Quote from chinook:
I know what you mean about making money with trades outside of the plan. Quite a few days have been saved by these "chance" trades and thus strengthened the bad habit. That's why I started keeping track of how much I stick to my plan beside daily P/L.
I know I have this bad habit, I don't know how to cure it yet. But at least I'm aware of it and I take full responsibility for it.
I think most of us fall into this trap every now and then. As long as there is no way to stop us from doing mistakes, the best thing we can do is try and identify when it's happening and thus try and control it.
Also, looking at the many tries at range breakout the last few weeks (last month?) it also adds to trading frustration. Looking at today's chart - it's a "trending day".
Why try and counter-trade it ? Revenge-trading, right ?
Finally - let's face it - not all systems work every day - all day long, especially when there's basically just a few big moves per day. Staying out of trades - just picking the ones you "know" are right helps rescue those days - especially if one realizes that the system don't work that day.
Trying to stick to my short bias above 1.2415 today was very stubborn - and mostly wrong - as long as I try and stay within timelimits and no overnight positions.
[21:33 US Treasury Will Act Aggressively To Get China FX Reform-Reuters] Sydney, October 1: Reuters is reporting that a participant at a meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials indicated that the U.S. will act "as aggressively as necessary" to get China to reform its FX policy. The report goes on to say that U.S. Treasury Secretary made the case for China to move towards a more flexible exchange rate at a faster pace. The comments are sure to heat up the debate on whether or not FX will be one of the main issues at G7.
[20:01 GMT 30th Sept] EUR/USD sky-rocketed at the US open, lead higher by large buying from a sovereign name out of the Middle East which took out barriers at 1.2350, 1.2400 and 1.2425. Heavy buying of EUR/USD from overlay accounts further underpinned the pair as the EUR finally looks to be shaking off its ranges and requiring investors and corporates to do a little hedging for a change. Barriers remain at 1.2450, 60 and 75 and are being heavily defended at present. News that Israel is launching a large military offensive in Gaza may or may not be coincident with the Middle Eastern move to dump the greenback. The timing is curious though, and certainly raised some eyebrows. US Treasuries were heavily sold this morning, raising fears that foreign cash was being pulled out of the US, but the losses moderated as the day went on. Interest rate differentials are more favorable toward the dollar at 20 bp in 10s from 13 bp yesterday. 1.2465 is the next technical hurdle for EUR/USD. 1.2380/90 is now support amid bright technical prospects.
[19:10 EUR/USD: At Session Highs As Sharon Approves Extensive Ops ] Boston, September 30: Some suspect the Middle Eastern bid in EUR/USD today stems from Israel"s move to broaden its military offensive against terrorism from Gaza. If the offensive turns into a more generalized battle, expect geopolitical jitters to rise and undermine the dollar. Options defense ahead of 1.2450 is being whittled away. More barriers are seen at 1.2460, 75 and 1.2500. 1.2390 is support now on dips.