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ETHUSD: Bearish Scenario Based on Martyv TA Kit and RO FlashI'm getting back into market analysis, forgive me. So looks like ETHUSD wasn't able to hold onto the 236, and using the Martyv TA Kit I am able to see from a few different schools of measurement ( elliot waves coincide roughly with the 236 on the 45-min chart, and on the 30-min I do see a lovely indication from the RO Flash (Rocky Outcrop, check him out on YouTube and here for top-tier analysis resources). The RO flash on the 30-min would take us down to roughly the 786 on a retrace, so there's a tiny bit of confluence in the predictive sense there. Anywho, let's see what happens! Candles on the left, Heiken Ashi on the right... y'all gotta try this! Gives a lot of context. I'm going to try and put my thoughts into these ideas more often. I'm having trouble with journaling my trades and hoping this will open a door for me. Cheers!
COINBASE:ETHUSDShort
by AnkerElite
How to Get Your Trading **** Done!So you have a trading account opened. The money is in, your watchlist and charts are set up. But you have left your trading half-hearted with doubt, concern and little energy. This is what is slowing your performance. This is what is stopping you from growing your account. And this is why you’re living with second thoughts not seeing progress. May these 5 steps be the wake-up call to get your trading done! Step #1: Get a cheat-sheet Every trading plan you have, needs a cheat sheet. Your cheat sheet will remind you of the criteria you need to enter your trade, put your stop loss and take profit levels. You can also add what percentage you would like to risk and the Risk reward you’ll follow. Once you fill in the blanks and info – Print it, laminate it and stick it up somewhere. Step #2: Prepare your watch list As you know there are countless of markets to choose from (stocks, indices, commodities, currencies and crypto-currencies). Make sure you have a solid short list of markets you’ll be looking at when you trade. Once a day or so, you can go through them and see what is lining up with your trading system. Step #3: Sit down and set up At the most suitable time, shut down all your distractions for the day. Phone, Netflix, family, pets etc… Sit down for a couple of minutes a day – going through your watch list and writing down the trades that are lining up for the next day. Step #4: Place your trade/s order Whether you’re placing a trade during the day or after the market closes, you need to take the trade. If all is aligned in syzygy, you have no excuse but to type in a couple of figures and click BUY or SELL. Easy… Step #5: Journal your trades Once all four steps have been accomplished, you’ll then write down the trades you’ve taken in a trading journal. This way you can keep track of your progress and have an archive of your trading performance with the right stats. Don’t waste any more time waiting for the right time and feel. There is never the right time. Hope this wake-up article will help you really kick off your trading success from here on end.
JSE:J200Education
by Timonrosso
ELEMENTS OF A TRADING JOURNALA trading journal is an important tool for any trader. It allows you to track your progress and learn from your mistakes. In this blog post, we will discuss the different elements that should be included in a trading journal. These elements include the date and time, the traded instrument, the entry and exit price levels, the position size, and the trade results. Date and Time The date and time when a trade is made is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, it allows you to track your progress as a trader. You can look back at your journal and see how your trades have changed over time. This information can be invaluable in helping you to improve your trading strategy. Secondly, the date and time can be used to help you learn from your mistakes. If you notice that you tend to make losing trades at a certain time of day, or on certain days of the week, you can adjust your strategy accordingly. Finally, the time zone in which the trade is made is important to consider if you are trading in multiple time zones. If you are not aware of the time zone differences, you could end up making trades at the wrong time and missing out on profitable opportunities. Traded Instrument Different types of instruments can be traded on the market, each with their own set of benefits and risks. It is important for traders to understand the instrument they are trading before making any trades. The most common type of instrument traded are stocks. A stock is a share in the ownership of a public company. When you buy a stock, you become a partial owner of the company. The value of stocks can go up or down, depending on a number of factors such as the company's performance, the overall health of the economy, and political factors. Another type of instrument that can be traded are options. An option is a contract that gives the holder the right to buy or sell an underlying asset at a specific price within a certain time period. Options are often used by investors as a way to hedge against losses in the stock market. ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, are another type of instrument that can be traded. ETFs are similar to mutual funds in that they offer diversification and professional management, but they trade like stocks on an exchange. ETFs can be made up of stocks, bonds, commodities, or other assets. Futures contracts are another type of instrument that can be traded. A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell an underlying asset at a specific price at a specific time in the future. Futures contracts are often used by investors to speculate on the future price movements of an asset. Entry Exit Price Levels Entry and exit price levels are important to track in a trading journal for a number of reasons. Firstly, they allow you to see how well you timed your trades. Secondly, they can help you identify support and resistance levels in the market. Finally, they can be used to help you improve your trading strategy. When it comes to identifying entry and exit price levels, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. Firstly, you need to make sure that you are using a reliable source of data. secondly, you need to take into account the time frame that you are looking at. And finally, you need to make sure that you are using the correct indicators. There are a few different ways that you can use entry and exit price levels to your advantage. One way is to use them to confirm your trades. Another way is to use them to set stop-loss and take-profit orders. And finally, you can use them to exited positions early if the market turns against you. In conclusion, entry and exit price levels are important elements of a trading journal. They can be used to track your progress as a trader, identify support and resistance levels, and improve your trading strategy. Position Size Position size is an important element of a trading journal. It can be used to track your progress as a trader, identify support and resistance levels, and improve your trading strategy. When identifying position size, it is important to use a reliable source of data, take into account the time frame, and use the correct indicators. Position size can be used to confirm trades, set stop-loss and take-profit orders, and exit positions early. There are a few different methods that can be used to calculate position size. The first method is to use a fixed percentage of your account balance. For example, you could risk 2% of your account balance on each trade. The second method is to use a fixed dollar amount. For example, you could risk $100 on each trade. The third method is to use a fixed number of shares or contracts. For example, you could risk 10 shares or contracts on each trade. The risk and reward potential of different position sizes should also be considered when making trades. A larger position size will have a higher potential profit, but it will also have a higher potential loss. A smaller position size will have a lower potential profit, but it will also have a lower potential loss. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to position size. It all depends on your individual trading strategy and risk tolerance. Some traders may be willing to risk more money in order to make a larger profit, while others may only be willing to risk a small amount in order to limit their losses. Ultimately, it is up to each individual trader to decide what position size they are comfortable with. Trade Results When it comes to trading, the results of each trade are important. This is because they can show you how much money was made or lost, the percentage return on the trade, and what could have been done better. By looking at the results of your trades, you can learn lessons that will help you improve your trading strategy. One of the most important things to look at when evaluating the results of a trade is the percentage return. This is because it can show you how profitable the trade was. If you are only looking at the dollar amount made or lost, you may not be getting an accurate picture. For example, a trade that made $100 but had a 100% return is more profitable than a trade that made $200 but only had a 50% return. It is also important to look at what could have been done better in each trade. This includes things like entry and exit points, position size, and risk management. By looking at what went wrong in each trade, you can learn from your mistakes and make adjustments to your trading strategy. Finally, it is also important to take into account the lessons learned from each trade. These lessons can be used to improve your trading strategy and make more profitable trades in the future.
