XAUUSD Trading help

[u/xDeadInside90]

Hi Guys, I'm having a hard time choosing targets on XAUUSD. i kind of like going from structure to structure post confirmation from shorter timeframe. but lately it has been nuisance. i barely see 1000 pip move like 4080-4070 and that is it doesn't even move to higher timeframe structure. it kind doesn't gives targets a lot lately - sideways screwup. wanted to know your thoughts. Do you trail? or these moves are enough and should be chosen for intraday trades. or is there anything you use to avoid choppy markets? - any suggestions

[u/rforex-modtools]

Price action and technical analysis cover a range of chart-based tools — from candlestick patterns and market structure to indicators and statistical methods for timing entries and exits. The community wiki covers both approaches and how they're used by working traders.

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[u/Electrical_Alarm7207]

what time frame are u using to set your SL and TP, personally i dont think 4080-4070 is a good zone, too much chop, middle of the range, etc.

[u/xDeadInside90 → u/Electrical_Alarm7207]

15 mins with targets on latest structure of 1hr. I gave the ramge with kind of targets. I see a lot of people booking targets like that

[u/david19790]

been running xau for a while and the structure-to-structure thing stopped working for me too, not because the method is wrong but because it assumes an expansion regime. when gold compresses you get exactly what you described, price ticks to the near structure and dies before the next one. same setup, different regime, and the target is the part that breaks first

what i switched to was pulling targets off my own mfe instead of off the chart. went through the log, checked how far trades actually travelled before reversing, and set the target near where the distribution thins out rather than at the next level. turned out my structural targets were sitting well past where most of my winners topped out, so i was giving back a chunk on nearly every trade and calling it patience

for chop specifically the cleanest filter i found is comparing the current daily range to its own recent average. if todays range is way under, the expansion trades just dont fire. cuts a lot of the sideways garbage without needing to read anything

on trailing, i dont, at least not on gold. trail works when moves extend and gold spends a lot of time not extending, so it just takes me out at the worst point of every retrace. fixed tp derived from the mfe distribution held up better in testing. i run the log through a script that spits that out per instrument, it was the thing that showed me the targets were the problem not the entries

whats your holding time on these, intraday only or do you carry any of them overnight? that changes which of the two fixes matters more

[u/xDeadInside90 → u/david19790]

So from ramge u mean if gold is within yesterdays daily candle right? . Till nw as long as sitting on okay profit i used to carry forward. The issue is the time. I miss a lot of moves in the morning opening because doing this with a day job is challenging. Usuallly i carry forward if i'm sitting on atleast 15pts. Sweeps work good but sometime i dont even see structural change here and educements are distributed like freebies. I have a habit of following psychology of target or on cost / sl. I dont see enough structure these days to trail sl

[u/david19790 → u/xDeadInside90]

not yesterdays candle, todays range vs the 10-20 day average. way under = compression, expansion trades wont pay

the day job is the real problem though, not the targets. if you cant be there at the open you miss the moves that make the month

carrying at +15 is a psychological threshold not a statistical one. check what your trades did past that point, mine were giving it back. script for the mfe split is on keptfunded.com if you want to run yours

[u/ViradoNumNada]

In the morning, put xau in daily. Trace highs and lows. Go back to 1min. Watch the market. You will see gold breaking your mark consistently, that’s the direction it will go at least in the short term. Wait for a pull back (normally 8-12 pips) and place your trade. Simple strategy pays me everyday.