Justaguy

MBTrading has an MT4 download (in EST no less) that is indefinite as long as you use it i.e. placing demo trades.

That is a great move on the EURJPY! Congrats on getting a piece of it. Do you plan your trades in advance? What I mean is where you will take action on the trade.

The AJ trade I had mentioned in my previous post that was at BE was stopped out at BE. No harm. Looking over a handful of charts, I found a short term trade in the AU setting up on the 1 hour. Comfortable with this trade because of the thrust move down, I anticipated a retrace and decline from the area marked off on the attached chart. Price rallied up nicely to that area and was rejected. Sell limit was triggered. The plan for this trade was selling at 9885, stop above the swing however moved stop around the 9900 level to 9907. The plan was to scale out at 1R, cut stop in half and target the rest to the support area at 9820 Scaled out +22 on partial. Final target reached 01:24 New york time for +65 with just shy of a 3R trade. Trade played as planned. Attached chart shows where the scale out and final target was taken.

So now that I have put the UC trade to rest, it always frees the mind to find new opportunity. I shorted the AU. Daily chart was sideways. I wanted to find a decent short entry to sell off at resistance. On the one hour chart...posted below....price had previously rallied nicely into the 9900 level. Price then dropped pretty hard from that level. Can see by the spike that the bulls tried to get price back up but the sellers were too strong. This gave me a good area to short if/when price comes back. Saw the level, went down to a lower timeframe to find a higher entry to sell so my risk would be minimized. Price rallied right into the zone, triggered me short. Risk was only 20 pips. As we are coming into the weekend, I wanted to scale out at 3R and then take all risk out of the trade. Before heading to bed, took my 60 pips, stop to BE. Price rallied back up while I was sleeping and then dropped like a rock to my target @ 9818. P1 +60 P2 +92 Very nice trade. Also short on AJ @ 82.56. On the daily chart...price is right at a supply area where price dropped like a rock from. Found a semi decent rally and basing at this level on the four hour chart. Put an order to sell when price came back to it. Sold the retrace. Went to BE @ 82.02 which was a former resistance level turned to possible support. Went to bed. Price has spiked down on the four hour...but I was asleep so took no scale on that trade. Could have done so where I had gone to BE but at that point, there was not a decent R-R. Price on the 4 hour based, dropped and is currently just hanging around. I have move my stop to 52, just above the basing area. Locks in something on this trade. If that gets taken out, I anticipate a challenge at my entry level especially since that base had plenty of bears that helped shoot price lower. That wick tells me there are bulls down in the pit there waiting..... If price heads to the 81.70 wick end, and given the structure support down there, I will take the money and run.

Ok...well...let us see. This trade, as I stated, was not high on my list of good trades. However, I was in it and had to deal with it. Yes, I could have just taken myself out of it but, for the most part, the reasons I took it added up. The trade just played around quite a bit, flirted with my stop a few times then broke south. Problem. In the blue circled area there is a bullish move....rally...basing...rally up. That base was pretty close to my entry price holding up a stop sign if price was going to reach it. I decided to let the trade play out and if it gets a bounce at that area where buyers clearly exceed the sellers, I would go to BE on that trade. There was no other option. Price came right to that level and as anticipated, flew right off it. Stopped out BE. That risk mitigatating move saved me a full loss as it is clear that price would have taken out my full stop. On the daily chart...we have a rally and currently some basing at the previous high. Giving that price did not leave this level, I anticipate there is a balance of buyers and sellers. Which one gets absorbed first...no clue. I have no trade in this pair at the moment. Will let it work itself out. Will see what happens if/when price rallies up to the next drop in price.

Hey all.... Have not been around too much. There has not been anything, for me, of quality so far. The levels I have in mind are further away from current price. That said, I did pull a Forrest Gump move and that was taking a long on the EU@ 3626. Got some life then stopped out...and deservedly so. What did I do wrong? For whatever reason, I ignored or simply overlooked that shorts were the flavor for this pair at this point in time. My plan was perfect...except should have been everything reversed ATM.....short UC @ 14 with a stop a few pips above the swing on the 4hr. Would like to see 9710 but, as the title of the thread suggests, I will be managing this badboy as the chart sees fit. Right now, not very fussy with this trade but will let it play out...

