Bernie, everyone,
eol at 8:40 at 1.2840?
That 5min candle looks like it gave a signal for a long order only when you look at the chart IN RETROSPECT.
I was trading at that time, IN REAL TIME the candle OPENED slightly ABOVE the 10EMA. Thus, the candle has NEVER CROSSED it. Then, when the price went up, the EMA bent up, so, it looks like a signal was given when you look at the chart in retrospect. DOUBTFUL.
My trades this morning.
9:10 - long at 1.2865 - was quick enough to get +2, otherwise, if waited for +4 to move to BE, or whatever else, it would have been a loser;
10:00 - short at 1.2860 - TP +12.9.
So it makes +14.9 for the day and -10.1 since I returned to trade this system (the week).
Well, analysing the week and the results, I traded strictly by the rules (which, I believe is the definition of “consevative”:)), except for one trade on Monday, where I set the TP too far and lost the connection then. I got -11.2 on that trade, let’s say it was due to my stupidity and deduct it. Thus we get +1.1 for the week. And else, I skipped Tuesday. So, four days.
+1.1 by the rules, without miraculous orders off 1min chart and doubtful ones.
I don’t know. Let’s assume it was a terribly bad week for the system and see what happens next week.
Great weekend to everyone.
Hi everyone.
Worked hard today as need the practice, here are my trades for today too.
7.40 long 1.2835 SL moved to 1.2830-3 and hit -4.7
8.00 Short 1.2815 move SL to 1.2813-7 +1.3
9.10 Long 1.28650 hit full sL 1.2553- 8 -11.2
10.00 Short 1.2860 Hit TP 1.2845-5 +14.5
10.30 Short 1.2845 moved SL to 1.2838-2 +6.8
11.05 Long 1.2845 SL moved hit at 1.2824-1 -3.3
11.10 Short 1.2825 SL hit 1.2824-1 +0.9
Total for day = + 4.1
Total for week = +22.6
Just for interest I have my SL = 10 and TP =13 in my preferences so i do not know why I got 14.5, but for losses I have same problem as Chasing I got 10 plus the spread, I am going to change the preference for a SL of 9.
Bernie,
Can you tell me what the activity tab means by units = 1 after a trade and for example on the 10.30 trade above it said units = 1 price = -0.0054?
Im on demo and have a 100,000 account with a low margin so each trade is 300,000 units, I think I will reset it for next week to a 1000 account with a margin of about 200:1 then try to trade it as if it was my money. It will be easier to record my progress for next month at least I will be used to real values when i go live with my pocket money :eek:
hi all,
chasing, you are absolutely correct, i think? there was no signal offered at 8:40 am. the signal candle was the candle of 8:15 am. however, that in itself would have been a vey weak signal as 1.2840 had been crossed twice, 8:25 & 8:30 am. gdp news at 8:30 canceled these trades. i agree 100% with you that this trade skirted the essence of the rules. please look at the 8:35 candle. it has a long wick to the downside. the goji system that i have put forth has no rules for candle interpretation. thus, here is my thinking and why i took the trade. while looking at price action and seeing that the spreads were normal, i looked back on the charts. i saw that the 8:15 candle would still be in effect, except for the wicks of two candles that i would not have traded because of news. i then looked at the 8:35 candle, i think it is called a dragon fly, but do not hold me to that. anyway, the candle, as it appears is a bullish candle, long wick to the bottom, depending on what happens in the next candle. the heighth of that candle on close was
1.2837-3. had it, in fact, been a proper candle for the system, WHICH IT WAS NOT, the entry would have been, 1.2840. combining this factor with the previous signal offered by the 8:15 candle, i entered an order long, at the 1.2840. i should also point out, which i did not indicate above, i changed my TP to five before i started trading this morning. all i wanted from today’s action was a positive five pips. i thought that trade, as it was shaping up, had the possibility to give it to me. i tell you guys all the time to alter the rules if you see fit to harmonize with your styles. to wit, I MADE A DECISION IN THE SHORT PERIOD OF TIME I HAD, THAT DID NOT COMPLY TOTALLY WITH THE RULES. it worked out as i hoped it would and i quit for the day. thus, my report was 100% accurate for the trade i took.
