I have been trading for 4 years now. I started trading stocks and did extremely well (luck as it turned out) Then took that huge loser that altered my gun ho nature. I have since spent $1000's on books, indicators, trading rooms and even a mentorship(utter waste). The more I have learn't the harder I have found it to actually pull the darn trigger. So I have decided to set out my trading plan here for you to view, and as of Monday I will post my trades together with my actual statements (if I can work out how to hide the personal info) That is the best way I believe to keep me honest. I realise that I might be looking to take too many trades, but too many is better for me than none at all. I have read some of Big Mikes advice and I will stick to this plan for a minimum of two weeks. Any constructive criticism/comments will be greatly appreciated.
Trading Plan
System:
I use Tradestation for my charting and trade Execution on Gold and I also Use Infinity for Trade execution on the euro. I have $8000 in each of my two trading accounts.
All charts will be identical in terms of indictors and style.
1 Candle chart (Green above 20EMA and Red below)
2 20EMA (White)
3 50SMA (Red-Down, Yellow-Flat and Cyan-Up)
4 Daily Pivot Levels
5 Todays High and Low
6 Yesterdays High, Low and close
7 Momentum Dots
8 TC Oscillator with Slow Stow
Preparation:
Before I start to trade I must:
1. Turn off Mobile phone and Emails.
2. Check Forex.com and Econaday for news times. Write down important times and stick to computer
Instruments:
The contracts I intend to trade: E-mini Euro and Gold.
I will have 4 charts open. A 5min of both Euro and Gold, a 8 range of the Euro and a 12 Range of Gold.
Trading Hours:
9:00 - 11:45 and 13:30 - 16:30. If market moving then times can be extended.
The Set-ups I will take:
Continuation Trade. On the Range and 5 min charts, a buy set-ups when price trading above 20ema and sell set-ups when price trading below.
Trigger . Wait for a pullback in price of at least 2 countertrend Candles, preferably to the 20ema or some other sup/res level, when momentum dots change colour to agree with the trend, enter 1 tick above or below the candle that caused the change. (See Chart). On the 5min charts I will also use discretionary price action entries based on HH HL etc., inside bars and candlesticks. Avoid trading into the following areas( I need at least 6 ticks space):
1, The High or low of the day.
2, Pivot Levels
3, The Settlement
4, Line in the Sand (Round Numbers)
6, Major swing high or low levels
Or when the 20 and 50 emas are flat lining
Risk:
My maximum loss limit in ticks per trade will be 10 on the Euro and 15 on gold. Once entry bar is closed move stop to 1 tick above or below that bar or keep the same, whichever is the lesser. Total loss limit per day will be 40 ticks.
After 3 losses in a row I will take a meaningful break. Turn off monitors, go outside etc.
Targets:
For the euro 4 and 8. If up 24 ticks then 4 and a runner. For Gold 5 and 10 for the first two winners then 5 and runner. On Euro when price is up 3 ticks move stop into -3, if price then gets to +6 then stop to Break even. For Gold when price is up 4 Stop to -3, when price hits +8 then stop to Break even. If P & L drops below the $300 level then return to initial targets.
Goals:
How many ticks am I trying to make: I am looking to beat the market each day. But my weekly goal is to be in the positive by at least 40 ticks.
How many trades do I plan to make per day: I need to take all the 8 Range euro setups I see, as well as 5 to 10 rational trades on the other charts. I must trade what I see, not what I feel.
Reporting:
I will write a brief narrative of my trading day and post it together with charts and results onto the Big Mike Forum. On the 8 Range euro I need to keep a log of the ratio of Potential trades to Actual trades taken.
I must enter my trades in the trading journal on a daily basis.