Has anyone been succesful with trading???

[FOREXHUSKY]

95% of traders will fail eventually. See if u can join the group of 5 %.

Numbers are much whorse if you ask ,but i know some malesian pro traders,so you may get thru 5% lol

But if you will see someday fxcm or gain caital numbers from last couple years you will jump to deep water with stones on your neck LOL

 

[iornmonkey5]

Me, i trade short term. in & out. If i make a small + it's ok. IE 1-2 days max

iornmonkey5

 

[zagreb]

well,

while reading all those comments I wonder why do majority of traders make simple things like trading so complicated. Trading knowledge is not PhD dissertation, it is very simple pursuit in fact.

And, it is really hard to lose money, really - except if that is your goal (pls. no flame wars, just think about this fact whatever suits you)

if there are some pals that would like to simplify their (trading) life give me note. I cannot guarantee prompt reply because I'm not too often here, but I promise to devote some time to interested parties (however, not too many).

cheers

zagreb

 

[Scorny]

I have been experiencing the same issues as you. It is an emotional/discipline thing.
Try using a live account that allows you to trade units. "Oanda" is good for this. I am currently trading with 100 units ($0.01 USD per pip).

You've got to trade live to be able to tackle these issues and trading tiny position sizes still feels very real but you get to survive long enough to overcome the problem.

Set up rules so that you have to qualify to increase your position size. I have to gain one USD profit before I can increase my position size to 200 units ($0.02 USD per pip).

Whichever way you do it, you must have a plan and follow it.

I hope this helps,

Scorny

 

[mike46]

Thanks everyone for the replys. For now I think I will sit back from trading and try and see what more I can learn.

In responce to Osho67
When I was using FXCM's news they would often make a report when a Big Dog trader placed a trade. In that report they would list the limit he placed as well as the stop. Granted the Big Dog trader was probably a bank or maybe another Corporation. However I belave when a person does place a trade It is viewed by someone if they wish to view it.

Joseph

Things are a bit more subtle than this don't forget there are thousands of traders placing trades through a system at any one point in time. Why would anyone focus on a little guy like you ro me ? I have read a ton of literature that gives advice about placing limit orders around so called support and resistance eg recent highs and lows in order to catch breakouts. DON'T DO IT.... The big players make easy money everyday running the market up and down because they know there are ready buyers and sellers at these points, they don't need to 'see' your position.
I would stick with your trading. Just trade very tiny amounts so you don't lose your account. I have been plodding away for 8 years off and on. Concentrate on learning and anlayse the hell out of your trading.
Best of luck
Mike

 

[Grey1]

join the Technical Trader BB ( home page / control panel ) and learn the techniques that work .

You can also come to TECHNICAL TRADER chat room on paltalk /business/finance section tomorrow ~ 1.30 Uk time for few tips on trading the US stocks for living .

My daily P/L is on the TECHNICAL TRADER BB // All directly from the Broker's screen with all trades time and executions reference number.


Good luck

Grey1

 

[mikemike]

I have come to realize that for me to be profitable, I had to stop being overindulgent. I used to trade each and every opportunity, feared that I will miss out on the big one, and subconsciuosly that I will never get a chance like that, and that mindset has caused me to lose more than I won.
I've talked to myself, and decided what I want, and that is to be profitable consistenly in the long term, and that I wanted to fire my boss some day, and trade full time. So I've decided to trade only on signals from the 4hr chart, and to trade only 3 trades per month, where I can make at least 100 pips. If I miss out, so be it, then I wait for the next opportunity. If I have a loser, I walk away, and don't trade again for that day, if I win, I also take the rest of the day off - to get rid of the "good" and "bad" feelings. I've written my strategy down, and I read it at least twice a day (whether I trade or not), just to keep myself on track.When I've reached my 3 trades per month, I stop for the month. I refuse to trade more than three trades a month.I actually wanted to trade only two, but I 'budgeted for 1 loser out of three, hence it is three. As you know you can't predict when the loser comes. I also do not change my stop losses, and I don't change my profit limits. And guess what? I've fired my boss!

 

[henry766]

Ronfalcone had it right , mikemike maybe making money now , but his "winning 2 out of 3 trade" came first, the emotions discipline become relatively easy when you have a consistently winning trade , whats more the best money management discipline emotional control etc won't make you a penny unless you first have this winning trade , if you believe different take your discipline and money management to the roulette wheel and see how much you make .

 

[mikemike]

I need to add... Discipline, and faith in your system, is essential. Sometimes the price first moves in the wrong direction, did I say almost always?, before moving in the anticipated direction- and let me tell you, my discipline gets tested to the bone when that happens - that is when I walk away and go for a jog, because I have faith in my system, and I know it can happen that I'm wrong, but most of the times I'm right and that's why I stick to the system. I don't like to lose - who does, but I admit my mistake,and if my stop loss is triggered, so be it - its a **** feeling, but it's a reality of trading - if you don't want to lose find another way to make money. To win is just as ****, now I need to get rid of the high, and that is difficult, because who in his his right mind don't want to feel good. So here is what I do - when I lose, I look what went wrong and how I can avoid it, but I also work through my winners, to remind myself that I also have winners. When I win, I do the same - just the other way round.

