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Writer's pictureTrading Kitten :3

How to Trade the London Open

It’s about to go downnn!


I’ve heard about it many times in class but I tend to just shrug it off and focus on some D1 technical stuff not knowing the opportunity the London Open has to offer.


Since I’ve become desperate to learn other strategies to revive my prop account, it’s only now (literally) I’ve welcomed the idea of trading faster timeframes such as the London Open instead of patiently sticking to daily chart. Yup, it’s done in faster timeframe looking at the H1 chart.


All eyes on the last three (3) 1-hourly bars before 8AM start of London Session (around 3PM in MANILA Time). So, set your alarm accordingly.


Let’s dive right into the rest of it...


1. Strictly GBP (British Pound)

Uhm, we’re trading the LONDON Open. That’s why. Honestly, I’ve only done this with GbpUsd instead of the other Gbp pairs. Well, you don’t need to trade everything anyway. Just one is enough. Besides, the GbpUsd has an optimum number of spread (around 3.0) compared to the others who has it wide (around 12.0). The smaller the spread, the faster your exits will be.


2. Draw Support & Resistance



This is based on the HIGHs and LOWs of the last three (3) 1-hourly bars. If you first study/ observe what happens when a market is inactive (in this case the London market), it tends to just move in sideways. No obvious upward or downward spike. Just bars in almost the same height.


When the market approaches it’s opening, that’s when orders rush in!


If you ask me, why it happens in London market and not in Asian market. I don’t know. Probably, it’s a good timing for us here in Asia since it’s afternoon. Second, it’s just about the right time for them too since it’s their start of the work day. And then, it overlaps with US market come noon UK time.


3. Do a STRADDLE


"catch breakouts without bias..."

It’s a technique wherein you place BOTH a Buy Stop and a Sell Stop orders. Typically done to catch breakouts without bias since the market decides where it goes. You just sit there ready to catch it wherever it lands. Very appealing for the lazy (me). Once an order is triggered, cancel the other one.


There’s a way to automate that. It’s called OCA or One Cancels All. But I’m not sure if it’s available in most software. Maybe you have something similar. Otherwise, just manually delete the untriggered order once the breakout happens to one side.


BUY STOP Order



  • Place your BUY Stop on the RESISTANCE you’ve drawn from the last 3 bars.

  • The Support shall be your Stop-loss.

  • Target at least 1:1. Or you may Trail your Stop to positive.


SELL STOP Order



  • Place your SELL Stop on the SUPPORT you’ve drawn from the last 3 bars.

  • The Resistance shall be your Stop-loss.

  • Target at least 1:1. Or you may Trail your Stop to positive.


Please remember we are assuming BREAKOUTS. That's why we're Buying on Resistance and Selling on Support instead of the traditional.



So, this happened.


My SELL STOP was triggered as it broken out below the Support. I cancelled my Buy Stop. And then, the price ran to 70 pips. I only set my target to 1:1 though. That's good enough.


In closing

I’ve done this with coaches before but it’s only now that I’ve consciously done it on my own. I remember it being done also to EurGbp since it has almost the same technical tendency/ behavior.


You know, going sideways hours before market activity then breaks out to one side. Find other currencies with such tendencies too. Then, try applying the Straddle. Let me know how it went for you!


Will definitely add this to my trading arsenal. Long live lazies 😊


Happy trading everyone!


Sincerely,

@marilesaca || Trading Kitten :3


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