Bambino's New Journal

[bambino45]

Final post from me on last night's action. Some action on GBP/USD though I did not trade it as it was not a 100% correct set up but I thought it was an interesting picture so wanted to share it. The set up wasn't quite correct so I've hypothesised a little. If you ignore that hopefully the rest of the story will be useful.

This was a lovely very close set up and whilst it looks like there is a lot going on, there are clear signals here as we know what we are looking for. Alli is sleeping and purple line is telling us we are only looking for long trades. Green dot appears but it has already broken AIMS box. The more aggressive rule breakers out there may have been looking to get on a long here with AO close to ZL and purple line suggesting the pullback may bounce upwards again.

Fibonacci expansion is pointing us towards that corrective Wave 4 being the pullback and green dot is potentially the start of Wave 5. With AO rising and alli opening upwards the price follows the trend upwards. Some spikes and jitters but green line is not broken with a closed candle. We are focussed on the TZ1 62% Fib Ex. We know that the likelihood is that this Wave 5 will go towards that line (and possibly beyond.)

We can see price and AO peaks diverging at this point so we have very strong indicators that this impulse wave is a wave 5 with what we have already seen. Divergence is such a powerful indicator and coupled with the TZ1 and candle formations we are really in control of this. One tip as I find it's often overlooked or forgotten. Keep your eye out for divergence ! If you don't fully understand it then ask ... it's very, very powerful.

We get a black diamond right on the TZ1 accompanying a doji and price breaks down through the green line on the very next candle. Price eventually moves away back down into it's corrective wave a.

So some really good signals here on this picture. Shame the setup wasn't perfect but if you are learning what to look for during a trade then this is helpful. Placing the PO on the setup is really the easy bit. Analysisng what you can see and only what you can see minute by minute once you are live with what you have in front of you is where you make your profit.

I hope this helps someone somewhere.

Cheers

[Dave]

Nice trades Richard. You clearly have a good handle on The Setup and how we trade.
Just a couple things from your trades. On these low volume/low liquidity days you can see how much spread eats into our profit margin when trading M1. This is most evident on your USDCAD trade where the spread is as big as the AIMS box! Just be cautious when you can clearly see that the bid/ask lines are far apart relative to the candle/box size.
Other than that, good stuff, particularly your reference to divergence and its importance in filtering trades. I find this most useful when referring to the M5 eWave. If it has diverged, even within the same wave, time to look elsewhere on M1 until it settles down and resets.
Later,
Dave

[bambino45]

Thanks Dave, You're right, the spread (2.4 on the U/C example) was indeed around the same size as the box. A very rare day when you have a UK & US bank holiday, considering they are not even a bank holiday for the same reason. So unusually low volume so we expect very fine margins. The AIMS boxes were small a lot of the day because of this.

Whilst cogniscent of spreads (I am fortunate to use a pretty lean broker in the UK) I concentrate almost exclusively on technique and form. I will try and give a little insight into my methodology.

I do not have the trade account window open during a trade, I calculate everything in percentages and I do not count pips. Sounds paradoxical but I don't. Trading itself is a full of paradoxes of course. I methodically follow the rules (as best I can as a mere human). It matters not to me if I make 1 pip or 100, or lose 1 pip (though never 100). It is about following the rules. The market will grant me what it will given the rules I adopt. I have to play the long game. Over years and decades.

I learnt this over a very long time and building up a significant trading bank and I think it is important. If you concentrate on the edge and managing live trades the money looks after itself. As Mark Douglas refers in his book, trading creates a unique freedom of expression. The trader creates all the rules, it's a world apart from our daily life. It is about mastery of creative expression to me. Perversely it is not about money, even though ultimately it is. Another paradox. If I master the edge (the set up) and master the management of the trade (as best I can as a human) then the money will look after itself. I can therefore to a degree automate the value of every trade as a percentage of the current account. It's dollar value is largely irrelevant and that is very important.

If you get used to doing it this way trading $1 a pip becomes the same as trading $1000 a pip. Going into full time trading to drawing a living from it is a huge step in your consciousness.