now, i have taken the time to write all of this out so that each and everyone of you can also learn something from it. it is good to have a good strategy. it is good to be disciplined. it is good to have good money management. in my mind, you can not survive in forex, without these. now for the hard part that can not be relegated to rules. as an educator, if you want to be a good one, you must be able to be flexible. i think the same applies to trading. there must be some room for some flexibility. i exercised that ability this morning. it fit for what i wanted to do, at the time, and i reported it, ACCURATELY! many posts ago, i indicated that i did not favor the automatic trading programs. i believe that when trading, you should be available for trading. my actions this morning support that contention.
well, to conclude, i hope my dissertation is helpful to whom ever may take the time. chasing, hang in there. i believe you are presently going through the growing pains of a developing trader. i believe all successful traders go through this process. one way, or another, you are learning. it took me four plus years to learn to teach, but i never quit learning, even when i was teaching. much of what i learned in the beginning was not in vogue when i retired. i have been trading for about the last 40 years, four years with forex. i doubt very much that i could have been as successful as i am now, four years ago when i started with forex.
later,
goji, bernie
ps, phil, i am pretty sure it has to do with the differences in interet rates of the different currencies and how they relate to each other. it used to be that the aussie interest rate was 7 or 7.5 % and the yen was zero, or close to it. anyway, these rates are computed for each trade. if you were a long term, aussie/yen trader, in the above scenario, you could have generated, or had to give up, an additional 7.5% interest on your trade plus what ever you may have generated by price action. as short term traders, we usually are not concerned about this as the amounts are almost non-existant for us.
Bernie,
Thanks for the explanation, I really appreciate it.
As for “the growing pains of developing trader”:), it has got nothing to do with it. All our live is trading, you can look at it this way, can you not? And, same as you, I HATE TO LOSE. And, in the long run, I NEVER DO.
And I appreciate you sharing your ideas and your efforts, I wrote this many times.
The thing is, I am trying to learn your strategy from you, trying to be consistent and precise, but the rules keep changing all the time without further notice:)
It would be quite legitimate to right the rules this way now:
Buy/Sell at anytime, move SL to +whatever you can as soon as you can:)
Best of luck to everyone
Bernie, Chasing,
Yes I would agree with that, some times you look at the candles the time we trade and you just know that they are never going to swing dramatically and get you the full TP and +5 is a great trade. I also have another screen open where I am looking at the trends but if we can find other times of the day with good pip ranges please let me know.
If you compare my 9.10 with chasings I think I was to slow at raising my SL and so suffered the -11, that was me still learning.
Next week I might go live money, bernie can I ask you if I deposit say $1000 what sort of units would you start trading initially?
Thanks
hi phil,
i have mentioned that i like to use around 80% of my bankroll on any given trade. i try to be very consistant in maintaing that. i am not sure the leverage i have set forth with oanda, but i usually guage around 25,000 units for every $1000. remember, this is based on the tight stops that i use.
good luck and may all of your pips be positive!
bernie
Not sure I understand that if you use 80% and get 2 full SL = -20 pips will it that blow your account?
In Oanda if you click on change margin it should tell you your current margins, I think you can only have 1:10 to 1:50 on oaunda.
Phil,
On the Oanda screen, I believe this is true for their demo as well, when you click on buy/sell, “investigate” the small screen that pops up. You’ll see the maximum number of units available according to your margin. Then you decide what’s comfortable for you - you may go with the highest number rounded down, or less. Considering our tight stops, there is no way you can receive a margin call. But. If you lose on a trade using the highest number available, the next highest number available will be smaller. So, in order to break even, you’ll need to make more pips. If you lose again… So on.
