A(rjan's) setup journal

[arjanbg]

Hey there Aimsters,

Welcome to my first trading journal. I decided to join AIMS because in my humble opinion you guys profide the best,short, sharp, spot on, and most practial approach to become a consistantly succesful trader in today's forex markt. I am trading for almost a year in the forex markt. I am still struggeling with trading, so i followed different programs to improve my results. One of those programs was a home study course of Bill Williams - New trading dimensions. Then I googled a insane lot for the ins and outs and I found out this awesome strategy and forum and glad I did . The focus on this journal will be to learn and understand to trade the strategy correctly and stay diciplined in this proces. So my account will grow as a by product.

The 20 Trades Principle (My trading plan)[/b]

1.Chosen markets (spread are all lower than 3 pips)[/b]
eur/usd , usd/jpy , aud/usd, eur/gbp, gbp/usd, usd/chf, aud/usd, nzd/usd, usd/cad and others when markets are pointed out in the skype group.

2/3.Entry(strategy A. Setup 1 and 2

Stage 1: Enter strategy Duration: 3 MN Challenge
Since the objective of Stage 1 is Discipline I made clear rules for the next twenty trades. This doesn’t mean that

- How will I find my Entry Setup1?
1. Is Gator sleeping (red and green lined are intertwined)
2. Is AO near to the ZL (0,006 in normal volitity times)
3. Is AIMS box size acceptable (max 50pips, 35pips is really sweet)

- How will I find my Entry Setup2?
1. Did AO cross the ZL
2. Is AO near the ZL
3. Is there a dark bar on AO
4. Is price near a breakout of a AIMS box

Rules that Filter Valid Trading Signals for S1 and S2
1. Is Target Zone 1 already hit?
2. Is Target Zone is it less than 2:1
3: Is there divergence on eWave or Wave5?


Exit rules
Since the objective of Stage 1 is Discipline we will make sure we automate our exits.
Exits will be mechanical and predefined. In stage 1 you will utilize 2:1 exit strategy until end of Stage 1.

1. Entry: Put SL on the other side of the signal bar.
2. Risk: 1% per trade
3. Move SL to BE at 1:1 and
4. Exit at 2R (2%) will be based on TZ1



4. Chosen timeframe
I will look for a trend on D1 and H4 and I will place trade on the H1 timeframe if the rules are met. Cherry and Seed signals on D1, H4 can help me to spot setups on H1.

5/6. Sample sizes (work on the next 20 trades)
I will work with fixed lotsizes of 0.10 for the next 20 trades.

7. Commit to samplesizes of 20
I Arjan Gerritsen commit myself to take the next 20 trades exactly as stated in this plan. I will take responsibility to myself and others and keep track of my trades on this journal of the sample size of 20 trades.

8. Update every week
I will update my trades take at least once a week. I will do the PEER-CD analysis;
PEER-CD (Pronounced as Pierced) Analysis
Pair: The Market Traded, Instrument Used
Entry: The entry method used
Exit: Exit Method Used
Result: The outcome of the trade in terms of R’s / %age
Comments: Comments will include several aspects including reason for taking trades, reasons for exiting, the conditions of the day and mental psychological and emotional analysing. comments will be added to the comments section of the trade on myfxbook journal.
Discipline Score: DS is 1 if I have followed all the rules and 0 otherwise.
T20: I must maintain a T20 and DS for both strategies. This is the most important part of the game. T20 is for discipline so this is an absolute must. I must see if I have made a mistake. If i have made mistakes I will enforce the disciplinary actions.


Mindfull
This journal also will help me to rember that trading is a pattern recognition game. My mind goes to tend dwell on losing a lot, to turn this around I will do the excersize Bill Williams suggest morning pages (I uploaded the 2nd edition of chaos trading, explanation can be found on pages 164-166). The excersize is to To become relaxed and decrease my cortosol level I follow a autogenic course (explanation pages 187-194) . The course can be downloaded from the AIMS forum at http://www.itradeaims.net/forum/viewtop ... nic#p25152

The next step
First I will focus on becoming a flawless executer of my chosen strategy, after a sample size of 20 trades I will recommit to another sample size. After a sample size of 20 I may make some changes to my strategy. After I achieved to plan my trade and trade my plan, I will focus on becoming into the zone and stay there. For this download I will upload pictures of my entry and exit, also will I explain what my decision proces was and what was in my mind before and during the trade.

