Am I getting it wrong ???

Hi, I am fairly new to trading FX via the oanda FX Game platform. Everytime I do a trade it turn against me most of the time. I wonder if I am trading the right way.

My setup is

8 SMA and 50 SMA Buy if its trading above and short if trading below

Anyone have any idea to fine tune this ????

You have a very long road to walk.

Do you mean buy when it crosses above and sell when it crosses below?

fade your method, when emas cross over it's often a good time to fade for a quick gain i've tried a sort of reversion system for them but it's difficult, but a good lot of the time price reverts back fairly quickly

Hi john

What I meant is that when the shorter MA crosses the longer MA, I buy and when the shorter MA falls below, I sell.... This method is killing me quickly ....

Hope you have a better advice for me... Thanks everyone...

Very simple - your system is terrible.

MA cross systems are awful, most especially in sideways or ranging markets.

Markets move sideways most of the time.

So yes, you are getting it wrong, and will continue to do so until you put some effort into learning how to trade.

I did a research paper on moving average crossover systems for one of my undergraduate classes, using a variety of combinations and found that these systems rarely work over time. Short positions based on a short moving average crossing a long moving average from above yielded negative returns, whereas long positions based on short moving averages crossing long moving averages from below yielded very small positive returns. Most of the time, the moving average signals whiplashed one out of the markets - a situation I believe you are experiencing.

You need an edge to maintain consistent profitability in the markets. A system such as this has been used and abused and therefore, cannot be expected to yield any consistent positive returns. However, it may be possible to use this system with another proprietary indicator that provides you an edge.

Amit

you could try and FADE the crossovers in CHOPPY markets...you could use an indicator to help with that, say ADX, or your eyes