WARNING...DON’T READ IF UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF HOPE...
Well, this is it, new year, new me baloney. It’s time. Time to get out the closet and be honest, share with you strangers how truly crap I am at this Forex.
And folks it’s a book, so switch off now if I’ve bored you already, otherwise... enjoy...one thing I can guarantee is you won’t learn anything.
Here’s my tale, I’m an ordinary middle-aged mum...
Discovered Forex in Sept 2007, when I was not middle-aged and looking for someway to earn a living that was compatible with family life.
Seemed ideal - so did a four week course - hooked by the get rich quick spreadsheet that accompanied the course, which offered more or less millionaire status within the year. Compounding for a mere hour and a half's work per day.
This I demo-ed for 10 months, I wasn't supposed to go live, till I could prove I could do it in demo, sound advice... It was disciplined based, as in mental discipline, but trade entry was discretionary, based on an ambiguous set-up, which I would eventually just see... Alas I wasn't ambiguous. I was thick and apparently blind....I couldn't get it.
I ended up feeling absolutely shit about myself and discovered that Forex magnified every single personality flaw I had...undisciplined, impatient, emotional. Your basic nightmare.
However, nigh on a year down the line, undeterred, and with no more clue about Forex than my basic 4 week course, I funded my first live account with $500. Scalping was my bag I decided, however my 2-10 pip gains and 20 pip stop loss ensured within months, I was a gibbering wreck with $9 in account.
Tho...as an aside...there is defo a god, initially, my saved and honed for grub stake was 5K (in the good old get rich quick days.) - And by some miracle, not design, I only used $500 to blow my first live account with.
Time to learn....
Next, I joined a teaching trading room for a monthly fee, great, this was fun, music, chat, mingling amid like minded eejits with $$$ signs in their eyes...And someone told me what to do, nearly.
All consuming, 8 hours a day, gone were the dreams of freedom and riches...It was a massive change, played out during the 2008 crash, 30 pip candles fleeing up/down every 15 mins. Big, big, stop losses, daily ranges the size of oaks, and I hadn't a clue...
The guru, flew the nest one fine day, untraceable, and end of trading room. Another $500 account toasted.
Forum stalker next, library of books, few $99 fly by night courses, account refunded, couple of hundred $'s this time, and success! Briefly. Grew the account tenfold. (thanks Islander & Medici)
I felt like Kate winslet on the prow of the titanic....Till one drastic non-farm payroll day, my fledgling confidence and months of gains were eradicated in hours...account blown again. Cue massive pillow weeping.
By now, even I, the bluntest nail in the toolbox, realised how little I knew and how dangerous this Fx was.
I needed rules, a mechanical based system...
So, to another course, a mere $1000, carefully chosen this time - had stars galore from the liars that reviewed it - it had a dazzling array of indicators...very few trade set-ups that correlated with them however...
And honest, it was so, so, out of my comfort zone, hours and hours, days and days of screen staring till all things lined up, and when they did, I either never noticed or was on some effing school run.
I never lost money at it tho (course fee aside) as I gave up while still demo-ing, indicator double dutched and Mt4 literate.
Now I'm a mixed bag, refunded my account again, with $200, it's lasted months and months seen a spectacular gain of $374, now down to $100, months of eensy-weensy gains, then my usual - a few spectacular PMT type days. Result – Life ruined again.
A tad older and a dream crushing job later, I'm still here...
My main thing is scalping, I've tried over and over to swing trade, only for every single trade to swing back down and take out my stop. I put in break-even stop, I get breakeven. I take half off and leave my stop, cue, stop hit.
Think it's my shit trend tracking radar or that bastard risk on, risk off mystery, which changes with the wind. One day the news is bad and euro goes up, one day the news is bad and euro goes down, whilst every pundit on forex factory explains it away a day later and a dollar shorter....
I know what I am not good at now, trend. Trend is not my fecking friend. I'm shit at it; I swim along marvellously till that runaway day I'm trying to counter trend trade. Loss after loss is racked up, till eventually I realise oh, bugger, trend day...So chasing market, I switch sides, usually at the very point it retraces...and another calamitous day occurs.
