Trading the London session

Here's a strategy I came across:

https://www.dukascopy.com/fxcomm/fx...Session-With=&action=read&id=1253&language=en

Seems reasonable.

Actually, I was wondering what other members thought of that site? Have any been members of that site?

asimpleplan said:

Actually, I was wondering what other members thought of that site? Have any been members of that site?

Click to expand...

Hi asimpleplan,
I've never spent any time on Dukascopy so I can't comment on their forums but, as generalizations go, my impression of them as a broker is broadly favourable - based on comments I've read here on T2W.

Regarding the strategy, I've not looked at it either. I'm replying partly because no one else has and also because I sense from your various threads that you're desperately looking for a short cut, some quick 'n simple technique that will generate consistent gains pretty much from the get go. Whilst just about everyone who joins T2W wants the same thing, I've never known anyone succeed in their quest. And, as you can see, I've been here a pretty long time! I don't wish to discourage you in any way - far from it - but the sooner you realise there is no cookie cutter solution and the only way to make any headway as a trader is to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in - the better off you'll be. That's not to say there aren't some decent 'off the shelf' strategies that you can use as a starting point, but there won't be anything you can learn about one day and make money with the next. Whatever you find will involve extensive testing and demo trading which, often as not, results in making changes. Before you know it, the system you found on Dukascopy - or wherever - has metamorphosed into something very different.

The point is that trading is a uniquely individual pursuit, none of us perceive the markets the same way and trade them the same way. And that applies to people who subscribe to the same basic beliefs about how they function and may even trade them having been taught the same principles and techniques. If you're not yet familiar with them, to help you get your head around the points I'm making, check out Richard Dennis' Original Turtles
Tim.

In contrast to my MACD strategy, where everyone was queuing up to laugh at me, there's ZERO response to this thread.

If I was to give any advice it would be to not waste your time on systems, indicators, anything sold or free on the web. Instead, learn how the markets function and understand what makes price move and what makes it range. Thereafter, you can use that knowledge to then look how you will trade. I can't stress this enough, trading off charts alone is like driving a car while staring at the rear mirror. If you spend the next 6 months understanding the drivers and only referring to charts to see how the market reacts then you would have a better chance going forward. Looking at these systems on the net is like a dog chasing its tail. You will forever be tuning and trying to find something that works but end up nowhere. I speak from experience and wasted too much time on that cr@p.

I really enjoyed the article thanks, and as I'm biased towards objective chart evidence it appeals to me. I am never going to be able to learn how forex rates move on a scale of minutes and hours so next best for me is to follow the trails left by smarter and bigger players than me, as illustrated in the charts. I'm seriously thinking of breaking my personal rule against day-trading and running some trades using the system.

asimpleplan said:

In contrast to my MACD strategy, where everyone was queuing up to laugh at me, there's ZERO response to this thread.

Click to expand...

I looked at the system but didn't respond because it was just too "convoluted" for me and I was unmotivated to go into detail. I will say however that, at a glance (in principle) it looked to have promise. Why? Because I've noticed that assets seem to "tip their hats" at the open of the Tokyo and London sessions, and keep on the same trajectory for a couple of hours or few dozen pips before they absolutely die!

As for the MACD, I liked it for the histogram and I especially liked the Oscillator of Moving Average (OsMA), but I still found "canned" indicators to be so lacking the I learned how to code my own.

Let me also give you a slightly different perspective from those who obviously know a lot more than I and whose experience is much more extensive...

I looked into Sam Seiden after seeing his name mentioned by other members of this community (I've only been hear a couple of weeks) and am now reviewing information based on his ideas to enhance what I'm already doing in that the premise on which the info is based seems to agree with my own, which is that even though I don't necessarily understand what makes price move and what makes it range, I can still make sound, rational, somewhat informed decisions base on price action itself, which effectively communicates to me areas of significant demand, when demand is overtaken by supply, etc...

That said, do I closely monitor the economic calendars?

Yes!!!

Do I base my decisions on Fibonacci, MACD, RSI, ADX, CCI, Stochastic Oscillator, etc.?

No!

I guess what it comes down to (at its very core) is that I base my decisions on trend and on levels of support and resistance.

Of course, I'm no expert, and if someone wants to say I'm just a lowly retail trader who doesn't know his rear-end from a hole in the ground, I won't argue with that. All I mean to do is encourage you with the knowledge that this lowly retail trader who doesn't know squat is making money every day trading foreign currency pairs based on little more than the ability to identify trend and levels of support and resistance with the help of a couple of indicators of his own design along with a "feel" for the market developed over the years since initiating this journey in November 2011.

Hang in there!

P.S. And use risk/money management wisely.

Is the strategy a technical or fundamental one? It's measured by technicals I suppose but is based on market fundamentals.

- Do I care why the market is trending? No. The FED will use any reason to justify cooking the books. As I'm sure you all know, the US debt is unmeasurable and they'll continue to print money.
- Do I want to profit from it? Do I have a choice? No.

The point I'm trying to make is that if the fundamentals can be arbitrarily interpreted according to the rules of fiat money, then how can I be certain of any news they release i.e. how can I invest any money?

Hi asimpleplan,

asimpleplan said:

Is the strategy a technical or fundamental one? It's measured by technicals I suppose but is based on market fundamentals.

Click to expand...

If you're referring to the one you link to on the Dukascopy forums, then it's purely based on TA - funnymentals don't enter into it. It's essentially an opening range breakout strategy - old as the hills - and as good a place to start as any. If this appeals, then you might like this thread: Phil Newton's Range Break Out strategy.

asimpleplan said:

- Do I care why the market is trending? No. The FED will use any reason to justify cooking the books. As I'm sure you all know, the US debt is unmeasurable and they'll continue to print money.
- Do I want to profit from it? Do I have a choice? No.

The point I'm trying to make is that if the fundamentals can be arbitrarily interpreted according to the rules of fiat money, then how can I be certain of any news they release i.e. how can I invest any money?

Click to expand...

At the risk of being really, really boring and repeating myself yet again - you need to test your theories and strategies. That's the (only) way you'll ever have confidence in whatever way you choose to 'read' the markets (be it fundamentally, technically or a mixture of both) and, subsequently, how you trade them.
Tim.

Anyone arbitrarily interpreting the fundamentals is flipping a coin. How does one arbitrarily interpret inflation, gdp, employment, and manufacturing to name a few? It's all based on statistics collected every month.

Anyone arbitrarily interpreting the fundamentals is flipping a coin. How does one arbitrarily interpret inflation, gdp, employment, and manufacturing to name a few? It's all based on statistics collected every month.

Click to expand...

http://news.forexlive.com/!/here-is-why-the-pound-crashed-20161007

• Here is the answer, but I'm afraid you aren't going to like it.
  
• This is how markets work. Or rather, how they don't always work they way they should.
  
• The pound was teetering on a cliff and maybe that was the gust of wind to blow it over. More likely it was an algo gone haywire. Or a fat finger. Or maybe an order that couldn't be swallowed and a series of stops. In all likelihood we will never learn the answer to why the pound fell 6.1% in two minutes and three seconds.
  
• Finally, there's a chance it could have been predatory. Someone could have been sitting on a trading desk with an order to sell £2-3 billion order to sell. He may have thought, you know what, let's fire it all off at once and see what happens.

Click to expand...

If I'd put in a large buy order at about 1.2800 with a generous stop, just to be on the safe side, it would have been a sure thing because the £ has tested support already and surely can't drop any further after 31 years!

Oh, wait...