In regards to the EJ...for me...it is sort of floating in no mans land. A range and a pretty ugly one at that. It is interesting on the weekly...are we in a 3rd stage top or another first stage accumulation? That question for me has not be answered. Support was pierced last week and then buyers stepped in but the move north has not had a chance to develop yet. I use the word yet with caution. With so many tests of the demand area and the inability of the second last hit to make a significant move and now the latest, I am not convinced there are many buyers left at that level. There may be some great intraday plays but at the moment, I am digging the longer term plays. Less stress and the price levels have a bit more meaning on the slower time frames as opposed to the 5,15,30. I may take some but they will be at a much much lower risk % than my usual and as more of a practice run. Summary...I have no play at the moment especially on my longer term view.. Once it moves beyond this range, I will reconsider. Unsure, I refuse to risk the sweet gains I made in this pair last week. *These are my opinions following my own plan.

LOL. It's one thing standing aside on a winner. Another thing taking the trade, getting stopped and then full winner at the projected target area. Ah well, I have no issue with my losing trades. The losses are always smaller than my potential wins. I appreciate you coming back to this thread Cory with some substantial and meaningful posts. Always a pleasure.

Well, I read them. I don't post pending trades...just trades that happen. I have no issue posting losses so I don't feel the need to rush in and post pending trades. I'd much rather not have anyone following me into battle. I learn so much more from my losses especially when I type the thought process out. Like you, I post mainly for me and if someone gets something out of them, good. Side note....I like your attitude about following your plan and being a great week because of that. I personally feel that is the key. Stick to the plan and the wins will come. the only thing we can know is our risk. From your posts, I think you got a handle on that. Risk first...profit second. Actually, I think that train of thought is what can keep you from too much drawdown during the badtimes. Risk first. Profits second. Thanks for your posts.

All good things must come to an end. After a stellar week both in pips and risk/reward trades, I got bit for -25. EURJPY First off...I was not comfortable with this trade from the onset. Shouldawoulda.....stood aside. Weekly chart is butting up into a resistance level. Hanging around the top of that level indicates to me....there are not a ton of willing sellers nor buyers at the moment. Both long and short on the weekly have room to run with the bulls having more "free space" to roam. Daily chart...has visited this support area a number of times. While some believe that makes the level stronger, I am in the opposite camp. The more bounces, the more buyers are absorbed leaving the bears. The level held until today where sellers managed to bust through and then bulls stepped in. There is plenty of free room for the bears if they can hold the south move. My 4 hour chart...posted below......had a level where I had played a long bounce earlier this week. This was not a new area which should have cut my aggressive entry (111.93) to a conservative entry where I would have waited for price to enter the level and then buy on the exit north. Stop was 111.68 Target was 113.12 Nice risk reward. (VERY tough watching price head to my level but......that is the way it goes) Now, I also had an area further down marked off. In post trade review, given my entry area has been used numerous times, I should have stuck to the one off rule and waited for price below. The buyers at my area were pretty much absorbed on these bounces leaving sellers the stronger army to bust down. They did bust down...strong...into my lower level. I DID NOT have an order sitting there. I did not get into this move. The long was the right play for this setup. The issue is going to the well too often at the same level. Overall, the last few weeks has been very good. Losing 25 pips is nothing due to the fact that my risk reward rules only give me trades where my potential winners have the potential to make over 3x my risk. EDIT. Just to clarify..on my chart where it says 25R..that is just a note to myself about the risk in pips. It is not an R multiple. That, on that trade, would be almost 5R

