My FXO trading journal

My journal

How my trading works.

It involves 4 currency pairs.

EURUSD
GBPUSD
USDCHF
USDCAD

All buy orders at 0.1 lot size, starting with pending buystop and or buylimits.

All buystops set at 20 pips above market price.
All buylimits set at 100 pips below market price.
All winning orders closed on a guaranteed 15 pips or better stoploss.(Excluding end of trading week)

At the moment my main focus is my Equity currently showing at just over 10% up on my initial deposit, my balance shows a 800 pip increase but this is off set by my open orders at just under -600 pips.

As my system is setup like a correlation using just buystop & buylimit orders it doesn't have any -stoplosses set, as I hope one will cancel the other out. Or simply put, as one goes up the other is likely to come down, because 99% of my trades involve my custom build EA my system has a slight advantage as most scenario's are covered. If a winning stoploss is reached a new set of pending orders or a single Buystop order will cover any sudden movement. Should the market continue to drop on the just closed winning order the new BuyStop is programmed to follow it downwards, so the longer it remains dropping my Equity has a good chance of increasing as its more than a 50% chance its -correlation pair is moving upward.

If we go back to 28/11/2011 the start of this system (test)

The GBPUSD shows roughly +300 pips
The EURUSD shows roughly +80 pips
The USDCHF shows roughly +60 pips
The USDCAD shows roughly -250 pips

Looking at the above movement with my Equity it does seem to balance itself out, or in my case don't look good for this system. As 3 out of the 4 pairs favor a buyers market.

But I don't think I need to change anything at the moment and wait and see is my outlook.

At this point I must state this is only a "demo" account but I will be applying it to a real account within the next couple of weeks to see what results it yields. Please feel free to ask any questions you might need answered and I'll try my best to reply with as much detail as possible.

Latest updates on my FXO journal:

At the end of this week's trading my Equity now stands at +376 up on my initial deposit.

Over the 13 days for start of this journal my trading looks something like this:

Successful closed trades 28

EURUSD = 14 (14 automatic)
GBPUSD = 09 (9 automatic)
USDCHF = 03 (1 automatic + 2 manual)
USDCAD = 02 (1 automatic + 1 manual)

Total Pips since beginning: 937
Average pips per trade: 33.46

Movement from start of trading to current close:

EURUSD Open 1.3312 Close 1.3369 +57
GBPUSD Open 1.5491 Close 1.5662 +171
USDCHF Open 0.9182 Close 0.9247 +65
USDCAD Open 1.0334 Close 1.0181 -153

Each pair as one open order:

EURUSD -167.38 including swap
GBPUSD -79.89 including swap
USDCHF -47.31 including swap
USDCAD -272.56 including swap

Because this system involves auto & manual trading (manual involves setting BuyLimit orders)
I take control of moving the BuyLimits (only) downwards if its counter partner is showing a bigger distance from its BuyStop level than the said BuyLimit is from its Buylimit level

Example:

EURUSD is 30 pips below market open price and the USDCHF or and USDCAD is 20 points away from its Buylimit hit target, I modify pending price/s level set taking into account that all orders must reach 30 pip gain before automatic 15 pip TrailingStop kicks in. So the modify scenario would be another 40 pips downward. No BuyLimit is ever moved upwards. If and when a winning trade is closed a new BuyStop and BuyLimit is apply, unless a set limit (decided by myself) of 3 BuyLimits have already been applied to the said pair, so for this reason the automatic "Trade Again", is reset to only place the BuySop. If the last Buylimit on a said pair closes a new BuyLimit is manually placed at 100 pips below close market price and then manually modified downward if need arises.

Enjoy you weekend.
(Liz) ilearn2t.

At the end of this week's trading my Equity now stands at +230 (+11.5%) up on my initial deposit.


