Michael's (zlabis) Journal [The Magician]

[zlabis]

Wed. Oct. 21, 2015

Screen time:
LO-session 09:00 - 10:50 (GMT+2) M1/M5 DAX only - LIVE

DAX showed much and very well structured movement but for my time slot, there was only one signal which I was able to take.
After price broke to down side after LO, there was a beautiful AO Monarch pattern but unfortunately no signal

Trade 1:
Second pullback with new AO peak after LO painted a promising Cherry. 2R level for hard TP was a bit beyond micro TZ1 but 1:1 for a free trade was in good reach, therefore I didn't hasitate taking it. After triggering entry it went to 1R quickly, so I moved SL to BE for free trade. Unfortunately but not completely unexpected, it bounced off of micro TZ1 and reversed with a strong reversal Fruit to entry level where trade was exited with +/-0.0%.

After the mentiones reversal bar DAX went into correction until a great looking Principle C which ended in a perfect pin bar. I wanted Cherry signal to be painted for taking it but it didn't. I skipped it because I only want to take entries with signals but don't want to take discretionary entries to prevent over-trading and over-interpreting.

Last situation which would have been tradeable to me was 11:17 Adam's Apple Fruit which failed anyway. I didn't take it because my dog, Chester, distracted me. Good dog ;-)

Today's result: -0.2p = +/-0.0% , DS = 1 / 1 , 1.75 hrs

I'm happy with my patience and discipline today.

[zlabis]

Thu. Oct. 22, 2015

Screen time:
LO-session 09:00 - 11:00 (GMT+2) M1/M5 DAX only - LIVE

DAX moved nicely after LO breakout but, unfortunately, didn't produce any entry signals according to my rules. I took one Seed entry (Trade 1) at the top of the move after a promising PC-Cherry heading towards micro TZ1 of last move/pullback phase into potnetial w5 of w3. It rushed through 1:1 level but reversed immediately after that and hit SL which was already brought to BE with +/-0.0%.

After that DAX went into correction (possible w4), so I waited for confirmation of w4 (AO crossing ZL) and an Adam's Apple Fruit at reasonable pullback level. We were not blessed with any usable entry signal at the breakout. Alright, no problem, then I was waiting for pullback, AO to turn dark and taking signal there if one had shown up.
That was exactly what happened: price broke out strongly then it pulled back nicely, formed an AO Monarch pattern and a beautiful Monarch Seed. But it simply got invalidated by next candle which closed below that long-Seed. PO canceled.

I filtered all signals after last PO was canceled because DAX went clearly and obviously into a small range even with purple inside AIMS box which is a very good filter as well.

Today's result +/-0.0p = +/-0.0% , DS = 1 / 1 , 2.00 hrs

Another session where patience and discipline was very important to stay outside during non-tradeable market conditions. Tomorrow is another day and then another and another and another ... ;-)
Thank you market for producing enough signs for staying ou!!!

[zlabis]

Holidays are sometimes a bit challanging to keep journal up to date, so here is only a short version of last Friday and yesterday.

Fri. Oct. 23, 2015

Screen time:
LO-session 09:00 - 11:00 (GMT+2) M1/M5 DAX only - LIVE

Similar like recent days. During periods of movement there weren't valid signals and when valid signals showed up, movement and structure was gone. Therefore one trade which ended with -1.0%.
At least I'm happy again about my discipline of not hunting ticks during movement without signals and of not trying to find setups when there actually weren't any.

Today's result: -8.9p = -1.0% , DS = 1 / 1 , 2.00 hrs

Result of week 43, 19.10.-23.10.2015 - M1/M5 live:
Mon. 19.10. +23.0p = + 3.6%, DS = 3/3, 2.00 hrs, M1/M5
Tue. 20.10. +40.9p = +5.5%, DS = 1/1, 2.00 hrs, M1/M5
Wed. 21.10. -0.2p = 0.0%, DS = 1/1, 1.75 hrs, M1/M5
Thu. 22.10. 0.0p = 0.0%, DS = 1/1, 2.00 hrs, M1/M5
Fri . 23.10. -8.9p = -1.0%, DS = 1/1, 2.00 hrs, M1/M5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Result ...... +54.8p = +8.2% (with compounding), DS = 7 / 7 (100%), 9.75 hrs

DAX_M1-M5_2015-10-23_LO.png

Mon. Oct. 26, 2015

Screen time:
LO-session 09:00 - 11:00 (GMT+2) M1/M5 DAX only - LIVE

Austrian National Celebration Day, so Family was at home but was ok for them and for me that I "locked" myself in my office room ;-)

Was a good LO session with some movement and structure and a few valid signals.

