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A year and a half experience and still facing difficulties

  • #41
  • Sep 6, 2015 3:55pm Sep 6, 2015 3:55pm
Simple advice. Keep it simple and trade only a few hours a day
Le$$ I$ More
  • #42
  • Sep 6, 2015 5:03pm Sep 6, 2015 5:03pm
Takes 10,000 hours to be good at anything... For some longer... Some may never be good traders...
Biggest mistakes most newer traders make. 1. Don't add to losers ( might work for a while then BOOM your down 50%) 2. Don't overleverage...

You can't control much in trading... The one thing you do control is how much your risking per trade. Understanding you only control your risk and very little else should be a big part of your "edge"

controlling your risk can mean many things... Not risking more then 1% of your account at any time... Sitting out extreme volatility as in NFP and rate decisions..

Be patient and let price come to your level, rather then try and trade it now....

Don't use other peoples systems or listen to other peoples calls. Be an independent thinker.

Trading off Price action is much easier daily data or news. If trading were as easy as shorting bad data and longing good data we would all be rich.

Ps. I always get some poster that says risking more then 1% is a smart thing to do.. If you post this sorta comment please include a statement that shows you have made over 1million usd by risking so much... I know you won't be able too.
The only system that will work is one designed by and for yourself.
  • #43
  • Sep 6, 2015 5:24pm Sep 6, 2015 5:24pm
Quoting bloodpoodle
Takes 10,000 hours to be good at anything... For some longer... Some may never be good traders... Biggest mistakes most newer traders make. 1. Don't add to losers ( might work for a while then BOOM your down 50%) 2. Don't overleverage... You can't control much in trading... The one thing you do control is how much your risking per trade. Understanding you only control your risk and very little else should be a big part of your "edge" controlling your risk can mean many things... Not risking more then 1% of your account at any time... Sitting out...

This constant comparison of trading to professions like medicine,law etc is BS so is the "10,000 hours to be good at anything" BS when applied to FX trading .The markets are random with one exception,they do respond to both good and bad news.
Drs,Lawyers,Airline Pilots,Accountants and most other professionals deal with facts,they are trained to perform their tasks in a very black and white manner.Imagine getting on an international flight from LA to London and you met the pilot in command as you entered the aircraft...he/she tells you that he/she is going to have a really good go at getting to London today and he/she is not sure which of the multitude ways of getting there will be used but "we will have a good go at it",I'd be off that plane in a flash.
  • #44
  • Sep 6, 2015 5:33pm Sep 6, 2015 5:33pm
Quoting edge540
This constant comparison of trading to professions like medicine,law etc is BS so is the "10,000 hours to be good at anything" BS when applied to FX trading ...
prostitution is a profession, the oldest one they say - does that take 10,000 hrs of practice?......no thanks
"If The Fool persists in his Folly he will become wise." - William Blake
  • #45
  • Sep 6, 2015 7:39pm Sep 6, 2015 7:39pm
Quoting Gamabunta
Hi everyone I started this thread to ask some questions how much it take for a trader to be start making money from forex and be well experienced ? I am trading for a year and a half and still having difficulties while trading, but of course my trading skills are much better, what should I do, is it normal to take all this period ? For a person who studied something not related to economy (medecine for exemple) is it have the chances of the trader who studied economy at the university in trading forex ? Maybe this is the problem that I have ?
it takes a big part of you. relationships, savings, friends, and you will start feeling like a moron cus supposedly everyone's making money but you. no one really is though. you'll make all the rookie mistakes you could make even after you've read what you must avoid. experience will be the best teacher. and the hardest.

your most valuable resources are your charts and your time. not much these forums can do for you. you'll still try to find your answers here though. some have been doing so for years, some will never stop.

don't matter what you've studied. one of your biggest challenges will be to unlearn the things others taught you about trading.
this biz brings out the worst in people. most don't realize it gets the best of them.

don't follow traders that are not transparent. it'll cost you years.