Successful closed trades 37

EURUSD = 16 (15 automatic + 1 manual)
GBPUSD = 10 (10 automatic)
USDCHF = 09 (7 automatic + 2 manual)
USDCAD = 02 (1 automatic + 1 manual)


Movement from start of trading to current close:

EURUSD Open 1.3312 Close 1.3035 -277
GBPUSD Open 1.5491 Close 1.5519 +28
USDCHF Open 0.9182 Close 0.9363 +181
USDCAD Open 1.0334 Close 1.0368 +34
Slightly combined downward swing. (Favors journal format setup)

Each pair as one open order:

EURUSD -503.39 including swap
GBPUSD -221.45 including swap
USDCHF -173.52 including swap
USDCAD -82.46 including swap

BuyLimit orders = 6
(3 USDCHF 2 automatic + 1 manual)
(1 USDCAD 0 automatic + 1 manual)
(1 EURUSD 0 automatic + 1 manual)
(1 GBPUSD 1 automatic + 0 manual)

Because I set my upper BuyLimits at 3 each pair, all future USDCHF automatic placed orders will be for BuyStops only, all others remain BuyStop + BuyLimit.

Thanks for your time and enjoy your weekend break.
(Liz) ilearn2t.

What I personally class as short, medium and long “term” trading.
"Short term" 1 minute - 1 week.
"Medium term" 1 week - 1 month.
"Long term" 1 month upward.

“Short term” involves any open Buy orders that can close in profit within minutes or longer.

“Medium term” involves any open orders on the downside + pending orders within 100 – 200 below current price.

“Long term” involves any open orders + pending orders within 200 – 500 below current price.

At the moment I’m working of a “Medium term” Strategy with the prospect of changing to “Short term” if profits fall in percentage to near zero.

While I’m in the present mode, I can gather data to use if or when I switch. While this is all going on, I can take timeout to maybe improve my automatic helper (EA) or even explore building some custom indictors to help with my different “term” plans.

39 trades and 1250$ profit, show me how please

Hello Calumet

At first glance the figures you posted is very impressive, but sadly they don't look at the bigger picture as Equity, balance and open orders have not been taken into account.

At the present time my "demo" account shows a true profit of $337 because the remaining open orders show a loss of -$870 compared to the balance of +1247 (excluding deposit amount).

Today a GBPUSD order closed at 1.5757 and a new automatic pending BuyStop was added, as my custom build EA is programmed to reduce the place price by 5 points each 20 pip from drop this order eventually opened at 1.5700, all the while the counter pairs USDCHF & USDCAD gain ground (upward) so despite only making a profit of 16 pips on the closed order, my account Equity increased by near 100 pips.

I will be offering all members the expert advisor to try on a "demo" account of their own in due course, but first I must judge that a said member wants to partake in this forum and not just signup to get the EA and go. I hope you understand my reasons, and if so simply stay a member with or without posting and you'll get a copy of this and every EA I custom build (in full format) to try yourself.

At the end of this week's trading my Equity now stands at +211 (+10.5%) up on my initial deposit.


Successful closed trades 39

EURUSD = 16 (15 automatic + 1 manual)
GBPUSD = 11 (11 automatic)
USDCHF = 10 (8 automatic + 2 manual)
USDCAD = 02 (1 automatic + 1 manual)


Movement from start of trading to current close:

EURUSD Open 1.3312 Close 1.3041 -271
GBPUSD Open 1.5491 Close 1.5590 +99
USDCHF Open 0.9182 Close 0.9376 +194
USDCAD Open 1.0334 Close 1.0194 -140
Combined downward swing. (Favors journal format setup)

Each pair as one open order:

EURUSD -496.27 including swap
GBPUSD -110.33 including swap
USDCHF -163.64 including swap
USDCAD -265.21 including swap

BuyLimit orders = 5
(2 USDCHF 1 automatic + 1 manual)
(1 USDCAD 0 automatic + 1 manual)
(1 EURUSD 0 automatic + 1 manual)
(1 GBPUSD 1 automatic + 0 manual)



Thanks for your time and Merry Christmas to you all.
(Liz) ilearn2t.

At the end of this week's trading my Equity now stands at +95 up on my initial deposit.

