Had time to place a trade:
I wasn’t stopped out of this trade by 0,31 points! Sometimes you have luck sometimes you don’t.
I just raised my SL to -15 points.
Edit: Was stopped out for BE a while ago…max profit was +16 points.
Yeah - I know the feeling too well 
but you got 20 points - good days work.
Talking Dax behaviour - Nasdaq has been strange, I’m sure it’s algos. If you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time you can get whipsawed for more than 20pts on a one minute candle and get stopped out if you’ve got a tight SL. This presents a SL conundrum for scalpers, you never know how big the spike can be. And I have noticed, of late, that a nice big candle on the one minute is immediately taken out by next candle. Am I being paranoid? I’ve been trading 15yrs, I’m sure it wasn’t always like this, I sometimes worry I’m going senile. Traders on higher timeframes probably wouldn’t notice this - hope it’s algos and not me. 
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As I am only in the game since 2021 I can’t tell you for sure, but I made the observation too, that right now there is a high chance of moves, which start very promising, going no where in the end. This is why I changed my trading style, too. I thought, that this is normal market behavior, after the volatility from the covid pandemic and the war cooled of.
Thanks. That does mean a lot to me. I am at a stage in my trading, where I desperately need such inputs from others…I don’t know why this is…
Maybe I am not 100% suited to trade on my own and I need a boss who pats on my back from time to time 
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I thought about risk levels and lot sizes recently.
Tom Hougaard starts every year with 100.000 pounds. He trades 200 pounds per point in the DAX, that means that 10 points equal 2% of his account. Currently I take half of his risk level. 1% per 10 points. It still feels a little high. And because I am limited with my leverage, a bigger draw down has the potential of forcing me to lower my position size.
If I increase my account size, I will reduce my relative risk level to 0,75 % per 10 points. Which means I would only be up 16,73 % for the year right now. If I extrapolate my current return, I maybe could achieve 1153 DAX points in this year. That would mean 86,48 % ROI with a risk of 0,75 % per 10 points. TH would make 230,6 % with the same return in points.
Would 86,48 % be still enough ROI to make the high risk of daytrading worth it? What do you think?
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I think 86.48% would be ok, you can’t really judge yourself against TH, having said that, the way TH is going at the moment you might even beat him!
Is trading worth it? Only you can say whether you love it or loathe it.
I think that you are doing very well.
Talking of points (1153 Dax in a year), I remember Al Brooks once proffering the idea of increasing size and reducing take profit to only 1pt per day eg. 50 weeks averaging 1pt/day = 250pts/year @£100pt = £25K - @£200pt (TH territory) = £50K
Now, 1pt/day I’m sure you would agree is very achievable. Getting your stake up to £200? - compounding
Just playing around with figures can make things look easier.
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Yeah, you are right. I am way to ambitious.
Thank you again, for you kind words.
The problem is my stake size in comparison to my overall financial situation. Income wise we fell from lower upperclass to upper middleclass with the birth of our daughter. Our income is good, but still I can’t just take a huge part of my savings, trade lets say 30 per point and look at a losing trade without freaking out. The money is still to meaningful to me. I have to slowly work myself up in stake size, compounding as you say.
May I ask where you stand in your trading journey?
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I will only trade tuesday and thursday next week.
Good Morning! DAX is gapping up a hundred points, again!
Well I won’t short this beast today! I will think about a long when we reach yesterdays close around 17746. Probably no trade today.
Edit: I like 17746 because, there is also the daily pivot point around 17744 - at least with my broker.
Edit 2: Very slow morning. I will speculate on a narrow range day and set a buy limit order around 17780.
Edit 3: I deleted my order
Edit 4:
Look at this. Unfortunately I deleted my order…and I don’t trade news.
Edit 5:
As I don’t trade tomorrow, I opened a 20 % swing trading position around 17827, speculating that this image above shows a low for at least the next 4h bars. SL is under the wick. I am basically risking 16 points.
Edit 6:
Stop to breakeven and I am thinking about TP under 18000.
Edit 7: TP is at 17977 for +150 points on a 20% position. Thats 30 full points. And I am raising my SL to +120 points.
At least +85 / 8,5 % for the month and +247 / 24,7 % for the year.
Edit 8: ■■■■ this, I just deleted my TP order. Lets’t run it. SL remains at +120 points.
Edit 9: I was stopped out for +120 on a 20% position, thats +24 full points.
I had a very stressful morning and couldn’t trade. Looking at the charts now, I still wouldn’t be in a trade. I would not have taken the obvious short at 18020 because DAX is just rallying the last weeks. I don’t trade tomorrow, as I start a little weekend vacation. See you next week.
Good Morning!
I am willing to buy under 17920. Fridays close is at 17936. I would love to buy at 17900, but we’ll see how far down DAX goes. No shorts today.
Edit 1: Dax is rallying right now. I am canceling all my orders. Probably no trade today.
Edit 2: IF one would want to should today…DAX just broke above 18000…I won’t short
Edit 3: The short would be in profit for at least +18 points…well but DAX could have went higher in this bullish market right now. I am a little disappointed because I didn’t take it, but in the end I am still +85 point this month and happy about it.
