Is this really what I have feared all these years?

Hello, I am 61. I come from a creative background, so talking financials and trade speak is a slowly gaining process. I have always watched financial shows since Wall Street Week and Lewis, whatever his name was. I have always wanted to trade. I have always feared this desire to trade. My personality does not bode well for taking great financial risks. Having said that, and after doing some research for several weeks, I acquired a practice trading program today that simply loads into my browser. I have traded for 5 hours.

I watch:
EMA
SMA
Bollinger Bands
MACD
Volume
RSI

I am up $489 dollars w $20 commissions from 10 orders.

Why I write to you is that my success scares the hell out of me. Is this what real trading is like? I mean if I simply watch the indicators, knowing what they mean and looking for crossing indication, I make money! Seriously, is this what trading has been like all the time? I am ecstatic! It's a dream come true.

But it only the first day, and only play money, so I ask, are these practice programs giving me the actual situations in trading?

Signed, just a bit skeptical, John

Blackxacto said:

I am ecstatic! It's a dream come true.

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Be warned....very soon to be replaced by deep dark gloom.
The more emotionaly flat you can remain, the better you will be.
Trading is a horrible business.

Blackxacto said:

But it only the first day, and only play money, so I ask, are these practice programs giving me the actual situations in trading?

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They simulate the situation pretty well.........Again be warned.....Since you have yet to put money on the line, you have no sense of the emotion involved.
The only way to discover your attitude to money and risk is to put a bit of skin
in the game, even just a little bit of real money will be enough.
Not much in real life helps much, in fact some attitudes that are helpful and desirable in business will destroy you in trading.

What life attitudes will hurt me in trading?

Blackxacto said:

What life attitudes will hurt me in trading?

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Greed, impatience and an overly emotional way of living life, I guess. There is a whole psychology section here that talks about how to make yourself a trading robot so you can make/lose money without really "caring", but continue to trade your plan.

Blackxacto said:

Hello, I am 61. I come from a creative background, so talking financials and trade speak is a slowly gaining process. I have always watched financial shows since Wall Street Week and Lewis, whatever his name was. I have always wanted to trade. I have always feared this desire to trade. My personality does not bode well for taking great financial risks. Having said that, and after doing some research for several weeks, I acquired a practice trading program today that simply loads into my browser. I have traded for 5 hours.

I watch:
EMA
SMA
Bollinger Bands
MACD
Volume
RSI

I am up $489 dollars w $20 commissions from 10 orders.

Why I write to you is that my success scares the hell out of me. Is this what real trading is like? I mean if I simply watch the indicators, knowing what they mean and looking for crossing indication, I make money! Seriously, is this what trading has been like all the time? I am ecstatic! It's a dream come true.

But it only the first day, and only play money, so I ask, are these practice programs giving me the actual situations in trading?

Signed, just a bit skeptical, John

Click to expand...

Being scared is a very healthy condition, provided that you keep your wits about you. It helps, a great deal, to keep you in business.

I am retired and started trading about the same time as you. When I made a similar statement years ago, a well respected poster, then, told me that I should pack it in. Getting scared was not a great way to live. I'm still here and getting on a bit, now.

I think that my case, which could be yours, too, is that I trade more for fun than necessity. I trade within my pain level, not like the youngsters who want to give up their jobs and trade full time. They are the ones who should be scared. We respect the beast!

Good trading.

There is almost zero chance of you still making money from that program in three months.

EDIT : Sorry, that's overtly pessimistic. And I hope I'm completely and utterly wrong.

Blackxacto said:

Hello, I am 61. I come from a creative background, so talking financials and trade speak is a slowly gaining process. I have always watched financial shows since Wall Street Week and Lewis, whatever his name was. I have always wanted to trade. I have always feared this desire to trade. My personality does not bode well for taking great financial risks. Having said that, and after doing some research for several weeks, I acquired a practice trading program today that simply loads into my browser. I have traded for 5 hours.

I watch:
EMA
SMA
Bollinger Bands
MACD
Volume
RSI

I am up $489 dollars w $20 commissions from 10 orders.

