StebaTrade
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Hi everyone!
I have recently started a challenge at FTMO, and I wish to share my journey with you. Hopefully, this journal will help me become more accountable and get suggestions on improving my trading.
This trading challenge started on 27/03. I also opened a similar account with the 5%ers, where I place mirror trades, but I'll post results from FTMO because their dashboards and analytics seem better.
The objective:
To pass the 1st evaluation step: obtain a 10% return with a maximum loss of 10%.
The market:
I'll trade EUR/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD, USD/CAD, and EUR/USD.
I may add more FX pairs and markets along the way, but I'll focus on those at least for the first few months.
Style and Timeframe
I can take two types of trades: intraday or swing. They're both based on the same setup. The only difference is that intraday trades are based on the hourly/30mins chart, whereas swing trades are based on a daily chart.
What I call intraday trades can last 10 hours or more and can be carried overnight into the Asian session. They will be closed by the end of Friday (or the trading week in any case).
The method
I trade using the Volume Profile indicator and using volume clusters as a kind of support/resistance zone.
I'll provide a detailed description of the rules with my first trade posts. For now, I'd describe my trades as using those zones as retracement support/resistance after an aggressive trend move has occurred.
I place my trades as limit orders within those areas. That means that, once the order is submitted, I have to wait a lot (sometimes days) for the order to be filled. Sometimes the price goes ahead and never looks at filling my orders. It feels like going fishing: I need to wait a long time with no guarantee of a catch.
Stop Loss and Target
I place my stop loss at the other side of the volume cluster I am using, looking at the price action in that area (obvious pivot and reversal points). Hopefully, I can give clearer examples later on.
As for the target, I still look for volume clusters, in this case, in the direction of the trade. I make sure I can get a Reward to Risk Ratio (RRR) of at least 1.2, or I don't take the trade.
Position Sizing
While I have a variable stop loss in terms of pips, I always risk the same amount (about 0.5% af the balance).
I take the maximum loss allowed by the challenge (£3500: 10% of the initial balance) and divide it by 20. That's how I get to 0.5%.
Later, as the account hopefully grows, I will take the maximum loss allowed based on the high-watermark balance and divide it by 20. E.g., if the balance reaches £36000, I can take (3500 + 1000) / 20 = £225 as risk per trade
By doing so, I can have a drawdown equivalent to 10 consecutive losses and still have plenty of room to turn my trading around.
I have recently started a challenge at FTMO, and I wish to share my journey with you. Hopefully, this journal will help me become more accountable and get suggestions on improving my trading.
This trading challenge started on 27/03. I also opened a similar account with the 5%ers, where I place mirror trades, but I'll post results from FTMO because their dashboards and analytics seem better.
The objective:
To pass the 1st evaluation step: obtain a 10% return with a maximum loss of 10%.
The market:
I'll trade EUR/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD, USD/CAD, and EUR/USD.
I may add more FX pairs and markets along the way, but I'll focus on those at least for the first few months.
Style and Timeframe
I can take two types of trades: intraday or swing. They're both based on the same setup. The only difference is that intraday trades are based on the hourly/30mins chart, whereas swing trades are based on a daily chart.
What I call intraday trades can last 10 hours or more and can be carried overnight into the Asian session. They will be closed by the end of Friday (or the trading week in any case).
The method
I trade using the Volume Profile indicator and using volume clusters as a kind of support/resistance zone.
I'll provide a detailed description of the rules with my first trade posts. For now, I'd describe my trades as using those zones as retracement support/resistance after an aggressive trend move has occurred.
I place my trades as limit orders within those areas. That means that, once the order is submitted, I have to wait a lot (sometimes days) for the order to be filled. Sometimes the price goes ahead and never looks at filling my orders. It feels like going fishing: I need to wait a long time with no guarantee of a catch.
Stop Loss and Target
I place my stop loss at the other side of the volume cluster I am using, looking at the price action in that area (obvious pivot and reversal points). Hopefully, I can give clearer examples later on.
As for the target, I still look for volume clusters, in this case, in the direction of the trade. I make sure I can get a Reward to Risk Ratio (RRR) of at least 1.2, or I don't take the trade.
Position Sizing
While I have a variable stop loss in terms of pips, I always risk the same amount (about 0.5% af the balance).
I take the maximum loss allowed by the challenge (£3500: 10% of the initial balance) and divide it by 20. That's how I get to 0.5%.
Later, as the account hopefully grows, I will take the maximum loss allowed based on the high-watermark balance and divide it by 20. E.g., if the balance reaches £36000, I can take (3500 + 1000) / 20 = £225 as risk per trade
By doing so, I can have a drawdown equivalent to 10 consecutive losses and still have plenty of room to turn my trading around.
