That feeling you get... | Forex Factory

Options

Go to
Permalinks
Print Thread

Similar Threads

do you ever get the feeling 12 replies

If you are feeling bad 14 replies

Do you really think a broker will let you get away with that? 4 replies

well im a happy camper..my gut feeling... 0 replies

That feeling you get...

  • #1
  • First Post: Edited 3:43pm Aug 13, 2011 3:32pm | Edited 3:43pm
October 2011 will be the 3 year mark when I first started trading live. I went from literally knowing zero to what little I know now. I've read tons of books, paid for education, read all kinds of websites, and been a member here at FF for a bit...

I keep having this feeling like I'm really close to "cracking the code" or "to really making this work". Sometimes I want to quit, but then I say, I feel like I've come a long way and I'm close. For the people that ARE profitable traders, is this just another phase in the whole trading experience? Does it have any meaning?

For everyone else, you ever get that feeling that you are almost there? Just a need a little more to 'get it'? Sometimes I wonder if it is just a mind trick...
Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better. ~ Jim Rohn
  • #2
  • Aug 13, 2011 3:45pm Aug 13, 2011 3:45pm
Quoting LasVahGoose
October 2011 will be the 3 year mark when I first started trading live. I went from literally knowing zero to what little I know now. I've read tons of books, paid for education, read all kinds of websites, and been a member here at FF for a bit...

I keep having this feeling like I'm really close to "cracking the code" or "to really making this work". Sometimes I want to quit, but then I say, I feel like I've come a long way and I'm close. For the people that ARE profitable traders, is this just another phase in the whole trading experience?...
finding many many many different ways to be sitting at break even is a pain in my balls. first the left, then the right, then both together.
Congratulations ScalaFX for coming out of the closet!
  • #3
  • Aug 13, 2011 4:39pm Aug 13, 2011 4:39pm
Quoting LasVahGoose
October 2011 will be the 3 year mark when I first started trading live. I went from literally knowing zero to what little I know now. I've read tons of books, paid for education, read all kinds of websites, and been a member here at FF for a bit...

I keep having this feeling like I'm really close to "cracking the code" or "to really making this work". Sometimes I want to quit, but then I say, I feel like I've come a long way and I'm close. For the people that ARE profitable traders, is this just another phase in the whole trading experience?...
Hi LVG,

I identify with your question. Main thing i'd like to contribute is that i cant help but question the time element that so many posters state they have been trading for. One year equals how many hours? I really wish FF would ask for hours of experience to be stated rather than years.

Anyway,October 2011 will be my 2 yr.milestone of trading with real money. Also , like yourself from knowing zero...I started out in a live trading room. I would never knock the one i suscribed to for six months...it gave me a good grounding in realising how much i had to learn.
Through FF and the interwebs i have learned so much that i can scarcely recognise the person i was in Oct.2009.
As one of my FF heroes would say...trading is 80% phychology...( Wormboy..The Wormhole).
I say from my very limited experience , around 9000 hrs ,that your question adresses the phychological experience of trading with real money. Yes , the need to learn more is inherent in the game . Knowing when to stop(pardon the pun) and consolidate what you have learned to date is equally important, inmho. That could mean going "back" onto demo for those who started on demo or simply "paper trading" for a while.

i am profitable ,but i set myself a very firm r.r/mm. everyday...i'm an intraday trader .I set myself stages of learning. I dont go looking for new strategies,systems etc. I only ever follow the path that i set out on ...and try to increase my understanding of that path that i have chosen. Fortunately for me its a path that has been well defined in the factory as Price Action ...the governing laws of supply and demand ... beautifully described so simplistically by Sam Seidon. ( those who have never heard of him ...gooogle)
for those of you that would like to see some of my mentors in action ...go to Romancing the Price thread and everyone on my buddy list.
All systems of divination, like music itself,work through patterns.
  • #4
  • Aug 13, 2011 4:51pm Aug 13, 2011 4:51pm
Quoting nubcake
finding many many many different ways to be sitting at break even is a pain in my balls. first the left, then the right, then both together.
Ah, sh*t, sorry man. I keep forgetting that us girls have the advantage when it comes to sitting on a stop.
All systems of divination, like music itself,work through patterns.
  • #5
  • Aug 13, 2011 5:30pm Aug 13, 2011 5:30pm
Quoting LasVahGoose
October 2011 will be the 3 year mark when I first started trading live. I went from literally knowing zero to what little I know now. I've read tons of books, paid for education, read all kinds of websites, and been a member here at FF for a bit...

