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What would you do if you had to start over?

  • #41
  • Nov 25, 2017 12:01pm Nov 25, 2017 12:01pm
Quoting traderx123
The problem with this business is that 99% of all the educational material out there is garbage and a fraud ! But when your starting out you cannot tell the difference. Unlike most other professions where there is a clear educational path. You have to start with the fact that to make a living at trading it will take YEARS of hard work no matter who you are ! NOBODY learns how to make a living in few months ! Simple systems...with simple rules...that you can learn quickly......that you can make a living with are a fantasy...
I agree with the first part in green. in fact that's why it takes to long to find something that works, because we have to learn and unlearn all those crappy strategies out there that brokers like to spread.

But I strongly disagree that the system has to be complicated in order to work.
  • #42
  • Nov 25, 2017 12:04pm Nov 25, 2017 12:04pm
Quoting Rennaissance
{quote} You take a position and ; If it goes against you, exit. If it goes for you you keep it until you believe the move is over.
I think that's about right, in a nutshell.
Trading only gets difficult when you stop doing that. How often, for example, do you hear people not honouring (or worse, not having) stops so they don't simply and cleanly exit a position that goes against them with an acceptably small loss? Equally, how often do you snatch at a modest profit when you really know there is realistically more to play for?

Whatever method you employ it always comes down to cutting the losses quick & short and giving the winners a chance to deliver properly for you. It sounds simple and it is in concept. But it's a lot more difficult in practice because of hardwired human behaviour to want to be right (so take small profits) and to want to avoid losses (so give losers too much room in the hope they will come back). Hope is the worst four letter word in trading.

As for my $2000 and a laptop, knuckle down to learn how to trade properly in minimal size until I could prove I was consistently profitable and then start building the position size gradually. I'd save a lot of time and frustration 2nd time around by knowing that developing discipline, consistency, risk control and emotional equilibrium are so much more important than trying to develop a killer method. Then, once the profits started to roll in, I'd begin thinking seriously about the booze and women but realise sadly I'm a bit too old for all that now.
  • #43
  • Nov 25, 2017 12:15pm Nov 25, 2017 12:15pm
Quoting feline207
.... But seriously, the kind of bullshit that has travelled through my brain is impossible to handle for a second time...
Ha ha ha ha ha.

+ 1
  • #44
  • Nov 25, 2017 12:17pm Nov 25, 2017 12:17pm
Quoting HeyYou
{quote} ..... because we have to learn and unlearn all those crappy strategies out there that brokers like to spread...
One thing I learned over the years .... is to stop looking for others to blame.
  • #45
  • Nov 25, 2017 12:30pm Nov 25, 2017 12:30pm
Quoting SunTrader
{quote} One thing I learned over the years .... is to stop looking for others to blame.
not blaming mate, I think they're actually doing a great job . the market wouldn't exist without many many losers.

but let's generate some winners too, that should be in our interest too. I think trading is likely to get banned if everyone loses.
  • #46
  • Nov 25, 2017 12:54pm Nov 25, 2017 12:54pm
Quoting HeyYou
{quote} not blaming mate, I think they're actually doing a great job . the market wouldn't exist without many many losers. but let's generate some winners too, that should be in our interest too. I think trading is likely to get banned if everyone loses.
Forget what I said. Hopefully others will get it.
  • #47
  • Edited 2:56pm Nov 25, 2017 1:08pm | Edited 2:56pm
Quoting HeyYou
{quote} not blaming mate, I think they're actually doing a great job . the market wouldn't exist without many many losers. but let's generate some winners too, that should be in our interest too. I think trading is likely to get banned if everyone loses.
Not saying share you profitable strategy, but at least as mindful traders we should try to prevent people from losing so much. for example by telling them to stop dreaming and start small.
  • #48
  • Nov 25, 2017 1:14pm Nov 25, 2017 1:14pm
Quoting Piquant
trade what you see - has a deeper meaning to it than you've ever imagined.
Amen (and I know you're an atheist )
  • #49
  • Nov 25, 2017 1:21pm Nov 25, 2017 1:21pm
Attached Image


Focus on understanding what is meant by market "direction" in order to stop trying to sell when price is going up.
  • #50
  • Nov 25, 2017 1:55pm Nov 25, 2017 1:55pm
$30k.. I would be millionaire by now
Make all mistakes in demo and rain in pips in live account
9jatrader All Time Return: -47.1%
  • #51
  • Nov 25, 2017 3:19pm Nov 25, 2017 3:19pm
Quoting 9jatrader
$30k.. I would be millionaire by now
and with $3k you would still be very wealthy.. why you're not..
  • #52
  • Nov 25, 2017 3:50pm Nov 25, 2017 3:50pm
System hopping was my undoing when I started trading a few years back. That should be avoided like the plague. But I know it is a common problem, the search for the 'Holy Grail!'

Trade safe and prosper.

