Taking a Break

I've been busy in the past few days.

No, not in active trading but rather....actively learning and researching new twists and approaches that I could use, in order to add to my trading arsenal.

All this while I've always traded based on single bar price action off major horizontal support & resistance lines.

Nothing wrong with that......but sometimes waiting for the right setup can be as exciting as watching paint dry.

You see, my own psych is such that I'd like to have several tools that I can use at my disposal, so that I can respond appropriately to the prevailing market conditions.

Since there's no such thing as "one tool for all market occasions", what better way to address this shortcoming than to simply learn and research things out, no?

I am targetting to complete my little "lab work" by the end of next week. I hope to have a few strategies in place by then.

Then, I'll forward-test them and tweak them as I go along.

Well, that's the plan. Will post once I have something useful to write.

Forgot about this one!

Oh, and here's the only winner that I got from my 5m demo trade.

As I said, I think this time frame does not suit me.

Maybe next time....

5 Min Time Frame

I've done a couple of trades based on 5 minute time frame. They're all, of course, on demo.

And the results?

1 win, 2 losses, 3 break-even trades.

Perhaps I can tweak this further, but I think I'll stop here.

I just don't feel comfortable trading this way. Trading decisions have to be made quick.

I feel that I need to rush when making trading decisions with 5m, and I can't say that I'm comfortable doing things this way.

In other words, this time frame simply does not fit my own psych profile.

Charts attached.

Trading Using 5 Minute Time Frame

In my last post, I mentioned about my plan of diving into the roller-coaster world of 5 min trades.

Well, I've spent a good amount of time mapping out my game plan over the weekend (and sacrificing my usual Sunday morning long distance round island bike ride)....

......as well as putting up with strong coffee smell everytime I hit the bathroom!

Yep, I drank copious amount of Nescafe just to keep the creative juices flowing, so to speak!

I think I have my trading plans all worked out, but like all new trading strategies that I had tested before, I need to put it in demo first to try it out.

Since the timeframe is very short, I will not have time to post my trades live as they happen....will only do so after I've closed them.

This is because I will have to stay glued to my computer when my trades are active. I simply cannot afford to walk away and do other things while the trade is still in progress.

OK, that's it for now. Will post charts once they're available. Should be a pretty interesting week ahead!

Strategy Review

My trend trades (those that were based on trend lines) have not been performing well lately. I need to stop taking such trades for now and review my entry requirements - maybe even do a bit of tweaking here and there.

My assessment is that I am taking a lot of "B" or C" grade trend trades, instead of gunning for "A" trades. It means that I need to go back to my cave and do a bit of research on this.

Yes, it's all about being extra picky. Being picky helps in this business!

I will still continue to take trades that are based on horizontal Support & Resistance lines, as I'm already quite comfortable with it.

On another note, I am also expanding my trading tool box to include trading in shorter time frames (5 & 15 minutes). I am now doing some research on it - will probably paper trade them next week.

Another Loss

Stopped out of AUD.JPY trade. Price broke thru the descending trend line, taking my stop out.

Another Loss

Trail stop hit on my CAD.JPY trade. Lucky it wasn't a full loss. That's what the trailing stop is there for.

Another Trade!

Yet another Yen cross, this time AUD.JPY.

Another "Yen" for Trade

Added another Yen cross, this time the CAD.JPY pair.

Bitter Fruit

Lost the Kiwi Yen trade, when the market reversed.

Kiwi fruit, anyone?

Took a short position in Kiwi Yen pair. This time, my plain is to let the market take me out via trail stop, instead of the usual hard profit target that I normally use.

Enjoy the ride!

Big News Day

I am primarily a technical trader. However, that does not mean that I ignore news completely.

For instance, I will not put in any orders today. Reason is because of the impending Non-Farm Payrol (NFP) news this evening.

This particular news event can certainly cause a lot of upheaval (I refrain from using the word "earthquake" or "tsunami", out of respect to those who have suffered such calamity recently in Padang, Indonesia and Samoa) in the financial markets.

So for now I'm gonna be sitting on my hands and just see what happens, once the NFP results are released in a few hours time.

Broken Trend

EUR.JPY trade was stopped out today, when price broke thru both the daily trend line . as well as the 150 level.

Quick Luch Money!

Did not have time to post this under "Active Trade" post. I put my order in, and promptly went for my after noon nap.

Woke up, saw price struggling to go past the bar lows, took my profits and run.