I keep having this feeling like I'm really close to "cracking the code" or "to really making this work". Sometimes I want to quit, but then I say, I feel like I've come a long way and I'm close. For the people that ARE profitable traders, is this just another phase in the whole trading experience?...
Hey Goosey

I can definitely relate to that feeling as for a long time I cycled between that (feel so close) feeling, and rock bottom (feel so lost) until one day, no magic light bulb moment, no eurekas, just a boring realization that there really is no "code to crack", not sure how to describe it other than to say that things just made sense one day, or perhaps fell into place. Don't get me wrong I still have much to learn but somewhere along the way that "oh so close" feeling just faded into the background and was replaced with an awkward confidence that "yes I think I can finally do this".

It feels alright too
Time hides Nothing
  • #6
  • Aug 13, 2011 5:39pm Aug 13, 2011 5:39pm
Quoting CindyXXXX
Hey Goosey

I can definitely relate to that feeling as for a long time I cycled between that (feel so close) feeling, and rock bottom (feel so lost) until one day, no magic light bulb moment, no eurekas, just a boring realization that there really is no "code to crack", not sure how to describe it other than to say that things just made sense one day, or perhaps fell into place. Don't get me wrong I still have much to learn but somewhere along the way that "oh so close" feeling just faded into the background and was replaced with an awkward...
...nice discussion guys... see you soon. X
All systems of divination, like music itself,work through patterns.
  • #7
  • Edited 8:13pm Aug 13, 2011 6:52pm | Edited 8:13pm
Quoting CindyXXXX
Hey Goosey

I can definitely relate to that feeling as for a long time I cycled between that (feel so close) feeling, and rock bottom (feel so lost) until one day, no magic light bulb moment, no eurekas, just a boring realization that there really is no "code to crack", not sure how to describe it other than to say that things just made sense one day, or perhaps fell into place. Don't get me wrong I still have much to learn but somewhere along the way that "oh so close" feeling just faded into the background and was replaced with an awkward...
I too can relate, and have gone through the ups and downs of the confidence cycle many times before, as Cindy put it, that "oh so close" feeling just faded into the background and was replaced with an awkward confidence that "yes I think I can finally do this".

The fact that you notice what you are going through psychologically is a good sign. Your resolve and perseverance will be tested through these times, but think of this stuff as a weeding out process, trading isn't for those who bail quickly, unless its a losing position.

If I could try and objectify the change for myself, I'd say the change manifested itself more so in my attitude than anything else. Don't get me wrong, from the get go I've always wanted to win, and make money, but that wasn't enough. I have complete confidence in myself while trading now. I occasionally make a stupid first trade of the day, reading a 'nice' -400 in my P/L column, but it doesn't phase me, and I usually will end the day up a few hundred, or some exceptionally good days, in four digits.

It wasn't always so, I remember calling it quits if that ever happened, too scared to even give myself a chance of getting back to black. Then I'd be "refining" my system thinking I've made it better .. but really none of that mattered, no amount of system tweaking would fix it, it was my attitude.

With that said, again, I'll touch on Cindy's post about confidence. If you don't have the knowledge and experience, you won't have the confidence. If you don't have the confidence, you won't be able to take what the market throws at you. If you can't take what the market throws at you, you won't be able to make good trade decisions. If you can't make good trade decisions, managing your trades will be futile. If you can't manage your trades, your P/L column will always be red. If your P/L column is always in the red, you'll probably end up debating the validity of TA, PA etc on a thread here in FF ..

I'll give you a little thought to put in your head as you are going through this process. I used to think about this every now and then..

Think about all of the trades that you have ever taken up 'till this point. They have your P/L column in the red. Now what if you took the opposite trade of every one of those trades? Yay! You would have made lots and lots of money! --No, not so fast.. You would have probably lost just as much money. Hmmm..
  • #8
  • Aug 13, 2011 7:41pm Aug 13, 2011 7:41pm
Quoting LasVahGoose
October 2011 will be the 3 year mark

//---

get that feeling that you are almost there? Just a need a little more to 'get it'? Sometimes I wonder if it is just a mind trick...
//---


hey lasvahgoose..... anyone still standing after 3 years will probably see many more.......