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by Lingrid
5
How to complete a trading journalIn short, a trading strategy is a plan that you draw up, taking into account a huge number of factors ... Starting from trading charts - ending with what the weather is like outside today. There you also fix negative things. All that leads to losses. Well, the most important thing for which we record all this is to make a super duper analysis and clearly and clearly see what the losses are due to. Further, of course, we try to exclude them. Why is it necessary? In order not to stand in one place and finally reduce the number of negative transactions. In order to be able to clearly identify all positive and negative factors, a trading journal is required, which should include: 1) Risk management strategy and profit taking. 2) Trading plan as you see it and tools to use in trading. 3) Psychological state when you feel greedy or fomo, from missed opportunities. For these factors, it will take a long and dreary time to collect statistics. The more the better, for good you need at least 3 months. In the diary of transactions, you can upload all your transactions that you opened. This is done again to collect statistics and further analysis. What I log: 1) The opening date of the transaction before the exact time. This is done in order to find this setup in the future and completely disassemble it in order to identify all errors and inaccuracies. 2) Traded pair. You enter the ticket of the tokens you are trading, it can be Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), I think it's understandable. 3) The side of the position is Long or Short. In the future, you can see why you opened this side here, it might be more accurate to open it in the opposite direction. Accordingly, you can also analyze your mistake. 4) Criteria for entering a trade. This will be the most important aspect of filling out the diary, since here you must clearly describe the criteria without reference to emotions and your needs. The main thing is to describe not what you want to see, but what the chart offers. Do not confuse these concepts, from your far-fetched Wishlist and binding to some kind of opinion, but clearly argue your thoughts regarding this position. Entry criteria can be the best trading tool you use, it can be a trend trade or other factors that you used for analysis. 5) Screenshot of the trade entry. The login screenshot is needed to determine your entry, whether you entered correctly and what were the factors for this entry. After that, this transaction is analyzed by the input and the correctness of the actions. 6) Screenshot of the trade exit. An exit screenshot is necessary to understand the error, why you got a loss and how you can avoid it in the future. 7) The results of the transaction. You just write down what profit / loss you recorded. You can enter % to the deposit and PNL at will. Personally, I only use % of the deposit. 8) Notes after the transaction. Here you should fully describe which notes for the future are worth emphasizing and which you will have to return to for a detailed analysis. Again, write your thoughts without being tied to emotions and the outcome of the transaction. Hope you enjoyed the content I created, You can support with your likes and comments this idea so more people can watch! ✅Disclaimer: Please be aware of the risks involved in trading. This idea was made for educational purposes only not for financial Investment Purposes. --- • Look at my ideas about interesting altcoins in the related section down below ↓ • For more ideas please hit "Like" and "Follow"!
BITSTAMP:BTCUSDEducation
by Crypto4light
25 Metrics to a Perfect Trading Journal First let’s begin with… What is a trading journal? This is a log book where you plot every trade you make with the metrics to show how your portfolio is performing and will continue to do so. I’m going to briefly list the items you’ll need to track your trading performance. 25 Items to plot in your trading journal… The trade No. The market traded (stock, index, crypto…) The entry date for your trade The exit date for your trade No. of days held Current portfolio value Max risk per trade (currency) Max risk % per trade Initial margin per instrument (CFD Spread betting) No. Volume traded The reason for entry Total margin paid Type of trade (Long / Short) Entry price Take profit price Stop loss price Closing price Risk in trade (Entry – Stop loss) Move in trade (close) Interest costs Brokerage costs Gearing Trade exposure (In and Out) Gross P+L Net P+L Don’t waste your time with calculations. Make sure you have the journal and log book with all formulas in each item. … When you record these details, you’ll be able to keep up to date with whether your portfolio is profitable and sustainable for the long run and where it’s lacking. Hope that helps!
JEducation
by Timonrosso
Trading Journals to Bring Your Trading Skills to the Next LevelHello, traders. In this post, I am sharing tips for trading journals to bring your trading skills to the next level. This post would help you if; ✅You are not sure what to write in a trading journal ✅You are not motivated to create your trading journal ✅You do not last in recording your trades ■ Importance of trading journals Trading journal is important in order to; 1. Analyze your trades Trading journals help traders identify problems and points to improve in your trades, by reviewing how you analyze the market and make decisions before taking positions. Have you ever asked yourself after trades? ”Why did I take this trade??” Even if you think you were calm and analyzed the market very carefully but you acted differently. This really happens. With trading journals, you can review if your trades are rule-based, you have made wrong decisions and/or made any mistakes during trades. 