good luck and i hope this might save you some time.
  • #46
  • Sep 7, 2015 12:34am Sep 7, 2015 12:34am
Quoting Gamabunta
Hi everyone I started this thread to ask some questions how much it take for a trader to be start making money from forex and be well experienced ? I am trading for a year and a half and still having difficulties while trading, but of course my trading skills are much better, what should I do, is it normal to take all this period ? For a person who studied something not related to economy (medecine for exemple) is it have the chances of the trader who studied economy at the university in trading forex ? Maybe this is the problem that I have ?
1 1/2 years it's no so much. I'd say it is normal if you're at breakeven.
Anyway, if your "trading skills are much better", then you are on the right path. Keep practicing and you'll probably start making profits.
Using the RobotFX EAs for a while https://www.robotfx.org/
  • #47
  • Sep 7, 2015 6:31am Sep 7, 2015 6:31am
Quoting edge540
{quote} This constant comparison of trading to professions like medicine,law etc is BS so is the "10,000 hours to be good at anything" BS when applied to FX trading .The markets are random with one exception,they do respond to both good and bad news. Drs,Lawyers,Airline Pilots,Accountants and most other professionals deal with facts,they are trained to perform their tasks in a very black and white manner.Imagine getting on an international flight from LA to London and you met the pilot in command as you entered the aircraft...he/she...
No, I don't think so:

-Drs:
Medicine is all about experience and probabilities. Have you ever read the small print of any drug? Or why are all people trying to go to the best doctor if all doctors simply deal with facts and therefore could be exchanged with some guy following a few checklists? There is nothing black and white in medicine; the same drug could heal one and kill the other..

-Lawyers:
You need the best lawyer if you want to win your case. Why not simply take the cheapest? Because a winning lawyer needs to know every loophole, and has to sell the case to the judge / jury / etc. There is a lot of experience in that.

-Airline Pilots:
Yes, they follow checklists in a black an white manner. But still, I would rather fly with a pilot with a lot of experience, because if an unexpected problem arises, his experience will help a lot in keeping me alive.

-most other professionals:
I can't tell for all, but in most professions you need experience and not black or white drills to get really good. Take for example this great bakery everyone talks about in town. Do you really think they make this great bread without a lot of experience? They simply feel when the dough is not right and know exactly what to do to change it. However, they could even write the recipe down for you and you could not produce the same great bread.
..
  • #48
  • Sep 7, 2015 6:41am Sep 7, 2015 6:41am
Quoting Gamabunta
[...] but of course my trading skills are much better, [...]
Please elaborate on this.



On the other question; no, it doesn't matter what you did at university. I studied economics and it did not help me much in trading.
..
  • #49
  • Sep 7, 2015 6:52am Sep 7, 2015 6:52am
Forex trading is one of the easiest yet the most difficult job in the world and the only thing and the only person who could make you successful at it is YOU...

You really need to understand that trading is nothing more than just mastering your decision/trading style. Every person is different and so is their trading style, whats suits for other person may not suit you. So I would suggest stop looking for any other person's advice/strategy/system/robots and every other SHIT people are selling out there in the market because it might work initially but later it will only blow your account.

The best way for you to improvise your trading is to learn your OWN ACTION which you could do by ANALYZING your past trades and asking yourself "Why did you open/close trade at that time ? What indication made you hit that buy/sell button ? Just try to learn your psychology, Make a note of it, modify it (wherever necessary) and just repeat.
Losers Hope, Winners Believe
  • #50
  • Sep 7, 2015 7:03am Sep 7, 2015 7:03am
Quoting Slicktick
{quote} No, I don't think so: -Drs: Medicine is all about experience and probabilities. Have you ever .....
The big difference is doctors, lawyers, pilots, etc all go to school. They are given material to study, and then they are tested on it. If they get good grades and pass all the tests, then they get their degrees and are officially labeled as professionals. Sure, not all docs, lawyers, pilots are equal in skill, but that's beside the point.