I'm also shit at pullbacks, enter on first pullback, sods law it's pulling back another twice and chopping my account to bits. And, don't enter on first pullback, price takes off like Apollo 13.
And don’t get me started on breakouts....
I've been back on demo for a while now, (have discovered I'm an excellent demo-er) I've been practicing a few things...
1. Volume, not in the true VSA sense, more for exits, not sure whether it’s a hindrance or help yet. More like a comfort blanket.
2. MA's to enter a trend trade or breakout from consolidation on a 5min chart. A work in progress as still not bread and buttery enough...Nor am I skilful enough at recognizing this clear as day phenomenon till after the fact. But I want to become more adept at this - for when those Ma's flatline for yonks, it's a singer. If I get the direction right!! That's the once a week/ month runaway trend day.
3. My main strategy is counter trend trading, capturing a few pips on the retrace after a big move/ candle. I trade Euro/$ or £/$, which pair traded is mainly down to whether Oanda's on the spread widening wagon, rather than sense.
I trade 1 min or 5 min timeframe, one minute if momentum is slow and confidence high...5 mins if price is beezling about like a frog on speed.
Reference to higher time frames, S&R, T/L's, daily highs and lows noted, as targets to aim for.
My ideal is looking for trend exhaustion, with RSI divergence – counter trend trade taken for minimum 5pips - averaging into move if price falls/rises a wee bit further, a maximum of 3 times, till I either get breakeven teaser, nice profit or less loss.
Sounds simple enough, and is, mostly, till I face the dilemma of my 3x averaging are all in the red... And this is my Achilles heel. I'm either- :
a) Taking a manageable rule based loss. Scouts (as some call them) are stone dead.
b) Taking a near disaster loss, as I failed to bludgeon the scouts to death and take the manageable loss.
c) Never-ever touching a trading platform in my life loss, while shooting myself with a single bullet to the temple, a deerhunter/deer in headlights style loss.
My goal for this year is too hone this strategy; it works 8 times out of ten. However, taking the 3x loss at a recoupable loss versus an account fecking blown again loss has to be obeyed. 5-6% account DD, is my rulebook, like losing 3 trades in a row.
Gains I'll work on, they are always unknown, and prone to the vagaries of forex sod's law. Whereas losses I can control and the key to success in FX is managing losses.
Blimey, I do rabbit on....nearly done...
Perhaps this little anonymous journal sent into cyber space, might make me more accountable. That’s the plan anyway, stop larking about, I’ve spent way too many years failing, and this is last chance saloon...
Or maybe some other blind hopeful about to be suckered into parting with their hard earned dosh on a slick marketing course - which of course is sprinkled with fairy dust and alludes to untold riches and joy....Could just stop...think and listen, for I’m your dreamstealer.
Next, I'll post Friday's trading, if my honest soul can stomach the embarressment of coming clean, otherwise I'll skulk back to anonomity...
Happy New Year to you all. good luck.
Well, this is it, new year, new me baloney. It’s time. Time to get out the closet and be honest, share with you strangers how truly crap I am at this Forex.
And folks it’s a book, so switch off now if I’ve bored you already, otherwise... enjoy...one thing I can guarantee is you won’t learn anything.
Here’s my tale, I’m an ordinary middle-aged mum...
Discovered Forex in Sept 2007, when I was not middle-aged and looking for someway to earn a living that was compatible with family life.
Seemed ideal - so did a four week course - hooked by the get rich quick spreadsheet that accompanied the course, which offered more or less millionaire status within the year. Compounding for a mere hour and a half's work per day.
This I demo-ed for 10 months, I wasn't supposed to go live, till I could prove I could do it in demo, sound advice... It was disciplined based, as in mental discipline, but trade entry was discretionary, based on an ambiguous set-up, which I would eventually just see... Alas I wasn't ambiguous. I was thick and apparently blind....I couldn't get it.
I ended up feeling absolutely shit about myself and discovered that Forex magnified every single personality flaw I had...undisciplined, impatient, emotional. Your basic nightmare.
