1: +9 pips
Total Account Risk: 1.73%
R/R: 0.60
Account Balance: +1.04%
Overall Account Balance: +75.08%
Iād just like to say I appreciate the time your putting in to this effort Pipbandit.
I think many people should take hope from your journal, you have at the end of the day made money and thatās what itās all aboutā¦ and a handsome sum at that.
All the best for your future trading.
Thanks Forexdawn!
Trade 32 - 26/11/2010
Pair: GBP/USD
Timeframe: 15 mins
Went long with this pair with 1 mini lot after price began to recover from the early afternoon low of 1.5612. Entered at 1.5630 and was targeting the 38.2% retracement in the screenshot above. Stop was placed at 1.5600.
Seems like I picked the wrong Fib retracement level though as price rebounded from the 23.6% level and dropped down quickly to my stop loss. I knew this trade was a little risky as stock markets were down (though recovering slightly at the time) and was decidedly counter-trend but I thought after the big drop that we might see a bit more of a bounce similar to what we experienced yesterday. Not to be though and given that it was a Friday after Thanksgiving I probably should have just stayed away from this one. Soā¦ two wins and two losses this week to finish +0.41% for the week overall. Hopefully better luck and some wiser decisions in store for next week.
P1: -30 pips
Total Account Risk: 1.71%
R/R: -1.00
Account Balance: -1.71%
Overall Account Balance: +72.08%
@Trade 32
Yeah, I was watching this and it didnāt look good with the BB indicator. Itās ok, youāre still way ahead.
Bnjnson - yep youāre right. I had a look later on a chart with the BB bands and it looked an awful entry. Shouldāve stayed away.
Trade 33 - 01/12/2010
Managed to get back to some trading this lunchtime after having to take a break Monday & Tuesday. Iād been watching EUR/USD on and off this morning and thought Iād have a go at shorting if the 50% retracement was reached. Entered with 1 mini lot once this happened at 1.3131.
Price dropped fairly quickly after entry and as Iām not sure if Iāll be able to monitor the trade and I think it might head up again a bit more once the US markets open I decided to close out manually just now to take home a small profit. Iāll probably be looking to short this again sometime soonā¦ unless it drops like a rock right now in which case Iāll just quietly fume.
P1: +30 pips
Total Account Risk: 1.74%
R/R: 1.00
Account Balance: +1.74%
Overall Account Balance: +75.08%
Thatāll be a quietly fume then. Didnāt know how the ISM numbers coming out at 3pm were going to effect this. With the stock markets up thought we might see a bit of a risk on run. Oh wellā¦ on to the next trade!
Trade 34 - 03/12/2010
Pair: Gold Spot
Timeframe: 1 Hour
Not much to this trade. Had gone long last night with 1 mini lot after JP Morgan had had a go at trying to manufacture an inside reversal day. Went in once price seemed to be recovering after that low at 1388. Price drifted up overnight but not too much and by the time I woke up this morning seemed to be heading back down again so closed out manually for a small profit at 1389.50. Hoping itāll drop some more so I can re-establish another long.
P1: +15 pips
Total Account Risk: 1.71%
R/R: 0.50
Account Balance: +0.86%
Overall Account Balance: +76.58%
Ouch - gold shot up instead after NFPs. Quite often been a bad release for gold lately so I think I did the right thing stepping out this morning and playing it safe. Blythe and the rest of the flying monkey brigade at JPM will be on for pushing price down early next week so hopefully Iāll get a chance to buy a dip or even catch the price manipulation downward if Iām lucky.
Trade 35 - 03/12/2010
Pair: EUR/USD
Timeframe: 1 Hour
Went short at 1.34 with 1 mini lot after price had pushed up there a while after NFPs. Seemed to be working out well enough but then price started to come back and with the weekend coming I decided to close out early for a small profit. Didnāt feel comfortable holding over the weekend and figure I can just re-enter after I see how things are going.
P1: +14 pips
Total Account Risk: 1.13%
R/R: 0.70
Account Balance: +0.79%
Overall Account Balance: +77.91%
Trade 36 - 07/12/2010
Pair: Gold Spot
Timeframe: 1 Hour
Missed out on most of the earlier rise up in Gold with work this morning but around lunch I entered during a pullback with a long entry of 1 mini lot. Target was the parallel channel line Iād drawn on the 1 hour. Stop was placed $3 below my entry of 1425.10.
Trade worked out pretty well and price rose up to nudge itās way past the channel line but I think greed got the better of me a little bit. The momentum seemed to be with the long so I held on with the trade to see if itād push past that line some more but things fizzled out and it started to fall back. Decided to close out manually and get some profit started for the week.
P1: +41 pips
Total Account Risk: 1.74%
R/R: 1.32
Account Balance: +2.30%
Overall Account Balance: +82.01%
Trade 37 - 07/12/2010
Pair: Silver Spot
Timeframe: 1 hour
Had a little spare this time this afternoon and went long with this pair with 1 mini lot after it had dipped under 30.00. Entered at 29.93 with a stop at 29.63. Thought this area might offer some decent resistance though itād depend on how hard the big boys decided to go after it of course. Disappointed to have missed out on the big moves down in both gold and silver - away from my desk at the Comex open unfortunately.
Price rose up 30.22 before it started to fall back under another attack. Figured Iād not try to push my luck and closed out early for a quick profit. Was tempted to go for a short at this point but thought Iād wait and see what happened. Seems like it was the wrong decision with silver taking another big hit. Still, added a few more percent to the account and about 75% of the way to my weekly target so I wonāt complain too much.
P1: +22 pips
Total Account Risk: 1.65%
R/R: 0.73
Account Balance: +1.21%
Overall Account Balance: +84.21%
Nice results PipBandit. Are you using a system anymore?
I still keep an eye out for Boll DNA trades but my screen time isnāt what it once was and I donāt seem to catch them lately. So I mostly just try to catch entries using price action, momentum, some fib lines, etc. on some of the shorter timeframes. Been liking Gold recently too as it feels a bit more predictable these days than the currencies which are all over the place in my opinion. So, donāt have so much of a defined system per se I guess but Iām trying to work on that to give myself some better entries and exits as Iāve not been maximising my results. Always improvements to be made and things to be learned I guess!
How do you improve, if your strategy is not written down?
I keep a detailed excel spreadsheet with shows what type of trade I was trying - Iāve subdivided my trades into various groups. Includes other stats too such as max profitability, etc. Iāll be watching this over time to see what sort of trades are profitable for me and what ones I tend to miss more on.
Iāve only just over a yearās experience so far so Iām still feeling my way as to what works for me and what doesnāt. In the end I think you have to find what works for you personally and it can take a bit of trial and error. I donāt have the time (or inclination to be honest) to extensively back test so I figured Iād just test things out in real time. Might cost me a few quid now and again but things are going along ok so far. I guess one simple way of knowing if Iām improving or not is seeing the % ROI go up or down 