Regards.
And Phil, the max leverage ratio you get with Oanda is 50. You won’t get 200. I don’t think this is a thing to worry about. Making pips is the challenge:)
Phil,
1 unit in the “activity tab” -/+ some cents or fractions - the carry over interest, which Oanda calculates on each trade, not like others. It’s insignificant.
hi all,
THIS SATURDAY’S MORNING LESSON COMES FROM NICK B, “THE ART OF THE CHART.”
3 Steps to Better Trading
Thu, Jan 8, 2009
Trading Lessons
Most new traders approach the market in the wrong way. They some how get the idea that being a trader is all about finding the right method. So they go on an expedition in search for that perfect combination of indicators, and it rarely ends well.
The truth is becoming a trader has very little to do with the system you use.
I have no real trading system. I have a trading method which is the composition of a few simple concepts. I believe a system sets out rules and limitations. A method, on the other hand, gives you the basic tools but the implementation is up to you.
The problem with trading systems is they are too rigid for a changing market so they do not work. The problem with a trading method is that you have to have the right mindset to properly implement the basic concepts of the method.
So how do you develop the right mindset?
Well I�ll tell you how I did it. I started off small. Instead of complicating trading I simplified it. From there, I was able to learn how to become consistently profitable. Here�s how I did it;
I decided to jump up to the 4 hour charts and I haven�t looked back since. I strongly believe that every trader should trade on hourly charts or above.
The point is not so much what timeframe I traded it�s the fact that I picked a single time frame, and stuck to it. To me it was all about simplifying trading so I could more efficiently learn to trade.
So looking at a single timeframe had several benefits;
Allowed me to concentrate on learning one time frame, therefore removing a lot of the confusion you can have when juggling multiple time frames.
Gave me less charts to look at and allowed me to concentrate more on analysing a single currency pair.
Stopped me from over analysing my pair. Looking at too many time frames gave me conflicting signals.
Overall having a single time frame keeps it simple.
Each Pair is Unique: Trading a single pair allows you to learn how that pair breaths. You will know a lot about a single pair instead of knowing a little about 5 pairs.
Speeds up Learning: Trading a single pair with a single time frame gives you only 1 chart to look at. This allows you to concentrate all your analysis on a single pair.
The idea behind picking a single pair to trade is a simple one. It is all about simplifying trading so you can learn to become a consistently profitable trader.
I looked at my method and I decided it was capable of generating around 50-70 pips per trade, giving me on average two trades per week. So I set my weekly pip goal to 100 pips. When I meet my goal I stopped trading for the week.
Why was this so important?
It was important because
It gave my trading structure and allowed me to plan ahead, long term.
It gave me a goal to aim for instead of trading aimlessly.
That�s not all it did though. I fought against the biggest psychological pitfalls, which I discussed previously in this article, such as the tendency to overtrade and being undisciplined.
The urge to overtrade is one of the biggest problems a newbie trader faces. If you have a set target once you reach it you can relax, and take it easy for the rest of the week. It removes that pressure traders usually have to make more and more pips. It also keeps you disciplined because it gives you a structured plan that you can stick to.
SummaryIf you follow these 3 steps I can guarantee you that your trading will improve immensely. It will take time but if you can stick to it you will begin to notice improvements. If you want to succeed you need to simplify your trading and you need to become disciplined. Chaos and complexity will get you nowhere.
AGAIN, THIS WEEK’S SATURDAY MORNING LESSON COMES FROM NICK B, “ART OF THE CHART.” you can find him in baby pips or forex for noobs, and you do not have to be a noob to read him.
giji, bernie
hi all,
what i the problem with ouada I place orders and it goes past them and doesnt fill them then a minute later the fill shows up without any SL TP and sometimes the fill value is no where near the requested, is anybody having the same problems?
