Pip newb with questions

Hello Everyone,

I just began my pipping career about a month ago. I knew nothing then, and I will not attempt to act as if I know anything now Hopefully this all changes with dedication and discipline.

I decided that I must learn the basics of technical analysis first, because I figured that if I learned how to interpret news 1st, I would not be able to apply my knowledge to the charts, which would make me feel way to ignorant to trade in the first place.

I have been making my way through the school at babypips.com, it has been a godsend in learning the absolute basics. I have also ready hours upon hours of posts on various forums, with FF being my absolute favorite. It is such a motivator to see sucessful, selfless, true professionals sharing their hard earned knowledge with the average layperson.

From everything I have read, I have accepted that this trade will take years to get 'right'. I am starting from the bottom up, so I have made a vow to not trade mini or nano lots until at least 6 months down the road, when I can evaluate whether or not I am truly ready (depending on performance).

I have a very technical background, and have been working with computers for the better part of my young life. The trading platforms, to my surprise, have come very natural to me in terms of finding my way around them. I have actually had a lot of enjoyment in learning these amazing pieces of software.

I also accept that 95% of retail traders end their short careers in failure, so I am determined to do what I must to slowly reach the top 5% elite... I know if there is an opportunity to make money in this business, I will put my heart and soul into it. If it takes me 10 years to be profitable -- so be it.

I have begun to execute simple trade strategies while continuing my learning. I have had failure and success, but like many newbies, I still cannot determine the 'why'. I know that one day I will, and it will be imperitive to be able to figure out what I am doing right, and what I am doing wrong in order to move forward.

Anyways, I am here to ask a few questions that maybe some of you can answer.

1.) Did you concentrate on technical analysis or fundamental analysis 1st? Did you concentrate on them equally?

2.) When you began to become successful, with whatever your trading system or strategy was -- which timeframe was your favorite and why? I know this question is quite broad, because it is obvious that different timeframes are important for different outlooks and strategies, but I am just curious which has been your favorite

3.) Did you concentrate on a single pair, or did you spend time learning a few (or many) at a time? Also, which pair was your personal favorite and why?

4.) How long do you typically ride your trades? Again, this is all relative to the situation, but i'd like to know your estimated average

5.) Which platform has been your favorite? I have found that using Oanda for executing trades, and Metatrader for analyzing entry points has been my goto team. What about you?

And finally 6.) Give me one piece of advice that you wish you were given when you were in my shoes. Go ahead, be brutal, tell me how it is. This market looks like it can eat a person alive -- so give it to me real!

I look forward to reading everything that everyone has to say. Playing the forex market correctly won't be easy for me (and im sure it wasnt for anyone else!), but I am not afraid

Cheers

100% Technical

Daily TF's because of reliability. I like how another trader by the handle of "Strat" of FF describes lower TF's If your are looking to trade M30 it will be basically 48 times more difficult to trade than a daily chart 1HR would be 24 times and so on.

By learning on the daily you will also learn patience which is absolutely essential in becoming a profitable trader, you need to be able to wait all month just to trade one good setup that has the highest probabilities of winning.

I believe all major pairs should be watched to present yourself with as many good opportunities as possible, Stay away from the less liquid pairs i.e.: eurnzd,usdmxn ect.

I trade dailies so it could be 2 days or 2+weeks depending on the trade

MT4 only but many do as you are doing

in trading we are paid to WAIT! the single best quality IMO is the ability to wait for the best setups and trade them to your plan without letting your emotions get in the way.

And that trading itself will only amount to about 5% of your success 95% of trading is all in YOUR head learn to control YOU and the possibilities are endless

Just from reading your post I can tell you are starting off very well. Your mind set on the time it will take to learn this business is very important.

Check out the

Strat’s Long term stress free trading thread in the trading systems forum I think it is a great place to learn to trade successfully. It is where I have learned all that I know.

Hope this helps


Craig

Hi acsand, wecome to the club. I think Craig is spot on with his reply.
All i can say after 35 + years trading is that i never stop learning and experimenting with things i've found through out my trading experiences.
But that's just me...

The only piece of information i can offer you is to let your profits grow and cut your losses quickly. That should be the primary function of your methodology or system. Patience with yourself, the market place and all that you care for will be the prime factor in your future sucess.

Best of luck and trade well...

RogerK

There is no excuses not to open a "real" account to learn, example with Oanda. Playing with demo is waste of time. Use nano lots if you have to. The fact that its real money(however small) makes a BIG difference on you emotions. 20-100 dollar amount is fine, just trade smaller lots. At least there is "some" fear of loosing then. Everyone needs to experience their first margin call. Its part of the learning

This topic has been argued to the hill before but i still believe you need to prove that your system is working properly first. After you have proved that your execution of trades is in fact an edge then yes i agree 100% to fund a small account and start testing your emotions.

Thank you all for your advice... it goes a long way. I am definitely concentrating on 4h and daily charts as I feel that it is much easier to identify strong price movements and powerful trends (even as a noob!). I read that some people are successful scalping, but it seems like an emotionally draining task and without proper stops one blown scalp attempt can wipe out 10+ successful ones.

Here is another question:

What are the essential common indicators for YOU.

Thanks again everyone

None. Everything you need to make a profitable trade is on a simple chart in my experience.



To answer your other questions....

1.) Did you concentrate on technical analysis or fundamental analysis 1st? Did you concentrate on them equally?

Technical first, then I wanted to understand the reasons behind the thinking of market movers so I delved into the fundamentals and logistics of the market. It's complex but extremely interesting in my opinion.


2.) When you began to become successful, with whatever your trading system or strategy was -- which timeframe was your favorite and why?

Short term, 1h and 15m because of the increased number of trading opportunities and the less effect a change in market sentiment could have compared to longer term. The same patterns exist everywhere regardless of market or time frame. As you say, 'scalping' can be intense but it can also be extremely profitable if you get it right, certainly more profitable than longer term trading. It's personal choice to a great extent, whatever floats your boat.


3.) Did you concentrate on a single pair, or did you spend time learning a few (or many) at a time? Also, which pair was your personal favorite and why?

Tried looking at a few to start with and then found it easier to concentrate on just one, EUR/USD because of it's liquidity (less unexpected volatile moves) and the fact that it's technically 'correct' a lot of the time. Once I had become proficient I ventured into other pairs but tried to avoid trading the same market ie by looking at US, European, Asian. Watching indexes can also be helpful.


4.) How long do you typically ride your trades? Again, this is all relative to the situation, but i'd like to know your estimated averagehttp://cdn.forexfactory.com/images/s.../yim/happy.gif

How long is a piece of string Anything from a few minutes to a few days, to even weeks on occasions! It depends on a few things, there really is no typical time span.


5.) Which platform has been your favorite? I have found that using Oanda for executing trades, and Metatrader for analyzing entry points has been my goto team. What about you?

Same as you, Oanda for trading and MT4 for charting, Oanda's charts suck!


6.) Give me one piece of advice that you wish you were given when you were in my shoes. Go ahead, be brutal, tell me how it is. This market looks like it can eat a person alive -- so give it to me real!

Learn what trading is all about, forget trying to find indicators to reliably predict price direction, first understand the principles of trading and master the art of trading itself.



Believe me, everyone who puts money on the line in this business say they're 'determined to do what I must' and 'I will put my heart and soul into it' but still an alleged 95% fail, you need to bring more than that to the party! Ask yourself why you should succeed where so many others have tried and failed!

On a positive note you're asking some the the right questions, too many novices are only interested in finding something to tell them where price is going and even if they found it they probably wouldn't know what to do with it!