Why I write to you is that my success scares the hell out of me. Is this what real trading is like? I mean if I simply watch the indicators, knowing what they mean and looking for crossing indication, I make money! Seriously, is this what trading has been like all the time? I am ecstatic! It's a dream come true.

But it only the first day, and only play money, so I ask, are these practice programs giving me the actual situations in trading?

Signed, just a bit skeptical, John

Click to expand...

trader_dante said:

There is almost zero chance of you still making money from that program in three months.

Click to expand...

I have not looked at his system but I have learned enough to know that if he has made some money then I am, certainly, not about to criticise how he has done it.

I don't use anything except averages, myself, but that's me!

I've changed. I used to scoff. It's not worth the trouble because you mey be proved wrong.

If he keeps his feet on the ground and his budget within safety limits he may be disappointed but he'll be able to try something else.

You will look back on that post in the future with a chuckle. It's all part of the learning process and something nearly all of us have experienced, I would suspect, at the very beginning.

G/L.

YouAreNotFree said:

You will look back on that post in the future with a chuckle. It's all part of the learning process and something nearly all of us have experienced, I would suspect, at the very beginning.

G/L.

Click to expand...

I remember the very first time trading on a demo. Trading EURUSD in the early evening, buying when price hit the bottom bollinger, and selling when it hit the top bollinger

Thankfully, ater that first evening, I failed spectacularly for the next year or so, and it was the best thing that could ever have happened to me. It does prove one thing though, the optmum strategy really would have been to risk 100% of my capital on that first trade.

the hare said:

I remember the very first time trading on a demo. Trading EURUSD in the early evening, buying when price hit the bottom bollinger, and selling when it hit the top bollinger

Thankfully, ater that first evening, I failed spectacularly for the next year or so, and it was the best thing that could ever have happened to me. It does prove one thing though, the optmum strategy really would have been to risk 100% of my capital on that first trade.

Click to expand...

That's hindsight and proves nothing except that he who puts 100% on a trade is the one who should be scared. You did not and are still here, in the survivors' club.

The market loves those who double up. It's like dice. You were successful, double up again! Keep doing it, the market is patient, you will lose the lot, plus the original stake, eventually.

He, who decides to double up, is going back to square one, with the original risk involved. Is that what he wants? That is for him to decide.

Blackxacto said:

I am ecstatic! It's a dream come true.

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Enjoy the good feeling while it lasts.

Maybe you shoul avoid trading (while feeling ecstatic) to avoid a big damage to your account?

ZEN archer said:

Enjoy the good feeling while it lasts.

Maybe you shoul avoid trading (while feeling ecstatic) to avoid a big damage to your account?

Click to expand...

But, if he listens to you, he will never know whether he could have fulfilled his potential, will he?

Let him go, IMO. Everyone has his dreams. I have a feeling that a retired guy, who has already made his way in life, is likely to have his head screwed on tight.

Blackxacto said:

Hello, I am 61. I come from a creative background, so talking financials and trade speak is a slowly gaining process. I have always watched financial shows since Wall Street Week and Lewis, whatever his name was. I have always wanted to trade. I have always feared this desire to trade. My personality does not bode well for taking great financial risks. Having said that, and after doing some research for several weeks, I acquired a practice trading program today that simply loads into my browser. I have traded for 5 hours.

I watch:
EMA
SMA
Bollinger Bands
MACD
Volume
RSI

I am up $489 dollars w $20 commissions from 10 orders.

Why I write to you is that my success scares the hell out of me. Is this what real trading is like? I mean if I simply watch the indicators, knowing what they mean and looking for crossing indication, I make money! Seriously, is this what trading has been like all the time? I am ecstatic! It's a dream come true.

But it only the first day, and only play money, so I ask, are these practice programs giving me the actual situations in trading?

Signed, just a bit skeptical, John

Click to expand...

What are you going to think if you lose $2000 on Monday? Demo platforms may well give you the same charts and prices as a live platform however the actual execution of the trades may differ. There are things that you can do on a demo that will make money but if you try them live you will lose.

To be honest after trading for 5 hours any success is purely beginners luck.

Blackxacto said:

What life attitudes will hurt me in trading?