and odds are it's not mind tricks, just positive thinkin.....h
to trade and code, keep both simple... no call to impress....h
  • #9
  • Aug 13, 2011 8:34pm Aug 13, 2011 8:34pm
It'll be five years for me in March 2012. I spent the first 3.5 years literally going in the wrong direction. It was painful to make the necessary changes to turn things around because I was taken out of my comfort zone. A thorough understanding of the risk:reward ratio was the icing on the cake for me. Yes, I would hear people talk about it all the time, but it just went over my head. Once I figured out that aspect of trading and combined it with my perfected trading strategy, everything turned around. My best moment was the first time I went 60 days without a major drawdown. Beforehand,I would make big wins and make big losses.....which would essentially bring me back to break even over any 60 day period.
  • #10
  • Aug 14, 2011 3:02am Aug 14, 2011 3:02am
Quoting LasVahGoose
October 2011 will be the 3 year mark when I first started trading live. I went from literally knowing zero to what little I know now. I've read tons of books, paid for education, read all kinds of websites, and been a member here at FF for a bit...

I keep having this feeling like I'm really close to "cracking the code" or "to really making this work". Sometimes I want to quit, but then I say, I feel like I've come a long way and I'm close. For the people that ARE profitable traders, is this just another phase in the whole trading experience?...
I can relate to that. The problem for me was, that all strategies I tried seemed to work at first only to fail miserably later on. As all other newbies I was also really focused on the win-rate. In the end I was so unsure, if any strategy worked, that I just began programming & backtesting them. That was my eureka moment, cause now I know the expectancy of each strat and even automate them. No emotions involved anymore, just pure mechanical rules executed over and over again.
  • #11
  • Aug 14, 2011 6:10am Aug 14, 2011 6:10am
I think every unprofitable trader always feels that he/she has almost 'cracked it' - I remember having many, many 'eureka' moments while I was beginning and always thinking that I was turning the final corner to profitability. The most important breakthrough comes when you realize that you will never really arrive at your final destination, because there isn't one. What seperates the successful from the rest in any endeavor, be it business, sports or academia, is that those at the top of their field never stop learning and trying to improve, no matter how much they excel. This is a lifetime journey, we should never start thinking that we know enough now to stop studying and just trade. No matter how good we become, no matter how much money we make, we just keep studying, learning and acquiring wisdom and experience. When your trading switches from net unprofitability to net profitability you shouldn't tell yourself you have made it, just note it as an interesting little milestone and continue on your journey. Wrapping your head around that is one of the most important steps you will ever take.
si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes
  • #12
  • Aug 14, 2011 9:08am Aug 14, 2011 9:08am
Quoting LasVahGoose
October 2011 will be the 3 year mark when I first started trading live. I went from literally knowing zero to what little I know now. I've read tons of books, paid for education, read all kinds of websites, and been a member here at FF for a bit...

I keep having this feeling like I'm really close to "cracking the code" or "to really making this work". Sometimes I want to quit, but then I say, I feel like I've come a long way and I'm close. For the people that ARE profitable traders, is this just another phase in the whole trading experience?...

I know that feeling well, it's now about 4 years since I started trading.

What I can definitely say is that Forex is psychologically the hardest market I have traded.

I find trading indices far easier because of the different styles of trading involved. I have only ever succeeded in Forex using long-term trend following strategies; and I find this is the most emotionally draining form of trading strategy. But it is the only thing I can get to work on the FX market although I'm now looking at cyclical trading to see if it will work on the FX market but in all honesty I doubt it. Every time I try and see if anything other than following the long-term trend will work on the FX market I get the answer that it doesn't.

You can be profitable in FX, but in my experience it can only be done with trend following systems and that takes iron will power and real commitment.
  • #13
  • Aug 14, 2011 2:51pm Aug 14, 2011 2:51pm
i'm sick of this shit and just about ready to toss it in and give my life to the 9 to 5 again. 30,000 sim trades is enough to make you wonder why you bother going in circles. my balls are well and truly broken. a ball-ectomy.
Congratulations ScalaFX for coming out of the closet!
  • #14
  • Aug 14, 2011 3:09pm Aug 14, 2011 3:09pm
Quoting nubcake
i'm sick of this shit and just about ready to toss it in and give my life to the 9 to 5 again. 30,000 sim trades is enough to make you wonder why you bother going in circles. my balls are well and truly broken. a ball-ectomy.
I can't speak for the rest of the people here but nubcake your very close to being successful...

Unfortunately I think you find it difficult to resist trading on anything greater than the 1M chart.

The profits are there on other time frames, I turned a 11.5% profit this week trading the 4 hour charts for example. (and noting my exposed capital was 3% over 5 pairs)

I have seen some of your methods and they are close to what some successful traders are doing.

