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Minus 57% Help please

  • #1
  • First Post: Aug 1, 2008 6:01pm Aug 1, 2008 6:01pm
My first week 27 jul - 1aug

This is my first week of real trading with a $350 and im down 57% this week , i feel like *****. I have really studied intensively since january together with a demo account. My system was rather profitable in the demo account but once i began trading for real it was not working. I lost a lot and have a horrible loss-win- ratio.

I was selling eur/usd expecting a sell, good tech analysis, horrible timing, it was a down market but did not profit , then i was expecting a support line, never came, still hit lower, i used a correct stop loss ($18) each time, then when i was stopped out quickly then i immediately bought again ,then stopped out, again and again from 15630 - 15546 till today friday equal to 57% minus.

I have to improve someway my decision-making criteria but not sure how.http://www.informedtrades.com/images...s/confused.gif The only thing i profited was to get to know more about my emotions/decision making. I know this is not a one week & perfect system process but i really have to review my system! Easy said... but i feel im missing some key aspects. Hope you can give me some thoughts or suggestions, thanks!

pd. i stil have left 8 ($18) trades, should i maybe only snipper (5-10pips out), or stay long, reduce my stop loss, no intraday trade??

Saludos
  • #2
  • Aug 1, 2008 6:32pm Aug 1, 2008 6:32pm
if your stoploss is coming to $18 on each trade on a $350 account then your risking far too much per trade. That equates to 5% of your account when it was at 350 now that you are down to 150 it is more than 10% of your account each trade.

idealy you should only be risking 1-2% of your account per trade. Now, does that mean you need a smaller stoploss?? No. It means you should be trading smaller lots.

Setting the same stop loss each trade is not a good idea either. Not sure how many pips it was from your entry but it sounds as though it was very close. The way I was taught to set a stop loss was to place it a few pips above or below the previous swing high or swing low.

So, lets say that when you determine an entry for a trade your stop would have been 20 pips away. Based on your account size of 150 and a 2% risk you should only be risking $3.00 on a trade. A micro lot (1,000) runs about 0.10 per pip (it varies some from pair to pair). Doing the math you will see that you should only purchase 1.5 micros. Since most don't offer .5 micro you would round it down to 1 micro.

Hope that makes sense.
  • #3
  • Aug 2, 2008 7:26am Aug 2, 2008 7:26am
Quoting magnumfreak
if your stoploss is coming to $18 on each trade on a $350 account then your risking far too much per trade. That equates to 5% of your account when it was at 350 now that you are down to 150 it is more than 10% of your account each trade.

idealy you should only be risking 1-2% of your account per trade. Now, does that mean you need a smaller stoploss?? No. It means you should be trading smaller lots.

Setting the same stop loss each trade is not a good idea either. Not sure how many pips it was from your entry but it sounds as though it was very close. The way I was taught to set a stop loss was to place it a few pips above or below the previous swing high or swing low.

So, lets say that when you determine an entry for a trade your stop would have been 20 pips away. Based on your account size of 150 and a 2% risk you should only be risking $3.00 on a trade. A micro lot (1,000) runs about 0.10 per pip (it varies some from pair to pair). Doing the math you will see that you should only purchase 1.5 micros. Since most don't offer .5 micro you would round it down to 1 micro.

Hope that makes sense.
very good information here........
"Keep your eyes on the helpers" - Mr. Rogers
  • #4
  • Aug 2, 2008 8:35am Aug 2, 2008 8:35am
i used a correct stop loss ($18) each time, then when i was stopped out quickly then i immediately bought again ,then stopped out, again and again

This only costs you the spread , again and again.
If you get stopped out, either forget about the trade entirely or only enter again when you get another signal.
  • #5
  • Aug 2, 2008 9:11am Aug 2, 2008 9:11am
Using oanda is it??
Discipline is what I need I guess...

sonic
  • #6
  • Aug 2, 2008 10:08am Aug 2, 2008 10:08am
Money management will help, as will discipline, but you're also going to need a system that's actually profitable over time.

EURUSD did go down this week, but like always it didn't move smoothly or in a straight line. So what could you have done to prevent that? Do you keep a log of your trades? Did you get in too late or too early?

Perhaps some basic rules would help prevent you from making these same mistakes?

Examples such as:
Never take a trade until at least X bars have is moved in your direction.
Never short if the day is bullish, or go long if the current price is below the day's opening.

Etc, etc. Lots of variations.

It sounds like you're picking tops and bottoms without any confirming price action, and repeating it over and over. If you had gone short instead of going long, you'd have made money. That particular situation is, in fact, very common on days like that. They're called trend days, and it's when the market doesn't stop for anyone until it runs out of steam (usually near a much larger trend line). You can't pick tops and bottoms on those days, fading against the trend carries some big risks.
  • #7
  • Aug 17, 2008 12:10pm Aug 17, 2008 12:10pm
If you are using Oanda you need to go to the user control panel in user preferences and set it up similar to this. Find a TP and SL that works for your system and set it up.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/1...capturenf4.png
Same Whore .... Different Dress
  • #8
  • Aug 17, 2008 12:30pm Aug 17, 2008 12:30pm
your wording and account size suggest that you need further demo trading..

1. there is no "correct" stop loss.
2. each trade is individual and immediate re-entry after a loss in same direction is like shooting multiple holes in your rubber boat.
3. does "trend is your friend" ring any bells?
4. if you have $350, then your trade size should not be more than $0.01 per pip.
5. increase the size with time when you can look back at a month of steady profit.
6. review your entries and exits. I suggest reading about Prica Action, James16 thread here (free part) is a good start.
7. preserve your capital. it is more important than making profit.
  • #9
  • Aug 17, 2008 2:18pm Aug 17, 2008 2:18pm
Quoting LosTraders
i used a correct stop loss ($18) each time, then when i was stopped out quickly then i immediately bought again ,then stopped out, again and again from 15630 - 15546 till today friday equal to 57% minus.
If, when stopped out, you immediately reenter the trade in the same direction, then your stop loss is totally useless. Don't you think?

Quoting LosTraders
i really have to review my system!
Yes, you are right here.
If I was you the first thing I would do with a system like yours is to add to it a predefined "stop trading for a day" when I lose more then X% (say 2-4%) of my capital in one single day.
.Ubeee.
  • #10
  • Aug 17, 2008 2:25pm Aug 17, 2008 2:25pm
Quoting ubeee
If, when stopped out, you immediately reenter the trade in the same direction,
That is called revenge trading, when you are stopped out quit for a time so you can regroup and find your mistakes.
Same Whore .... Different Dress
  • #11
  • Last Post: Aug 17, 2008 7:36pm Aug 17, 2008 7:36pm
Why do you feel that way? You knew this could happen before your very first trade....

Quoting LosTraders
This is my first week of real trading with a $350 and im down 57% this week , i feel like *****
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