My strategy worked out fine for me today. I scaled in my long positions of USD/CAD at 1.0501 and 1.0491, and just closed them off at 1.0530 and 1.0531. A profit of 70 pips with 2 positions, and hence a gain of 1.75 R.
FYI, I held them long enough (approx. 6 hours) in order to reach to the first price target level. However, I didn't scale out my last position as planned. I just simply exited without giving it a chance to ride further/longer to the next target level. My profit was not under threat at all at the time of exit and the price momentum was still with me.
Was I being impatient? Was I fear that I might lose it back later? Was I not able to follow the exit plan? Was there really a clear exit strategy? How long should I hold? So many questions...
At least for sure, I was not being greedy. Last week, I paid a hefty price for leaving almost 60 pips profit on the table. A gain of 1.75R today was enough to move me another step closer to my dream.
(1 Million Goal: 9/88)
Showing posts with label Project_Million. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Project_Million. Show all posts
Monday, August 13, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Real Ways to Grow Your Trading Money
I am still progressing, but slowly. This new week saw my trading account reaching a new high, hitting milestone 8 out of 88 in my quest to grow 1 million pound trading money. An improvement of two levels since my last update. However, the en route journey (so far) is a bumpy one. Nevertheless, I manage to gain some valuable lessons out of this experience.
I will try to sum up my points here:
1. In order to grow your account size comfortably, you need a trading method that can typically generate 1.5 - 2 R, and possibly 3 R in some of the best setup. (R being the reward-to-risk ratio). For example, in forex pips term, you are willing to risk 20 pips to gain 30 pips (1.5 R), 40 pips (2 R), 60 pips (3 R) and so on.
2. The strategy used must capture the essence of trading, i.e. buy low sell high. For swing trading, you are able to understand the swinging price action and hence allowing you to enter positions near the low or high of the day.
3. You have a detailed trade exit plan. In the case of trading multi-lot, you are willing to book partial profit as well as holding the rest of the position for a bigger profit. You give time for the target price to be developed.
4. You have the ability to minimise trading losses. Although you use a stop loss of 1 R, you are willing to cut your losses early as soon as you identify the price action is going against the initial trading plan.
5. The win/lose rate must be better than 50%. The 50% figure is already quite a conservative one. Your trading methodology must give you a real edge, therefore, you must understand where your edge lies.
6. Finally, it is about the trading capital preservation. You should not risk more than 8% on a single trade. My current affordable/emotional limit is a low conservative 5 -6%.
(1 Million Goal: 8/88)
I will try to sum up my points here:
1. In order to grow your account size comfortably, you need a trading method that can typically generate 1.5 - 2 R, and possibly 3 R in some of the best setup. (R being the reward-to-risk ratio). For example, in forex pips term, you are willing to risk 20 pips to gain 30 pips (1.5 R), 40 pips (2 R), 60 pips (3 R) and so on.
2. The strategy used must capture the essence of trading, i.e. buy low sell high. For swing trading, you are able to understand the swinging price action and hence allowing you to enter positions near the low or high of the day.
3. You have a detailed trade exit plan. In the case of trading multi-lot, you are willing to book partial profit as well as holding the rest of the position for a bigger profit. You give time for the target price to be developed.
4. You have the ability to minimise trading losses. Although you use a stop loss of 1 R, you are willing to cut your losses early as soon as you identify the price action is going against the initial trading plan.
5. The win/lose rate must be better than 50%. The 50% figure is already quite a conservative one. Your trading methodology must give you a real edge, therefore, you must understand where your edge lies.
6. Finally, it is about the trading capital preservation. You should not risk more than 8% on a single trade. My current affordable/emotional limit is a low conservative 5 -6%.
(1 Million Goal: 8/88)
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Done for the Week +246 pips
Here are my trading results:
No. of trades: 4 (all with 2 lots)
Win rate: 100%
Conservative strategy (exit 1 lot): +6, +36, +20,+27
Aggressive strategy (hold 1 lot): +6, +40, +63, +48
I didn't put on any trades on Thursday and Friday - been hesitated a lot these days and missed some playable actions. Not sure it was a good or bad thing. Nowadays, I started to think hard about my entry levels since I decided to use a tighter 20-pip stop loss on each trade (i.e 40-pip with 2 lots). My return (R) for this week trades was therefore 0.3R, 1.9R, 2.07R, 1. 87R respectively.
As I am still perfecting my trading style, I have temporarily put my real-time signal service on hold. Thanks for your expressed interests so far. In the mean time, I am determined in moving forward with this short-term trading model for growing my account size and for fulfilling the milestones as set in the 1-million forex project.
No. of trades: 4 (all with 2 lots)
Win rate: 100%
Conservative strategy (exit 1 lot): +6, +36, +20,+27
Aggressive strategy (hold 1 lot): +6, +40, +63, +48
I didn't put on any trades on Thursday and Friday - been hesitated a lot these days and missed some playable actions. Not sure it was a good or bad thing. Nowadays, I started to think hard about my entry levels since I decided to use a tighter 20-pip stop loss on each trade (i.e 40-pip with 2 lots). My return (R) for this week trades was therefore 0.3R, 1.9R, 2.07R, 1. 87R respectively.
As I am still perfecting my trading style, I have temporarily put my real-time signal service on hold. Thanks for your expressed interests so far. In the mean time, I am determined in moving forward with this short-term trading model for growing my account size and for fulfilling the milestones as set in the 1-million forex project.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
More Selling in JPY Crosses (3)
Just Following The Trend. Finally, I am back into action after missing some good entries as mentioned earlier. This time, I had plenty of time to make up my mind and to place a short trade in AUS/JPY.
My entry was 106.55.
First lot exit at 106.28 (+27 pips)
Second lot exit at 106.07 (+48 pips)
I was being flexible too. My initial targets were set to 30 and 60 pips but I was happy to close out early (grabbing fast pips).
AUS/JPY 15 min-chart
(1 Million Goal: 6/88)
My entry was 106.55.
First lot exit at 106.28 (+27 pips)
Second lot exit at 106.07 (+48 pips)
I was being flexible too. My initial targets were set to 30 and 60 pips but I was happy to close out early (grabbing fast pips).
AUS/JPY 15 min-chart
(1 Million Goal: 6/88)
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