My second week of trading | Forex Factory

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My second week of trading

  • #1
  • First Post: May 8, 2009 8:06pm May 8, 2009 8:06pm
Trading with real cash in my second week i realise how easily people lose or make money in this game.

Started my account down 10% on inital capital ended the week up 35% on initial capital. Made some risky risky risky trades no doubt, but the majority of it was safe trades with about 1-2% return.

I know it will be rare to have weeks where your up even 10% let alone 35%.

I do believe stories of how people make 10-20% a month consistently, though i think the portion of traders is probably 2-5%. My goal was a moderate 1% a day, but greed has set in and aiming for 2% quite unrealistic and will probably make me lose all my money.

Tested the execution of oanda around news announcements, yeah spreads do widen and you get stop loss on some interesting spikes.

Where will the AUDUSD upward run end?
  • #2
  • May 9, 2009 12:12am May 9, 2009 12:12am
Quoting Confucius09
Where will the AUDUSD upward run end?
Well.....since you asked....

A reading of the old Orange Pekoe leaves tells me that just about .7900 is one of the stops on the AUDUSD express.

As for where the upward run ends.....for that I'd need some Darjeeling and I'm fresh out of that for now!
  • #3
  • May 9, 2009 9:09pm May 9, 2009 9:09pm
Quoting Confucius09
My goal was a moderate 1% ?
1%/day. Moderate?


Quoting Confucius09
ended the week up 35% on initial capital.
This is free advice, so, you can judge it how you see fit. Open up a sub account with Oanda and put that 35% you made this week in there. Use just that money. Do this even though, per percentage, it will be less money. Use it to trade just how you did this week. It will take well less than a year to match your initial deposit. So, no big loss. However, if it doesn't work... you will then have more knowledge and a new perspective of the markets.
The market is my nation. Traders, my family. Hello, brothers and sisters!
  • #4
  • May 10, 2009 3:44am May 10, 2009 3:44am
Thanks for the advice might consider it, though i have a good feeling that if i used that 35% to trade in a sub account and exactly like i did last week, im sure i would lose all of it.
  • #5
  • May 10, 2009 4:23am May 10, 2009 4:23am
Quoting Confucius09
Trading with real cash in my second week i realise how easily people lose or make money in this game.

Started my account down 10% on inital capital ended the week up 35% on initial capital. Made some risky risky risky trades no doubt, but the majority of it was safe trades with about 1-2% return.

I know it will be rare to have weeks where your up even 10% let alone 35%.

I do believe stories of how people make 10-20% a month consistently, though i think the portion of traders is probably 2-5%. My goal was a moderate 1% a day, but greed...
O_o only wants 2% daily could cause you to loose all your money o_O
May i know how much margin did you use?
And did you use Stop Loss?
  • #6
  • May 10, 2009 7:04am May 10, 2009 7:04am
10 times margin normally, but on some big trade had upto 30, speculated on economic data coming out......good way to get burnt i reckon.

stop losses yeah, the one big loss was because i had none and learnt from it.

do you think its really really impossible to do 1% a day....?
  • #7
  • May 10, 2009 8:17am May 10, 2009 8:17am
Quoting Confucius09
do you think its really really impossible to do 1% a day....?
This is a question you would be best at answering yourself, over a year or so of trading. This is why I suggested you use the 35% you won. Think of it as "free" money, while you keep your hard earned money, or collected money over the years, safe. Don't trade larger with that 35%, by percentage, than you would with the deposit you made. So, if you traded 5 mini lots last week, trade just 2 now. This way you do not change your leverage/margin approach.

As said, that 35% will grow to match your deposit quickly if you answer your question from above positively, no, not impossible. There are 260 FX trading days in a year, that would be 260% return. Fortunately, if you do answer the question negatively, yes, you will still be alive and you can start over without having lost anything and having learned a whole lot.
The market is my nation. Traders, my family. Hello, brothers and sisters!
  • #8
  • Jan 3, 2013 9:17am Jan 3, 2013 9:17am
My first month of trading was a disaster, I used to borrow money from my folks to keep learning , but eventually I have improved my trading strategies, and now I am close to zero when all gets calculated ..give it some time
  • #9
  • Jan 3, 2013 8:41pm Jan 3, 2013 8:41pm
Sorry..you borrowed money to trade..not a good idea esp since you are still breaking even. But hindsight is 20-20, moving on you are on a micro account, correct? And risk management? Do review some of the free info available online including stickies in this forum and babypips, that should provide you with all the info u need to trade effectively. FYI, fx trading takes a lot of work but is well worth the pain and effort.
  • #10
  • Jan 4, 2013 1:41am Jan 4, 2013 1:41am
Quoting partizanovac
My first month of trading was a disaster, I used to borrow money from my folks to keep learning , but eventually I have improved my trading strategies, and now I am close to zero when all gets calculated ..give it some time
Having a disastrous first month when starting out trading can be looked at positively.
Many moons ago when I first dabbled with forex, I had an absolutely brilliant first month. I thought that it was so easy and that I was invincible. It took me a while to accept that because I had done so well in one month, it didn't follow that I could do it again.
So getting your fingers burnt early can be a good thing (as long as you don't revenge trade!)
It means that you know that you have done something wrong and you will realise that you need to improve so that disaster doesn't strike again..
Please Do Not PM Me With Coding Enquiries
  • #11
  • Jan 4, 2013 9:25am Jan 4, 2013 9:25am
Not flaming or starting this age old debate but I would be dissapointed with 10% a month. There are a lot of risks involved in this whole business but money can be made consistently with careful and planned trading.

