Weekly Summary 180114: A Spate of Over-trading

PL: R-6.69   £-144.08

Closed Trade P/L:		-144.08		Floating P/L:				0.00	Margin:			0.00
Balance:		2 075.04		Equity:				2 075.04	Free Margin:			2 075.04
Details:
Gross Profit:		110.98		Gross Loss:				255.06	Total Net Profit:			-144.08
Profit Factor:		0.44		Expected Payoff:				-4.80
Absolute Drawdown:		144.08		Maximal Drawdown:				148.88 (6.69%)	Relative Drawdown:			6.69% (148.88)
Total Trades:		30		Short Positions (won %):				16 (31.25%)	Long Positions (won %):			14 (14.29%)
Profit Trades (% of total):								7 (23.33%)	Loss trades (% of total):			23 (76.67%)

SUMMARY
This week I was trading well ( for me anyway) up until Thursday and Friday when I fell into a spate of over-trading.
The positives are 1. I am spotting all the best trades and am taking almost all of them. 2. that I maintained good money management. I've had 22 losing trades but have limited my drawdown to only 6.7%, despite risking 1% per trade.
The negative of course was the over trading which also a had a hugely negative effect on my ability to hold my winners because I kept "getting reversal signals". However I think/hope I have identified the issues as...
1. Trading before the open ( in low volume chop)
2. Not having any candle reference,  I've been inadvertently entering on doji and trailing my stops on the wrong bars because of my use of bar charts not candles. Which has meant quite few entries and exits could have been better or were just plain wrong.
3. Lazy Prep.  Using a whole number as an S/R level despite price not having confirmed it. Also not updating an S/R level after it has been tested.  This resulted in me taking trades off S/R levels that didn't exist or that were past.

SUMMARY OF TRADES/TRADING (so many trades going to do this by day instead this week)
Monday: R+0.1. 4 Trades, all good entries. Some early exits. Missed a corker due to focus on SL/DL over S&R.
Tuesday: R-1.8.  3 Trades, all good entries.  missed a great trade because quit after 3 losses,  but these 3 trades did take place in the pre-session which I am now avoiding.  (might need to change quit point to a % rather than a number of trades?)
Wednesday: R+2: 4 Trades,  all good entries, -some early exits.
Thursday: R-3.6.  11Trades! over trading due to taking 5 trades before the open! early exits (7) Trailing SL too soon (on every bar instead of with trend bars only). not using current/updating S/R levels.
Friday: R-3.6 8 Trades!  over trading again due to... early exits (tracking doji) and poor prep

POSITIVES
1. I am either trading or at least spotting in realtime all the best trades.
2. My money management is remaining in place.

NEGATIVES
1. Trading before the open
2. Not having any candle reference,  I've been entering on and tracking doji as TSLs
3. Lazy Prep.  Using a whole number as an S/R level despite price not having confirmed it.

FIXES
1.  Don't commence trading until 0800GMT
2. Have a small candle window of the chart open at all times  so you're more aware of context. Or simply revert to candles.
3. Just got to keep working on Prep.  I now know to update an S/R level everytime it's tested and that even whole numbers need to prove themselves. For starters I can stop labeling whole numbers and I can stick to the horizontal lines and update them every time they tested.

ADDITIONS ( a few key lines that have popped into my head while trading this week)

"I'm trying to enter the day with no bias and just trade/flow with what the market gives/does, as I'm coming to the realization that even when trend trading there are times when I will be fighting the market (at reversals)".

"I do not need to know the specifics of what is going to happen each day. I just need to know that the market will create something everyday, and all I have to do is flow with it." 

"simplicity, prep and context beat convoluted, fancy and intricate"
SWINGS: NA