Forex + IRL

[garethj]

I have absolutely no ambition of turning into a fulltime pro trader. I see Forex as a thrilling way ton manage some of my money (not the one I need for daily needs).

Which implies having a real job and a real life, which implies too not spending too much time on forex. So I can't spend a lot of time on daily trading. What would advise me (besides leaving fx, which I won't ) ?

Thx,
Gareth

 

[shadowninja]

Learn to swing trade. Hold positions for 1-5 days.

 

[rnicoll]

I have absolutely no ambition of turning into a fulltime pro trader. I see Forex as a thrilling way ton manage some of my money (not the one I need for daily needs).

Which implies having a real job and a real life, which implies too not spending too much time on forex. So I can't spend a lot of time on daily trading. What would advise me (besides leaving fx, which I won't ) ?

So the key has to be, work smarter, not harder. You'll need a lot of news; I pick up http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/economic-calendar/calendar.ics through my calendar program, which then syncs to my mobile phone, so I have major announcements pre-listed on my phone. Get an RSS reader, such as Google Reader and use it to collect feeds from the Financial Times (for example Financial Times - UK Homepage ) and the Wall Street Journal ( WSJ.com: What's News US); this will allow you to read all your news in one place.

On a day when I trade by hand (I have an auto-trader that does this as well, but that's separate), I get up early, check the news, note the currency movements overnight and then decide outside of what price range I'd be interested in buying/selling, for the currency pairs I currently trade (AUD/USD, EUR/CHF, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY). I set up alarms on my trading platform to tell me if the prices get close to any of those values, and then get on my with my day. If an alarm triggers, I decide to trade or not, and if I trade I do entry by limit order, with stop and limit orders for exit already defined. Re-check values at lunch time, possibly at afternoon coffee time, and then in the evening if I'm trading late.

Keep notes. If the GBP/USD looks undervalued, have a note so you don't end up re-evaluating it twice. Also, it will help focus your thoughts, in my opinion.

 

[garethj]

So the key has to be, work smarter, not harder. You'll need a lot of news; I pick up http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/economic-calendar/calendar.ics through my calendar program, which then syncs to my mobile phone, so I have major announcements pre-listed on my phone. Get an RSS reader, such as Google Reader and use it to collect feeds from the Financial Times (for example Financial Times - UK Homepage ) and the Wall Street Journal ( WSJ.com: What's News US); this will allow you to read all your news in one place.

On a day when I trade by hand (I have an auto-trader that does this as well, but that's separate), I get up early, check the news, note the currency movements overnight and then decide outside of what price range I'd be interested in buying/selling, for the currency pairs I currently trade (AUD/USD, EUR/CHF, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY). I set up alarms on my trading platform to tell me if the prices get close to any of those values, and then get on my with my day. If an alarm triggers, I decide to trade or not, and if I trade I do entry by limit order, with stop and limit orders for exit already defined. Re-check values at lunch time, possibly at afternoon coffee time, and then in the evening if I'm trading late.

Keep notes. If the GBP/USD looks undervalued, have a note so you don't end up re-evaluating it twice. Also, it will help focus your thoughts, in my opinion.

Thank you for the calendar, that's precious. But, what about these alarms ? Can you do something if you are not in front of your computer ?
Reading your post, it's clear I need to be much more organized like having more easily defined SL and TP.
Oh, and sorry for all these extra questions but what kind of auto-trader are you using ? I am interested in these kind of tools but am having a hard time separating the good from the scam.

 

[rnicoll]

Thank you for the calendar, that's precious. But, what about these alarms ? Can you do something if you are not in front of your computer ?

If you have a platform that can SMS you or similar, you could call in trades? I'm fairly much tethered to the computer for the day job anyway, so never been a major concern for me.

Reading your post, it's clear I need to be much more organized like having more easily defined SL and TP.

For trading without being at the screen all the time, definitely. Don't fret too much about getting them right though, if you prefer to put them far out and close most trades yourself that's a perfectly sensible approach too.

Oh, and sorry for all these extra questions but what kind of auto-trader are you using ? I am interested in these kind of tools but am having a hard time separating the good from the scam.

Custom built platform and algorithm. If my web hosting ever works again, you should be able to grab a copy from http://lostics.org/forexquant/ (but right now the page just errors ), although I'm currently merging my work into JBookTrader. From what I've seen so far, Collective2 seems fairly good for finding auto-traders, although its currency trading support is terrible (during busy periods the spreads are insane).

I'm not sure I'd recommend anyone uses an algorithm they haven't developed, though. It's very hard to tell between an algorithm that truly works, and one which will lose everything 2% of the time, for example. This is loosely where I am; my auto-trader fairly reliably makes money, but sometimes it will explode and lose everything it made and more. The stabler and less exciting ones could be good for someone looking for an alternative to paying someone to manage their investments, but if you're trading and enjoying trading they're probably not for you.

I use one because maths and software development are my strong points, so it's simply working to my strengths, but I'm assuming that doesn't apply to you?

 

[garethj]

If you have a platform that can SMS you or similar, you could call in trades? I'm fairly much tethered to the computer for the day job anyway, so never been a major concern for me.



For trading without being at the screen all the time, definitely. Don't fret too much about getting them right though, if you prefer to put them far out and close most trades yourself that's a perfectly sensible approach too.



Custom built platform and algorithm. If my web hosting ever works again, you should be able to grab a copy from http://lostics.org/forexquant/ (but right now the page just errors ), although I'm currently merging my work into JBookTrader. From what I've seen so far, Collective2 seems fairly good for finding auto-traders, although its currency trading support is terrible (during busy periods the spreads are insane).

I'm not sure I'd recommend anyone uses an algorithm they haven't developed, though. It's very hard to tell between an algorithm that truly works, and one which will lose everything 2% of the time, for example. This is loosely where I am; my auto-trader fairly reliably makes money, but sometimes it will explode and lose everything it made and more. The stabler and less exciting ones could be good for someone looking for an alternative to paying someone to manage their investments, but if you're trading and enjoying trading they're probably not for you.

I use one because maths and software development are my strong points, so it's simply working to my strengths, but I'm assuming that doesn't apply to you?

Yep, normally, I spend much of my time in front of a computer so taht should not be a big deal. My SL and TP are quite unaccurate currently. As I use a demo account, I leave the order reach these levels but it mostly turns into losses while, if I would close myself, I'd go for much more profits.

Understand what you say about autotrading. I'd say it's mostly temptation, like having someone working for me but for nothing. In the other hand, if i am not getting what this "guy" is doing, it's not a good idea.
And about the rest, I am comfortable with maths but not really with software dev. I can do some web dev but real software one, no. Guess i just have to check if I have strenghts

 

[nuaeman]

I think you can try to learn about swing trading. Some people say its hard but to of course its hard if dont want to learn about it. Actually it just quite similar with what you did which just need little bit change. Trust me its not hurt as people think.

 

[Magos]

I have absolutely no ambition of turning into a fulltime pro trader. I see Forex as a thrilling way ton manage some of my money (not the one I need for daily needs).

Which implies having a real job and a real life, which implies too not spending too much time on forex. So I can't spend a lot of time on daily trading. What would advise me (besides leaving fx, which I won't ) ?

Thx,
Gareth

I always wanted to write a quote from Stock Market Wizards and now is my chance:

First, what is your primary passion (WORK)???
Second, if trading isn’t a vocation to you; and is a hobby; Hobbies cost money

 

[garethj]

Well maybe there is an inbetween between passion and hobbies. Like work for example

Anyway, I'll go check swing trading.