As my trading is a bit different and not wanting to be disruptive to other threads, I will post my LIVE trades here as I have done on other threads. That means you will see an Entry, Stop Loss and Take Profit. I will try and do as many as I can as they happen. I will post as often as I can. You will see both profitable and non profitable trades. Its all about Probabilities not Absolutes. This live trading, not "I would have done this or I would have done that". Commit to the Trade. All are welcome. Questions and answers are free. Do I have all the answers..NOPE! Here is what I do know. Trading is as much mental as it is method. One will need to change one's thinking "THE REWIRE" in order to get to a point of consistency.
The Keys to the Kingdom are: Entry Reasons, Trade Management Reasons, Exit Reasons. These categories tell you the WHY's
If you think about it, this becomes the ultimate question and answer. We can get in anywhere, we can get out anywhere.. but it is the "WHY we got in", "the WHY we got out" and the "WHY we did what we did in the middle" that defines whether we will be profitable or not. It is not about "being right".. its about being profitable.. There is a big difference when it comes to trading.
Example: Lets say at the end of the week you are profitable. You had some losses. Many would say, that you were wrong on those losers. I would argue by saying, yes I took a loss but this added to the environment, my ability to be profitable... I can hear it now.. HUH ??? You are taking the mental aspect of a loss, erasing the need to be right and replacing it with being profitable. How? Because you have controlled your loss/managed your risk. You are acting in your own best interest. You simply must control your loss both actionable and mental in order to be profitable. It is a big part of what will make you a profitable trader.
Preservation of Capital + Trading Consistency = Profitability ... "in that order"
I know this may seem like a lot of mental mumbo jumbo but, IMHO, one must radically change ones thinking in order to be profitable. I was absolute "dog pooh" for so many years before I got my thinking straight. The Trade Log opened my eyes and changed my thinking. Will this happen overnight.?? NOPE !!! It takes a time.. I know?? How much time...??? Months for sure, maybe even years. For me, it was years.. but then, I'm stubborn
The Trade Log will allow you will see the patterns of your successes and of your failures very clearly! I personally know of no other way that one can see it so clearly. The brightest minds on the planet have always used some sort of visual structure to define what it is they are trying to achieve. Should we not do the same..?? I know I ain't that smart ! There are many different configurations on these Trade Logs on the Net. Pick one, configure it to what you need and use it.
I call this the REWIRE.
Volume... Here is an article ( that I agree with ) regarding the use of Volume in Forex.
Huzefa Hamid, contributor to DailyForex.com, explains how to make Forex trading decisions based on volume and dispels the common misconception that the forex markets don’t report volume.
For a currency to be traded and for its price to move from one level to another, volume is required. Or put another way, volume is the gas in the tank of the trading machine. However, volume has often been overlooked in the study of forex charts. The focus has been more on price action alone.
Why Is Volume Important to Understand?
Volume is required to move a market, but it’s a particular type of volume that really matters: institutional money, or “smart money,” which is large amounts of money being traded in a similar way, thus affecting the market greatly.
Only volume shows when price is being affected by this type of activity. Knowing how institutional money operates, we are able to track those traders and trade along with them, so that we’re swimming along with the proverbial sharks rather than being their next meal.
Is Forex Volume Reliable?
There is a common misconception that volume cannot be used reliably in forex trading for two reasons: first, there is no central exchange, and therefore, no official volume data. Second, when you’re looking at volume data on your forex platform, you’re actually seeing “tick volume,” and not actual volume traded, such as the volume with a stock chart.
“Tick volume” measures the number of times the price ticks up and down. This is an excellent indicator of the strength of activity in any given bar. But also, the correlation between tick volume and actual volume traded is incredibly high.
In 2011, Caspar Marney, head of Marney Capital and ex-UBS and HSBC trader, conducted an analysis of actual volume and tick volume in forex. He used data from eSignal, EBS, and Hotspot. For the pairs he studied, he calculated the correlation between tick volume and actual volume is over 90%.
So the question is, how do we go about tying in volume with price action?
The study of volume with price started in the early 1900s with a trader by the name of Richard Wyckoff. His research, then known as Wyckoff Analysis, developed into what is known today as Volume Spread Analysis (or “VSA” for short).
Not all VSA traders or techniques are the same. Some are incredibly software driven and complex, whereas I like to keep it simple.
This simpler approach yields results. Experientially speaking, a success rate of 75% and more is not uncommon with very few consecutive losses.
A simpler approach is reflected in the charts. We have price candles, volume bars, and…that’s it! We use the 50% and 61.8% Fibonacci lines and simple support/resistance to help pin entries, but nothing more.
To summarize:
- Institutional money, or “smart money,” is necessary to move a market and is revealed in the volume bars
- Forex tick volume can be read as an accurate indicator of institutional (smart money) strength
- VSA, when it’s kept simple, can be applied (and taught) more easily with win rates of 75% and more
Rules are simple:
1) Have a question, post a chart.
2) Have a comment, be polite.
3) Have a disagreement, (see rule #2) or just move on.
There are some great threads out there that deal with Supply Demand - Support Resistance - Trend lines - Volume....Some of my favorites:
B.S. Trading with Kenneth Lee
Supply and Demand in a nutshell by Alfonso Moreno
One Minute Wonder thread
Easy Supply and Demand Trading
Support and Resistance Method - Pharley
VSA with Malcolm
Trading with the Market Flow
A Traders Life ( no SD-SR-Vol here.. but really "friggin" funny !! )
Good trading to all
TSD
Disclaimer: Forex is a risky market. There is no system or person who can guarantee your success. You implement the methods introduced and/or discussed here at your own discretion and risk. The author, or anyone else on this thread, shall not be held responsible for your losses of any kind, at any time.