KP
Do your homework, follow the footprints of smart money
  • #53
  • Nov 25, 2017 4:03pm Nov 25, 2017 4:03pm
Quoting newbietofx
I just came across this on my Facebook feed. I started in post dotcom bubble. 10 years later. I've spent $30k and nothing to show for. But I've accumulated a library of resources, knowledge and experience. I'm thinking if I should move on. What about you. What have you accomplished? What will you tell your younger self? {image}
Don't feel too bad OP. I've probably lost about $30k myself. It sucks. It's hard to be consistent. If I could do it all over again, maybe I would never start, but it's too late now. You feel like you've already invested too much to call it quits. I know the feeling. Don't give up though. I've had some success but much more failure. The failure has always come when I deviated from what worked. I wasn't satisfied with swing trading. I wanted to day trade because I saw dollar signs. I have never been successful day trading and at this point I am beginning to realize that it's probably not for me. Swing trading to me comes more naturally, but I've lost thousands still trying to day trade. My advice would be if you are trying to day trade, stop. Swing trading is less stressful and that alone makes it easier IMO. In regards to the money I've thrown away, luckily I have a college degree so I just had to go back to work. $30k is a lot to lose, but if you have a good enough job you can always save it back up.
  • #54
  • Nov 25, 2017 9:04pm Nov 25, 2017 9:04pm
Quoting dkrock
I would not change a thing. I view each step, each success, and each failure as a necessary part of evolving into the trader I am. Thomas Edison famously said (about the light bulb) that he did not fail 10,000 times, but instead found 10,000 ways that didn't work. I had to review hundreds of indicators to find the ones that actually worked close enough, and then fix them to work great. It was so much fun struggling and thinking and analyzing. I was so happy doing it that it was all I did for up to 20 hours a day, lol. I only worked on charts and...
I too, love the chase. And also have been through at least a hundred indicators. Not throwing them on a screen and testing them for the moment, but studying each one and what the developer saw in its creation. Seeing which one can be developed better for my method.
I have been at this for only 2 years and know I have many more to go, but I have never stopped learning. My trading method has not changed much, but has been tweaked many times over the years. And I have come to the point that money is secondary, the first, being right. Although I have failed more times than I can count, I know I'm on the right path. Even more after reading this thread. Thank you all for your stories.
Trade what "Is", not what "If".
  • #55
  • Nov 25, 2017 9:16pm Nov 25, 2017 9:16pm
Quoting newbietofx
But I've accumulated a library of resources, knowledge and experience.
A quick google search reveals that the following quote has been ascribed to at least three great figures, such as da Vinci, Goethe, and... Bruce Lee. Take your pick, although I wouldn't ignore the chronology here (lol). Whatever the origin, though, the point stays the same... practice, practice, practice!

Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: knowing.png Size: 95 KB


Punchline (spoiler)... What's the point of pondering on starting over in forex, when you can do it regularly... after each monthly withdrawal... Practice makes perfect!
mind over matter
  • #56
  • Nov 25, 2017 11:13pm Nov 25, 2017 11:13pm
Quoting simond2002
{image} Focus on understanding what is meant by market "direction" in order to stop trying to sell when price is going up.
I would go 1 step further and add "reference point" and price either goes up or down. But make sure to assess risks involved in both directions, pick your side and play the probability game. I'm starting to think indexes are better suited for this kind of trading as opposed to currency pairs - they are in a range most of the time while DAX for instance can move 20-30pips at least in any direction , up or down. So as long you've got your reference point and time your entry the odds are going to be in your favor.
...
  • #57
  • Nov 26, 2017 12:31am Nov 26, 2017 12:31am
Quoting simond2002
{image} Focus on understanding what is meant by market "direction" in order to stop trying to sell when price is going up.
Very, very few traders admit and acknowledge they don't know what the market direction is. For years, they went on long research to find out how to tell the market direction.

The rest of the traders knew exactly what the market direction is, they happily placed trades after trades based on TA, FA, price action, VSA, indicators,.........hard work, patience, psychology, MM, whatnots........

If all traders were to start over they will do the same.
  • #58
  • Nov 26, 2017 2:40am Nov 26, 2017 2:40am
What you lost in the bubble is to be forgotten. That's dead history and no need to even remember it.

Let's move forward. If I had $2000, I would have opened an account in trading forex and traded atleast a couple of standard lots every day. From my experience I know that I can easily do this. I will not look for a 100 pip run and then take my profit. I will never carry forward a trade overnight, and will do that only if I am sure that the loss to be incurred is easily manageable with profits from other trades. All I will need is to target $100 per day. If that happens every day, I will be just doubling my initial capital at the end of the month. This strategy is easily achievable and very practical.
  • #59
  • Nov 26, 2017 3:06am Nov 26, 2017 3:06am
In this business, we didn’t actually start over. We either changed our strategy completely or refining existing strategies ... it’s all about mindset ...

My suggestion is to stay with the demo until we can be profitable within several months or within a year ...

Before becoming a professional, s/he must have sufficient technical proficiency first, then starts entering low-level competitions to build the mental skills and to see if s/he got what it takes to move up to higher levels ...
In trading, the demo is a free space to practice and honing our technical skills. After we can be profitable, we then start “competing” with a minimal amount of money to build up our confidence ...
The sad news is that it could take years depending on our commitment. The good news is that, once we get there, the rewards are substantial and fulfilling ...
Market is not random but unpredictable
  • #60
  • Nov 26, 2017 3:12am Nov 26, 2017 3:12am
I’d get a mentor and take risk management tips more seriously.
Boma
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