Forex Resources - What made you a good Trader?

Hello,

As a forex newbie i'm trying to gain all the information possible.

I've researched all over the internet, the range of information seems quite wide, i dont know what to look at first!

I'm looking for a few books that might help my thinking towards trading, or educate me just a bit more

Also, any relevant websites that you think might be helpfull, feel free to chip in!

Apart from this, what made yourself a good trader?

Thanks!

dedication

Every loss I make & take makes me a better trader...


Thanks,

Nader

There is a base level of knowledge that you can build up on forex on websites like this one that is probably more valuable than what you can find in books. To specifically address the question in the title of this thread, What made me a good trader. Here is a list:

Practice, Practice, Practice! I have learned the most about the markets I trade by making observations, trying out these observations by developing them into trading strategies, implementing those strategies (either in practice mode or in live trading) and then evaluating my results and refining the strategies.

You can pick up a lot of market specific information by asking the right questions, and researching the answer. For instance, for free you can get Metatrader and study past price movements. You can test out many of the methods being talked about here by other traders either manually or by forward testing them. You will probably find out as I have, that 95% of the methods talked about in public are not for you, and most of those don't have a positive edge or are difficult for you to implement. You really have to find a method that is easy for you to implement, and to do that you will have to try out several different methods to see what type of trading works best for you. Then you can usually refine that method into something that is profitable. Simpler is better.

One of the hardest things to develop (but perhaps the most valuable), at least for me is the inner game of trading. You need to figure out your own strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the market. My own strengths are strong analytic abillity, persistence, dedication, love of trading, competitive spirit, desire / will to win, strong belief / confidence in my abilities, strong commitment to my positions, a depth of experience with regards to how the markets move, a decent feel for when moves are ending / starting, a very strong work ethic and good observation skills.

My natural weaknesses (some of which I have been able to offset / overcome) include hesitating when things are moving too quickly and decisions have to be made in split seconds, being strongly committed turns into a weakness when I become overly attached to a direction or trade, too rigid, and this usually translates into not exiting positions when I know deep in my heart that it is time to exit / reverse, too much desire to make money quickly which translates into trading larger size than I should be trading or taking trades when I don't have a favorable entry price, and the list goes on and on.

I have become a good trader through lots of experience, confidence and putting those to the test by challenging myself in several trading contests where I have performed on a very high level in both real and play money over periods as long as a few months. I have a strong belief that regardless of what setbacks happen to me in the markets, I can come back stronger and make up any deficit in short order. I constantly refine my methods, and look to see what is working in the markets I trade. I'm pretty sure I spend more time and effort at this than 99% of the other market participants. I read a lot of what other traders are doing / saying but there isn't a lot of high quality information out there so you have to sift it. The challenge is to always stay connected with and in tune with what is going on in the markets I trade and to trade small so that mistakes are insignificant. I have learned to scale up the exposure as things go my way so that I have more exposure when I have the best chance of market surprises helping my positions.

That's a great philosophy and can be the holy grail for anyone seeking to elevate their game. If you learn something from every loss, then you really have gained invaluable insight that can help you move ahead. So losses are stepping stones to greater gains. Gains can be used the same way.

The first thing I would tell anyone starting out in the trading business, specially those who are following the self-lecturing road, is that you're probably looking into a 2-year-plus commitment of full dedication before you can actually claim consistency in your profits. The first mistake I made as a newbie was assuming that I would have all this nailed down within 6 months.

So, before setting foot into trading, ask yourself this: am I really willing to put 2 years minimum of damn hard work before I can actually make a CONSISTENT cent or two off the markets?

I totally agree with that, WTB. After several years trading equities I still had much to learn. After 1-year in forex I have finally stopped losing real money and started the recovery.

I found two things particularly difficult to deal with. The first is fear or lack of resolve, or something along those lines. The second was the temptation to over-trade when things are not going so well.

It comes down to money management, and realising when you should just switch-off the computer and think about why things went wrong. Look yourself in the eye and admit you were stupid.

Most times there is no trade ready to take and you just have to wait and watch. The education never stops and only your determination will carry you through.

Oh, and I never had such fun !

The key for me is being very conservative and stingy on my losses.
I dont take a trade unless it is a set up that I have alot of confidence in and I do not let a trade go very far against me. As soon as a trade does not do what I expected I am out. I never wait or go into hope mode.

1) Don’t believe everything that you read in textbooks. Some are good, some are ordinary. This you will work out over time
2) Don’t think you can crack this market in months, it takes years my friend
3) Learn to use your emotions as your friend when you trade. i.e.: if you take a loss, learn from it, don’t get angry or frustrated.
4) Be deadly serious about this business.
5) Don't go spending $1000's on courses and seminars, there's heaps for free on the net.
6) Using somebody else’s system MAY work for you, you may have to come up with your own.
7) Money management, the key to staying alive in any market. Make sure you understand this and don’t go over leveraging your account. Even if you have a string of losses at least you can stay in the market longer.
8) Keep your system so simple even a kid can trade it. Don't go making a simple task complex. Us humans are known to do this by nature.
9) And finally, enjoy this business, make it fun!

I must be a genius then.hehehe

start love this forum and read valuable information worth more than $1.000.000,-

Thanks God i found this forum before i sign up FXCM trading course

learning from my mistakes trial and error.

I have a pretty hard head so I had to learn the hard way... Losing a ton of cash where were the mini and micro mini when i started...lol

all good info here, also read every post on this forum and you will quickly learn whos posts to read over and over. Some really amazing and helpful people on here(guy above me to start you off ).

As for books, buy Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas. And Jack Schwagers Market Wizard books are great.

Good luck and enjoy every part of this.
Mike