We’ve spoken in NUMEROUS articles about the importance of using a journal to study key market structure and price action sequences, with the aim of developing your ability to perceive and understand the current strength or weakness of price movement and project that forward to develop a bias for the near future.
Here are some articles on this topic if you missed it all:
- https://yourtradingcoach.org/trading-business/the-greatest-trading-book-ever/
- https://yourtradingcoach.org/trading-business/are-you-creating-and-using-your-market-structure-journal/
- https://yourtradingcoach.org/trading-business/market-structure-and-price-action-study/
- https://yourtradingcoach.org/trading-business/do-this-to-increase-learning-every-session/
- https://yourtradingcoach.org/trading-business/day-after-monster-trend-day/
- https://yourtradingcoach.org/trading-business/the-path-to-increased-understanding-of-price-action-and-market-structure/
- https://yourtradingcoach.org/trading-business/why-do-we-create-market-structure-and-price-action-journal/
That’s a quick list from the top of my head. But there are likely more if you want to search through the archives (https://yourtradingcoach.org/site-map/). Perhaps try the Tag List on the right hand side, or the search box at the top right.
Equally as important though is a Trades Journal, studying the best trade sequences of the day whether you took them or not, with the aim of developing your ability to perceive, understand and exploit trade opportunity when it presents in the markets.
I know… I ask a lot of you!
But I really believe it’s of GREAT benefit to your trading business. Every trading session – one entry in your Market Structure / Price Action Journal. And one in your Trades Journal.
Trading is a skill-based & performance-based activity.
How do you develop skill?
How do you improve performance?
By studying best-practice! Whether you traded it or not!
What was the best trade opportunity of the session? If you did see it at the time, what did you do well and how could you do it even better? What did you do poorly and how could you improve next time? And if you didn’t see it, what clues did the market provide that this was a Must-Trade scenario.
If you don’t have a Trades Journal, get started today. Open up your charts to the prior session and find that day’s Trade of the Day! Print it out. Study it. Cover it in notes. And file it.
Here’s a few to get you started… all from last Friday’s session… all of which I consider Must-Trade scenarios.
Click on the images to open larger copies in your browser! Or see the links below the images to download a copy to your computer!
Right Click here to download the first image to your computer (larger size).
Right Click here to download the second image to your computer (larger size).
Right Click here to download the third image to your computer (larger size).
Happy Journaling,
Lance Beggs