Short the EUR/JPY pair at 135.213, looking for a retrace around 134.8. May go lower to test the uptrend line.
Edit: And the account is currently at $16.24 which is somewhat of a bummer. But I'm still pushing forward.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Uncertainty
I lost ~$2.60 last night. I guess I put the short on a little too early and I didn't want to see the EUR/USD shoot up today for some reason.
Monday, June 29, 2009
$18.87 Some Wins; Some Losses
Damn. I really wanted to hold on, but I have some errands to do and don't want the positions on while I'm gone. In any case, I wouldn't be surprised if the EURUSD pair fell lower. As for the AUD/USD, I don't have any clue.
Lost about $.95 on the AUD and gained about $1.20 on the EUR. Bleh. Well, it could've been much worse.
Lost about $.95 on the AUD and gained about $1.20 on the EUR. Bleh. Well, it could've been much worse.
$18.62 and the "Real Money" Effect
After I posted last night, I went on to do a little more trading. I learned two things: One, I need to maintain a strong clear mind uninhibited by the temptations of profit or the lamentations of loss. If I can do that, I am one step closer to success.
Two, minimizing leverage can do wonders for a good position. Not only does it provide you with quite a bit of leeway should the position not do exactly what you plan at exactly the moment you plan it, but it also limits something I'd like to the "real money" effect.
The "real money" effect occurs when you're doing something (normally playing a game) that you are relatively competent at. You know the rules, you know what you have to do in order to win, etc. However, because "real money" (in quotations because different people consider different amounts to be significant) is involved you lose touch with those rules needed to succeed. Your mind is no longer on the game, but on the money. And because of that, you end up doing stupid things you normally wouldn't do, losing you money.
Take care everyone.
Two, minimizing leverage can do wonders for a good position. Not only does it provide you with quite a bit of leeway should the position not do exactly what you plan at exactly the moment you plan it, but it also limits something I'd like to the "real money" effect.
The "real money" effect occurs when you're doing something (normally playing a game) that you are relatively competent at. You know the rules, you know what you have to do in order to win, etc. However, because "real money" (in quotations because different people consider different amounts to be significant) is involved you lose touch with those rules needed to succeed. Your mind is no longer on the game, but on the money. And because of that, you end up doing stupid things you normally wouldn't do, losing you money.
Take care everyone.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
$17.83
Took a4.3 pip loss in the AUD/USD, but made up for it by catching a 16.3pip gain in the USD/JPY. I think it has a good chance of hitting at least the 95.80 area, if not 96. I took my lot off, anyway. That's another $1.28 I can scratch off my losses.
Gotta keep the discipline so that I can continue moving in this direction.
Gotta keep the discipline so that I can continue moving in this direction.
Simulated Trading Contest
I love all types of trading. I've done stocks, options, futures and forex, and still participate in all of them to some extent. If you're interested in playing a futures trading game with the chance of winning an Apple gift card, check out CME's simulated trading game. I find myself playing it on and off with a best score of just over 5200 (it took me a long time to break the 4k level). There are a few tricks here and there, but I'm going to keep them a secret. I'm guessing anyone interested in playing for a while will figure them out on their own anyway.
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Money Management; Risk Rules
As I posted a while back, I am not going to be trading more than a single microlot (1k of currency) until I break above $50. Trading with this amount of leverage is still very risky. Currently with 16.55 in my account, trading a 1k lot of currency requires leverage of 60.4:1 (taking the entire account and not just the margin required by FXCM into consideration). Even if I were to have $25 in the account, I would still be trading with 40:1 leverage, which (if you have been following the leverage maintained by some of the currently hurting financial institutions) is tremendous leverage.
With high leverage comes lots of risk. I would like to limit the risk especially as the account grows in size. Yes, it's impossible for me to reduce the leverage at the moment without adding more to the account, but I do want a plan in place to reduce leverage as I move forward.
This is why I am waiting on a second lot until I hit $50, at which time a single lot would provide me with 20:1 leverage in my account. The second will push me back up to 40:1. While still hefty, it is much more reasonable and provides much more leeway should a trade go against me. Furthermore, and I have given this quite some thought, I will not add a third contract until I hit $100 (or the equivalent to 30:1 leverage). That may be a very long time away, but I want to be prepared as I near $50 and then $100. These precautions will help me prevent catastrophe as my account grows. Obviously, as I move forward, I will continue to reduce leverage. 10:1 sounds like a safe area for which to aim, albeit I will weigh the pros and cons as I move forward.
As always, the currency markets are tremendously risky. With large amounts of leverage you can destroy an account (of whatever size) with relatively little effort. Make sure to protect yourself from greed and from unrealistic expectations so that you can succeed.
With high leverage comes lots of risk. I would like to limit the risk especially as the account grows in size. Yes, it's impossible for me to reduce the leverage at the moment without adding more to the account, but I do want a plan in place to reduce leverage as I move forward.
This is why I am waiting on a second lot until I hit $50, at which time a single lot would provide me with 20:1 leverage in my account. The second will push me back up to 40:1. While still hefty, it is much more reasonable and provides much more leeway should a trade go against me. Furthermore, and I have given this quite some thought, I will not add a third contract until I hit $100 (or the equivalent to 30:1 leverage). That may be a very long time away, but I want to be prepared as I near $50 and then $100. These precautions will help me prevent catastrophe as my account grows. Obviously, as I move forward, I will continue to reduce leverage. 10:1 sounds like a safe area for which to aim, albeit I will weigh the pros and cons as I move forward.