2. Evaluate your strategies Especially when traders are in the process of developing their own strategies, this evaluation is vital to make decisions on whether you need to improve something in your strategies or it is even worth using the strategies. ■ 3 Things to Remember When Creating a Trading Journal 1.PDCA Cycle 2.Design what kind of data you want to collect from your trading 3.Screenshots are musts 1.PDCA cycle is a well-known improvement method so I do not need to detail here, however, we, traders should always keep in mind that we have to keep improving ourselves and/or our strategies by conducting PDCA cycles for a single trade and for a group of trades during a certain period of time. 2.Another purpose of recording your trades is to collect data. Trading is a statistic business where data is very important for you to make decisions as there is no 100% in financial markets. 3.Humans’ memory is much weaker than we think. No matter how strongly we try to memorize what the markets look like, we forget. Because our memory is vulnerable. This is why taking screenshots is important so that you can analyze your trades with the same conditions as when you took positions. ■ Sample criteria for creating a trading journal Here’s is sample criteria(questions to yourself) when you make a journal. ✅ Why did you take this trade? Is this trade as per your strategy or just one of FOMO entries? Clarifying the reason to take this trade gives you a chance to review your thought process before the trading. ✅ What is your plan in this trade? In my opinion, traders always should have what they aim in a trade that they are about to take. Without this, traders are easily affected by emotions which ends up with cutting profit too early or even leads to out-of-rule trading. ✅ Result Win/Lost/Even ✅ Plan TP/SL Record planned TP/SL before you take trades in pips or currency(USD etc.) depending on the instruments you trade. ✅ Actual TP/SL Record actual TP/SL in pips or currency(USD etc.) depending on the instruments you trade. You can perform variance analysis comparing between plan and actual. ✅ Risk & Reward(RR) RR is the breakeven point in trading business. Whether your strategy can be profitable or not is all about balance between win rate and RR. It is vital to track and monitor RR. ✅ What is good about this trade? Here is what I recommend to implement in your trading journals. Trading including learning process is a completely solitary process. When you are at school or at work, teachers and supervisors guide you in the right direction and praise us for good grades and good jobs. This experience of being praised will give you confidence in your studies and/or work, but this process normally does not happen in trading. Therefore, when you are just starting out trading or when things do not go well, some traders might get lost asking themselves what they are doing is right or wrong. That is why it is important to pat yourself on the back when you behave correctly in trading. It is said that when people are praised, Dopamine is released in our brains which bring us to the feeling of well-being. Dopamine is also called “Happy hormone”, so the brain tries to work harder to reproduce that feeling of pleasure. In other words, you feel more positive and motivated, which leads to confidence along with the small successes of behaving correctly in trading. This can only be a good thing, as it gives you confidence in your trading strategies. Why don’t you give you a clap when you have done correctly? ✅ What improvement do you need from this trade?(Action for next trades) To complete the last step of your trading PDCA cycle, consider what improvement/measures you have to implement against your mistakes and/or problems. These action items will help you avoid making same mistakes in the future. ✅ Emotion It is often said that recording your emotion during a trade is effective because emotion makes us make wrong decisions, break rules and chase the market like a horse chasing a carrot. Did I get scared when executing trade? Why? Was I afraid all the time? Why? Reviewing your emotion would give you a hint on why you felt like that. ✅ Conviction Conviction is how confident you are in a trade you took.(High/medium/low) This is one of the ways to measure whether your confidence is statistically linked to your performance or just your imagination. For example, you took 10 consecutive trades with high conviction rate and 7 out of 10 was successful trades. In this case, your view/analysis on the market is quite accurate and this makes you convinced that you should take a trade only when you feel highly convinced. ■ Trading Journal Tools What tools do you use to record your trades? Excel? Apps? Or even by hand writing? Let me know in the comment section below. I am using a web service.(not sure if I can name the service here due to the house rules...) It allows me to record all necessary info along with screenshots as well as creating monthly reports which definitely increase productivity and efficiency of trading journal.
Education
by FX365_Thailand
2
Trading JournalThe purpose is to be realistic. E.g. some trades that are open will give an overall of X amount of drawdown so the next trade with exactly the same lot size will initiate a spread which will decrease the amount of our equiity and a possible drawdown which it will decrease it further, so what a trader should do in these realistic circumstances??? Stick to the plan! Cumulatively, with the passing of days, some will end up in wins increasign the equity while others will end to losses which will decrease. Subsequently, risk management and correct exit points are key significant factors for trading success. We just do not want for trades to create an open loss of more than 5% daily and 10% in consecutive days, while at the same time we are chasing as much as we can according to our skills, mood, news, perception, normal job, free time, initial investemetn etc etc etc Food for thought... P.S. Every trade has been taken with 1 lot size - except one or two which have been executed as twin trading with half and half.
