My way to highway

thanks Dude!

but a little correction: there is no "routine week"! each day hard work!!
i am in front of my monitor, and have to outsmart guys like you in front of a monitor somewhere...not easy, can tell you!

( joke aside, for the selective readers a hint: the answer the first line!!)

I appreciate when you let me know that you're getting in, so that I can get out and you can take other peoples' money.

I should never show a TE, then you would be more careless...but lucky enough there are many who like to share their wealth with me for now!

Seeing your daily TE is inspiring. I hope that you keep posting it in the signature of your Posts.

see, played around with it yesterday a little, and now it has not showing there.
and i completely forgot how i set it.

never mind, it is now showing, enjoy!

a final note before the weekend....

i think we were talking about managing OPM, either privately, or having a prop deal, etc.
since ppl seem to be interested, and there is very little information on this, that i would consider reliable, i would share a little more of my thoughts on the matter, hope many of you find it interesting read!

so, unrelated to FF.com, or any posted sites for that matter, i have some OPM ( and the fund trial account) along my own funds, all trading from my same master account.
i am, until August as new to this "game" as it gets, and still learning the ropes.
like most, i am just a simple trader guy, who decided that he can get back into trading, cos finding someone to manage his money like he can trade it, is most difficult to have.
the occasions i found someone, or some 2, both exceeded the drawdowns, disregarding my limits, one deeply. then i had had enough of that.
i was trading before, but the nature of my work lately was pretty prohibitive. then made some adjustment, and now here i am, trading full time, again.

so, some tracking site i had the account posted ( in TE, before withdrawals showing like 70% gains that time)...and soon enough, both same day found me 2 different offers.
one was the Fixi fund trial. straightforward looking deal.
the other was a private guy (US) who connect investors to traders, not direct but as a middle man.
all good, happy for interest, and make a deal.
July a few days, not get paid for it.
August not that high %gain, about 3.5, but mid-September still no money, one losing day, and excuses in turn to pay, cos it, so, agree to hold it and add Aug and Sept together.
About 3 days, back to HWM, all is good. ends September, over 10% profits total on the 2 months, good looking fees,,,,or so i thought.
waiting. waiting. no fees.
i was pretty clear that i prefer to see them before 7th, 10th latest, on my account.
well, today, on the 13th evening ( that is count to Monday in the bank!, the 16th) finally, supposedly, the money sent.
only a little mistake. must be mine. of course. whose else's, right?
what i thought was a 25% fee cut for me, turn out to be 15% ( and 10% stay in the guy).
almost the same? not really!
between the lack of transparency, the delay, and the low cut, plus not coming thru with the promise of the total fund sizes....i am not very pleased. no, not.
a silly situation, really, as i have made them 11.000$ last month, to get 1550$...stone me, i was thinking more. greedy PF!
how can i not remember that i would never take such low cut?! idk.
so, silly situation as this month so far even better than the last one.
with the same terms. possible the same payment delays too. with generally my fees held for ramson half a month, in the name that it takes time to collect them.
in the meantime hell knows how much of my trading is copied on additional account, how much IB commission gained ( on top of 40% of the 25%fee charged from the total, if the total isnt really 30, or even 35%)?
yep, there is limited transparency.
and i know what you all think! but that is easy to see in retrospect, like a historical chart, everyone sees the tops, the bottoms, and when to trade it...but real time, so many lose.
it was as newcomer to this, just no way to see what i see now.
in the scam alert threads only read about the other side, the investors bad experiences. this story should also show that it is not walk in the park to be on the other end neither. delayed, postponed fees, renegotiated shares, investor nagging you about your trading on the 1 losing day the account suffers?! yeah, wtf!
but it is all there.
this is one of that few posts i wish to only have for my buddies, and subscribers, but cant do that.
so, here is a real story as happens, that should give some idea for any aspiring trader about how difficult can be the start out, about finding reliable investors with decent funds. some can, they have more marketing side than traders perhaps. or rich friends. or a more commercial side.
i was never posting a thread about me looking for funds, actually never even get a private mail about such. ( guess, one needs to actually read the thread to see the 10%/month average return, vs just look on the TE and see 4% a month). as is, 4% is not enough to attract forum members! LOL, maybe 40%+...but that i am not going for.

so, earlier, we were having a few posts here about finding funds, and this above goes into that topic.
i shall also go into a bit into the other aspect, like copy, MAM, and prop sometimes. if there is interest. but i believe there is.
many of us has an aim to be full time traders, in whatever capacity.
it can happen. i trade full time too. make all in all enough income too, mostly from my own account though as i described the situation.

a long reading, but there is a whole weekend! hope all understand for what it is posted for, some transparency into a matter, managing money.
feel free to comment.
but mainly i am not looking comment of myself being new, did or did not understand correctly the things in English, being second language ( re: 15% i have an email saying 20% at inception, but who has the money to send or not send?, so, who gonna be wrong).
also, it is a serious topic for me, so, kindly, serious answers or nothing. appreciate the understanding this.

happy weekend!
PF

Congrats.

