Make or Break Year for Petra!

I'm not sure if this will help anyone, but I'll offer it anyway.

As many of you know, I have been trading forex since 2002. I have made and lost a lot, multiple times. 2009 has been my first, straight up (No B.S.ing myself) profitable year. I started in Feb. 2009 with 5K, and ended in Dec. with 28k. It was a lot better before the Euro took a nasty dive at the end of Dec., but that is water under the bridge. 23k in profit for 1 year. I know that is not a large amount by many traders standards... and even 2 years ago I would have scoffed at such a paltry sum... but Mr. Market has since humbled me and my expectations. This will be a pivotal year for me. I have cashed in my profit and am starting over with 5k. If I can put 2 profitable years together, then I may consider giving myself more exposure to the market. If I cannot put 2 winning years together, after all this time, I must seriously consider that I just cannot trade the forex market profitably, over a long time horizion. I am not a newbie, and this is nowhere near my 1st rodeo. At some point, I have to put up or shut up. Either I can do it or I cannot. This year will answer those questions for me.

I am swing trading Daily charts on multiple pairs--- really any pair that has a good daily trend that I can swing trade.

I am writing to encourage traders. This game is hard.... I mean really hard! Mr. Market does not care how smart you are, how hard you work, or how badly you want it. At some point, Mr. Market will show his brutal ass to everyone... he is no respecter of persons. I have been at this for 7 years and still cannot say that I have it "figured out". I hope for 2010 we can all keep working and molding ourselves, and at the end of this year hopefully we will be a little better at trading than when the year started. I wish all traders the best for 2010 and beyond!!!!!

Kindest Regards,

Good luck petra! Slam dunk the funk

Weren't you saying arguing the toss the market was random some time back?! Nice work either way, random or not.

Glad to hear Petra! All the best in 2010.

Good post Petra and good luck.

Chris

Yes, on a daytrading basis I do believe the market is random to the small retail trader. I stand by that. I do not believe that it is random on larger time frames-- hence my attempt to swing trade from daily charts. Best to you!

Best of luck Petra in 2010, keep your eye on the prize and stay vigilant

Well done Petra. Wishing everyone here along with myself a prosperous 2010. May the pips be with us.

Everytime i see these posts...

it makes me humbly accept that it can be done... will need some work...

petra best of luck....

V

Maybe you need to re-read the first 200pages of FTIs thread?

Thanks for posting your results, and wish you a profitable 2010! It's really great to see someone is doing it and that it actually can be done...

From your post I assume you're trading part-time from daily charts -- I think many of the aspiring traders here (myself included) would love to hear at least a general overview of your approach and techniques, if possible...

Thanks again!

Lol....
i am reading for last 2 years that thread....

V

And that, my friend, is exactly the point I was making. Maybe it's time to move on from that thread. I could be wrong, but FTI's trading methods in a nut-shell are:

 

1. Trade the trend - Go with the flow
2. Exit when your in the wrong flow
3. Add to winning positions when in the flow
4. add to losing positions if your still in the flow but negative
5. TP when the flow is changing

This is all I've ever taken from the thread, all of which is useless unless you know what the flow is. The most confusing being the 'no-stops' part. What is wrong with using a stop-loss if your going to give up on the position anyway at a specified point? Yes, you may have your stop at a point where the Interbank dealers are 'gunning', but how is one to ever know {by trading a chart} if that is in-fact their plan? Stop-loss or a buy/sell order, whats the difference if your going to exit anyway?

I agree, every now and then FTI says something that makes me believe in his claims and ability. But this is infrequent, and who's to say that what hes attempting to teach can be taught? Maybe he's not the best of teachers.

All I know is that none of the 'traders' in the thread have improved their financial positions as a result of the thread.

Either give up all together, or start looking deeper at the markets. Please don't stay concentrated on a thread that may or may not be of any value despite the fact that you are gaining nothing from it.

Regards, Leon.

Good Luck, Petra! I hope you build on your success from 2009. I always read your posts with interest & have learned from your insights on trading, even if I am an incorrigible scalper.

Petra,
If you can do it one year, then we have every confidence in you to do it again this year. You should look into scaling up/down your positions this year, it may give you some thoughts on increasing your risk level next year. I like scaling as opposed to a "hard" lot increase. Sometimes I want to get in big, other times I feel the need to limit my risk when opening an order. Anyway, just a thought!

Petra, Happy New Year and good luck in 2010!

Multiplying your account more than 5 times in less than a year is not easy at all, so congratulations for your success.
Now, I'm not understading why you start over with 5K. If you need the 23K then it's ok but otherwise use them as capital for the new year. If you double your account you'll end the year with 56K.

If if's and but's were friuts and nuts, I'd be retired on a beach by now. I am taking profit off the table to see if I can do it again. If I can, then I will increase my exposure. If I wipe out the 5k, well, at least I can have a little money to show for my 7 years of effort!

Well, I have come full circle (2 or 3 times) with my trading. My approach is so simple, it almost seems trite. I constantly scan the daily charts of 8-10 pairs, looking for swing trade opportunities. All you need is a pair that is trending well. If the trend is up, I wait for a pull back somewhere near the last swing low and enter. I put my stop below the last swing low, and set my TP for an area above the last swing high. Vice-Versa if the trend is down. There was some great trending in the forex maket last year, so this method made me a lot of money. Eur/Usd trended from April to Dec--- I made money on all those dips!

I know, this method is old and boring. So am I. I have done A LOT of research and testing over the years. I have never found a method to sucessfully trade short term (daytrade) over a long time horizon. Many here at the Factory dispute this and say you can daytrade (or scalp) and make good, consistent profits. I respect their efforts. I do not think it can be done...but to each his own!

Your strategy is your strategy.

But. Buy something nice with 8K. And then use 20K. If you lose 15K than you quit and you remain with your initial investment. You must give yourself a chance to win big.

Congratulations Petra! I am in my second year of trading (although the middle 12 months I was just watching the charts and reading). I am now trading every day and have consistently not lost money, which is half the battle. I now need to concentrate on making more and hope to be profitable soon.
Keep up the monotony and I am confident you will succeed.

Nick