OANDA:XAGUSDEducation
by The_Forex_Path
25 METRICS and 10 BENEFITS of a Trading JournalTrading Journals are essential. It's your game plan to what you could potentially see in the future as a trader. In the above image are the 25 metrics every Trading Journal should have... And below are 10 benefits for having a trading journal... 1. KEEP TRACK A trading journal helps to keep track of your trades, including the reasons for making the trade, the results of the trade, and any lessons learned. 2. CUT OUR BAD HABITS It can help to identify and eliminate bad habits and biases in your trading. 3. POWERS DISCIPLINE A trading journal can help to improve your discipline, which is essential for long-term success in trading. 4. CONSISTENCY It can help you to develop a consistent and effective trading strategy. 5. FEEDBACK FOR REFINEMENT A trading journal can provide valuable feedback that can be used to refine and improve your trading. 6. FOCUS ATTAINED It can help you to stay focused and avoid making impulsive decisions. 7. TRACKS SUCCESS A trading journal can provide a valuable record of your progress as a trader, which can be useful for reviewing and analyzing your performance. 8. CONFIDENCE BOOSTER It can help to increase your confidence and reduce stress by providing a clear and objective record of your trading activities. 9. STAY ORGANISED A trading journal can help you to stay organized and avoid missing important details or opportunities. 10. LEARN AND IDENTIFY NEW POSSIBILITIES It can be a valuable tool for identifying and learning from your mistakes, which is essential for long-term success in trading. Why else do you think a trading journal is essential? Let me know and follow for more daily trading tips from information I've gathered over the last 20 years as a financial trader. Trade well, live free. Timon MATI Trader
JEducation
by Timonrosso
FX Daily Trading Journal - GBPJPY Great opportunity today with GBPJPY. Unfortunately, I missed the big move down this morning because sleep is amazing, however, it gave me another opportunity to fade it later in the afternoon. Price moved into the "oversold" area (noted by the top red line) and I waited to see if price would fold over. I wasn't looking for more than 100 pips on this trade since price had already traveled well over it's 5 day ADR (noted by the ADR levels) Dropping down to a lower range chart (20R) I looked for my entry. Medium and longer term range charts kept me in the trade until I noticed price was rejecting my target of 100 pips and I began to see compression of the short term Guppy of the medium and lower range chart EMOTIONS - Definitely felt greedy, but had the discipline to close my trade, felt nervous as well. - Battling the greed against what technicals where telling me made me second guess my trade multiple times RESULTS With a 15 pip stop loss, the overall trade was a overall a 5:1 RR - not a bad day KEY TAKEAWAYS If it was any other opportunity than a fade, I wouldn't have traded this pair today. Price had already moved more than 100% of the 5 day ADR which normally means price will tend to slow down. Given that fades are driven from volume and over extension, a reversion to the mean seemed like a good trade. Remember, there is an 85% chance for price to hit the 75% range of the ADR. Fit your trades in there
Short
by Sw1tchFX
2
New To Trading? Avoid These Mistakes!Starting out in trading is definitely an exciting experience but you must be very careful not to make these dangerous mistakes that most beginners make. While there are many dangerous mistakes for forex newbies to make, I’ve highlighted the two that are subtle enough not to be noticed but can have a big influence on your trading career. 1. Undercapitalization Insufficient initial capital is the first mistake by beginners, and it usually ends up killing them. I’ve seen traders, including myself, blow their whole trading account during the first month or week. Your trading capital is lost even before you have the time to properly learn to trade. This is what usually happens to new traders: They don’t have sufficient trading knowledge and experience. They are not familiar with risk management principles. They underestimate the risks involved in their setups, which leads to impulsive and often expensive execution. Another habit I’ve seen among trading newbies is using tight stops on small lots and even smaller trading accounts. Using small trading lots is not a death knell for newbies’ accounts but using small and tight stops might be. By using short and tight stops, you increase your chances that the stops will be triggered more frequently and your total loss will consist of many small losses. Your trading account should be as large as possible in order to correspond with market conditions and provide the necessary flexibility in making trade decisions. Position size matters, too! Like any business, you have to make sure you are adequately funded. Don’t try to lower risk by only depositing a portion of your available trading capital. Fund yourself right but use proper money and risk management! 2. Overtrading Overtrading is a process of buying and selling Forex pairs, stocks, or other securities excessively. It involves trading all-day without stopping and eventually, making ineffective decisions that lead to financial ruin. Considering the typical market activity, it’s easy to lose half or even all your trading capital with this. This problem is sometimes directly connected to boredom, the thrill of making money, or lack of education and guidance. Your trading capital is used to earn money. You should treat each dollar like a newborn baby. Your first and foremost responsibility is to protect it. If you lose it, you have less to help you earn money. Have you ever made any of these mistakes? Please share your experience in the comments below. I’m sure we’d all be interested in possibly learning from each other. What additional advice would you give to a newbie trader?