Trade 1:
beautiful Monarch Cherry. It reached 1R and 2R levels easily but as it was Monarch pattern (w1-2) into possible new w3 after LO, I didn't place TP at 2R level. It reversed sharply after reaching TZ1 of w5 which turned out to be finishing of w3-w5 cycle which started at FO. I followed my rules by not placing hard TP at 2R but this time it simply didn't went further into new w3 down and it got exited at BE with +/-0.0%.

Trade 2:
Good Seed signal after fresh peak of AO and fresh cross of purple. Didn't work out and didn't even reach 1R, so exit at init SL with -1.0%.

Today's result: -6.9p = -1.0% , DS = 2 / 2 , 2.00 hrs

DAX_M1-M5_2015-10-26_LO.png

[zlabis]

Tue. Oct. 27, 2015

Screen time:
LO-session 09:00 - 11:00 (GMT+1, DST over) M1/M5 DAX only - LIVE

Nice moves during early LO session. Grabbed 3 entries which didn't work out very well or at all.

Trade 1:
Was a bit eager to catch move after LO breakout so took that Seed which was short after a Monarch Seed and without mentionable pullback, therefore DS = 0 for that one. Trigger candle reversed immediately and hit init SL with -1.0%.

Trade 2:
2 candles after Trade 1 failed, there showed up a much better setup in form of a Seed bouncing off red gator with entry outside gator. Went down nicely and passed 1:1 level with ease but missed hard TP at 2R level by a few points and reversed to entry level where it got exited with +/-0.0%.

Trade 3:
Good Cherry pinbar at bottom of nice pullback. Again, it passed 1:1 level easily so it was a free trade but it reversed immediately after that and hit SL at BE with +/-0.0%.

Today's result: -9.0p = -1.0% , DS = 2 / 3 , 2.00 hrs

[zlabis]

Wed. Oct. 28, 2015

Screen time:
LO-session 09:00 - 11:00 (GMT+1, DST over) M1/M5 DAX only - LIVE

DAX started with wild swings after LO. After swings got damped, it broke out to the up-side, pulled back with fresh peak of AO and offered a great Cherry in conjunction with a PC pattern. I placed PO and was confident due to this good setup and hard TP of 2R was below micro TZ1 (see screen-shot). Right at next candle there appeared an even smaller Seed in good position for potential breakout to upside into possible continuation of w3. According to my plan, I used most recent signal, so I canceled PO of Cherry and placed new PO above Seed. It got triggered but unfortunately didn't even reach 1:1 level before it reversed down and hit init SL with -1.0%.

After that, I filtered all signals because there was either no fresh peak of AO or, at last fresh peak of AO (which was hardly bigger than last peak -> divergency), price had already nearly reached mentioned micro TZ1 which indicated end of w5 of w3 and last down candle before nice 10:49 Cherry.

Although first PO would have been successfully without hitting SL, I'm happy with having deleted it and having placed second one according to my plan. I'm glad to have a plan for circumstances like that because during trading, I want to act fluently without the necessity to think about what to do every time again and again.

Today's result: -10.0p = -1.0% , DS = 1 / 1 , 2.00 hrs

Occasionally there's the time to give a little bit back to the market as investment into further profit ;-)

[Nikita]

Wed. Oct. 28, 2015
Although first PO would have been successfully without hitting SL, I'm happy with having deleted it and having placed second one according to my plan. I'm glad to have a plan for circumstances like that because during trading, I want to act fluently without the necessity to think about what to do every time again and again.