Successful closed trades 44

EURUSD = 18 (16 automatic + 2 manual)
GBPUSD = 14 (14 automatic)
USDCHF = 10 (8 automatic + 2 manual)
USDCAD = 02 (1 automatic + 1 manual)

Movement from start of trading to current close:

EURUSD Open 1.3312 Close 1.2941 -371
GBPUSD Open 1.5491 Close 1.5531 +40
USDCHF Open 0.9182 Close 0.9393 +211
USDCAD Open 1.0334 Close 1.0186 -148
Combined downward swing shows a fall of -268. (Favors journal format setup)

I did foresee a fall in this weeks trading, with the EURUSD hitting 1.2900 and now have switched to using 2 automatic trades on each pair. This is in line with my next forecast that the EURUSD & GBPUSD will show a large movement upward over the coming month. New automatic trades will now have a 20 pip trailingstop applied once a 40 pip profit shows, and consist of BuyStops only.

Happy New Year to all members & guests.

ilearn2t

At the end of this week's trading my Equity now stands at -332 down on my initial deposit.

Successful closed trades 54

EURUSD = 20 (18 automatic + 2 manual)
GBPUSD = 17 (17 automatic)
USDCHF = 14 (12 automatic + 2 manual)
USDCAD = 03 (02 automatic + 1 manual)

Movement from start of trading to current close:

EURUSD Open 1.3312 Close 1.2722 -590
GBPUSD Open 1.5491 Close 1.5427 -64
USDCHF Open 0.9182 Close 0.9549 +367
USDCAD Open 1.0334 Close 1.0267 -77
Combined downward swing shows a fall of -364.

This week saw the first major swing downwards in my trading system, but I'll continue to watch and wait until the end of this months Equity balance before deciding to change things around if needed.

I believe the coming week could give us a better insight into this current months EURUSD trading, things to watch for:
Below 1.2587 could see 1.2234 around end of month, but a swing upward pass 1.3032 could favor my end of month prediction of 1.36- 1.38 level. All on the (MONTH) chart.

Thanks and enjoy your weekend.
ilearn2t

At the end of this week's trading my Equity has been cut to near half its initial deposit (2000), and now stands at 1098.

Successful closed trades 71

EURUSD = 25 (18 automatic + 7 manual)
GBPUSD = 22 (18 automatic + 4 manual)
USDCHF = 17 (12 automatic + 5 manual)
USDCAD = 07 (06 automatic + 1 manual)

Movement from start of trading to current close:

EURUSD Open 1.3312 Close 1.2681 -631
GBPUSD Open 1.5491 Close 1.5322 -169
USDCHF Open 0.9182 Close 0.9522 +340
USDCAD Open 1.0334 Close 1.0225 -109
With all 4 pairs showing a drop this week, the combined downward swing since start of journal shows a fall of -569.

Today the journal came close to bankruptcy, so I had to apply extra manual trading to try and save it.
Hopefully the old saying; "What goes up must come down" or in this case; "what goes down must go up" might just work for my FXOpen journal in the coming weeks.

Thanks and enjoy your weekend.
ilearn2t

At the end of this week's trading my Equity now stands at +224 (+11.2%) up on my initial deposit.

Successful closed trades 101

EURUSD = 37 (18 automatic + 19 manual)
GBPUSD = 31 (19 automatic + 12 manual)
USDCHF = 21 (12 automatic + 09 manual)
USDCAD = 12 (06 automatic + 06 manual)

Movement from start of trading to current close:

EURUSD Open 1.3312 Close 1.2932 -390
GBPUSD Open 1.5491 Close 1.5566 +175
USDCHF Open 0.9182 Close 0.9341 +159
USDCAD Open 1.0334 Close 1.0130 -204

The combined downward swing since start of journal shows an overall drop.

This weeks trading involved a lot more manual trading and I would have liked, but it did bring the journal back from the brink.

Thanks and enjoy your weekend.
ilearn2t

At the end of this week's trading my Equity now stands at -117 (5%) down on my initial deposit.

Successful closed trades 131

EURUSD = 48 (28 automatic + 20 manual)
GBPUSD = 46 (24 automatic + 22 manual) Total pips gained 1,019.
USDCHF = 24 (15 automatic + 09 manual)
USDCAD = 13 (06 automatic + 07 manual)

Movement from start of trading to current close:

EURUSD Open 1.3312 Close 1.3217 -95
GBPUSD Open 1.5491 Close 1.5727 +236
USDCHF Open 0.9182 Close 0.9122 -60
USDCAD Open 1.0334 Close 1.0005 -329

The combined downward swing since start of journal shows an overall drop.