There is a natural point where you cross a comfort line. You have spent many months and years building an account from the $1,000-$10,000 range up into the $100,000-$1,000,000 range. I have even traded a managed trade copier service and personally traded other people's accounts (which creates a different kind of scenario and demand on your psyche). Suddenly your value per pip is more than your old daily wage ! It is a very real situation and of course we planned to get there but it can affect your judgement, it can affect your ability to clearly understand and assess risk. I found myself being far too cautious in this situation and changing the way I traded because the numbers had become a lot larger. The fact I had built this trading bank up from a very small amount I considered it would be easier to handle. I had accumulated it rather than earned it. This is a misconception as I had very much earned it ..trading long hours, day in day out. So I was less likely to risk it. However I had to keep telling myself that it was the methodology I had employed that made it successful.

Yes I compounded the account but it was the discipline behind the trading that had enabled it to get me to my goals. Then I started to change things because of the extra zeroes ! As humans we are hard wired to gain pleasure and avoid pain. Gaining pleasure (in this context a winning trade) though is less euphoric (you expected to win, right?) than the pain of a losing trade (you expected to win, right?). Losses hurt and losses to something that mean something to you like a large sum of money you earned make you cautious.

If I can offer anyone any advice is that when you reach your trading goals ... STOP TRADING. Take time to reflect and as a human you will begin to formulate your new goals. You always need goals. The achievement of them defines our happiness. Enjoy the opportunities it now affords you and come back to trading refreshed and with a new outlook. You will find you are at the next level.

It became clear to me that AIMS was the most enjoyable form of trading and because of my love of fractal geometry and mathematics I find it something of great beauty. It wasn't the most profitable statistically but it was personally the most enjoyable. When the pieces of the puzzle come together and you are "in the zone" it is a beautiful place to be. Serene and effortless. I have had similar experiences in sports. I think everyone can relate to a point in their life when they have experienced it. It needs to be centred in your core and sought.

If you can experience that more often than not you can forget about the money as it will be looking after itself. We are brought up in a culture we we are told you must work hard for your money. The quicker you change your beliefs around that the better.

Apologies if that is a little ethereal but I hope it adds value. Einstein once said "Try not to be a man of success but to be a man of value"

Cheers
:-bd

[Dave]

Nice post, Richard. I like your message.

[Michal]

nice post thx for sharing your experiences that helps a lot !

[bambino45]

Quick one from a little while ago on E/U. I'm off to bed ...some narrative to follow but fairly descriptive on the .png

[bambino45]

A quick shot of the EU from a little while ago. I didn't trade it but shows a very quick set up on M1 on E/U which shows a very quick move down. If target set at TZ1 then hit within 4 minutes and price bounces straight off and away again. As TZ1 is aligned with previous AIMS box to the left in the picture this would be an obvious point to put a target level in.

It's quick but it's a W5 obeying the FibEx TZ1. If you have an objective strategy to place target on this line at entry when getting into a W5 especially with a previous low at the same point then it's quick profits.

[bambino45]

A rent on this one earlier on AUD/USD. Narrative in the screen shot. There was US news around at this time but PO was triggered slightly before and happy to trade through. Pushed down but not much. Clear reversal and out.

[bambino45]

Nice trade on Loonie. US news pushed this one down at a steady pace. Narrative in the screen shot. Sometimes we need that news to kickstart something.

"Nothing happens until something moves" said Albert

[bambino45]

Hi All,
I have been enjoying a holiday to beat the winter rain but am looking at getting back involved but wondered how many folk are trading D1/W1.
I am sure there used to be a Higher Time Frame section on the forum somewhere but couldn't see it. I have been studying the Seed & Fruit scenarios with great enthusiasm recently but wanted to ask a question for all the longer term traders out there.

Do you find the Fundamental / Famous Set up and or M1/M5 any more fruitful on H4/D1 or D1/W1 than the more purposely designed HTF scenarios of Seed /Fruit.

I would be very keen to hear from those of you that are trading daily TFs.