 

[henry766]

Me, I cling to my system like a drowning man clings to a life raft in a storm !!

 

[coolshades]

Me, I cling to my system like a drowning man clings to a life raft in a storm !!

mikemike, henry. do you make enough to make it a full time job.. or atleast to keep the house going?

sorry if this is a stupid q..

 

[henry766]

It varies coolshades , my comment about the liferaft is particularly true when you trade intraday , when it goes wrong it's generally cos you've strayed from what you've had working so often before, easy to do intraday, so when your in the **** it gives you something to get back to and it will get you out if you keep faith with it , i'm talking about my pattern though , yours is probably a load of over optimised rubbish ( no offence meant), though my last set of problems were more to do with intraday execution.

 

[Ticker_shuffle]

I traded my demo account wildly and without caution - doubled almost the first day, then tredged through another week to truly double. I tried the same with real money and hit the jackpot, only to try again and lose the jackpot and then some. Frankly this forex seems like nonsense, but it's fun.

Shorting the USD/JPY with wild abandon. I am wagering on a rash of bad news for US economy this week. If the dollar still climbs, then we know Forex is pointless IMO. One thing you learn from this stuff is how great a nice hard day of work really is.

 

[JohnnyForex]

If you are trading well consistenly in demo, you should transition to live trading with MINIMUM size.

This is a no brainer, but it should be mentioned just in case.

Gradually increase size as you become comfortable (hopefully).

 

[lbranjord]

I traded my demo account wildly and without caution - doubled almost the first day, then tredged through another week to truly double. I tried the same with real money and hit the jackpot, only to try again and lose the jackpot and then some. Frankly this forex seems like nonsense, but it's fun.

Shorting the USD/JPY with wild abandon. I am wagering on a rash of bad news for US economy this week. If the dollar still climbs, then we know Forex is pointless IMO. One thing you learn from this stuff is how great a nice hard day of work really is.

Forex is fun when you trade it like a video game!

But when you're in a system, it's just another day...

 

[jewellnessa]

there are lots of ebooks and hardbound books as well to read about forex, however, i would still recommend to learn this trade from a real and human expert forex trader. you may check this site for this option. for a "mini account" of $100, they will provide you a personal Account Service Manager to be your consultant, mentor and trading partner as well. a live, one-on-one discussion over phone, email or chat is a lot better if you really want a detailed learning process. other account you could open in this site are gold, platinum and vip. of course, the higher account you maintain would entitle you to better features and benefits. all the best.

 

[hazelj80]

price action and discipline is all you need...and stop worrying about news reports so much. read them, but don't sweat them Ive had trades go even further in my direction before NFP numbers were stated. the only thing that can shake me is a 9/11 like event other than that, that's all you need in your arsenal. and if you think forex is a game, then go play xbox..less stress

 

[figaro9]

system,fixed stops,targets a multiple of stops,i.e 2 or 3 etc. stick to majors.you may get lucky.

 

[lbranjord]

price action and discipline is all you need...and stop worrying about news reports so much. read them, but don't sweat them Ive had trades go even further in my direction before NFP numbers were stated. the only thing that can shake me is a 9/11 like event other than that, that's all you need in your arsenal. and if you think forex is a game, then go play xbox..less stress

Said by a man who has never played the ending of Halo 3!

 

[traderunner1]

Starting to get there after 3,5 years full time, paper on indices, bund, forex.
It just takes time,patience, discipline, dedication. Lost 15-20K initially trading small size, and consumed more, living off bank accounts.
Yes 80% is psychology, i just do not believe people who deny that , really trade for a living.
Only 20% is system/tools related. I have found that i can transplant my system to any market, index, forex. That's not the point, following it with discipline has taken me a couple of years, and I know that is the real edge (as well as being able to sit behind the screen 8-10 hours a day to take the 8-15 trades (for euro dollar that is).

I also found discrepancies between paper and real life. It has all to do with micromanaging the trades when real money is on the table- thus moving stops too soon, and taking profits too early. And I tell you, that will never change!
Taking a trade and leaving the machine--not for me, i just plainly cannot.

An eyeopener for me has been the akward conclusion form 3000+ life and paper trades that my life shorts where always better, reward wise that is, than my life longs, EVEN WHEN THE SHORTS WHERE PREDOMINANTLY TAKEN AGAINST THE LONGER DAILY TREND......reason: declines tend to be faster and steeper then rising prices, thus preventing me micromanaging my trade.....and i know everybody will say don't do it, and i know i can't even after all these years and 3000+ trades.
I also noticed that sizing up positions according my pos sizing algo made me nervous at a certain point...and it still does. I just do NOT believe people saying their heart rate does not go up putting on a trade, it just does, it has to!


That's the way i am and i will live with this.

(system is taking trades from 25tick graph, fading low volume in Market profile, taking moves out of the point of control, taking oscillator divergences against support and resistance, and riding resulting short trends as visualised by 500tick heikin ashi)

stay focused and accept that paper will always be better than real....always.

TR