Edit 4: I just went long with a 50% position at 17918 and a 60 point SL. I am risking 30 full points.
Edit 5: Stop to BE at + 13 points.
Edit 6: Went +30 with a 50% position, which is why I didn’t TP. Now I am about to get stopped out for 0. +10 right now.
Edit 7: Stopped for 0 very unfortunate.
Good Morning.
I went long at 7:34am at 17899 and sold at 8:36am at 17932 with a 50% position, because it was a premarket trade. Reason was a simple low of the range entry. I made 16,5 full points.
+101 / 10,1 % this month, +263 / 26,3 % for the year
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Good morning,
didn’t trade yesterday as I normaly don’t trade on wednesdays. DAX rallied with FOMC. My usual entry signals are far to low, with yesterdays close at 18015. I would maybe try a long with a 50% position at 18083, the daily pivot point.
But I don’t think I will trade at all today.
Edit 1: After DAX fell around the open, it kind of lost its momentum around 9:30. This is why I tried a long with a 50 % position at 18141 and a 60 points SL, risking 30 full points. I am in the red right now, because momentum came back after I bought into it 
If I get stopped out I would be +71 this month.
Edit 2: I was stopped out earlier. Now I am close to BE for the day, thinking about to take it as soon as the opportunity comes or to wait and let it run.
Edit 3: SL to +40 points on a 50 % position, +20 full points.
Edit 4: SL to +60 on half, +30 full and I am officially BE today and still in a profitable position.
Edit 5: Decided to close out for +80 points on a 50% position, +40 full points. I made +10 full points today. +111 / 11,1% this month, +273 / 27,3 % for the year.
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Good Morning,
in a 50% position again, risking my 10 full points from yesterday.
Edit 1: SL to BE at +16 points on half. I won’t close out early today, because I am quite satisfied with my profit this month. I will let it run.
Edit 2: Price is closing in at yesterdays close. Normaly I would TP, now for +15 full points.
Edit 3:
It is 9:20 right now. Around 9:30 often times there is a move in the opposite direction, I call it “9:30 counter”. I don’t know why this happens, but I think it is because the first 30m candle is closing and this is generating a lot of trade activity.
Edit 4: It is happening now. I hope it is just a minor retracement and not a top of the range retracement. Max profit was +40 on half. If we make a new high I will raise my stop.
Edit 5: Raised my stop to +20 points on half, +10 full points.
Edit 6: SL to +25. I would love DAX to make a new ATH.
Edit 7: SL to +30.
Edit 8: Change of plans. I took half for +10 points and let the other half (a 25% position) run with the SL at 0.
Edit 9: SL to +40 on a quarter, +10 full points.
I will say goodbye, have a nice weekend. At least +20 full points today. +131 / 13,1 % for the month, +293 / 29,3 % for the year.
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I want to inform you that I intend to increase my account size. The last three months were the best in my whole trading journey, which started in April 2021. With the end of March 2024 I am celebrating 3 years of trading. I talked with my wife and we are both aware that I freaked out in the past, after I increased my size. But the whole purpose of trading for me is to increase size and make more than with a 9 to 5 job. Therefore we concluded that we want to take the risk and explore, if I can maintain my discipline with higher size.
I wont throw all my money at the market. I will only raise my size from 1 contract to 3. But this is enough to potentially destroy my discipline. We will see.
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Did 3 breakeven long trades today. 18204, 18204 and 18203. And then it went without me. At least I tried. Money arrived on my account after I finished trading. I will increase size after easter. Happy holidays.
Edit: It is worth reminding, that I did not make all my profits buying the uptrend in the DAX. I shorted it too and traded ranges from both sides. But I burned my hands on one day losing 70 points shorting a long runner and stopped shorting this uptrend because DAX is just ridiculusly strong.
The tought crossed my mind, that my performance will drop when this trend ends, but I don’t think so.
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You are doing well - good luck with the up-sizing!
Personally, as 5M/1M trader, I don’t worry too much about the daily trend though I suppose it helps to have all the winds behind you. I know Dax has been strong for a few months now but I wouldn’t let it worry you from a day trading point of view (so what if the daily has a bit of a pull back?). Al Brooks once said ‘Concentrate on the timeframe you are trading and may be only one higher timeframe’. I know TH loves his 4HR double tops/bottoms (enough said ).
Just watch your money management, I know you will. 
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Missed entry today and it went without me. Wanted to buy lower around the pivot point and after it broke higher and came down I wanted to buy at yesterdays close. Came close but not close enough for me to pull the trigger.
If it is missed, it is not a problem, because tomorrow or the next trading session you can open an order. The market is very fun because it moves 24 hours a day. So that when we miss one opportunity, the next opportunity we can open the order again. And I appreciate the trading journal you wrote, good luck and consistency.
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Long since 18481 with a 50% position.
Edit 1: Stopped out for 0. Max profit was +30 on a 50% position.
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+131 / 13,1 % for the month, +293 / 29,3 % for the year.
I had a lot of 50 % trades this month. It would have been better to just take a full position. Then I would have reached +208 points.