Philbot Hi,
Yep I have had the same problem all morning (I’m on GMT time). For me, my orders were placed no problem but one order that should have hit my SL didn’t until about 2 mins later. On the upside I entered another trade and left my PC. I came back later to see it had hit my TP and past straight through it. Only later did it take profit and by then i had gained even more pips!!
Not the best way to trade though. BTW I am on the demo, what are you on?
Mickey.
Yes definately NOT the way to trade, Im on demo too I think there must be a problem with there servers but I do not see any connection problems this is the 1st time I have seen thsi happen
I was told a long time ago that the O. demo server was old, separate, and maintained/serviced after the “live” server was attended to. I have no idea how true this is but I read on the O. forum and the comment wasn’t challenged. In short, the demo may not be as accurate. Which leads one to think if you don’t get good action on the demo then would a prospect go “live”?
Nonetheless I like Oanda very much. d
hi all,
first of all, let me say, at no time this morning was i disappointed with oanda’s
execution of my trades. now, this was vitally important because of the way the morning unfolded. to make money, i had to move the S/L often, and was very much at the mercy of oanda’s ability to get things done for me. i hope that some of you who have been having some problems recently were equally adept at moving that S/L line today because it was the only way you would have been able to make money this morning.
the morning’s trades:
8:15 eos, 1.2755
8:16 short, 1.2755
8:16 exit, 1.2750, had been 1.2747, +5
8:35 eol, 1.2770
8:36 long, 1.2770
8:37 exit, 1.2770, had been to 1.2774-1, 0, +5
8:55 eol, 1.2775
8:57 long, 1.2775
9:02 exit, 1.2777, had been to 1.2781-7, +2, +7
10:35 eos, 1.2800
10:40 cancel short
10:40 eol, 1.2825
10:45 cancel long
10:45 eos, 1.2790
10:49 short, 1.2790
10:50 exit, 1.2788, had been to 1.2785-1, +2, +9
february total, +9
i will be back at 3:00 pm. right now, i am off to buy a tee-shirt celebrating the pittsburgh steeler’s victory in the super bowl yesterday!
later,
goji, bernie
Bernie, everyone,
Oanda’s execution this morning was far from excellent, to say the least. Except for the problems already listed, I got disconnected again, having a limit order in the system. I called them right away, but by the time someone answered, (I was on hold for, like 4-5min.), I was able to reconnect and cancel the order myself.
Well, I made a change to my SL settnigs, made it 9, thus, with the spread it’s around 10.
I got up early this morning and decided to take a trade. It was not such a good idea:).
5:55 - short - exit at SL -9.9.
The others:
7:55 - long +2; -7.9;
8:15 - short +6; -1.9;
8:35 - long BE; -1.9;
8:45 - short +3; +1.1;
8:55 - long +2; +3.1;
10:50 - short BE.
It makes +3.1 for the morning and for the month.
All the best.
And, personally for Bernie, congratulations on the Steelers’ win.
hi,
Well when I started my first trade the system was working ok
7.55 Eol 1.2770
changed to 1.277-9 to get +7.9
The 8.15 trade was were the demo system went up the creek it took 2 mins to fill the order and then no stop loss etc… I tried a few more times same problem so could never tell if order was filled etc. until later I seen it that it had opened and closed on the log some winners some losers so I wont be counting them in my performance seems I had no control over what was happening, neither could I see the SL to move it.
So I am taking the +7.9 start for Feb
Hopefully I shud have my real account tomorrow and this will not happen.
Chasing… I never report a BE as when I move my SL I just gauge it against the grid squares as its faster than looking to the left to see the diff between price and new SL. If you set up your graph the correct size its approx 4 pips behind the moving price. I heard someone had an automated program that he could jsut press a function button did you try that and did it work sucessfully?
I notice the 7.55 trade we did was significantly different jsut lucky I guess, similar when comparing your trades with Bernies there are slight differences must be our emotions :rolleyes: