how to trade 1-2 hours / day ?

Hi,

I have studied a few the forex indicators trading strategies, I know a bit about risk management, but after like 2 or 3 years still losing money on demo account, I have tryed with live account too, but until I can't make money in demo no reason to continue with live. So something (basic) still missing at me.

I am watching the SMA(9-20-55-120) and when is a retrenchment I am trying to open a position in thrend direction in 3h scale(Oanda) or in 1h scale.

The another trying is at usa market closing, trying to tip for a retrenchment(5-15min chart).

Sometimes I am risking like 6% or even 10% => for 20-40 pip. This is to high, I am losing here a lot, but even without normal risks: 20-80 pip and 1% I have win-lose ratio like 1:2 -1:3.

Sometimes I do a search in this calendar for red and orange marked news, and I am trying to not open position in this period, sometimes not.

Mostly I am trading EUR/USD, because "is easy to trade". Well, not for me...


Do you see any clear mistakes at this trading style? - except the 6% or over that risk?

How could be my win-lose ratio like 3:1?


In the next days I can open my PC before open the London market and I can stay max 1h than I must leave my pc for 9-10h(can't catch the NY closing waves), or if I am not at London open hour, than I can open my pc before NY close with 1-2h. (Daily job, eu timezone, no forex at job)

Any idea when to trade, what scale, currency pair? - at Oanda the Eur/Usd cost is 0.9 pip, I think that is the cheapest, the cable is like 2.5 pip

Given the limitations on time you describe and your trigger t/f choice (1hr ?) and trading only 1 x pairing, it is very unlikely that you will make that plan work. Never say never but it is very unlikely.

I had a friend who is an air traffic controller and he asked me whether if he did 1hr's trading after work each night whether he would be ready to trade profitaably after say 1yr...I asked him if I did 1hr's training a night on air traffic systems whether he would hand control of the skies over to me after a year, to which he replied 'absolutely not, it takes 7 years full time training before you would get control of a just one small sector.'

G/L

All of these things you're worried about mean nothing. Time of day, spread, time frame - all of these and those decisions come after you've gotten good at trading, not before.

There are tons of systems posted here at Forex Factory and on other forums, and most of them work. Pick one that gives you signals during your limited trading hours and get good at using that system.

If your around for london open then trade the breakout of london.. I'm thinking of trying this strat and it would probably work in your situation

http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=156106

I just posted this same comment elsewhere but it applys to you also. There are a few opportunities that are available if you trade daily and weekly timeframes. You could trade breakouts of daily ranges or Price Action around levels of S/R or something else of that fashion. It will allow you to study a few charts and make decisions within that small window. You will have perhaps days or weeks where there is nothing to trade but that is fine if you can cope with that and you can manage your account/trades day by day.

RT

Don't focus on R:R or win percentage. Instead, just focus on making good decsions, the rest will follow.

Risk amount - 6% is certainly not too high providing the trader has a decent edge and can tolerate the swings. It is, however, too high if you're not sure you have that kind of edge. Risk 0.5% or so until you're more confident. You can always increase it in the future, and in the meantime at least you will have somewhat preserved your capital.

I find the worst possible time to trade EUR/USD or GBP/USD is at the close of the US market, If I were you, I would try to trade the first few hours of London market open, say 09:00 to 12:00 (GMT)

GG

when I only have a couple hours to trade and have to get up early anyway, I hit the London-NY overlap - 1300-1500GMT. If I don't want to get up early I hit the FO/LO 0700-0900GMT. I only scalp, have %increase targets I am shooting for in those sessions, and usually hit them. If you have limited amounts of time to spend trading and can learn how to scalp then this might work for you, as well.

I cannot agree more, if you scalp, the worst time to trade is after U.S session is over.

Thanks for replies and ideas.
How is working a retail Broker? (-those who allow to buy/sell under 5 lot amount)
They have a connection with an ECN broker, who has access to the interbank network, or he has access to interbank network. On that network is the min 5 lot size and the diff between sell/buy is under 1 pip (usually 0.5-0.7)
If at a broker company 100 traders want to scalp in 1 sec chart, and if they buy on average 0.1 lot, than is 10 lot the sum. Because they want to trade the hedge, and they position is open for a few seconds, the broker have no time usually to put they bids to interbanking network system. In this case the retail broker would lose money, but the trading system is owned by they, so:
- they "correct" the prices . When you press close position at price 1.4000 , he will close at 1.4020 if the market is volatile ( and than you want to trade)
- or simple doesn't let you to full fill your order
- or they increase the spread to 10 pip ( and it was 0.9 before) - specific for Oanda at news releases
- or very simple they say for you : you have 5 days t retract your money from they system.