Just my two cents... Even thought its probably not my place to recommend someone stay or don't stay.
  • #15
  • Aug 14, 2011 3:25pm Aug 14, 2011 3:25pm
Quoting newyear498
I can't speak for the rest of the people here but nubcake your very close to being successful...

Unfortunately I think you find it difficult to resist trading on anything greater than the 1M chart.

The profits are there on other time frames, I turned a 11.5% profit this week trading the 4 hour charts for example. (and noting my exposed capital was 3% over 5 pairs)

I have seen some of your methods and they are close to what some successful traders are doing.

Just my two cents... Even thought its probably not my place to recommend someone stay...
cheers. there is definitely something missing. the market still jedi mind fks me and lvg (as you would put it). anyways, i'm out. don't want to clutter the thread with my river of tears. take me out justin... "cry me a river.... cry me a river... girl...."
Congratulations ScalaFX for coming out of the closet!
  • #16
  • Aug 14, 2011 4:12pm Aug 14, 2011 4:12pm
Quoting nubcake
cheers. there is definitely something missing. the market still jedi mind fks me and lvg (as you would put it). anyways, i'm out. don't want to clutter the thread with my river of tears. take me out justin... "cry me a river.... cry me a river... girl...."
Man you have 10 vouches, I'm surprised to see that you find this too difficult. I hope you don't give in, keep trying and thinking it through and you will one day get it.

Forex is one unique challenge. It throws so many curveballs at you when you are a beginner. I think part of succeeding is knowing how to handle all those unexpected occurences. Alot of what you read from the more experienced traders is true. It's how you apply them that will determine whether you are successful or not.

I don't agree that the market is always changing therefore you have to constantly be changing. I think you should stick to a method that makes sense and you feel comfortable with. By that I mean a method that can withstand most volatile periods and profit when things are somewhat predictable. The only work or changes you should be making are minor to refine your method depending on the weeks circumstances.

Good luck to all.
  • #17
  • Aug 14, 2011 4:43pm Aug 14, 2011 4:43pm
Quoting 2+2=4ex
Man you have 10 vouches, I'm surprised to see that you find this too difficult. I hope you don't give in, keep trying and thinking it through and you will one day get it.

Forex is one unique challenge. It throws so many curveballs at you when you are a beginner. I think part of succeeding is knowing how to handle all those unexpected occurences. Alot of what you read from the more experienced traders is true. It's how you apply them that will determine whether you are successful or not.

I don't agree that the market is always changing therefore...
Very well said.....the market will appear to be constant if you use the same perspective each time. The amplitude can be different at times.....but it is all relative.


P.S. - If Nubcake is truly focused on the 1M timeframe, it would be wise to explore higher timeframes. The lower timeframes will tease you to the max.
  • #18
  • Aug 14, 2011 4:52pm Aug 14, 2011 4:52pm
Quoting 2+2=4ex
Man you have 10 vouches
i've been systematically pissing off people in an effort to get the v's removed. it's a slow process.

i'm totally picking up what you are putting down in the rest of your post btw. i was already of the same perspective.
Congratulations ScalaFX for coming out of the closet!
  • #19
  • Aug 14, 2011 5:03pm Aug 14, 2011 5:03pm
Quoting nubcake
i've been systematically pissing off people in an effort to get the v's removed. it's a slow process.

i'm totally picking up what you are putting down in the rest of your post btw. i was already of the same perspective.
So are you profitable or not? I interpretated your prior posts in this thread as frustrated with hanging around breakeven. My apologies if I misinterpreted them. I think the best way I can describe forex is in my current signature. Someone here posted that it's 80% mental. I think it's 100% mental.
  • #20
  • Aug 14, 2011 5:10pm Aug 14, 2011 5:10pm
Quoting 2+2=4ex
So are you profitable or not? I interpretated your prior posts in this thread as frustrated with hanging around breakeven. My apologies if I misinterpreted them. I think the best way I can describe forex is in my current signature. Someone here posted that it's 80% mental. I think it's 100% mental.
nope, you nailed it. unprofitable. actually, breakeven is being generous depending on what i'm doing. to be fair it's somewhere around -1 pip per trade when simulating a 2 pip spread over a few hundred sim trades.

it's a journey. it's not always enjoyable. "are we there yet? i need to pee"
Congratulations ScalaFX for coming out of the closet!
0 traders viewing now