Wow 
@dushimes, I found a post at your early stage as a trader. 
1 Like
Sorry if I made it sound confusing. I didn’t mean searching in different TF. Basically, I meant trading a retracement while waiting for the major trend to resume.
I see now. Sure, that’s a totally valid strategy.
1 Like
The problem, however, is psychological. You trade countertrend short-term, and your mind gets stuck on riding that until infinity. Your mind might get so focused on continuing that short-term trend, you actually forget it’s short-term and countertrend.
If not careful, you could miss the entry signal for the major trend, which is where the real money is.
I’ve had this problem in the past. I’d like to think I’m past that now…but I’m not sure.
1 Like
It’s crucial to maintain an accurate trading journal because it enables you to evaluate the overall performance of your trading decisions and the efficacy of your strategy.
I feel like you two should talk and be friends.
It seems that I’m having some trouble with my broker’s platform. I have a regular account, and a demo account.
For some reason, the charts won’t load on my demo account. I tried closing everything and restarting my computer. It still doesn’t work.
The charts load in the regular live account, but I’m not trading with that at the moment.
I tried calling customer service, but they’re closed.
I checked my other laptop and smartphone. Not working.
I could check on the P/L of each trade, but not the chart. Things look ok so far.
I can’t trade, but I can still practice on my own charts.
Grrrrrrr…
Sometimes I have saved money when the platform is down…
1 Like
I’m using IG.
However, I’m still happy with them. And today, the demo platform is back up.
Also, I trade with Forex.com. They have a nice platform, but I don’t like their charts at all. I like how their orders are set up.
I’ve used IG’s charts for trades with Forex.com and I haven’t had a problem. This may not seem like a smart idea, but I’m trading D1, so my stops are pretty wide compared to people who are trading faster TFs.
I’ve used Ally also. They’re the same thing as Forex.com but purple. Exactly the same thing. They’re under the same company.
1 Like
Good for you! 
1 Like
I’m trying something new, which may seem obvious, but for me it’s not.
I’m trying to understand where the trend might be going. I used to just look at D1, draw S/R, then have no idea where price might go next.
When I backtest, it seems like a no-brainer which way price is going. Sure, because I’ve already seen the chart. But when I practice old charts the swings aren’t complete. I don’t know what’ll happen next. It just seems so much easier then.
And I was trying to figure out why it seems so easy in backtesting. This is when you gotta put your thinking cap on.
You gotta ask ¨why? and what can I do about it?¨ Not like a rhetorical question; a real question.
So, I tried to recreate my steps for my live charts. And it’s really simple. Mark the recent S/R, and look for the most recent reversal sign I WOULD have taken. This helps me to understand what could be happening at the moment.
Price could be retracing in a really weird way, and it could be really confusing. But, this may help me understand which direction to trade and which signs to pay attention to.
Of course, if all else fails, I can just sit on the sidelines!
I have three trades that I think I jumped into prematurely.
GBP/USD and EUR/USD. I’m short on both for now. They might be bullish for a couple days…I’m having trouble reading them. I could move my SL to BE but that would actually go against my strategy.
In my backtesting, SL management was never necessary. It actually ruined some trades. I just gotta take the loss. But it’s part of the plan.
Right now, though, I had a signal, but I’m not sure if I should hold or not.
If I’m not sure, it’s ok to just not trade; better actually.
1 Like
I’m doing my trading for the day, and I’m having trouble with some trades. Some of the major trends have already started running, so I’m waiting for a good entry.
They seem so confusing. Do I go long or short??? It’s confusing and frustrating.
I walked away from my computer for a couple minutes. I went to wash my face and chill out for a moment. I realized that perhaps I’m being impatient. Why does it look so easy in backtesting it, and when I practice on my charts?
I took a look at a sample trade. There was a false signal, then another false signal two weeks later. Then the REAL signal came THREE weeks later. That’s five weeks waiting for the right signal, in that particular trade.
Not all trades are like that, but here I am jumping at signals, wondering why I’m not seeing the same thing when trading the live market. Well, because when I’m backtesting, there’s no element of patience. I’m not dealing with the anxiety of missing out. It sucks to watch the market move, and you’re not benefiting from ANY of it.