In trading, no one is telling you what you need to learn. You are on your own. There is no material given that ensures you will be a professional at some point if you work hard enough. It is entirely based on a belief in yourself that you alone can and will figure it out. After several years of hard work with nothing to show for it, one can really start to question if they have made a mistake and wasted a ton of time and effort. There are no guarantees that if you work hard and long that you will have any success whatsoever! Only the most determined and confident people stand a chance in this business.
  • #51
  • Sep 7, 2015 7:12am Sep 7, 2015 7:12am
"The difference between an experienced trader and a novice is that the former has lost more money." Zorro-Trader.com

There are other differences (extent of knowledge and market behaviours for example), but when you distill all that to the final result of profit or loss, 90% of traders confirm this quote as true.

It holds true in my case also: I have been trying since 2008 and I have lost heaps. But I am still trying... “Winners never quit, and quitters never win.”
  • #52
  • Sep 7, 2015 12:10pm Sep 7, 2015 12:10pm
Quoting bloodpoodle
Takes 10,000 hours to be good at anything...

Since Malcolm Gladwell first produced this "10,000 hours rule" in his book Outliers, it's become very widely quoted and alluded to - with varying degrees of relevance and accuracy - in all sorts of different contexts. Please excuse my mentioning that all he actually says in the book is that it appears to take a good 10,000 hours of practice to become the very best in the world at something, not "to become good at it" or even just "to become good enough to earn a very good living from it".

In any case, a lot of recent research appears to invalidate his conclusion. Here's just one recent example: http://www.businessinsider.com/new-s...le-2014-7?IR=T
  • #53
  • Sep 7, 2015 2:34pm Sep 7, 2015 2:34pm
Quoting Zappa
The big difference is doctors, lawyers, pilots, etc all go to school. They are given material to study, and then they are tested on it. If they get good grades and pass all the tests, then they get their degrees and are officially labeled as professionals.
Not quite. Doctors get their M.D. after they have spent time in residency - practicing under other established Doctors. Lawyers get a J.D. but they can't practice law until they pass the bar exam and are admitted to the bar. I'm a Professional Engineer (PE) - to get your PE license you have to pass a daylong written test AFTER you have spent 4 YEARS working under another PE. Usually about 50% pass the test. You can't sit for the PE test until you've passed a prior test, graduated from an accredited engineering school, and done the 4 years.... The true Professions have pathways like this to being called a Professional. The fake professions (whore, trader, etc) do not.
"If The Fool persists in his Folly he will become wise." - William Blake
  • #54
  • Sep 7, 2015 3:57pm Sep 7, 2015 3:57pm
Quoting The Fool
{quote} Not quite. Doctors get their M.D. after they have spent time in residency - practicing under other established Doctors. Lawyers get a J.D. but they can't practice law until they pass the bar exam and are admitted to the bar. I'm a Professional Engineer (PE) - to get your PE license you have to pass a daylong written test AFTER you have spent 4 YEARS working under another PE. Usually about 50% pass the test. You can't sit for the PE test until you've passed a prior test, graduated from an accredited engineering school, and done the 4 years.......
Haha...funny, but did you really just compare trading to being a whore?!?!?

My point was that docs, lawyers, etc have a guide that tells them, "Ok, complete this, this, and this and you'll have your degree." There is a clear understanding of what needs to be done in order to become a professional. Trading, on the other hand----shit, the term "professional trader" alone is a subjective one. What is a pro trader? Someone who's made a million dollars? What if they started with 10 million and made 1 million in one trade. Or how about someone who made money for 5 straight years, but in the 6th year lost it all.

To me, a true professional is one who has made millions from trading, but most importantly, is in complete control at all times.

Complete control while consistently making money every year = professional trader.