Under 5 min chart doesn't really worth to bother with any chart pattern, but not so high are you affected by news, the spread price could be the biggest enemy. The take profit, stop lose is max 30 pip, usually around 8-15.

If I would have around 20.000 $ I would try to scalp at an ECN broker, but not at a retail in any case.

Over 1 hours chart: eg 3-4 hour the stop lose are often hit by news release spikes, or to large stop lose=> to much risk. Doesn't really matter the spread, because you will work with 50-100 pips. To trade this at ECN broker, you need 100.000+ $

I understood I need to get some basic knowledge and I need to practice, also need to think about my mistakes, and needed a time to be mature that knowledge, but I thought those paper-online books and those exercises which I had read / practiced it should be enough to produce a result, which has positive balance, even a few. I still have negative.

As a new idea is to try to trade after NY closing, and no news for a few pips on non asian currency pairs: like Eur/usd.
-just made a short, and the price increasing slowly a bit

I am not top expert but I was in similar situation like you. I thought for few months what strategy I would use and how. My first 4 months with forex I was "scalper" and this require you to sit in front of computer and follow the trade. That was great for learning and get filling how market works.

One day I say myself I am not scalper. I can't do that right now, I have a daily job. I need strategy which gives me free time. Than I came to this.

And let me know if this sounds logical to you...If yes..reset yourself and go that way.

I would suggest you using trend flowing strategies for higher time frames(like daily timeframes), and using multiple time frame analyse(H4-D-W). That way practically you would analyze market for 1 hour when you have the time and trade in direction of the trend. Find pair what is trending, and forget only EUR/USD because is big possibility that you searching pips when they are not there. Open 18-25 most popular pairs and find what is trending. Make sure h4, daily and weekly are in the same direction. Always something trending. Jump in direction of trend, put a bigger SL (like 50-100pips) and apply maybe 2 ema indicators (5 and 12). Then when you see they are crossing go out(after maybe 5-10days or when they cross) and find other pair what is nicely trading. Its daily timeframe so you will spot when it runs out of gas even if you look at it once a day.

This is general...also look at support/resistance and if you are close to some daily/weekly support resistance don't trade.


You need some "analyze, setup and go" strategy...

If you only have 1 to 2 hours of trading time available, you should be focusing on larger time frames... not the smaller ones. Forget about scalping the London open with a 2 hour window, it's a sucker's bet.

Thank you very much.

When I say "I did my best" for that trade, than I have watched the weeakly - daily and the 3h chart, also the news page at forex factory.

JPY based curency pairs they move very haotic, with huge spikes not a realy trend , at daily I see some waves, they change without any logic for me. I really hate that pairs, I think my win-lose ratio there is like 1:10. This pair has the highest moving speed out of London and NY session.

The Cable: at intraday 4h,1h charts were to strange for me to find a correct setup, it was easyer and cheaper with EUR/USD.

The CHF very stable, not moving, just when I make an order and only in opposie direction

The most traded currency pairs are combinaton of this: EUR/USD/JPY/GPB.

At this moment I can't see any reason why to go into a not really traded , expensive currency , like USD/HUF with 20-30 pip spread, and daily move like 80-100 pip, if he moves...(if not than maybe 20 pip) instead of USD/EUR, which moves the same 80-100 pip/day, almost each day and the spread is 1 pip.

Just now Iremmeber , but at the beginning ( some years ago) I had a few minor sucess with GPB/JPY with this W-> D -> 3h analyzing + Fibonacci retachement setup, don't know how and why, but my win lose ratio was around 2:1 or better. Than I thaught "I know forex" and went to live account, and scalping...of couse big loses

Wich have you proposed is pure technical based setup, and they aren't proved at me, because of news changing the trend direction regardles of previous chart patterns, but thanks for idea. Altrought there are a few days in a month, when there aren't very important news. -then I make a few succesfull trades usually. 50 pip SL is often hit by news spikes. around 120 pip was "safe" at EUR/USD, but I couldn't detect the trend revesral at the time.