Occasionally there's the time to give a little bit back to the market as investment into further profit ;-)

What i wise words!
I was looking for proper phrase to explain what is happening with DAX. Never seen it shows so many unprofitable days in a row.

[immy]

Wed. Oct. 28, 2015
Although first PO would have been successfully without hitting SL, I'm happy with having deleted it and having placed second one according to my plan. I'm glad to have a plan for circumstances like that because during trading, I want to act fluently without the necessity to think about what to do every time again and again.

Occasionally there's the time to give a little bit back to the market as investment into further profit ;-)

Yes Nikita, you have picked a gem here... WOW! I gotta frame this sentence....

[zlabis]

Thu. Oct. 29, 2015

Screen time:
LO-session 09:00 - 11:00 (GMT+1, DST over) M1/M5 DAX only - LIVE

Trade 1:
Nice Monarch pattern after LO breakout into possible impulsive down wave (w5 or even new w3). During FO there has already been formed a w3, so I placed TP at 2R level above TZ1 for possible w5. Before it finally went down in direction of my trade, it kicked me out to the point with -1.0%. That's trading - sometimes it's working, sometimes not ;-)

Trade 2:
That one was a bit special. Wave 5 down had already hit TZ1 and therefor it seamed to be finished earlier. The following up move was zig-zig correction and AO had crossed ZL to green before it went down. To me that (a-b-c?) correction resetted structure and M5 down momentum was still strong, so I considered next down move as new, possible impulsive down cycle. Then there appeared a lovely Monarch pattern together with a great Cherry. I didn't hasitate taking that juicy Monarch Cherry. Micro TZ1 was the level, I was working towards, so i placed 2R TP which was slightly above mentioned level. After PO was triggered, price went down sharply, passed 1:1 and triggered TP order with +2.0%.
If I had applied rules for filtering very strictly I had passed this one but movement and structure were so strong and clear that I loosened filter rules slightly. Doing this can and will affect discipline, so I have to be VERY careful with stretching rules and need to have very strong and grounded reasons for it. In contrast to loosen rules during high volatility periods with clear structure, I'm filtering nearly all signals, even Monarch pattern signals, during periods of little volatility or range bound movement without obvious structure.
Dispite of loosened rules DS=1 for Trade 2.

Trade 3:
Previous trade (Trade 2) turned out to be into new w3. After it peaked only a few candles past close of Trade 2, it went into zigzag correction and formed a beautiful Fruit with big angle at 50% pullback level. It was ticket to ride w5. Macro TZ1 (fib exp tool of eWave indy) was some pips below last swing low and due to size of signal bar, 2R was slightly above swing low. Because of that, I decided to place a 2R TP. Usually I try to let AAs run to higher R:R levels but in this case, it would not have made sense as TP was close to TZ1 anyway.
Again it rushed through gator and 1:1 level and hit TP with pace with +2%.
This time, "luck" was on my side in contrast to Trade 1 because after hitting TP, price reversed immediately and didn't come down during rest of session.

Today's result: +40.0p = + 3.0% , DS = 3 / 3 , 2.00 hrs

[immy]

Great trading today Michael! I just did not find courage to trade those signals! Perhaps I was too protective of my monthly score. A very bad habit! The cherry trade, had hit TZ1 on my chart so did not take it. The apple I want a clear 3 without divergence to take an apple.

[zlabis]

In hindsight, I traded completely inline with wave 3 and strong momentum of M5 and took entries on M1 today. Only Trade 1 was a little bit against price action of M5 but Trade 2 and 3 were actually entries after M5 pullbacks and new M5 AO peaks.
It was very obvious and the structure unfolded christal clear to me today. But this clear view on situations is not always possible for some reasons - unfortunately - and then I sometimes recognize events (signs for entries or, more often, for exits) only when it's too late ;-)

Maybe I'll start some perception and focus training (i.e. juggling) like mentioned in the great, from Tomi recommended, TV-docu-series "Redsign you Brain" to stay more focused and "alerted" (in a most positive manner).