Ralf's Journal

[Skywalker]

Morning session was ok (i.e. no mistakes) but in retrospect I should have closed just the add-ons at reverse fruit and kept the initial entry for green line exit. I think when you have the comfort of running several open positions it might make sense to split exit strategies. What do you think? Just one trade in the afternoon but momentum was low afterwards.

[zlabis]

Hi Luke, ähh I mean Ralf,

you asked: " I think when you have the comfort of running several open positions it might make sense to split exit strategies. What do you think?"

I used to do this at M1 trading (what I was doing rather well). Although Immy doesn't recommend it and, in the long run, it will cost some profit, it helped me staying in trades longer and feeling more confident and comfortable with exits and reversals. One thing to pay attention to is that handling more positions that are close together can result in confusion sometimes, espacially at very fast M1. It happened a few times that I dragged wrong SLs.

But it can only be interim solution - at the end of our learning, all entries of each campaign should be handled as a single trade and exited at once. IMHO

Cheers
Michael

[Skywalker]

Thanks Michael for your thoughts; really appreciated. Correct exit is the biggest challenge...at least for me! Even though I have set hard exit strategies in my trading plan, when the trade is on I find myself looking out for the next justification to lock in profits. Higher confidence in the strategy should do the trick here; that's why I think T20 is so valuable.

[Skywalker]

Two big mistakes today: 1) at morning session I switched to M1 while Trade Manager was on, so got stopped out immediately; lesson learned #-o 2) during afternoon session I was chasing the down-move while missing SAR opportunities as I was AGAIN stuck in one direction. ~x(

[immy]

Yes Ralf

Stop and Reverse would have been hugely profitable. we have to keep a neutral mind set in terms of direction. The market can go in any direction at any time. Any thing is possible and every moment in the market is unique. We have to keep a balance in our mind and be ready to accept what the market wants to do. if its going up go up with it, if its going down go down with it by following the signals. When taking a reversal during strong markets be prepared and accept that you were wrong and that could also mean get in using SAR to continue going with the flow of the market. WE have some good chat regarding this in skype hope you read.

May the pips be with you.

[Skywalker]

Thank you Immy for your thoughts and yes, I followed today's skype chat with high interest and some kind of relief as it seems that I'm not the only one who has some challenge reaching a neutral mind set. Definitely something I have to work on very hard.

[immy]

Thank you Immy for your thoughts and yes, I followed today's skype chat with high interest and some kind of relief as it seems that I'm not the only one who has some challenge reaching a neutral mind set. Definitely something I have to work on very hard.

Its never gonna go away mate. You only get better at it when your "belief in probability" and confidence in your system and yourself increases by deliberately forcing yourself to take setups and keeping an objective mindset with conscious intent. This process if repeated for an extended period of time would become your second nature and then you wont have to try to be disciplined you will become disciplined from the core of your being. But will you force yourself to stick to one thing?

[Skywalker]

I don’t think I’ve done a lot wrong today: In the morning session I took short breakout and re-entered trend by SAR but both trades got closed by initial SL (setting Initial SL of short breakout opposite of larger AIMS box or even above trigger bar would have been jackpot). I then took a reasonable long fruit and SAR’d with add on but both were rents. In the afternoon session I took a short breakout which turned into a small rent and finally a nice AA got me some pips.

[zlabis]

Hi Ralf,
today's up- and down-spike at London opening were not that easy, weren't they ;-)

One small suggestion, if I may: the second trade after LO, this SAR with -16p, could/should have been handled as being already in stage 3, as it actually was, so exit after candle closed above green gator. SL there is not handled like in an initial fruit trade. Sometimes it costs you some more Pips rent but the other times it keeps you in nice moves which pays off alot, IMHO.
Just my 5 cents )

Cheers,
Michael

[Skywalker]

Good morning Michael and many thanks for your comment; appreciated as always.

Yesterday was definitley not an easy one for me and I've no clue how Immy always turns such a day into a very profitable one. ^:)^

May I ask you to guide me a bit through your comment? The second trade was a SAR where I set my PO below the fruit and the SL on top of it. The trade was then executed with the following bar and then got closed right with the next bar. Not sure where I should have exited the trade at green.

Many thanks,
Ralf