At the end of this week I closed out GBPUSD and will now focus on the 3 remaining pairs.

Thanks and enjoy your weekend.
ilearn2t

At the end of this week's trading my Equity now stands at -87 (4.5%) down on my initial deposit.

Successful closed trades 148

EURUSD = 48 (28 automatic + 29 manual)
GBPUSD = 46 (24 automatic + 22 manual) Total pips gained 1,019.
USDCHF = 24 (15 automatic + 13 manual)
USDCAD = 13 (06 automatic + 10 manual)

Movement from start of trading to current close:

EURUSD Open 1.3312 Close 1.3198 -114
GBPUSD Open 1.5491 Close 1.5816 +325
USDCHF Open 0.9182 Close 0.9183 +1
USDCAD Open 1.0334 Close 0.9934 -400

The combined downward swing since start of journal shows an overall drop.


Thanks and enjoy your weekend.
ilearn2t

At the end of this week's trading my Equity now stands at +346 (17.3%) up on my initial deposit.

Successful closed trades 158

EURUSD = 66
GBPUSD = 46 Total pips gained 1,019.
USDCHF = 28
USDCAD = 18

Movement from start of trading to current close:

EURUSD Open 1.3312 Close 1.3168 -144
GBPUSD Open 1.5491 Close 1.5734 +243
USDCHF Open 0.9182 Close 0.9195 +13
USDCAD Open 1.0334 Close 1.0025 -309
The combined downward swing since start of journal shows an overall drop.

Last nexts trading was mostly automatic with just one or two manual trades involved.

Thanks and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
ilearn2t

At the end of this week's trading my Equity now stands at +129 (5.6%) up on my initial deposit.

Successful closed trades 168

EURUSD = 70
GBPUSD = 46 Total pips gained 1,019.
USDCHF = 32
USDCAD = 20

Movement from start of trading to current close:

EURUSD Open 1.3312 Close 1.3153 -159
GBPUSD Open 1.5491 Close 1.5829 +338
USDCHF Open 0.9182 Close 0.9184 +2
USDCAD Open 1.0334 Close 0.9955 -379
The combined downward swing since start of journal still shows an overall drop.

Like the previous week last nexts trading was mostly automatic with just one or two manual trades involved.

Thanks and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
ilearn2t

At the end of this week's trading my Equity now stands at -455 (-24.8%) down on my initial deposit.

Successful closed trades 176

EURUSD = 76
GBPUSD = 46 Total pips gained 1,019.
USDCHF = 33
USDCAD = 21

Movement from start of trading to current close:

EURUSD Open 1.3312 Close 1.3465 +143
GBPUSD Open 1.5491 Close 1.5901 +590
USDCHF Open 0.9182 Close 0.8946 -238
USDCAD Open 1.0334 Close 0.9995 -339
The combined upward swing start of journal shows an overall rise.

This coming week could decide the fate of my journal as I've decided to close out all my orders.

More details will be updated during the week.

Thanks and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
ilearn2t

New "Real" journal begins on Sunday 25/Feb/2011

Hello Everyone

Real account 22 wins (20 automatic - 2 manual) 0 loss: total profit of USD 1 503.35 (15%)
Open orders (4)


Demo account 221 wins (98 automatic - 133 manual) 0 loss: total profit of USD 4 597.51 (229%)
Open orders (12)



Good luck
ilearn2t

Hello Everyone

Real account 35 wins (32 automatic - 3 manual) 0 loss: total profit of USD 2 584.27 (25%)
Open orders (6)


Demo account 234 wins (98 automatic - 136 manual) 0 loss: total profit of USD 4 668.95 (233%)
Open orders (11)

Hello Everyone

Real account 50 wins (47 automatic - 3 manual) 0 loss: total profit of USD 3,173.64 (31.51%)
Open orders (7)


Demo account 230 wins (98 automatic - 142 manual) 0 loss: total profit of USD 4,747.76 (237.39%)
Open orders (12)

New "Standard" account = 30 wins 0 loss. Total Net Profit: $502.57

ForexCup banked prize money = $16.39

Good luck
ilearn2t