Many of you know I used to trade pin bars, and sometimes people ask why I no longer use them. But the truth is, I do, just not the pin bar formation in a literal sense.
The high time frame fakeouts we talk about here are essentially the same as a pin bar candlestick, or at least the essence of one.
For example, **a daily pin bar at a key level is nothing more than an intraday fakeout. **
A fakeout on the daily time frame could eventually be a pin bar or rejection candle on a higher time frame like the weekly.
But what makes pin bars or long-tailed candles effective as a trading tool is the fakeout that occurs at the key level in question.
So when you're looking for/trading fakeouts, just know that you're trading a condensed and much more effective version of the pin bars I used to trade.
Some of the below applies to a current trade of mine, but the comments about position sizing are universal:
"I'm slow to move my stop losses. My thinking has always been that if I size my position correctly upfront, I won't feel the need to trail my stop too early. I think a lot of traders get themselves in trouble because they size too large which forces them to move their stop too early for fear of losing money, which can lead to premature stop outs.
In the case of EURNZD, I haven't trailed my stop and probably won't unless we see the pair close below 1.8900. As mentioned in yesterday's video, the spreads on crosses like EURNZD are much wider than the majors, especially during news events. Considering how many unscheduled announcements we've heard in the last few weeks, I'm in no rush to move my stop. But again, it goes back to sizing the position correctly from the start. If you do that, you won't ever feel pressured to trail your stop. It'll be more of a strategic decision than an emotional one. "