I'm a price action trader and consistently make 6-11% a week. I don't believe in systems, they absolve the trader of his responsibility. He can say my system failed when in reality it is just him/her who has failed. That's averaged over around a years trading, probably like 45 weeks or so. I'm not talking big money here as my account started as less that $100, nor am I claiming I've got the holy grail (which doesn't exist) but 6-11% a week with careful trades is fairly simply.

If you wanna pitch it in the middle and go for 7% that only means you need to make 1.5% a day and to be fair if you can't do that then I'd find another investment/hobbie. Of course you'll have losing days sure and I have them as well but seriously 1.5% a day is fairly easy?

Am I alone in thinking that?
  • #12
  • Feb 1, 2013 9:48am Feb 1, 2013 9:48am
Congrats... There is definitely a difference in trading a demo account verse a REAL account. If you can learn to trade without emotions (getting revenge, etc.) you have already won half the battle my friend...
Faith ends where worry begins, and worry ends where faith begins.
  • #13
  • Feb 1, 2013 1:20pm Feb 1, 2013 1:20pm
Hi everyone, I'm new at this forum. I want to start trading on forex with low investment. In that way, I want to start with 30€, just to start using real money, understand the market and learn. Of course I don't want big profit, I just want to start in some way. What do you think about it and what is the "best" broker to trade? With which leverage, considering the start amount? Can the leverage be changed in the future?

Thank you
  • #14
  • Feb 1, 2013 5:52pm Feb 1, 2013 5:52pm
Quoting Red October
I'm not talking big money here as my account started as less that $100, nor am I claiming I've got the holy grail (which doesn't exist) but 6-11% a week with careful trades is fairly simply.

If you wanna pitch it in the middle and go for 7% that only means you need to make 1.5% a day and to be fair if you can't do that then I'd find another investment/hobbie. Of course you'll have losing days sure and I have them as well but seriously 1.5% a day is fairly easy?

Am I alone in thinking that?
Some days I can earn 2% very easily
I cannot do it every day though.
If I could, I would have a 10,000 GBP account and earn 1000 Pounds per week.
If it is true that 95% or traders are consistantly losing, then 95%, at least will not agree that averaging 1.5% per day is easy.

My advice to newbie traders is to throw out all these dreams of how rich they can become by making only 2% profit per day. Send those spreadsheets that prove how x amount of pips/day compounded will make you a millionaire in one year to the bin.
Concentrate on your chosen method and if you are consistently able to break-even or make a very small profit per month, then give yourself a pat on the back. You have done well.
It is obvious by reading posts here that most traders want to go straight from rookie to millionaire. Realistically, this is not going to happen. Your first step should be make "not losing" your first goal. By that I don't mean win every trade. but to come out after 100 trades or whatever with no loss on your account.
Once you have achieved this, you can move to the next step, to consistantly make profits.
Please Do Not PM Me With Coding Enquiries
  • #15
  • Feb 1, 2013 6:24pm Feb 1, 2013 6:24pm
Quoting Luigi88
Hi everyone, I'm new at this forum. I want to start trading on forex with low investment. In that way, I want to start with 30€, just to start using real money, understand the market and learn. Of course I don't want big profit, I just want to start in some way. What do you think about it and what is the "best" broker to trade? With which leverage, considering the start amount? Can the leverage be changed in the future?

Thank you
I think that you will probably be trading micro lots? I think most brokers offer this facility, but not sure. Maybe you can get some advice in the Brokers forum.
I think that micro lots are 1,000 units, ie if you are trading EURUSD, then 1,000 Euros position size. Approximately 10 cents per pip
The thing with leverage is that just because you have high leverage, it doesn't mean that you have to use it to maximum.
Probably, you don't want margin calls if your 30 Euro account drops to 10 Euros, so you would probably want 500:1 if trading micro-lots. 50:1 if trading 0.1 micro-lots
Please Do Not PM Me With Coding Enquiries
  • #16
  • Feb 1, 2013 6:28pm Feb 1, 2013 6:28pm
Quoting Luigi88
Hi everyone, I'm new at this forum. I want to start trading on forex with low investment. In that way, I want to start with 30€, just to start using real money, understand the market and learn. Of course I don't want big profit, I just want to start in some way. What do you think about it and what is the "best" broker to trade? With which leverage, considering the start amount? Can the leverage be changed in the future?

Thank you
As far as i know most brokers have a minimum deposit.
Oanda has no minimum deposit BUT if you start with 30€ (deposits have no charge), for a withdraw of funds there is a charge ~20€, depends on the way you deposit your funds, internal money transfers between accounts are for free.

Oanda allows leverage between 1:10 and 1:50 that´s plenty enough to blow your account. So first read some stuff about moneymanagement.

i would not have the "balls" to trade a leverage 1:500 or more
just do it
  • #17
  • Feb 1, 2013 7:22pm Feb 1, 2013 7:22pm
Quoting thodie

i would not have the "balls" to trade a leverage 1:500 or more
It's really a case of what you need.
Somebody that scalps with a 5 pip SL and multiple positions would maybe require a lot higher leverage than someone who trades fewer positions with larger stops that risk less per pip.
To be honest with you, I have no idea what the leverage is on my account, all I know is that it is enough.
If I have a 1K account with 500:1 leverage, it doesn't meant that I have to trade 5 lots and use the leverage to the full. That would be stupid.
Please Do Not PM Me With Coding Enquiries
  • #18
  • Last Post: Edited 12:09pm Feb 2, 2013 11:59am | Edited 12:09pm
Yeah, I think I will deposit 30€ with 1:50 leverage and trade less than micro lots. for instance, 10 ou 100 units.
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