Intraday Trading Journal

[SH-101]

I ran a short-lived swing trading journal on here some years ago; after some time off to pursue other opportunities I returned to the markets in 2017 and now focus on intraday trading.

I spent a long time studying the Julie Hatch method (highly recommended) but over time and with lots of study and practice I have developed my own "version" of it, tailored to my particular trading personality, and it is somewhat different to the original.

I trade EURAUD, EURJPY, DE30, UK100, XAUUSD and UKOIL (IG Index price) between 0730-1600 UK time (earlier finish on Fridays). I used to trade GBPJPY but it's too risky with brexit headlines and algos creating crazy moves (see Friday!). My trades are intraday but I'm not a scalper. I aim for 50pt targets and can sometimes be in trades upwards of 5 or 6 hours. I'm always flat by 9pm.

Won't be chatting too much; this is more an experiment to see if keeping a journal helps or hinders. I sometimes struggle with following my own rules and with losing concentration so this might assist me with those.

Start with 0821 Short EURAUD 1.59457

 

[SH-101]

The above trade based on a breakout of the early range down through 1.5950 with the market opening in a sell position.

 

[SH-101]

One thing I forgot to add in the initial post is that I take short positions only; I never go long.

As a general rule, markets go down more quickly and easily than they go up. I have traded long in the past but I have better success with short trades, and even losing short trades tend to lose a bit less compared to losing longs.

Across 6 markets this usually provides me with a couple of opportunities per day on average, which is sufficient for me.

 

[Pat494]

Have you looked at the H4 TF ?
Looks less likely.
I hope you will discuss your ideas.

 

[SH-101]

Hi Pat494,

My entries are taken from 1min charts, with 15min charts also visible to give me an overview of each market. I don't really consider higher TFs as I'd just end up with analysis paralysis, and I've so far found I've not really needed them.

I will be doing some discussion, yes

 

[SH-101]

This is my standard chart setup.

I created a custom indicator to show round figures, midpoints, quarter-points, and pivots calculated as per the rules from the aforementioned Juile Hatch method.

The vertical line shows the start of today's session. The solid blue and yellow lines are the session high and session low respectively, with the dashed lines 5pts away from each which serve to indicate to me when the market is nearing the high/low, just in case I'm not already aware.

BarDots is another custom indicator of mine which I use when judging reversal patterns, more about those later I suppose!

 

[SH-101]

1011 - Just passed on a DE30 short entry as it was too close to the session low.

 

[SH-101]

1107 Short DE30 10895.4

 

[SH-101]

1107 Short DE30 10895.4

Above trade a re-entry after market put in a new session low below 10800 and lower highs began forming after retrace.

 

[Pat494]

Your system looks much the same as my own.
I got it coded up last year in MT4.
The DE30 is a new one to me. It is not listed on the platform I use.

 

[SH-101]

It's the German Stock Index in Frankfurt. Might be listed under GER30 or DAX.

 

[SH-101]

Current state of play:

I will hold EURAUD until target, until a move above 1.5975, or until 1.30pm as I don't hold early range breakout trades into the US session.

I will hold DE30 until target, until a move above 10825, or until 9pm.

 

[SH-101]

When I say a move above, I don't mean simply a price above the level. I look for a clear break with a bit of momentum over at least a couple of 1min bars.

 

[SH-101]

EURAUD breaches 1.5925, should the market reverse I'll now exit on a clear break above 1.5950.

 

[SH-101]

Still holding DE30 as insufficient momentum above 10825 thus far.

 

[SH-101]

Start with 0821 Short EURAUD 1.59457

1329 Exit 1.59341 (+11.6) ahead of the US session start. Wasn't that a fun-filled five hours

 

[SH-101]

1340 passed on a XAUUSD short entry as it made a new session low before I had a chance to get in.

 

[SH-101]

The Donald's been on the wires but there still wasn't sufficient momentum to exit DE30, and now we've tested 10850 so I'm seeing how the market reacts. If it continues higher this will be my worst result on an individual trade since 30th November which I suppose I had to expect on day one of my journal!

 

[SH-101]

1512 exit DE30 10865.9 (-70.5).

My worst individual trade result since 12th September! I doubt I'll be trading any more today, which also makes this my worst trading day since 12th December. You couldn't make it up

Still, that's that risk management is for.

 

[SH-101]

1534 Short XAUUSD 1290.26