FTMO: trendies trading trials and tribulations II

[trendie]

Okie-dokie:
New Challenge, a proper 70K GBP, all set and ready to go.

Target: 7,000GBP / 10%.
I will trade at 0.5%, this gives me 20 trades to get myself into it.
Since I nearly always set SL to 20 pips, I need to calibrate my lot-size for 350GBP per 20 pips.
Tomorrow, I will ease-in with 1-lot, just to ease-in.

No other targets, just take the trades as they present.

 

[trendie]

A good, stable start.
Still fixated with Sells! WHY?!

 

[trendie]

So, for calibration purposes:
The DAX Sell, netted me 217£ for 25 pips. That equates to 8.59£ per pip. Call it 9.
If 0.5% of my account = 350. If I want to risk 20 pips, thats £17.5 a pip.
I should risk upto 2 lots per 20 pip / 0.5% SL.

On the US30 trade, I netted 152 for 22 pips. That is about £7 per pip.
I can risk upto 2.5 lots per pip with US30.

I think I might stick to 2lots per trade, for simplicity.

I also need to trade some quick Stop-and-Reverse trades, to get into habit of trading Buys!
Am happy that I cut my losses quickly,

 

[ridgeback]

Good luck, although posting your progress on here might add undue subconscious pressure? Just a thought and all the best.

 

[trendie]

2 trades: both Sells. one on the DAX, one on the US30.
Could have held the US30 short for wayyyy more.
Both netted 20+ pips. Which is 2 lots of 0.5%, or thereabouts.
So, sort of +1% today. (using 2 lots per trade)

I am wondering if I should pick one instrument, and just trade that for the Challenge.
I have pretty much abandoned any FX pairs for this experiment.

 

[trendie]

Good luck, although posting your progress on here might add undue subconscious pressure? Just a thought and all the best.

I am not feeling any more pressure than I do when trading without uploading.
If anything, it's making me more focussed on the quality of my trades.

My automated system allows for holding multiple trades, for much deeper drawdowns, and netting off. Unfortunately, its not geared for FTMO, what with its drawdown limits, and no over-weekend holds.
I am having to cherry-pick the optimal trades.
Maybe I should actually throw caution to the winds, and see what happens.

Also, a few other T2Wers are running FTMO Challenges, and hope I am giving them hope and support as fellow Challengers.

 

[trendie]

Two thoughts occurred to me:
1: The Max Permitted Loss last night, on my account, was over £4,000.
Today, it has been reset back to £3,500.
Fair enough. It is 5% of 70K.
But, it occurs therefore you cant leverage up accumulated gains to increase position size, over time.
If an account of 70K is built up to, say, 100K, the Max Daily Loss would remain at 3,500 (initial account size), instead of being ratcheted up to 5,000 (accumulated gains)?

2: FTMO: I am getting loads of "how to pass FTMO Challenge in 3 trades" or similar on YT.
This is I think misleading to newbie traders, as it encourages over-trading, or trading/gambling in a short-sighted manner, as it doesnt also tell them that a Verification needs to be passed as well, before you start making money.
It kind of encourages people to blow their deposits.
I am sure FTMO don't encourage this, but it certainly adds to their bottom line, and am sure their payouts and treatment to true long-lived traders remains fair and honest.

2a: most of these YT snippets are many months old, some over a year. Not noticed any recent ones. This may, or may not, be noteworthy.

 

[trendie]

Another "1%".
20 pips or so on DAX, for £400+. (approx 0.5%).
(came within 1/2 pip of my SL! Not joking!)

US30 was so volatile, I decided to scalp proper, using 0.5 lot, to factor in the volatility.
I got 4 main trades for £100+ each, plus some scraps., for aggregate of around £450.

All SELLs, can't help it, its a down market.
Happy with my consistency, so far.

Hope you all had a good trading week. Have a great weekend.

 

[trendie]

Crazy day!
Traded my feelings, not the chart.
Blew this big time.

 

[trendie]

I was going to scalp, ie, buy/sell, buy/sell, etc.
But, I used 2 lots, instead of 1, or even 0.5.
Then, failed to manage the nett conditions.
I ended up with a nett of Buys higher than the nett of Sells, resulting in a carrying of a nett losing position.
Also, I traded this in the more volatile US30.
If I had used 0.5 lots, I would have been fine.

Learning: (which I know anyway):
Trade known rules on Live accounts,
Experiment on Demo accounts.

Anyway, I am not the first to blow an account, wont be the last.
Shame to lose my diligent gains in a single, glorious morning.
I have the whole of this longest day to contemplate my nonsense.

 

[au.kocze]

Good thing about your post is that you’re adding where and how you went wrong. It would be helpful for you and others in many ways.

 

[trendie]

Good thing about your post is that you’re adding where and how you went wrong. It would be helpful for you and others in many ways.

I find a debrief helps.
The things and patterns and feelings and perceptions you have, in the moment, may be different when seen in hindsight.
I know I tend to stick to a dumb trade, in that, if I am long, I am fixated in looking to re-inforce my decision, rather than try to bail out. That's where SL discipline comes in.

Journalling your thoughts during the trading day, can help develop objectivity.
I tend to write code and trade micro-lots, and average out, and leave alone.
Most of my trading is aggregations over time, and I let them do their thing.

I had forgotten the stomach churning experience of watching the markets real time.

It is also brutal admitting to newbie errors, losses, missed trades, etc.
At the same time, liberating.