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Purpose of this journal: To improve my trading by collating my trades, charts, trade ideas, and trade thoughts into a one-stop-shop for easy review and recording of progress.
Instruments: Various and evolving. Currently CL, GC, NG, ES, NQ
The method:
Look for areas of support and resistance and observe how price reacts around these areas. Watch price action and use order flow tools to gauge market sentiment and take trades as price reverses off of, or continues through these areas.
Three basic elements:
1) Use support/resistance and other tools to create a framework around price. The tools include: Trend lines, Market profile, Pivots, Previous Highs and Lows, Opening Ranges, VWAP, and EMAs.
2) Use order flow tools to provide clues on price’s potential direction and current speed of market. Order Flow Tools include: Cumulative Delta, Time and Sales, DOM, Volume
3) Gut feel based on screen time experience.
As price approaches or lingers around previously identified key areas, watch order flow and ask questions:
If I engaged the market here what is the likelihood of success?
Where would I be proven wrong?
Does this trade fall within my risk tolerance?
Trading plan: 1 lot, 15-20 tick stops, 20 to 50+ tick targets. The goal is for winners to be larger than losers in the aggregate of closed trades. Strive to improve win/loss ratio. Bend the equity curve upwards in sim $3000 to $5000 in a reasonable period of time, without undue risk, or serious draw down. Then gradually transition to live. Increase trade size as account grows.
Daily loss/gain limit: None in sim. Just trade and learn. Set limits when live based on historical stats.
I reserve the right to change or alter my plan or method at any time with new discoveries. This trader’s journey has been a constantly evolving process.
Special thanks go out to all sources of knowledge that have contributed to my trading education. Nearly everything I know about trading I learned from someone else, including many here at futures.io (formerly BMT).
My main trading screens consist of two monitors with two instruments each. For these screens I use Sierra Charts with the Sierra Chart Real Time data feed.
Each instrument has a short term trade entry chart and a long term big picture chart. They are both tick charts with the number of ticks on the big picture chart three times as large as the trade entry chart. The size of the ticks per bar varies with each instrument based on its typical volatility.
Tools on each screen include:
-Time and Sales to gauge the speed of the market. I do not stare at T & S. It is viewed out of the corner of my eye.
-Cumulative Delta: I have been watching CD for a long time in CL to gauge market sentiment and potential turning points. I have just started to watch it with GC and NG.
-Pivots based on Fibonacci calculations- Price often stalls or reverses at these pivots
The secondary screen is on my laptop. It runs on the Think or Swim platform. This is where I look at market profile for each instrument. I like TOS for the grids that can be generated.
I look at the daily profiles in the regular trading hours, focusing mainly on the Point of Contention and the value area low and high. I will take all virgin POC’s and VA’s in the vicinity of current price and mark them on my trading charts for potential pause or turning points.
I also use extended market profile in various time frames for each instrument and mark my trading chart with areas of confluence or significant high value or low value nodes. This has been very valuable as a heads up for potential pausing and turning points.
Only took two trades today, both in NQ for +23 ticks total. I trade NQ with 2 contracts to equal the same tick value as the other instruments.
Had several opportunities in NG, and CL but played defense and did not take them. They would have resulted in some nice gains. I was a little cautious because of the holiday week and wanted to get off on the right foot today.
I like to mark up my charts using JING. Comments and markers are color coded to go together.
Summary:
2 trades: +23 ticks
Marked but not taken: +125 ticks potential
Tomorrow- Stay cautious and only trade set ups that look really good. Be cognizant of the energy in the markets. If there is no energy stay out. Watch for ranges and how price reacts to the opening ranges. Continue to look for CD events.
Performance relative to goals of the day: Did a pretty good job of staying cautious due to the holiday week. Maybe a little too cautious. Hesitated on a really juicy trade on NQ at the open and made a mechanical mistake on NG on my first trade. These two errors cost at least 40 ticks. This set the tone for the day that I was not able to overcome.
Really tried to pay attention to the energy of the markets which kept me out of chop. Was cognizant of where price was with Opening ranges. CL making the rare C down.
My hesitation translated to the instrument of the day, CL, where there was opportunity with my method to make over 100 ticks conservatively.
Took three losing trades of which there are no regrets. Not bad trades. They could just as easily produced nice gains. Note however, that 2nd attempts on the same trade idea (NQ today) should only be tried where the potential for gain can overcome the initial loss plus achieve the normal target.
All in all happy with how I am seeing the markets but need to loosen up and take more trades.
Results:
4 trades, 1 winner, 3 losers: -29
Trades marked but not taken: +70
Potential for the day: +31
add potential +90 for the missed unmarked trades that fit the methodology
Tomorrow: extra important to go where the energy is due to shortened week. Have the courage to take the A-1 set ups, especially early when the markets have more participation.
As anticipated, the markets are slow so far. All of my instruments are stuck in ranges.
Two trades so far in oil. Both BE. Instincts correct to exit after stalling
Missed a nice trade in NQ. No guts, no confidence.
Idea: on days like today, when you know things will be choppy, how about playing the failure of the trend line break instead of the break itself? Or, play the break and reverse on the first sign of the stall.