Nothing I seem to do is right...

[LiamH]

I've been learning about trading for nearly 3 years... I feel like I should know what i'm doing... I have a small account which just seems to hover within a hundred or so quid from where i started... Some winning days quickly followed by losers...

So I place a trade based on my strategy (which when back tested and paper traded looked far too good to be true!). A trade goes in my favour, I think great I close at what I think is decent profit... And then the market carries on and in some cases I could've made double...

So next time i think, i know, i'll let it run, so then the market comes back and quite quickly a winner becomes a loser...

So now i'm thinking, i'll move my stop to break even once i'm say 20 pips in profit because surely break even is better than my stop being hit and then as soon as i do that my stop is hit, i'm out at break even and the market carries on in my intended direction..

Nothing I do seems to work and it's getting quite frustrating now... How can a strategy that has been backtested over weeks and months and then paper traded for weeks be so hard to execute successfully??

Now I know you're all going to say that i'm the problem and i'm sure you'll all be right but for the life of me I can't workout how to turn a consistent profit!

It feels like someone is sat watching my trades at finspreads, letting me have just enough to keep me in the game but screwing me over whenever it looks like i might be on a good run (obviously i know this isn't the case)

Sorry but I just needed to share this with someone!

 

[gamma]

Hi Liamh,
If you don't mind me saying so I see a lot of confusion in your post.
This in a way is probably related to your trading strategy.
One has to bear in mind what time frame you are trading ,the stop loss , take profit
I somtimes scalp on a 5 min time frame and set smaller t/p s/l,s ,On longer time frame trades the t/p,sl are bigger . Once the trade is done analyse it that you have stuck to your criteria then forget it.Move on to the next opportunity.
Don't want to sound too much like I am advising as I am sure know what you are doing.

 

[Masquerade]

Do you find on the days you lose you wipe out most of your profits? If you're having a bad day and had a few losing trades, what makes you stop?

 

[LiamH]

Hi Liamh,
If you don't mind me saying so I see a lot of confusion in your post.
This in a way is probably related to your trading strategy.
One has to bear in mind what time frame you are trading ,the stop loss , take profit
I somtimes scalp on a 5 min time frame and set smaller t/p s/l,s ,On longer time frame trades the t/p,sl are bigger . Once the trade is done analyse it that you have stuck to your criteria then forget it.Move on to the next opportunity.
Don't want to sound too much like I am advising as I am sure know what you are doing.

I'm not so sure I do know what i'm doing!!

My entries seem to be pretty much ok.. after that it turns to rat sh!t.

My setups only come on the hourly timeframe, I check the daily and 4hr for confirmation then drop to lower timeframes for my entry...

Today i've had 6 winners and 5 losers - Overtrading i hear you all scream - Most probably is the case but surely the winners in this case should be blowing the losers out of the water?

 

[Trading2k]

Sometimes the best option is to sit it out for a while, this is my current strategy and its working quite well. I think I saved myself money.

 

[LiamH]

Do you find on the days you lose you wipe out most of your profits? If you're having a bad day and had a few losing trades, what makes you stop?

If I lose 3 on the trot I give up for the day, and yes, when i lose i do wipe out most of my profits

 

[LiamH]

Sometimes the best option is to sit it out for a while, this is my current strategy and its working quite well. I think I saved myself money.

I agree, and I have a strict rule - 3 losses on the trot i'm out - 20% drawdown of my account and i go back to paper trading - Neither of these happens though - It seems to be win, lose, win, los etc Account always just in profit or just in loss but never enough to get worried or excited

 

[barjon]

liam

1. try entering 2 positions. close one at your "reasonable profit" and move stop on the other to break even and then trail it if price keeps moving in your direction.

and/or, 2. work up a re-entry strategy.

good trading

jon

 

[Masquerade]

If I lose 3 on the trot I give up for the day, and yes, when i lose i do wipe out most of my profits

So you trade with a stop loss I take it? Well the problem isn't your losses if you don't start taking extra trades to try and cover them. The problem is your profits. You need to ask yourself why you're not making profits substantial enough to cover losses.

 

[LiamH]

Barjon - I've thought about doing that but I only have a £1000 account and I can't cover the position if the whole thing goes in to a loss. Most instruments allow me to trade at 50p a point which is pretty much the maximum i'm willing to accept with my account...

Masquerade - Yeah, you're exactly right... I just don't know how to know when to hold the position and when to take the profits - Barjon's strategy is probably best but like I say I don't have the account to cover it...

There's no hope for me it seems...

 

[gamma]

I know you say you have got the entry right.
But every trade has 4 parts as I see it
1. trade preparation
2.trade entry
3 trade management
4 trade exit
I hope this helps

 

[LiamH]

I know you say you have got the entry right.
But every trade has 4 parts as I see it
1. trade preparation
2.trade entry
3 trade management
4 trade exit
I hope this helps

Points 3 and 4 are where the problem lies without doubt - To be honest i douobt anyone can help me but myself - I just needed to sound off about it, it's been an annoying day!

I trade inside bar breakouts at support/resistance levels or in line with the current trend - Nothing too fancy. My entries seem ok as pretty much as soon as i enter the large majority of my trades the price does go in my direction - I just can't get the exit right at all

 

[barjon]

...............Barjon - I've thought about doing that but I only have a £1000 account and I can't cover the position if the whole thing goes in to a loss. Most instruments allow me to trade at 50p a point which is pretty much the maximum i'm willing to accept with my account.................

liam

you sure? 2% of £1000 is £20 or 20 points at £1 per point. What's your usual (or average) stop level?

Try it on paper in tandem with your actual trades to see if would work for you.