Sad story, what to say ... but an expected result from a street deal.

Investments are not like marriage, maybe the 100%/y with an attractive 7%dd is not that hot ... you might need to make some adjustments like 200%/y with 15%dd could be hotter ... it's all about getting in the investors mind. You have the equity big enough to sustain an account farming for trying to find the right paint the investors looks too buy. (eg: 300% with 21% dd is even nicer looking at your way of trading ... where I only mention that all the trades are closed fast). Or you might need to change your trading style.

I delayed my answer to allow a serious follow-up, in case my serious reply view is not seen in the same way as I do.

lol, dont get hang up on the answer to that other comment!
this is a seriousone, and nothing wrong with any other, as long as the tone doesnt get too far off...

there is existing 2x risk account.
actually the beauty of copy is that the risk can be person to person adjusted to an optimum.
i think i had mentioned somewhere that i have accounts running between 0.35x risk to 4x risk, and couple variations in between.


PS:
same post, also like to mention that today no separate update on trading, been on a long weekend in Laos, just got home tonight, and there is no trading until tomorrow.

back to trading after the long weekend ( or short vacation?)

busy day, straight into the deep end of the water!
not all good, but green, and that matters.
22 entries, all but the last one ar GBP related.
at some point GBP caught me in some drawdown, with parallel trading GU and GC, running drawdown hit about -1.5%...nothing dangerous, really, but more than normally.
with some patience ( what i could have a little more!) all recovered back, and turn the day around to be a very strong -if late- start of the week.

today result: +0.81%.

for illustration i have attached GC entries on M1 chart ( were traded as always from M5)
in retrospect it could be a homerun, as so often the case, but there is huge difference between live and hindsight trading
not that i am unhappy, would take these results any and every day if i could!!

PF, nice job, as always! Welcome back.

I just came back to this forum and I'm glad to see that your journal is still here and you're still generating profits; a truly inspiring sight indeed

Also, congratulations on the offers you got to manage a fund. That situation is the stuff of dreams for the rest of us (at least for now) even if it didn't turn out as cool as you imagined.

Anyway, I'm back to trading after leaving it for a couple of months and I'm going to try a different strategy so I would like to ask you something. Since the beginning you have put a lot of emphasis on keeping your drawdown as controlled as possible. How do you go about achieving this? I have read in your first post that you even martingale occasionally. Isn't martingale and controlled drawdowns completely incompatible? How can you keep the drawdown to some figure when you can't even be sure you will make a profit on your next trade? I'm really puzzled to know more about your method, even if it's not technical details but just what things you put focus on to make sure that your account keeps drawing that beautiful straight diagonal.

All the best and keep it up, I'm still reading.

Hi Sandude,
And welcome back to the forum and trading!

I am indeed still here and kicking. Lucky, apart from some sour surprises, fund management has some upsides as well, and help to earn more, though I am doing OK on my own accounts too.

Glad to hear your question about trading, it shows that not everyone after the high percent gains, but would consider a slower approach, with less swings possible.
You are correct, I add to my trades ( though they very rarely what you call full martingale), and no individual stops.
But trading has a stop, and equity SL on the total, so, I can literally open as many positions as my heart desires, any size, but try my best to stay within that equity SL, that I set for myself at 10%.