Education
by BKTradingAcademy
📌Why You Should Keep a Trading Journal❓❕📝In summary… Keeping a detailed record of your trading statistics enables you to understand exactly how well (or badly) your trading strategy is performing. Once you have the data, you can perform detailed and useful analysis on your trading performance to identify what is good and bad about your trading process. It helps you measure how well you have executed each trade, and most importantly it provides information to enable you to develop and enhance your trading strategy. It keeps you 100% honest in terms of your past performance and future expectations – don’t forget, the numbers never lie! What is a trading journal? A trading journal consists of a document where everything you do as a trader is recorded, including strategy development, risk management, psychology, and more. Keeping a trading journal is easy but very effective if created and used correctly. While it can bring valuable insights that may prevent your account from blowing up, it can also be the reason for your account to go to the moon. Although past performance or a previous successful strategy cannot guarantee future performance and positive results; however, you can use this journal as an opportunity to learn from your trading experience and understand why you or the market went in favour or against your initial strategy. With simple words... your learning curve towards better and efficient trading! Let's take a look at 10+2 reasons on why keeping a trading journal could benefit your trading! 1. Learn, Review ,Identify your strengths , and Work on your weaknesses Just because some strategies worked for you in the past, that does not mean you should only apply those! At some point (we hope not though) all strategies inevitably fail and must be replaced. As a result, it is important that you still try to find new ones. Through recording all of the specifics of your trades, you will be able to do an in-depth analysis of the trades you have executed so far. Go through all your trades and see where you went wrong, and try to consider for your errors from now on and when the time comes to go over your trading journal again, compare the results of the two periods to see if you've made any progress. By consistently keeping a track of your trades, you will be able to see where you might be falling short in order to work on them. 2. Helps you set up your Goals Set targets that are slightly better than your previous ones to avoid putting too much pressure on yourself while you are still learning. A journal is a perfect way to determine what goals you want to accomplish, how you will monitor your success, and what you will do to achieve your next targets. 3. It is used as a virtual portfolio A trading journal can help you "build" a virtual portfolio. Usually this is implemented by beginner traders where they set up a hypothetical amount of funds to see if they can outperform the market (it's similar when one starts trading with a demo account). This can also be useful and used as a practice tool for traders who want to expand into a new market and prefer to experiment before stepping into the real trading world. 4. Ideal for monitoring potential growth assets A trading journal can be useful if a trader is interested to invest in growth stocks or other assets. Instead of buying them, the trader can record all the details about the desired asset , including trends and the risks associated with trading it. 5. Holds you responsible and sensible When you keep a trading log, you are less likely to make trades that are not part of your trading strategy. Impulsive trading is what usually causes most traders to lose money. 6. Helps you with risk management A trading journal will help you identify areas where you might be making errors in risk management. It's possible that you're not taking enough risk to make a significant reward by setting the stop loss too close to the current price, or that your position is too small to lead in any kind of real benefit. 7. Helps with trading psychology Emotions have a critical role in trading. A trading journal will help you see whether you ever get upset after a loss and start making trades or if you were happy after a good earning! It will also help you see if you make rash decisions after a string of good trades (and vice versa). Once you are aware of them, you will be able to monitor them and will be less likely to make rash decisions that will have a negative effect on your trades. 8. Brings consistency When you are consistent with your trading journal, eventually your bad habits will start to disappear and you will stop losing money as frequently as before. This is due to the fact that you will be able to see the mistakes you are making and you will strive to stop making them in the future. Therefore, it's important to be as accurate as possible in your log to identify those mistakes more easily. 9. Provides historical record and encourages performance growth The journal keeps track of all your trades over time. It will summarize all of your trades and show you a brief status of your trading account. In other words, it will become your personal archive, allowing you to look back and see how often you traded, how good each trade was, which trades worked better for you, and much more. The more you study your trading journal, the more you will be able to adapt your results for optimal trading and future performance growth. 