After the completion of my EURJPY short as noted above, I found a potential opportunity for a long on the same pair. The weekly chart was close to a supply level which would make a long a little riskier. That said, after my short completed, I noted price was dropping down to an area that is not only a "textbook" type of support but also a pretty decent demand level. I marked off the demand level, as seen on the chart below, with two red lines. (You can see it on the daily as well). I went to a one hour chart to find a level inside that 4 hour chart demand area. This was a set and forget type trade. I put the order in before I went to bed. Filled at 2:58 in the am. Entry price was 111.93 and the stop was 111.66...10 pips below the bottom of the demand level. 27 pip risk. Target was the supply level marked off by the singular red line. @ 112.85 for a 92 pip reward. A little better than a 1-3 risk to reward. The chart below shows that while there was heat at the start...it pushed nicely to full target. There was no scale out in this trade. Given where the weekly chart is, I was only setting up for a quick pop. The EURJPY has handed out some nice pips in two trades. 216 average pips on two scale outs in the short....and 92 pips on the long. With fresh eyes tomorrow, I will look around for other opportunities.

The EURJPY short has played itself out. Price came within pips of my ultimate target...I placed my stop above the candle that almost made it. Final exit price 112.55 The final part of the trade is posted below along with the entry price, first target and the finale. Total pips on this trade 154 + 279 All price. No indies. Supply and demand.

The previous post was incorrect.Typo. Stop was 114.35 NOT 112.35. Stop is now at 113.65. 1 hour chart is attached and the reason I picked this level is no doubt obvious. Simply buried the stop behind a supply level. Final position is guaranteed +169 to go with the +154 with the other position.

Stop moved to 112.35. Area chosen due to sideways action at that level and a large thrust move from that level. Locked in 111 pips to add to the 154 pips from the first position. Target is 112.30

Trade still in gear. Scaled out partial at 113.80 for 154 pips. Did not move stop at this time. The most I can lose now is the original stop at 43 pips (115.77). Worst case...total trade will be +111 pips. I do not have a level yet to move the stop to and want to avoid an arbritary move. EDIT: Added in a chart that shows just how powerful certain levels can be. Price dropped right to the area and bounced right off it. The level was 113.00 and in my post at the origin of this trade I typed "There is a level about 113 that I will keep an eye on for scale out and trail down the stop". I scaled out earlier...sort of a knee jerk really as I saw where I was in the reward risk area...banked some profit and took all risk out of the trade. Still no area to adjust my stop to that fits so leaving it as is. Note to self: stick with the original plan...not doing so cost me about 80 pips in extra profit. :crap:

Alrighty. I wanted to get into a swing trade (in FX, that is sometimes the better course of action). The EURJPY gave me some really interesting levels to look at. I have posted the daily chart below. The weekly chart is well off the recent lows and price has rallied into an area with the bulls and bears battled with the bears taking the win. The daily chart has a decent level where price rallied and turned. I zeroed in on the area with a lower time frame to get a higher entry price to sell at. Price rallied nicely (and strongly) into my area and went about 8 pips higher so I did sell at a better price. Small stop with a healthy target. However, just like the title of this thread, I will read the chart in real time and adjust stop if price action shows me. There is a level about 113 that I will keep an eye on for scale out and trail down the stop. Again, I have my entry, my stop, my target and need further price action to guide me to future moves. Also...I am accepting that price can fly north and stop me out. There is plenty of room to run north on the weekly chart. The daily does have a few bumps if it heads north. This is where managing my risk comes into play.

This trade came up last night and I placed my order to short just after midnight new york time. First off, the GU is, on the daily, for me, is at an area where I would prefer to short at the moment. At this area, price action is pretty messy. I found an area that if price rose to, I would like to short but I wanted to be a little more accurate and grab a tighter stop on this trade. When price spends too much time sitting at a supply/demand level and does not move away quick, for it is a red flag. Enter the 15 minute chart. Found the area I liked with a 19 pip stop and target of 55 pips. This was a set and forget trade. At 5:01 a.m. new york time, price hit my entry price and 50 minutes later, target was hit on some nice bearish action. The target is a pretty obvious area although, my post trade review does have the proper profit area lower down where price did head and then rejected quite strongly. All in all..happy with this trade.