My charts (M5) have lots of clues of the main idea on my trading. I have also mentioned I use CSM. The rest is probably just practice. I can't just give all the finest details beyond that, it is not the system sharing, and lot less profitable things sold for lot more money. However, ask the right questions, and there is enough clues to put 1+1 together

The main part is realistic expectations ( a smoother curve, and most days gains) is to set aside greed.
Especially with scalping, there is hardly days that make over net 50 pips. Half a month gone, and I only have net 300...so, no 1000s expected, even that 300 part due some exotic pairs, usdmxn, I think, or usdzar.
One thing you may miss on the beginning post(s) was to trade small. Often very small.
If a scalping entry worth 5 pips, and that in turn earns 0.04%, it sounds nothing, and feel shouldn't even bother with it. But that is wrong!
However, when 5 of them together make 0.2% for the day, that in turn can add it to 4% a month. ( compound that and you have about 60% per year!)
Again, some says shouldn't even bother with that. I ask, how much the bank pays for a month? A year? Mine bellow 1% a year, so, even 4% a month is huge in comparison. Not on a 100$ account, but no serious trader think to make a living from less than 10k....and for example at 400$ a month, depend where one live, it start to look as a second, or even a main income.
As bonus, some consistent results and low drawdown can open opportunities that can lead to earn more, like managing money.
These won't happen overnight, but in 6 month to get from start to opportunities is a workable timeline usually.

With smaller positions the chance chance for huge drawdown also reduced, most days my working drawdown stays within 1%.
While I am not trying to make the most gains, I try to make gains every day.
Again, it isn't the risk 1% to gain 2%, or another healthy great R:R ratio trading, and I know that!
But if you wonder like me, I don't see that many of those good TEs following the textbook rules on trading. ( hint: most case they don't work out, for various reasons; simple as that).

Oops, almost forget a key ingredient: patience.
Let's do it with a simple illustration: chicken vs. cheetah
A chicken all day looking for food, and picking something, be it food, stone, grass, bug....they never seem to be satisfied with the last find to rest, straight jump back to the next thing.
A cheetah hunts, wait for the right time to commit, try not to waste energy on maybes, and pretty much know what sort of food he wants, gazelle! He eats when the time is right, and not chasing one gazelle after another ( if any average cheetah he makes his kill usually in 1-2 attempt). Will he miss some tasty gazelle? Yes. Still, end of the day, rarely hungry. And isn't that the reason of hunting the first place??
LoL, fine, above may suck as a comparison story, but best I can come up this morning, love it or leave it!
Lots of traders tend to be trigger happy, get too excited, sees trades on every 5mpips move, and that excitement leads to poor trade selection, not too good entry prices, and ultimately being shaken out often from even good entries. Know what you looking for, and wait for it. Sometimes still will early, other times will miss a trade, by overall you will be better off.
Sometimes I call myself the discount trader, often missing waiting for a better price or setup...but same saved me from some bad ones too.

OK, I think this gives a lot of idea, as a general summary. Maybe wasn't much like this comprehensive since post 1-2. But this will be hidden here, so, just for the few readers I have. Nice!

Once again, welcome back, and feel free to ask questions if you have, this journal is question friendly

Great progress PF and enjoyable threads to read

300 pips so far with minimal drawdown or none is great work, maybe 600 pips in the month.
How does that compare to previous months, do you consider this to be your average ?
(i noticed your total pips were massive in the year, maybe that was due to a different previous strategy ?)
And do you feel that the pip number has decreased maybe as you tighten the risk management ? (due to more capital and using OPM ?)

hi
many questions, and some answer isnt easy to give.
the pips are really secondary. as is is, some exotic pairs counted as lots of pips, like 1500-2000 pips on a day range for MXN, being 1% move, same as 150 pips on EU...
but yes, there was also small adjustment in the beginning, whn it wasnt sure if i play with the account, or use it for something serious. the later won.
overall, due the above i dont care or count the pips, happen as they are; but rather refer to % gains, a much more straightforward measure
in a way some of the trading got adjusted, not much, but try to hold a scalp long enough to have chance for other accounts - if slipped a little or wider spread- still make profit too.
also a little less agressive cos it isnt only my money, but OPM too, and i owe them that i stay within the lines that were drawn up.

all that long post yesterday, and it havent generated much of a feedback.
sad.
thought i did good, and it has plenty useful info.

anyway, the update

today virtually nothing ( a complete change from yesterday's busy trading) only tiny EJ short for 2.2 pips, or 0.02% gain.

you said you trading 50-60k about now? is that your funds or others? with 4-5% that's around $2500..that's comfort living..

https://www.thailand-property.com/2-...-phuket_854221

Hilmy,
Nice condo you attach, but at about 1300$/month rent not in my reach.

Numbers....well, always the numbers, lol, but forex is a numbers game!

