Purple Brain
Experienced member
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Two trades today. The first was a eur/aud long at 08:30 BST. I have no idea why it looked good enough to take at the time. The momentum was certainly up, but it had made a lower low and had crossed below the 49 average which is a dire position from which to head long, normally – and as it turned out in this case too. No notes to suggest why I thought it was worthwhile at the time.
The second trade was a short gbp/jpy taken at :32 BST. The rationale for the short was sound, but not perfect (are they ever?) and the basis for staying in when it got a little less than impressive was technically valid, but I’m sure had it gone against me I would have found equally compelling reasons to have got out earlier. Followed the price down perhaps a little too tightly and got stopped out for 8 pips less than I could have bagged had I waited for a technical exit. However, it was a much needed win. Although I made 39 out of the 51 on offer at its best, it got me thinking to how I could get closer to the MFE for an exit – obviously.
I saw a potential short on cable and the momentum, was such that I probably would have taken it on that basis alone (see eur/aud above) but realised it was against the underlying trend so stood back – really glad I did not just because it immediately went up, but because I stuck to my rules and trading plan.
Key points from today’s trading:-
Keep better notes (Plus Read key points from previous day as this one was on Friday’s ‘Key Points’ too.)
Create a physical Checklist for trade entry requirement rather than just trying to remember them. All the mandatory criteria and more nice to haves with ticks than not. Keep it structured.
As for the P&L, I was only trading a quarter normal size, risking 0.5% capital per trade. My net gain for the day was +1.14% of a risk unit which equates to an absolute gain of 0.57% of capital.
The second trade was a short gbp/jpy taken at :32 BST. The rationale for the short was sound, but not perfect (are they ever?) and the basis for staying in when it got a little less than impressive was technically valid, but I’m sure had it gone against me I would have found equally compelling reasons to have got out earlier. Followed the price down perhaps a little too tightly and got stopped out for 8 pips less than I could have bagged had I waited for a technical exit. However, it was a much needed win. Although I made 39 out of the 51 on offer at its best, it got me thinking to how I could get closer to the MFE for an exit – obviously.
I saw a potential short on cable and the momentum, was such that I probably would have taken it on that basis alone (see eur/aud above) but realised it was against the underlying trend so stood back – really glad I did not just because it immediately went up, but because I stuck to my rules and trading plan.
Key points from today’s trading:-
Keep better notes (Plus Read key points from previous day as this one was on Friday’s ‘Key Points’ too.)
Create a physical Checklist for trade entry requirement rather than just trying to remember them. All the mandatory criteria and more nice to haves with ticks than not. Keep it structured.
As for the P&L, I was only trading a quarter normal size, risking 0.5% capital per trade. My net gain for the day was +1.14% of a risk unit which equates to an absolute gain of 0.57% of capital.
