On thing I want to call out already (I’m in this trade now, not journaling it yet), is that I should use the actual bid and ask prices, when determining R:R. A few times now, I’ve been filled 3-5 pips away from the entry I was going for, so I should use the actual bid/asks, and hopefully get filled closer to intended prices (keeping my R:R in tact). Looking at the chart now (it’s 12:26pm, so it’s been about 2 – 3 hours), this doesn’t make sense. If I’m putting in an order, I’m putting a stop price, but the bid/ask is showing market prices…. The only other thing I can think to do in this vein is to increase my entry price by the spread.
After exiting my last trade at break even, looking at the chart, it was a fairly clear (to my eye) a bullish retest that had formed. So, I set another entry/stop order.
Entry – 1.10401
Entry – 1.104
Target – 1.106
Stop – 1.103
R:R – 2:1
Exit – 1.10299
Price pushed up a little, nearing 1R, but never quite hitting it. Since it never hit it, I left my stop alone. Price continued to move sideways for a 6 – 10 minutes, before pushing down and stopping me out of the trade for a full loss. This trade was good from a pattern perspective and technically from a directional perspective, but overall, I was bearish the pair, so I probably shouldn’t have been taking trades long in the first place. Top-Down Analysis Always.