Not sure where I mentioned 50-60k...my funds less in forex, not that much but less. Probably as a target number to trade solely on? ( of course I don't commit everything to forex)
The OPM overall is more, make it closer to 500k?
I made 2500$ last month. From my own accounts. Spot on number. Then there was some fees too from OPM.
Live simple, but comfortable life.
About Thailand: I am not Thai


PS. It would be more appropriate answer in a PM, but you have the PM function off?!

Thanks for the very comprehensive reply, it was useful. So from what I read I take it that you base your strategy on a bunch of very small trades to minimize drawdown. I like this idea, I think I'll try something similar on a parallel account. I'll try to make tiny scalping trades of around 10 pips with the idea of making around 50 pips a day. I think with this approach volatility is your friend, as you want the price to jump up and down as much as possible so that it touches your take profit regardless of the subsequent direction. I will start an experimentation phase first and when I have an established strategy I might put a TE somewhere.

Regarding the "get rich in 2 days" ideas, I fully agree that it is really not necessary to make percentages larger than a monthly 1% in order to make it. It is already a huge deal if you can beat what banks offer by 2% or 3% so making 12% (a bit more when compounded) a year is already big enough. Even if you can't get enough money to sustain yourself directly, if you can guarantee this 12% who wouldn't want to finance you? Money should rain on you as soon as you have sufficient proof that this 12% is solid and achieved with little drawdown. This is my goal, and now that I have seen you succeed at it I believe it is possible, so this is huge for me. But first I need to achieve that smooth curve that you already have. That would be the first step.

Since you offer to answer questions, I'd have a couple. What's your routine like? How much time do you spend looking at charts? How much attention do you give to news? 5 short scalpings a day seems like something that would take just a couple of minutes. Do you need to search a lot for hours until you press the trigger? Or do these come relatively easy to you everyday.

Thanks again for your time. Also, feel free to PM me if there is anything you would prefer not to share in public but all of this seems like it could be useful to other rookies.

Hey Sandude,
Happy if you found it helpful so far, and good luck with the experimenting.
I am a little ahead, but I wouldn't say I made it, just yet. There is always something to improve a little. Right now in my mind some thoughts to lower equity SL, and maximize gains within that.
Still in toying with idea, not in execution phase, just to mention it is a constant little improvements.

Your questions:
My routine?:
wake up late, due to trade some in NY session and not Tokyo. First thing, I see calendar for high impact news. Usually they are about 3.30pm my time, and onward, so, dont need to rush myself.
read basic news, not much in particular finance ones, unless they make the regular.
start to plan dinner, the most important question of the day. ( pizza tonight!)
If you meant like trading wise, I don't flip thru charts, I don't look weekly pivots, I don't trend line analyze, I don't have bunch of indies to pay attentions, and I rarely backrest.

How much time do you spend looking at charts?:
Totally depends on the day, least was 30 min and done, usually between 3-8 hours. However, this is time at computer, not really chart staring. I set alarms ( simple basic mt4 price alerts) at levels of interest on the currencies I care, and sometimes look at price or (chart if interested) on others, but usually if 8 hours, that involved to cook and eat the dinner, watch most of a movie with the family after, read FF.com, chat with friends...actual trading isn't a huge part, due scalping entries rarely last hours unless they go her wrong.

How much attention do you give to news?:
High impact news has the highest chance to bring some volatility, and fading them is a good way to scalp. So, full. Prefer not to be in a trade 30 min before in a cross involved, and if more important, than any position. Medium impact a mental note if important sounding. The rest nothing. As for the numbers, not really interested. Trading based on what I see on the chart.

Number of trades, scalping:
Some day active, and offers hours of good entries, and enough volatility. Some not. If you read all posts, you notice that between entries per day, and daily returns the numbers fluctuate a lot, like yesterday 1 entry 0.02%, Tuesday 19 entries 0.81%....
It is that you want to pick the right entries/price and have to wait for them. So 5 entries can happen in few minutes, or few hours, or even not at all.
As I said before, no position in the market is also a position
Not much searching, on charts have the alerts to points where I think may be interesting, turning/swing points, or high or low of the day...I don't try to squeeze few pips from sideways or flat market. I know what best suits me, and prepared to wait for it, even if it means day without any trade.
There is some chart samples in posts, I think they all tell the same story
As journal entries show, most days there is something to do. In the end the whole month matters, and less important if it was 20 equal days, or 7 days made the majority of profit, 8 was OK, and 5 barely or no trades.

I think the rookies are looking for the double the demo threads 10$-10k...and waiting for the magic EA to be posted, but you are right, may some find these useful.
Even if boring a little, it seems to have merit as making money