[B]Free4Life[/B], I too have observed the above, and this is why I am planning to use both systems simultaneously. The Macro Method is a trend-following method, and by virtue will suffer draw-down in ranging markets. However, the DNA Method in a way can be used to mitigate the effects of the draw-down.
Hey there [B]IronHeart[/B], the large stop-losses for me used to be quite an issue too, but it was because I was not exercising proper position sizing. Now my Stop-Loss, no matter how large it is, is only 1% of my account per contract. Are you sure youāre position sizing is optimal?
Firstly, a huge THANKS for your generosity in sharing your trading thoughts & methods. I have been reading this thread for about a month, catching up & trying to absorb the huge amount of information it contains. Not an easy task for someone [U]very[/U] new to FOREX. But I have read every post (other than those by banned members) & feel like I walked from BabyPips School straight into a Masterās degree.
Also thanks go to [U]all[/U] who take time to help newbies like myself. To single out just a few: Ironheart, Master Tang, Mastergunner99, o990l6mh, kockneerebel, Merchantprince.
And a special thanks to Graviton & DodgeV83. Graviton alone has given me many pages of wisdom & insights that (if I follow them:p) will save me from making many mistakes. The programming skill of DodgeV83 is only surpassed by his willingness to share with us all.
As you say Tymen, you have a great team of like-minded helpers on this thread. I am looking forward to reading the final pdfs. I will incorporate some of these ideas into the strategy I am currently demo trading while I learn to use both the methods in their own right.
Tymen, we may never know how many traders your thread has helped. I donāt think anyone could have read all your teachings and not gained many things from it. This has truly been an epic undertaking. Iām sure itās been a draining effort on your part and Iāll add my thanks to others who are impressed with the generosity of your spirit.
I do hope you will be able to get your rest and keep your health up. Even trading isnāt much fun if you fall ill. Iāll repeat here a post to you made on my thread. I keep a very soft comfortable pair of earplugs on my night stand. If anything wakes me in the night like thunder, Iāll slip them in and sleep peacefully the rest of the night. They work very well. The brand is called Hearos and they are easy to find and order off the net. They work to block out kids and grandkids loudest music, so Iām sure they would work to block out barking dogs as well.
Take good care of yourself and I hope you have good fortune in your newly resumed trading.
Hey xXTrizzleXx, Iāve been reading your thread, good work on the trading!
Yes actually itās not really a problem of proper position sizing for me, its the way it effects the R/R.
Even though any size stop loss still loses the account 2%, wins tend to be quite timid due to the magnitude of the SL. This is why I have been working on developing a way to enter the trades earlier and trying to obtain a higher R/R. So far, it has been successful, but needs to be used very carefully.
I can explain my technique more thoroughly if anyone wants, but I still need to test it a tad longer!
Could you please post a few charts of some of your typical entries so we can examine them further.
The method I use requires you to be quite fluent with the traditional BB DNA + CBL technique, so that we can anticipate a move before it actually happens and try entering it earlier, thus reducing risk (Iāll reveal it in time, perhaps even in a separate thread to not derail this one).
I think it will be more useful for you if you entered trades later, not sooner.
I would be happy to examine your trades if you post a few charts
Those last weeks i was working furiously on a personal digital trading-diary/perfocmance-record. I know there are some of these on the internet but i tried most of them and found none of them fitting my needs.
And since i always think in ā[U]if i canāt find it i just create it no matter what[/U]ā i spent hours and sleepless nights to learn new programming-languages, try different programms, planing how everything must work to satisfy me, and so on.
Im not sure if im going to share this file, because it was made to fit my personal needs. Not sure if it will be useful for others. Anyway so far im pretty proud of how it works and i think i created a milestone in my personal trading-career with it.
[U]To the final-PDF:[/U]
Dont worry. Im still there, watching and reading everything on this thread.
And the final PDF will look awesome! Im still with you guys.
[B]Tymen i think the most easy way would be like this:[/B]
You write down a first version of each chapter of the pdf.
Whenever you need a graphic just draw a Sketch there. I just need a vague idea what it should look like.
When you have finished a chapter just send me the raw-version and i will work on everything that has to do with graphics.
When im finished i send it back to you so you can have a look and give me Feedback.
I think this would be the best way because i donāt really know EXACTELY what you need me to do
So at the moment i will probably just start working in a wrong direction.
Ah yeah and dont worry about sending me a lot of stuff to do.
I love all of this!!!
And wellā¦ I dont need sleep. I think Iām a vampire!
Ok Iāll prepare an example of what Iām trying to do and show you guys. But I will need to do this later because I have tennis practice after the Eng V Ger game!
