Guess who made a comeback? I did! After a very depressing first quarter, my trading turned around in April to June and I ended the second quarter of 2012 with a 6.11% gain!
I had a total of 12 trade ideas but only 8 got triggered. I’m happy to report that 6 of those trades ended up as winners. But, but, but! I’m even happier to tell you that I managed to limit my losses on the 2 remaining trades well below 1%.
Here’s a breakdown of the trades I took:
| Date | Trades | Gain/Loss |
| 4/12/2012 | EUR/USD: Revving Up for Another Down Move? | +0.53% |
| 4/19/2012 | GBP/USD: Will the Pair Continue to Move Higher? | – |
| 4/26/2012 | Trading the Possible GBP/USD Breakout | -0.5% |
| 5/3/2012 | Swing Trade On EUR/USD | +1.25% |
| 5/10/2012 | GBP/USD: Riding the Falling Channel | +1.32% |
| 5/17/2012 | EUR/USD: Selling on a Pullback | – |
| 5/23/2012 | Giving EUR/USD Another Shot | – |
| 5/31/2012 | GBP/USD: Major Support Broken! | +1.58% |
| 6/7/2012 | Countertrend Trade on EUR/USD | +1.78% |
| 6/14/2012 | GBP/USD: Waiting for a Downside Break | +1.00% |
| 6/26/2012 | GBP/USD: Riding the Uptrend | – |
| 6/28/2012 | GBP/USD: Time to Go Long… Again? | -0.85% |
| Total | +6.11% |
What I Did Differently
My performance from April to June presents a stark contrast to how I did in the first quarter. I struggled pretty much because I kept on picking setups that didn’t have the most appealing return-on-risk ratios. Whenever I saw a potential play, I almost immediately traded it without really taking into consideration their potential reward in relation to my risk.
I made sure to address the issue in the last three months that I’ve been trading. And it looks like taking more time to analyze my trades paid off!Before deciding on a pair to trade, I would first take a look at where I would put my stop and how much price could possibly move in my favor. I no longer forced myself into a trade that didn’t have a good return-on-risk ratio.
What I Can Do Better
I did a pretty good job in limiting my risk and minimizing my losses. However, I think I can do better in improving my returns.
Looking back on my trades, I’ve realized that I never took full profit on my intended targets in the past quarter. Most of the time, I closed only half of my trades at my profit targets, letting the other half run in hopes that price would continue my way. However, in those instances, they never did.
There were also times when I didn’t set specific profit targets and just took profit when my unrealized return-on-risk ratios were already over 1:1.
I went through some of Dr. Pipslow‘s articles and read that setting specific profit targets can actually help me manage my winning trades. So it shall be done! I promise to include profit targets in all of my trades this quarter and see how it works out.
There ya go! That’s how I did in the second quarter of 2012. How about you? How did you do in the past three months?
Wishing everyone another piptastic quarter ahead,
Huck
This content is strictly for informational purposes only and does not constitute as investment advice. Trading any financial market involves risk. Please read our Risk Disclosure to make sure you understand the risks involved.
