Journal Questions

F

flyboy

I am new to ET, but have not seen a good description or discussion of what constitutes a good Journal.

I would like to see what people think a Journal should consist of.

Since I hope to be trading in the next couple of months, I would like to start doing a small amount of papertrading my developing methodology, but want to make sure the items I track are usefull.

I think I need more than just the Entry/Exit and Profit/Loss information.

So my questions to this list are....

1. What should I be recording in a journal?
2. What should I be using to record my journal? (Word, Excel, live list like this, or other software?)
3. How do you evaluate your Journal?

Thanks in advance.
 
Depends on your reasons for posting the journal and what you hope to get out of it. If you're looking for help, or at least helpful comments, it will be necessary for you to be at least somewhat specific about your plan. Otherwise, if your results are consistently positive, nobody will believe them, which is understandable since so many traders so often lie to themselves.

On the other hand, if your results are unsatisfactory, nobody will be able to help you because they won't know what you're doing. This leads to the same old same old: the same old quotes pulled out of the same old books, the same old tired advice, the same old shotgun approach to giving "help".

If you can be specific about what you're doing and why, you will very likely get a lot of sound advice. Otherwise, you may just be wasting your time.

--Db
 
This is what I'd do if I was going to start a journal.

First, get a screen capture utility. You can get one free Here, and post charts of your trades.

Second, disclose your method exactly. If you feel your method
is unique and you don't want to tell anybody, you're probably
not gonna get much help.

Third, get some software like Ensign and use the
simulated broker feature. That way, you can prove you took the
trades. There's no erasing or BS.

Hope this helps...
 
OK.

Here Goes:

I am looking at and working on a couple of methods:

1. Commitment of Traders for Futures Trading. Will be trying to look for the Extreme positions of Commercials, and hopefully an opposite extreme of the Small Traders, and then wait for a price move to indicate the Commercials have "moved" or "changed" the market. Something like the breaking of a 2 week high (or low for a short).

2. Cycle Method based on J.M. Hurst Cycles Course (not just his Stock Market Transaction Timing book). Will attempt to identify the Cycle Lows and determine trading cycle.

So as far as tracking in a Journal, I assume that I need several items:

Date, Entry Signal (COT or Cycles), Entry Target Price, Actual Entry price, Initial Exit Target, Exit Signal, Exit Target, Actual Exit.

I am hoping that this Journal/Paper Trading will benefit me. I am not planning on publishing it, unless there is a benefit to me for doing so.

So my original questions still stand.

1. What should I be recording in a Journal?
2. What should I be using to record my Journal? (Software, list, other?)
3. How do you evaluate a Journal?

Thanks for your quick responses, and please keep pointing me at these new ideas.
 
Quote from Breakout:

This is what I'd do if I was going to start a journal.

First, get a screen capture utility. You can get one free Here, and post charts of your trades.

Second, disclose your method exactly. If you feel your method
is unique and you don't want to tell anybody, you're probably
not gonna get much help.

Third, get some software like Ensign and use the
simulated broker feature. That way, you can prove you took the
trades. There's no erasing or BS.

Hope this helps...
More...
breakout, that's what I need. Which one should I download that is easy and simple to post a chart on this site? There are several free choices from webattack.
 
Quote from profitseer:

breakout, that's what I need. Which one should I download that is easy and simple to post a chart on this site? There are several free choices from webattack.
More...

I tried the "Gadwin Printscreen", and the "MWSnap". The
Gadwin was easiest to use, but the MWSnap was pretty cool,
too. :)

And, when you post...use .Gif or .Png They look better than
.jpg and load faster.
 
Quote from Breakout:



I tried the "Gadwin Printscreen", and the "MWSnap". The
Gadwin was easiest to use, but the MWSnap was pretty cool,
too. :)
More...
This always happens to me. I downloaded one of them. Now it's in my computer somewhere. I'm not sure where. It said it was there though.
 
Quote from profitseer:

This always happens to me. I downloaded one of them. Now it's in my computer somewhere. I'm not sure where. It said it was there though.
More...


Okay, go to start>find>files or folders>type the name of the one you downloaded>Look in: Cdrive...when it shows up, Dbl click on it...:D
 
Quote from Breakout:




Okay, go to start>find>files or folders>type the name of the one you downloaded>Look in: Cdrive...when it shows up, Dbl click on it...:D
More...
I did that, now it wants to know which program to use to open it?
 
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