Main Objective for Stage 1: Trade 5 Batches of T20's
1. Achieve at least 90% of Trading Discipline Score per batch of 20 Trades.
2. Achieve at least 80% of average DS for 5 batches of T20.

What is NOT the objective of Stage 1
1. Profit or Loss does not matter. My objective in stage 1 is DS of 90%. (Discipline Score. you want to hit 18/20 score for each batch)
2. Account Growth does not matter. Whether it goes up or down, is NOT the objective.


Once I have completed 5 Batches of T20 and I am happy with my results, I can excel towards Stage 2. Feel free to comment on my posts, your feedback will be appriciated. Thanks, Arjan.

[baldeagle]

Distracted here is the US with the Superior Bowl but I had to take a minute to congratulate you on the super job your did on your trading plan or journal outline. It is a blueprint for us all. Will be watching your progress with interest.

Ed

[acceleratum]

Looks great, nice tidy work! you'll be successful in no time!

[immy]

Hi .. firstly congratulations on this very important step of writing you plan. However the plan could have been more elaborate I do understand english may not be your first language. Hopefully you have a more detailed plan somewhere else.

I'd like to comment on point 4 if you may. If you can trade H4, simple trade h4. if you can trade only D1, just trade d1... don't be looking for stuff from d1 all the way down to M15. and if I were you I won't mix fruit with Setup 1 , not for the purpose of stage 1. Stick to Setup 1 ONLY and complete 5 batches of t20 for 3 months, whichever comes firs. Most probably you'll complete 3 or 4 batches in 3 months. so it would be upto you if you want to complete the 5 batches or you want to press ahead at the end of 3 months. Both is fine, time goals are also good for mind. Review at the end of 3 montsh and take it to next level from there.

all the best... all the good traders I know that have turned profit year after year have great elaborate/detailed trading plans and they write a detailed journal. The secret must be in recording ... and planning... hmmmm

[arjanbg]

Next trades were at beginning point and here is were I also went slagging near the end. Almost all next trades ended up at my new beginning point. So 12/20 is 60% DS score. Ended with profit, but was too focused on the profits instead of creating DS points. Espacially near the end. The beginning went pretty well. I noticed most of my trades were towards 1R. So I think I just need to have my stoploss not near the other side of the box but above the balance line (red line).

[immy]

Next trades were at beginning point and here is were I also went slagging near the end. Almost all next trades ended up at my new beginning point. So 12/20 is 60% DS score. Ended with profit, but was too focused on the profits instead of creating DS points. Espacially near the end. The beginning went pretty well. I noticed most of my trades were towards 1R. So I think I just need to have my stoploss not near the other side of the box but above the balance line (red line).

Congratulations on completing your first batch. I'm sure you'd have learnt a lot about yourself during this process. We are all Profession Trading Managers "in making". We are all trying to "become" that successful, consistently successful trader. But we are in an academy of AIMS. (our own academy if you like) .

The Fact that you were focused on profit is one common error all traders have. That begs a question. Are you applying your T20 to a real account? If yes, may I suggest that you consider trading the demo account and see if you can maintain 80% DS for 5 Batches. Only then you can the nstart with nano lots and see if you can still replicate the DS. Then and only then you will have a "basis" for investing money where YOU are the trading manager.

[arjanbg]

I really appreciate your support. It is on a demo account. I will just keep on trying. I think I can do this the first ten trades went pretty well. Now I just have to continue to manage myself. Is backtesting manually also an option to complete the 5 batches with 80% dicipline.

[immy]

nah. back test is for two purposes. 1. to find the statistical edge of confirm it using a set of past data 2. using F12 key or a separate software such as forex tester 2 , you can practice.

the T20 is for the live charts. We have a HUGE advantage that we can master this skill without spending a penny. If you wnat to take this to the next level you can keep a separate T20 for those trades that would called as "passed trades" e.g. you see a setup and filter it later find out you made a mistake, as it was a correct setup. I don't know if its hugely helpful but its defo worth doing. but before you do that its best to focus on keeping score , discipline score for your trades taken on demo account.

[arjanbg]

Got it about backtesting. I notice it really helps with confidence. I will start a new batch and focuse on being staying diciplined. Which means trade according to the tradeplan and keep a recording of my trades. With a short description of my thought proces. For me it will be helpful to keep a seprate recording of bakctesting. To practise the habit of keeping track on my trades. This will create for me a positive expectancy.