How one gets to that point is not so cut and dried as it is for docs, lawyers, etc. You need real balls to actually become a professional trader. Docs, lawyers, engineers....you all just do what your taught. Professional traders had to figure it out for themselves and had no guarantees of success.
  • #55
  • Sep 7, 2015 4:27pm Sep 7, 2015 4:27pm
Quoting Zappa
{quote} Haha...funny, but did you really just compare trading to being a whore?!?!? My point was that docs, lawyers, etc have a guide that tells them, "Ok, complete this, this, and this and you'll have your degree." There is a clear understanding of what needs to be done in order to become a professional. Trading, on the other hand----shit, the term "professional trader" alone is a subjective one. What is a pro trader? Someone who's made a million dollars? What if they started with 10 million and made 1 million in one trade. Or how about someone...
I think you have missed the point Frank..."The Fool" certainly hasn't.Can I ask you Frank,are you are a successful trader?Do you make shit loads of money trading?
  • #56
  • Sep 7, 2015 4:55pm Sep 7, 2015 4:55pm
Quoting edge540
{quote} I think you have missed the point Frank..."The Fool" certainly hasn't.Can I ask you Frank,are you are a successful trader?Do you make shit loads of money trading?
Maybe I have, was kind of making my own point.

Define "shit loads". Millions? No. Hundreds of thousands? Yes. More than 99.5% of FF members? I would bet on that.

But to be clear, I do not even consider myself a professional trader by my own definition. I have not been consistent for many years. I feel I am at a really good point as far as control goes. I am pretty consistent, but I still take losses. I've been profitable for a few years now. This year I'm up. I guess when I'm making millions every year I'll go ahead and declare myself a professional trader.

I'm probably a little sensitive to anybody comparing a professional trader to a professional whore, considering the amount of work, creativity, sacrifice, determination, and courage it takes to actually become a pro trader. Lawyers, docs, engineers who think they deserve more respect than a professional trader are clueless and I sure as hell won't sit by and let an engineer put it down like that.
  • #57
  • Sep 7, 2015 5:22pm Sep 7, 2015 5:22pm
Quoting Zappa
comparing a professional trader to a professional whore, considering the amount of work, creativity, sacrifice, determination, and courage it takes to actually become a pro trader. Lawyers, docs, engineers who think they deserve more respect than a professional trader are clueless and I sure as hell won't sit by and let an engineer put it down like that.
lol, easy now Dweezil. I only meant to educate you about what the word "professional" means. You can be a professional trader, sure. Another meaning of "professional", of course, is that you are making a living from your effort, regardless of what that it (as opposed to being an amateur). Yet another is: you dedicate yourself to something in every way, conduct yourself in a business-like way, etc. I am a trader, but I have no desire to be a "orofessional trader" - I just want to make as much money as possible. In trading, roughly speaking, that is all that really matters: if you are trading and consistently making money, call yourself whatever you like. If you are consistently losing, well, of course, you are a loser.

Whether traders contribute to society as much as whores or engineers do is, thankfully, a topic for another day.
"If The Fool persists in his Folly he will become wise." - William Blake
  • #58
  • Sep 7, 2015 5:30pm Sep 7, 2015 5:30pm
Quoting The Fool
Doctors get their M.D. after they have spent time in residency

On the contrary: they actually get their MD first, and then do their residency after that. At the point at which they get their MD's, they've already had at least a couple of years' clinical experience working in the various different departments of hospitals and often some other points of direct patient-contact (as part of their MD course, i.e. as clinical medical students).


Quoting Zappa
I'm probably a little sensitive to anybody comparing a professional trader to a professional whore

I'm sure you're far from alone, there. Nevertheless, in a forum of this kind there's no censorship of other people's opinions, however ill-informed they sometimes are.
  • #59
  • Sep 7, 2015 5:33pm Sep 7, 2015 5:33pm
Quoting The Fool
{quote} lol, easy now Dweezil. .... Whether traders contribute to society as much as whores or engineers do is, thankfully, a topic for another day.
Hahaha...there's no debating that! The world would be a very sad place without whores!

But fair post, The Fool. I agree with what you said here.

And you can't be a bad guy if you know who Dweezil is.
  • #60
  • Sep 7, 2015 5:45pm Sep 7, 2015 5:45pm
Quoting Xela
{quote} {quote} I'm sure you're far from alone, there. Nevertheless, in a forum of this kind there's no censorship of other people's opinions, however ill-informed they sometimes are.
Ehh, he was just being silly, though now I see the point he was trying to make.
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