Out at 112.16 for +52

I have moved my stop to 112.16 locking in 52 pips. Reason? It is not an arbitrary move of the stop. I have posted the chart (1 hour). Market is now sideways close to the area that has provided support a few times in the past. If it breaks above the area in blue, there is not much stopping it from going all the way back up to my entry price. "Reading charts in real time".

Alrighty... EURJPY 4 hour chart. Lots of messy action on this chart. The one hour, one of my faves, is a large mess of chop. So...what do I see? Weekly could not make headway above resistance. Daily had turned down with very little in the way of the 108.00 level. Given that, I wanted to short this market Could not gain any perspective from the 1 hour. The four hour gave me a little better viewl Price rallied into an area where price left in quick fashion. Lots of sellers. Problem...there is some support just below. The good thing is...that the support level has been hit several times. Depends on if you think multiple hits is a good thing. I take the view that buyers at that level are getting less and less. If you look at the bounces off that level, they have been getting consistently smaller. So.......shorted when price left the area. Stop just above giving a 47 pip stop loss...not a big deal considering 4 hour. Price is butting against support...stop is now B.E. Would love to see 108.25 area for profit but there are a few bumps in the way like the 111.00 area. Will keep an eye on this level. Will take partial profit IF I get to 111.27 area. Bottom line...low risk compared to the 1-9 risk reward. Right now...+70. we shall see.

Hey Thales LOL...I was more thinking along the lines of Maxwell Smart "missed it by that much", when I wrote that. Intelligent words by Livermore and I am sure the majority of traders should realize that. Thanks for the feedback on my posts. I have enjoyed doing them.

I think that getting stopped out by a few and then the market go in the way you expected is so much worse than missing the trade altogether! With this type of trading, I have only been poked out of a trade once but managed to get the order back in. Shorter term trading is where I see more of the "stop out and go" type of action. You know, once I started to realize that risk reward is not the only important factor, it allowed me greater freedom to widen the stops out a little bit. My daytrading is a calculation for the stop and target and when I started to take into account structure around the stop area, my results improved large. I am sure you know how hard it is to watch price circle your stop just missing it by a pip or two. Those are tough on the head and that is why I have started to focus a bigger piece of the pie - larger time frames using market structure to trade off of. I still love daytrading faster timeframes but it is with totally different strategy. Appreciate the input!

If I could, I would fire myself. A while ago, I posted up a EURUSD long I was waiting for (see red line). Price came within pips of my entry.....and went north for about 200 pips. Missed trade. In that same post I wrote "There is a level a little further up around the 3700 area which may be a nice quick long trade." Was looking for another long opp upon breach of the area I initially looked for long. Price came down to a level I choose, very little risk compared to reward...about 1:4. Price goes to my target. I had marked off this area...with entry and profit area. Went looking at another pair......got sidetracked.....and never entered the buy limit I intended. Another 200 pip missed trade. Frustrated? You bet. The EU has my number! Anyhow..........since the thread is for trades taken and not taken, I am posting the chart to give an idea of what I look for. For those interested of course.

So, my GU trade as posted earlier missed my target by mere pips. I have manually closed the position for +140 pips (5750)...about 25 pips less than the target would have been. Better to bank the cash than hope for a push down...which may happen but without me. @ Cory.... Let me tell you something....I feel the same way at times...especially the AU trade short I took. Right direction, wrong time. I don't know you or anybody else so really, why should I care what people think? In the end, it is my money...right? Maybe we have some perverse need for validation. How would I have felt if this GU trade went north since I already put up my trade/targets.......I don't know. I think forums have a use, especially a more professional one like TL. For me, when I saw your post, I was wondering what basis you used to validate that trade. I post for feedback on my logic...maybe I missed something. But hey, I think you are on the right track by not posting if it is giving your psyche a workout. Afraid to be wrong is not a healthy mindset imho. I know you mean being wrong on a forum but I think that can bleed over. In the end....you did what most don't do. You put yourself out there. I personally appreciate that.

Hey Cory For sure, Oanda can have some very short lived but large spikes. I have a rule...if I am not in a trade 5-10 minutes before the news, I skip any new positions until the same amount of time afterwards.