Great match wasnāt it [B]Ironheart![/B] Pity what happened to Englandās second āgoalā though :(. I eagerly anticipate what youāve come up with to further improve the Risk:Reward ratio - the only thing Iāve been able to do, is cutting the CBL in half, and even then, thatās only when it is too close to the Middle Bollinger Band.
The red candle to the immediate right of the black vertical line was used as my extreme candle for drawing the CBL (0.8632). Stop loss set at the low of the extreme candle (0.8608).
After the close of the signal entry candle (2nd candle to the right of the extreme candle; arrow drawn inaccurately), 2 lots were entered for a long trade at 0.8642. TP1 set at 0.8660 and TP2 at the opp BB.
After entry, price action retraced and hit SL without even meeting TP1. Total loss = 2 x 34 = 68 pips.
Looking back at this trade, I noticed 1 rather glaring mistake I made - my extreme candle was chosen BEFORE the opp BB started contracting. Hence I entered too early and was burned by the retracement. Are there any other mistakes I made?
Assuming I had made the correct entry (the new extreme candle highlighted by the orange arrow), when the next signal entry candle (highlighted by the purple arrow) has closed, it cuts through the mid BB. In this case, do I ignore TP1 and aim straight for TP2 at the opp BB, or do I skip this trade?
While I did not have much opportunity to demo trade and test the BB DNA so far, some observations and queries arose over the past couple of days.
(1) How often do trade opportunities/setups occur for you guys? Iām trading the H1 timeframe, and have seen a rough average of 1 trade per day (ok, given that I have only started demo trading this on Wed, it may not be a fair observation). Tymen mentioned that we should not be going lower than 20min TFs so Iām assuming 30min TFs are the minimum. So how are the opportunities coming along for the guys trading the 30min TF?
(2) For my 2 trades thus far, Iām observing a rather low risk:reward ratio - 1:0.475 for my trade in post #3713, and 1:0.53 for the trade above. Am I doing something wrong? I noted that Tymen taught us to set up SR lines using the daily/4H charts and to use them as guidelines for setting TP, but Iām worried about the gyrations on the larger TFs hitting the SL set using a lower TF.
Dang I had more questions, but Englandās exit from the World Cup has somewhat disrupted my thought processes
Would greatly appreciate inputs on my trades (in post #3713 and above)!
PS: Iām still having trouble figuring out how to exit a single lot at TP1 from an initial order of 2 lots using the MT4 platform. Do let me know if you know a way around this!
While I cannot answer your first question due to not trading the 1H TF, Iāll have a go at your other questionsā¦
Yes - in my experience, the R/R is generally low. If you only hit TP1 and end up breaking even on your 2nd lot, R/R tends to be around 1:0.5 at [B]most[/B]. If you manage to hit the other band in an O-O type trade, then it tends to be anything from 1:1 to 1:1.5, although 1:1 is more common.
Closing half lot in MT4: If you open your position with, say, 0.2 lots (so each contract is worth 0.1 lots) and you want to close 0.1 lots at TP1, all you have to do is double click on your open position to open the trade window, select instant execution and change the lots value to 0.1. When you click the big yellow button to close the trade, it will close 0.1 lots and you will still have 0.1 lots running.
As for trade opportunity, I usually start scanning my pairs from the 4H time frame, right down to 2H then 1H, of course with 4H taking priority. With 12 pairs and 3 time frames each, thereās bound to be a trade to be taken. Starting at 4H also makes the RR more appealing than the other time frames.
hiā¦ first of all thanks to mr tymen1 for this wonderful threadā¦ i have learn a lot here. finished reading this thread last weekend n now practicing this dna methodā¦
so far so goodā¦ will post some charts soon for the trade takenā¦ hope seniors here can give commentsā¦
Thank you, [B]Graviton[/B], for your very kind words in both this post and the one on your own thread!!
Draining indeed!!
I may be having a delayed reaction just now with a slowing down of posts!!
I do hope you will be able to get your rest and keep your health up. ā¦
You are the only one so far who has repeatedly warned me to watch my health.
I thank you for this.
Being a senior yourself, you understand this and your experience really shows!!
One of the things I have done to protect my health is indeed to slow down on the posts and redirect my efforts in other areas to keep a balanced life - very necessary in a small town.
The dogs barking has slowed down in my street due to my persistance in dealing with the matter.
I am able to sleep peacefully at night but the workload appears now very heavy, even though it is not really so.
But my new discoveries in this thread keep my spirits up.
I will post my latest in handling the retracements in a few posts.
I have been reading this thread for about a month, catching up & trying to absorb the huge amount of information it contains. Not an easy task for someone [U]very[/U] new to FOREX. But I have read every post (other than those by banned members) & feel like I walked from BabyPips School straight into a Masterās degree.
- especially TYMEN. 