As always, the currency markets are tremendously risky. With large amounts of leverage you can destroy an account (of whatever size) with relatively little effort. Make sure to protect yourself from greed and from unrealistic expectations so that you can succeed.
Trades
As can be seen from looking at the p/l column above, I really fucked up during the first round of trading.
I'm down 133.5 pips; but have made some improvement from a low of $8.74
Friday, June 26, 2009
$16.55
I'm good at taking profits...not so good at taking losses. While I'm inching my way back up, I still fear that I am going to have psychological trouble taking a loss. At least my impulsiveness is dropping. Still worried about my ability to take a loss that will save my ass..more soon including tables of all my trades.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
$15.11
I really wanted to get over the $15 hump.
update (@11:54 PST): $15.87; i probably could've held the short longer, but i took profit to act as a buffer to the $15 level as well as protection against me falling asleep.
update (@11:54 PST): $15.87; i probably could've held the short longer, but i took profit to act as a buffer to the $15 level as well as protection against me falling asleep.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
An update.
I took a vacation last week. Anyway, at one point the account was down to 8.74. Now it's up to 14.92 after a good day early yesterday and late the day before (38 pips or so). I accidentally entered two orders at one point, but have been following my rule of one contract, which likely prevents me from getting into much trouble. Also, I'm focusing on slightly larger setups with a bigger timeline. They don't always work out, but when they don't I can usually break even. And when they do work out, I get more than the typical 4 pips here 2 pips there. I'd like to aim at setups with the potential for 20pips+ (ideally 50, but we'll see as I move along). Over the last two days I went for some 50-100pip setups that netted me 10pips here and 25pips there. I haven't hit the desired homerun, but I have also gone without too many huge drawdowns.
It's much more refreshing to say the least. I'll post my trade report so that you can see the havoc I wrecked upon my account and the slow comeback that has brought my account back to ~50% of where I started (better than being at ~30% of the starting amount).
It's much more refreshing to say the least. I'll post my trade report so that you can see the havoc I wrecked upon my account and the slow comeback that has brought my account back to ~50% of where I started (better than being at ~30% of the starting amount).
Thursday, June 11, 2009
/
It was taken out. Need to rethink this plan.
Edit: going to try again. I think the downward sloping trend line will act as resistance.
Edit: going to try again. I think the downward sloping trend line will act as resistance.
My Best Bet
I'm thinking a retest of that upward sloping support line is my best bet. I've got a short on with a ~7pip stop and a ~35pip limit.
Impulsive
I made some terrible impulsive moves this morning while trading EURUSD. I wanted so badly to get back into this game that I dropped all logic. I kept changing back and forth between long and short. And I lost a lot of money.
I need to come up with some sort of strategy to prevent me from trading based on impulse. It also needs to provide me with a money management framework. I'm thinking each and every trade needs to be charted and commented upon...
Despite the losses ($14 or so), I at least cut my losses and turned off the program before killing my entire account. If I left my short on I would've lost way more than $14...
I need to come up with some sort of strategy to prevent me from trading based on impulse. It also needs to provide me with a money management framework. I'm thinking each and every trade needs to be charted and commented upon...
Despite the losses ($14 or so), I at least cut my losses and turned off the program before killing my entire account. If I left my short on I would've lost way more than $14...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Economic Calendar
Here's Baby Pips' Economic Calendar. Hopefully it will keep me out of the market (or at least on my toes) during important events.
Range Charts
This is the beginning of a habit I will need to adopt if I want to succeed. Here are a few of the longer time frame charts that I will use in order to make my trades come europe's opening.
Forex Hours
I found this spiffy webpage that gives forex market hours in your local timezone.
At the moment I'm going to restrict myself to trading the EUR/USD pair. Because I will likely find the most action while the Europe and/or United States sesions are open I'll be trading from Midnight to 1PM PST. I won't trade outside of those hours until I develop my account and decide trading different hours would be beneficial.
More rules to come.
At the moment I'm going to restrict myself to trading the EUR/USD pair. Because I will likely find the most action while the Europe and/or United States sesions are open I'll be trading from Midnight to 1PM PST. I won't trade outside of those hours until I develop my account and decide trading different hours would be beneficial.
More rules to come.
Genesis
My impatience is already showing itself. Last night I deposited $25 into my FXCM Microlot Account. It already had 4.90 from the last time I played around with it. That 4.90 has been whittled down to 1.17. I've had two 10+ pip runs but my losers have been greater. In any case, I'm back in the Forex game.
Despite the losses, I'm going to propose a rather ambitious plan. Perhaps, that's an understatement. I want to get the account to $1M within a time frame of 5 years. As it gains I may roll the money into another standard account (as opposed to micro) and continue.
This journal will plot my upcoming battles, chart my past successes and failures, and keep me motivated. As of now I'm already in a rut; but, no step is wasted that provides me with greater insight.
Despite the losses, I'm going to propose a rather ambitious plan. Perhaps, that's an understatement. I want to get the account to $1M within a time frame of 5 years. As it gains I may roll the money into another standard account (as opposed to micro) and continue.
This journal will plot my upcoming battles, chart my past successes and failures, and keep me motivated. As of now I'm already in a rut; but, no step is wasted that provides me with greater insight.
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