10. Works as a planning tool A useful trading journal should not only document your actual trade and trading details, but it should also include information on your plans for each trade, enabling you to "visualize" how much risk you will take, where your profit goal will be set, and how you will handle the trade as it progresses. To put it more simply is like a way to capture your thoughts in numbers and put them into practice! 11. Methodology Verification You'll be able to see how the system works in evolving market conditions and will answer some of the questions you may have regarding your methodology (if it works in a trending market and different time frames, the impact of any trading decisions etc.). 12. Trading Journal as a Game Changer Once you have "mastered" some of your trading techniques, you will gain more confidence and you will be able to alter and differentiate your strategy, thus your profitable trades will finally make sense and your "predicted" losses can be avoided. As seen from the above list, it is quite obvious that keeping a trading journal has many advantages. Although it may be difficult at first to keep track of every single trade you make, it is noteworthy that keeping a trading journal is a smart strategy to enhance your performance and gain confidence, while learning how to be disciplined! How to create a trading journal You can search online and find a free trading journal template ( or ask me) , but it’s also important to learn how to create one. You can customize your trading journal in a variety of formats to fit your trading style and needs. As long as you have somewhere to plan and document your trading activities, you'll be set. First, you need to create a trading journal spreadsheet (e.g., Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel) and a written document (e.g., Google Docs, Microsoft Word). You'll be using these to record your exact trades and your thoughts, respectively. If you prefer, you can include the written document as a second tab in the spreadsheet (see template below). Second, you'll need to know what you'll be recording daily so your trading journal will have the highest possible impact on your success. You can find several trading journal examples online. But regardless of the template, your spreadsheet should have columns related to each trade. These columns may include: Entry date Exit date Symbol Direction (long/short) Entry price Position size Notional value Stop loss Take profit Exit price Trading fees Profit/Loss (P&L) Profit/Loss percentage (P&L %) Notes Some traders may also add the time frame, screenshots of the setup, and anything else they may deem important. final thought The advantages of having a trading journal are plenty; the reasons above just scratch the surface. Journal entries do not have to be a chore. They can take whatever shape and form you want, as long as you do not forget to include the most important information that is useful for your trading style. Feeling inspired? The best time to start keeping a trading journal is now! Sources: binance academy -forexlive-investopedia-medium
COINBASE:BTCUSDEducation
by PRO_SMART_Trader
Are you "The Unexamined Trader"?Socrates famously said “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Why do we do what we do, why do we feel the way we feel about something, or what is our purpose in life? These questions brought about generation after generation of journals, diaries, and random thoughts from some of our greatest thinkers from Socrates himself, to Jonathan Edwards in early America, and maybe even yourself. If we look at the information, meditate on it, we *should* take future actions that will be purposeful and not live day-to-day mundane lives. We want lives of purpose, of meaning, and of growth and satisfaction. The same thing goes for our trades. So many of us trade willy-nilly, never looking back as to WHY we took a trade, what was the PURPOSE of the trade, what did we LEARN from that trade, and what are we NEVER going to do again or what will I CONTINUE to do in my future trades? Just as an unexamined life is not worth living, the unexamined trader should not be trading. “Why do I keep making the same mistakes?” “How come I let my emotions get the best of me?” “Why do I always seem to miss out on best trades with the monster returns?” Ask yourself, do you examine each and every one of your trades? At the end of each trading day, do you look for patterns of profit and signs of “The Suck” that draws your account down day after red-candle day? Can you look at the psychology, feel the emotion of why you planned a trade, why you got in a trade, how were you feeling during a trade, and why did you get out of a trade when you did? After that, did you ask “What did I learn?” “What will I continue to do?” and “What mistake will I eradicate from my mindset and NEVER do again?” There are three kinds of people: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who ask “What happened?” The same goes for trading. If you never look back at the trades you took, especially the ones that were losers, you will consistently ask “What happened? Why am I always a loser?” If you watch things happen *plus* examine all the factors that went on during the process, your trading ability will grow inch by inch, yard by yard, which will turn you into one of those top traders who MAKE things happen. You will be able to *see* the money on the chart. And once you learn to identify patterns by analyzing trade after trade after trade, you find there are *limitless* opportunities to make money. (I paraphrased that last sentence from Mark Douglas, Trading in the Zone, which I highly recommend.) All that said, DO YOU JOURNAL? The trade journal is often the most overlooked tool in the trader toolbox. There are several ways to do so, and there are a plethora of traders on YouTube who share their ideas on how to journal your trades, and I recommend that you try several methods to find what’s right for you. The method I like is to screenshot of my trade and document the fool out of it right there on the chart. Then I “tell the story” via text boxes and arrows, and I number each one of them to walk myself through the story. Yes, each trade has a *story* to tell. I include the FACTS of the trade (the levels of Supply and Demand, the RSI, the trend, whatever factual decisions that went into the trade), the PSYCHOLOGY of the trade (how did I feel when price started going sideways right when price went to 2/3 towards my target?) and the results of the trade (what did I learn, what did I do great that I will continue to do, and what did I not do well that I should remove from my plan or my psychology). The proof is in the puddin’ as they say… The Covid lockdowns of early 2020 were the "best worst thing" to happen to my trading career. I was a Covid Casualty, as my employer shut down in part as a result of the Covid lockdown requirements. I was mad, upset, depressed, that I couldn’t go out to a coffee shop, bar, or cigar lounge. My friends all hunkered down in their domestic bunkers and wouldn’t come out. After 6 weeks of feeling sorry for myself I had had enough and decided to backtest / backtest / backtest and journal / journal / journal for 8+ hours per day for 30 days. I backtested the top 2 Futures contracts by volume in each category on the 15 minute chart. (2 metals, 2 indexes, 2 meats, 2 energies, etc.). 300-some-odd trades later, I felt like Neo when he woke up out of the Matrix and saw Cypher looking at all the green gobbledygook on the screens … instead of a nonsense of symbols Cypher told Neo that now he could see “Blondes, Brunettes, and Redheads” in the patterns. After 300 trades, simulating, backtesting, and journaling, I could “see” the money on the chart… the patterns of cashflow… the areas of value traded by the big institutional traders so I could follow them in their footsteps. I went from backtesting to forward testing, testing with live data in a simulated account using everything I had learned, and three weeks in a row I had a green week. And then I went live. Do this yourself and I promise, it will be like taking the Red Pill. You will never see the Matrix, you will never see the charts, in the same way. Instead of blondes, brunettes, and redheads, you will see opportunities, traps, and the footprints left by the market makers… And we can then *follow* in their footsteps. I leave you with a screenshot of one of my trades from last week… I hope it will inspire you to do the same. If you are not yet a consistent, profitable trader, learn to “see through the noise’ by journaling. If you want to see the scene I referenced from the Matrix, click here and enjoy! (And clicking the ‘Like’ and “Share” buttons wouldn’t hurt either if this article was edifying to you!) If you like it, I’ll write some more! If you want to show off your journaling prowess, leave a comment with a picture! Trade hard, trade well...
COMEX:GCZ2020Education
by ocaptain
19
Every trader MUST have a trading journal!1. What is a trade journal? A trade journal is a method which allows you to describe all the relevant details of every trade that you take. 2. Should I have a trade journal? Every single trader MUST have a trading journal. Without having a clear picture for each of your trades, it will be very hard to become a successful trader. 3. How does a trade journal help me? A trade journal is like a time machine: it allows you at any time to review your trades and their outcome, reflecting your strategy, state of mind and the market conditions before, during and after the trade. 4. What is the purpose of the trade journal? Reviewing all the relevant details of your trades will help you understand how successful you are as a trader, what you are doing right and wrong, when and why you take winning or loosing trades, what and how should be improved. 5. How to keep a trade journal? The sole purpose of a trade journal is to provide you at any time with a clear picture for every trade you take. It should contain relevant details, such as: - What, when and why have you traded? - What was the entry price, stop loss and take profit? - How much of your account balance did you put into that trade? What were the potential risk and profit? - How did the market looked before and after the trade closed? - How do you feel before and after the trade? To make it easier for you, there is a link to a template that you can download and START USING TODAY!. Template Link: Click HERE
Education
by Mike713
6