Right now at my daily chart I see something like this:

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/9016/dayp.png

it is a down trend, I would wait for a short position, when the price cross at least the purple line (EMA 20)

At 3h chart:
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/6682/treeh.png

It a a minor uptrend, a correction of the main downtrend.
The candles doesn't seems to be "tired" enought => this correction will continue for 2-5 candles at least, so I would open a long position (GMT 0:34 here now) and before London open I would close this position indifferent of pips gained/lost, because is not in trend direction. This minor correction has 3 bigger spikes, and I don't like that.

Also around of 1.3400 I would place a sell order with stop lose of 120-150 pip and in 24h I would see what happens. But if I go into detals: lower timeframe:

15 min:
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/7579/15min.png

I see here the price doesn't realy moved after NY close => no reason to put any 3h / daily position now. Maybe a long position from 1.3200 to 1.3215. Stop lose 10 pip. Some months ago I had very good win:lose ration at this hours, when the price moved between 2 ranges usually at this hours: like 15-20 pip up, same dow. In one night like 2-4 waves, the first I couldn't thrade, but the second to 4 5 yes, before Longon open 1h this nice price balancing usually gone.

And my indicator legend:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/2404/indicators.png

As I see I am using EMA, not SMA

Here take a look at what this guy did with one trade a day..... took him about 15 minutes in all, most of which was spent just getting the computer fired up ....... EUR/USD only thread

A result of like that I would like to have, and I should be able to do.

Just did what I said before:
http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/6989/5min.png

It was presented a trading jurnal of 1 trade / day.

Lets say I have a new strategy(right now I don't have), from where can I know it is a working strategy or not, if the first 2 month gives negative result? -and on the 1 trade / day has 2 consecutive negative months.

Jesse Livermore wrote a book, or somebody else about him.
Don't remember the book title, but is a must for any trader.
Even were old times and he could hear the fax transmission noise and he started stocks and not forex, his trading style it was a scalper at beginning.

On time had a luck: he made a position and he forgot to close it(he went to vacation for a few few weeks or months), the price went on his direction.
-now look at your trades: lets say you put a stop lose (ony your -1h 4h chart)and you are going to vacation for a few months. (In that book says always trade in trend direction) . There should be a few % of trades alive with a huge profit, anyhow that profit should cover more than 10 stop loses. So even with 1:10 win-lose ratio should be a clear positive balance.

At the 2/3 or 3/4 of part of the book it says something like that: the huge profit aren't in guessing the next price candle direction, but be in the trend with open position for weeks. I read this book a few years ago, and the English not my mother language( is the 3rd language) but the sense of his words are like that. So, trade in weakly chart, open your position after a retracementsgoes into trend direction and don't quit from that position(at retracements), until is a clear sign of trend reversal. -when you have enought money.


I don't know which are those short timeline setups which allows you 100% of income / months or even more!, neither the "safe" weekly setups, which makes 30-40% "safe" profit / year. All I know there are people who did, who made this, currently can do it, and a lot of other who fail.

Hi,

I went back to the old articles and gold articles, I have read again and found a new info again.

Now Dukascopy allows 1000$ account, trading minilot and the leverage is 1:100 . I think is ideal broker for scalpers who have 1-3k usd or who playing with 8-10 pip stop lose.

I went to Aplari webpage, found an article with 10 common mistakes:

"
Get Rich Quick mentality
Novice traders often see Forex as a simple way to become rich in a short period of time, without actually considering the risks and effort that must be put in to achieve such a goal. Placing very large trades in proportion to your account balance in an attempt to make a huge profit is unlikely to be successful in the long term because eventually a trade is likely to go against you leading to severe losses.
Random decision making
Traders should know where they intend to open and close their position before entering any market, based on a particular system they are following. Setting this ahead of time helps traders to focus on their system and eliminate second-guessing. It can also reduce losses by having stop loss orders in place. It's important to keep in mind that the market may not always agree with where you place an order.

Using too much leverage
One aspect of the FX market that attracts many traders is the opportunity to trade on margin, in other words, leveraged trading. Trading with a small initial deposit will still make it possible for you to open relatively large positions so it is important not to overdo it when selecting a trade size. FX is usually traded with a high degree of leverage which means you are able to provide 1% or less of the actual amount you are investing whilst sustaining profit/losses as if you had invested the whole nominal amount yourself. This can work for you as well as against you. The possibility does exist that you could sustain a loss equalling to some or even all of your initial investment. It is also possible to lose more than you initially invested in your trading account. We do have risk management systems that are designed to prevent unmanageable losses although these measures still require a responsible approach to trading.

Not using a stop loss
Many new traders hold on to losing positions far too long thinking, or hoping, in some cases that the market will turn around. They also tend to get out of winning positions far too quickly to lock in an immediate profit which eliminates the chance for greater gains. Although it is tempting to have this mind frame, you must have the patience to enter only those trades which you think are opportunistic and follow this up with the discipline to either cut this trade quickly if it turns against you or run with it because you believe in the trade.

Trading on emotion
Keeping calm and maintaining a balanced state of mind is crucial when trading in order to maintain focus on the events at hand. It’s important to always remember that the market's actions are nothing personal. It’s quite an easy thing to say but very difficult to do especially in the heat of the moment when you have to make a split second decision. Novice traders tend to trade with their emotions and they forget all the things that they've learned.

No discipline
Disciplined traders who stick with a tested trading plan consistently will, more often than not, profit over those who trade inconsistently because constant second-guessing ruins the profitability and eliminates the benefits of having a trading plan in the first place. It is crucial that you plan your trades and trade your plan rather than randomly picking out trades on a whim because the latter is no more than punting with only the hope of winning as opposed to having an edge in the markets through the use of a solid, consistent trading system. It's important to maintain consistency with your trading system and follow it up with good analysis of your own processes in order to have a better gauge of where you are going wrong.

No money management
Professional traders recommend risking a set percentage of capital and never altering that percentage. The main difference between an amateur trader and an experienced one is their different approaches to money management. Risking a set percentage of your total capital on each trade is an advantage in times of repeated losses because it reduces their impact. Amateur traders often disregard this and increase their stakes as they begin to lose more. This type of scenario inevitably leads to ruin very quickly as the trader accumulates loss after loss.

Not knowing your market
A common mistake made by novice Forex traders is to begin trading without having sufficient knowledge of their chosen currency pair(s) and how currencies are influenced by global events. Understand as much as you can how different financial markets impact each other and how they inter-correlate i.e. stocks, bonds, commodities, FX. This knowledge will enable you make better trading decisions when various economic figures are released. It is also important to identify the type of market that is prevailing to allow you to adjust your strategy accordingly and thus avoid entering into losing trades. The more informed you are the more chance you have of being successful. Also, be aware that some market participants behave with different intentions than you; for example, hedgers will sell into a market that is rising because hedgers often look for good average prices on large orders in order to risk manage their portfolios. This is in contrast to individual traders who seek to maximise profit on each trade.

Monitor your positions
It is crucial that you monitor any exposure you have in the FX market. By having a close watch on how your trade(s) is doing will help you maintain control of your trade and help you to follow market movements as they happen. Staying up to date with market developments is a good way to maintain and expand your level of knowledge and understanding of the FX market. Be aware that the FX market trades 24 hours a day so making use of pending orders will be crucial if you want to leave your PC.

Trading without a strategy
A significant amount of time should be spent on deciding your strategy in the market before you place your first trade because this will make it easier for you to concentrate on market events. Most novice Forex traders begin trading without having sufficient knowledge of their chosen currency pair(s), how currencies are influenced by global events and how they plan to take advantage of price movements. It is crucial that you observe the market price action and try to identify trading patterns before risking your capital with your observations helping you formulate a trading plan and a trading style. Your trading strategy should take the following into account:

• Planned frequency of trading
• Time of day when you plan to trade
• Technical indicators you plan to use
• Buy/Sell signals you plan to use
• Estimated risk and reward for each trade
• A daily stop limit to protect your total capital base

Your motivation to trade is a key aspect because most successful traders do not have profit in mind when trading because thinking about thepotential future profit or potential future losses will cloud your decisions in the present. Instead, experienced traders focus on the process of trading rather than worrying about the amount they could win or lose in a trade.
"

It gives an idea for me why I am unsuccessful :
- missing trade plan
- don't know enough about fundamental analytics

It seems after London close and maybe New York close starting to move a bit the AUD pairs, some pushes can be caught at EUR/USD but requires to much time staying and watching the no moves.