Click to expand...

Almost all of them. It's why people tend to do badly and pack in very quickly. It's a counter-intuitive profession.

Good luck on your journey.

Blackxacto said:

Hello, I am 61. I come from a creative background, so talking financials and trade speak is a slowly gaining process. I have always watched financial shows since Wall Street Week and Lewis, whatever his name was. I have always wanted to trade. I have always feared this desire to trade. My personality does not bode well for taking great financial risks. Having said that, and after doing some research for several weeks, I acquired a practice trading program today that simply loads into my browser. I have traded for 5 hours.

I watch:
EMA
SMA
Bollinger Bands
MACD
Volume
RSI

I am up $489 dollars w $20 commissions from 10 orders.

Why I write to you is that my success scares the hell out of me. Is this what real trading is like? I mean if I simply watch the indicators, knowing what they mean and looking for crossing indication, I make money! Seriously, is this what trading has been like all the time? I am ecstatic! It's a dream come true.

But it only the first day, and only play money, so I ask, are these practice programs giving me the actual situations in trading?

Signed, just a bit skeptical, John

Click to expand...

You may have in mind that a program will be successful while some conditions are met, once those conditions change, that program will fail and your account can drop drastically.
It is not a matter of how much you risk, i have lost a lot with very small amounts. I have learned that it will always be better to fear the markets, it doesnt matter how good you think you are, what matters here is your ability to understand and follow the markets. To understand what trading is all about, so i must agree with who said that in your case that profit can be a beginners luck.
By the way, those are too many indicators. As someone else said i only use MA and always looking if the conditions that lead me to enter a position have already changed.

I can tell you that it is good to try to make something good with something that has lured you for long, but the markets are so different to many other things.

I had the same dream when i was very young, i have been trading for a while now and i can tell you that it is good, is satisfaying and it can also be rewarding if you do understand the game, to understand the game take longer than 5 hours, far longer than that.

Your emotions will kill you, yes, and once you realize that trying to control your emotions can improve your results you will start taking unnecesary risks. You will be succesfull once you have really learned what trading is all about, once you hace learned to trade, to make a method, rules, so forth...., its a long way to go, believe me.

Anyway, its never too late.

trader_dante said:

There is almost zero chance of you still making money from that program in three months.

EDIT : Sorry, that's overtly pessimistic. And I hope I'm completely and utterly wrong.

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LOLOLOL Yep, you are right. But I will have plenty of play money!!!

pboyles said:

There are things that you can do on a demo that will make money but if you try them live you will lose.

Click to expand...

Please name these things. Expand. Share, O'Wise One!

jr

Blackxacto said:

LOLOLOL Yep, you are right. But I will have plenty of play money!!!

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Well...., after all, if that is what you´re looking for...., you already got it...., you already win....., but if what you are looking for is real money, my friend you still have a huge road to walk and a good beggining would be to use more your ears....

Blackxacto said:

What life attitudes will hurt me in trading?

Click to expand...

In a normal business or business deal, optimism is a very desirable quality, in fact just your optimism can carry a deal.
Lets say you're in a trade going wrong, no amount optimism is going to change it around, in fact this attitude may very well send you broke.
Lets say you're in a trade going well and because you're optimistic, you hang on too long and now that sweet profit is a loss.
Persistence in trading is different to persistence in life.
Lets say you have made five trades in row and made a small loss on each one, you feel quite discouraged and yet in other endevours that would tell you you need to change what you are doing, but in trading that may not be so. You maybe doing the exact right thing.
However you need to be persistently optimistic about yourself.
You'll get in time.

pboyles said:

Demo platforms may well give you the same charts and prices as a live platform however the actual execution of the trades may differ. There are things that you can do on a demo that will make money but if you try them live you will lose.

To be honest after trading for 5 hours any success is purely beginners luck.

Click to expand...

Some brokers would probably want you to win in a demo account so they help you along. I tried the FXPro Ctrader demo one day because I wanted to practice my hedging skills and I had 1 trade which had gone terribly wrong but at the end of the day it had dissapeared. I didn't close it, it was not there, it wasn't in the history file and it didn't show up in my P/L either.