The entire purpose of trading is to make money when the market moves. So, why am I not taking part when the market is moving? Because my strategy says I should wait.
Being in the market when SOMETHING is about to happen is nothing like waiting for the right signal.
It’s better to sit on the sidelines for 30 days waiting for the right signal, rather than taking two signals a week and losing money.
I have to contemplate more on the application of my strategy to live trading. This is my biggest problem.
Today, I felt like I’m repeating the same losing habits as two months ago.
1 Like
I realized some of the reversals i was trying to trade were just retracements. I’m not happy about it. That’s a real understatement, but I’m not in the mood for an emotional rant right now.
I saw that the reversals looked weird, but I traded them anyway and I was wrong. There are VERY profitable trades in retracements. The problem is seeing them for what they are.
I’ve done this before. I’m trying to understand the difference between a retracement and a reversal. I can’t just complain about it. I can’t keep doing the same thing. I have to do SOMETHING different.
I’m gonna look for some tricky retracement samples and practice trading them.
The problem is that looking for such samples are difficult to find because they only seem difficult when trading live. After the trade is complete, everything seems so obvious.
All morning I’ve been thinking about getting those trades wrong. I really got to me. I couldn’t really think straight. People were talking to me and I was zoning out thinking about those trades.
Well, that didn’t really take long. I found one sample in EUR/HUF. There was a nice signal, but it was a false signal. Ten days later, another false signal. Five days later, a beautiful doji signal arrives (even though the three prior candles look bearish), and price shoots up. Then, about two weeks later it returns near my entry, then it goes to the moon!.
Argh! The emotional aspect is where I’m really having trouble. I’m gonna keep working on it, but trying to figure out what elements are missing from my process.
I try to find old charts to practice trading. But really tricky trades. I’m looking for something that is really confusing, and then I can practice it over and over.
But I never find any. I never find any such trades. I never find any trades that are impossible to read. That means all charts are the same in that there are clues, and I just have to be patient and look out for them. The only difference between an old chart and live is that there’s no patience or emotional aspect.
Ok, so that’s what I need to work on and pay attention to when practicing or studying.
While looking at charts, sometimes I hear myself say nonsense like, ¨I wish I knew where price was gonna go…¨
Well, sure. Isn’t that everyone wants? If that were an option, I’m someone would have mentioned it by now.
This’ll sound weird, but I was looking at EUR/CAD, and I’m like, ¨oh man, what do I do? Where’s it gonna go?¨
So, I refered to my strategy. I still don’t know where price will go, but I have a PLAN for the signals that I’m seeing. And it made me chill out a bit.
It doesn’t mean that I’m right, because I won’t know until tomorrow. However, I know that I’m following a plan. Even if the plan is wrong, it’s ok. I’m not trading randomly, and that’s a relief.
CAD/NOK is on my roster. I’ve always like how the kroner moves. It’s beautiful. However, the required margin is really high. Really, really high. I’m considering taking it off my list.
I have to consider that you have to be strategic not only with the trades, but also capital management.
If I only have enough funds for 5 trades, and CAD/NOK is #2 on my list, while EUR/USD is at the bottom; then if I wanna trade EUR/USD I might not have much margin left because CAD/NOK ate a huge chuck of my funds.
It might now be a bad idea to reduce my list a bit more. If I don’t have enough money to trade all of them, then what’s the point?
Maybe it’s good just to keep my options open? Hmmm
I just practiced on one of my charts and I traded terribly. Perhaps it’s because they’re screenshots and I can’t draw any lines for reference, but I think it’s more than that.
I just choke basically. And I wasn’t following any of the rules at all. I was trading just based off of emotions. When I got a panic-type feeling, I would sell. Sure, it would look like a signal, but the conditions were wrong. So, I see a potential signal, don’t examine anything, and just trade.
How horrible! I’m examining my thought process, and I’m gonna trade it again in a few minutes. I need to train my brain to just chill, and wait for the right moments.
Patience, young Skywalker. Patience.
1 Like