Failing that work on a re-entry strategy.

good trading

jon

 

[LiamH]

liam

you sure? 2% of £1000 is £20 or 20 points at £1 per point. What's your usual (or average) stop level?

Try it on paper in tandem with your actual trades to see if would work for you.

Failing that work on a re-entry strategy.

good trading

jon

Most of my stops are around the 50 pip mark - On the opposite extreme of the candlestick to the left of the inside bar - On an hourly timeframe this strategy can sometimes demand large stops - I do try to refine my entry on the smaller timeframes but don't want to move the stop too tight as through fear of being wiped out by noise - Admittedly this doesn't happen often so maybe my stops can be tightened... I just worry that the day i tighten the stops is the day my account starts to head south... probably irrational but it's a fear all the same..

I have tried to re-enter but often the spread is say 3-10 pips and i've found myself lose instantly when the move hasn't carried on as i thought it might - It's really only after the event that I know I didn't take enough from the move.

Maybe I need to just save another 1k and double up my positions with a view to cutting half at my take profit point and letting the other half run like you've suggested.

Thanks for the comments all

 

[fibonelli]

Hi LiamH

I think it would be far better if you could post up charts of one of your unsuccessful trades.

Annotate your chart showing where you placed your stop, entry and profit target on the chart.

This way, the experienced and successful traders should be able to see any obvious errors and advise you accordingly.

Also, what timeframes are you analysing?

 

[LiamH]

Hi LiamH

I think it would be far better if you could post up charts of one of your unsuccessful trades.

Annotate your chart showing where you placed your stop, entry and profit target on the chart.

This way, the experienced and successful traders should be able to see any obvious errors and advise you accordingly.

Also, what timeframes are you analysing?

Good idea Fibonelli.. I'm working days tomorrow and wednesday so the next trading day for me will be Thursday - I'll post a chart or 2 then.

I use 1hr charts for the setup - although if one appears on a higher timeframe i'll gladly take it. I use the 1min timeframe to refine my entry (a skill i need to develop somewhat). I have been known to take the odd setup on the 15 minute timeframe and i'm more than happy to admit that this is often because there are no other setups (boredom). I should probably stop it but my strategy should, in theory at least, work as well on lower tf's as on the larger tf's. I find my problems are the same no matter what i do!

Thanks

 

[new_trader]

Barjon - I've thought about doing that but I only have a £1000 account and I can't cover the position if the whole thing goes in to a loss. Most instruments allow me to trade at 50p a point which is pretty much the maximum i'm willing to accept with my account...

Masquerade - Yeah, you're exactly right... I just don't know how to know when to hold the position and when to take the profits - Barjon's strategy is probably best but like I say I don't have the account to cover it...

There's no hope for me it seems...

You are not ready to trade with 2 lots yet. If you can't hold a position with 1 lot you will become unsettled if you double your commitment and you will more than likely close both when you shouldn't in order to secure mental relief.

Anyway, don't worry. Soon you will have an influx of pretty charts with lots of colourful lines and circles showing you where to enter and where to place your stops. Just follow those instructions and you will make millions. Good trading to you.

 

[tomorton]

Liam - you could tell us the strategy. Maybe it can be adapted, or maybe you need a new approach.

Either way, I would suspect it is heavy on identifying entry points. Entry is the focus of TA for novices: entry is important because if you don't get in you are still in cash. But exit is the key, because, whereas you can stay in cash indefintely, you can't stay in a position for ever, you just started the countdown by entering when you did.

 

[Charlton]

Sorry but I just needed to share this with someone!

Liam

You entitled your thread "Nothing I seem to do is right". It might be of little direct help to your account at the moment, but take heart in the fact that you are doing something right which is recognising the issue, stepping back and asking for advice.

You can see already from the replies that there is an abundance of experience coming to your aid, as well as providing useful advice to others who are in your position or might head that way.

I couldn't comment on the strategy at this stage because I cannot see what you have been doing, but I am sure you will get plenty of useful advice once you have provided some chart examples

Charlton

 

[LiamH]

Liam - you could tell us the strategy. Maybe it can be adapted, or maybe you need a new approach.

Either way, I would suspect it is heavy on identifying entry points. Entry is the focus of TA for novices: entry is important because if you don't get in you are still in cash. But exit is the key, because, whereas you can stay in cash indefintely, you can't stay in a position for ever, you just started the countdown by entering when you did.

You are right about the entry points - Since starting trading for real over the last few weeks i've realised i've no idea about exits!

The strategy is pretty simple really - Identify support/resistance area's and whether or not the market is trending. Wait for an inside bar, If the market is trending then a breakout of the inside bar will only be sought in the direction of the trend, similarly I won't buy at resistance or sell at support, instead, if i think there will be a breakout through either then i wait for it to happen then jump on board (admittedly it's rare i ever get a decent move out of this). My stop is placed on the high/low of the candlestick prior to the inside bar and away I go.

My exits really are the issue - Ok, my entry strategy is probably bettered by a large number of people on here but it's what i got and it's what i'm comfortable with. In terms of the market direction i'm right more times than i'm wrong, I just never make enough to make the strategy sustainable - My losses when they occur are bigger than my winners.

Today I had a trade on GBP/USD, my stop was 40 pips and my trade never got to 40 pips profit - I let it run and ended up at break even.

There are numerous times when I take profit to watch the market continue or when I let it run and end up with a loss - It's frustrating but I can't see in to the future so how on earth am I meant to know whether the move will continue or not?!?

I must admit that over the last couple of weeks with the market volatility I have found it difficult identifying solid area's of support/resistance too which hasn't helped.

Thanks