However, nigh on a year down the line, undeterred, and with no more clue about Forex than my basic 4 week course, I funded my first live account with $500. Scalping was my bag I decided, however my 2-10 pip gains and 20 pip stop loss ensured within months, I was a gibbering wreck with $9 in account.
Tho...as an aside...there is defo a god, initially, my saved and honed for grub stake was 5K (in the good old get rich quick days.) - And by some miracle, not design, I only used $500 to blow my first live account with.
Time to learn....
Next, I joined a teaching trading room for a monthly fee, great, this was fun, music, chat, mingling amid like minded eejits with $$$ signs in their eyes...And someone told me what to do, nearly.
All consuming, 8 hours a day, gone were the dreams of freedom and riches...It was a massive change, played out during the 2008 crash, 30 pip candles fleeing up/down every 15 mins. Big, big, stop losses, daily ranges the size of oaks, and I hadn't a clue...
The guru, flew the nest one fine day, untraceable, and end of trading room. Another $500 account toasted.
Forum stalker next, library of books, few $99 fly by night courses, account refunded, couple of hundred $'s this time, and success! Briefly. Grew the account tenfold. (thanks Islander & Medici)
I felt like Kate winslet on the prow of the titanic....Till one drastic non-farm payroll day, my fledgling confidence and months of gains were eradicated in hours...account blown again. Cue massive pillow weeping.
By now, even I, the bluntest nail in the toolbox, realised how little I knew and how dangerous this Fx was.
I needed rules, a mechanical based system...
So, to another course, a mere $1000, carefully chosen this time - had stars galore from the liars that reviewed it - it had a dazzling array of indicators...very few trade set-ups that correlated with them however...
And honest, it was so, so, out of my comfort zone, hours and hours, days and days of screen staring till all things lined up, and when they did, I either never noticed or was on some effing school run.
I never lost money at it tho (course fee aside) as I gave up while still demo-ing, indicator double dutched and Mt4 literate.
Now I'm a mixed bag, refunded my account again, with $200, it's lasted months and months seen a spectacular gain of $374, now down to $100, months of eensy-weensy gains, then my usual - a few spectacular PMT type days. Result – Life ruined again.
A tad older and a dream crushing job later, I'm still here...
My main thing is scalping, I've tried over and over to swing trade, only for every single trade to swing back down and take out my stop. I put in break-even stop, I get breakeven. I take half off and leave my stop, cue, stop hit.
Think it's my shit trend tracking radar or that bastard risk on, risk off mystery, which changes with the wind. One day the news is bad and euro goes up, one day the news is bad and euro goes down, whilst every pundit on forex factory explains it away a day later and a dollar shorter....
I know what I am not good at now, trend. Trend is not my fecking friend. I'm shit at it; I swim along marvellously till that runaway day I'm trying to counter trend trade. Loss after loss is racked up, till eventually I realise oh, bugger, trend day...So chasing market, I switch sides, usually at the very point it retraces...and another calamitous day occurs.
I'm also shit at pullbacks, enter on first pullback, sods law it's pulling back another twice and chopping my account to bits. And, don't enter on first pullback, price takes off like Apollo 13.
And don’t get me started on breakouts....
I've been back on demo for a while now, (have discovered I'm an excellent demo-er) I've been practicing a few things...
1. Volume, not in the true VSA sense, more for exits, not sure whether it’s a hindrance or help yet. More like a comfort blanket.
2. MA's to enter a trend trade or breakout from consolidation on a 5min chart. A work in progress as still not bread and buttery enough...Nor am I skilful enough at recognizing this clear as day phenomenon till after the fact. But I want to become more adept at this - for when those Ma's flatline for yonks, it's a singer. If I get the direction right!! That's the once a week/ month runaway trend day.
3. My main strategy is counter trend trading, capturing a few pips on the retrace after a big move/ candle. I trade Euro/$ or £/$, which pair traded is mainly down to whether Oanda's on the spread widening wagon, rather than sense.
I trade 1 min or 5 min timeframe, one minute if momentum is slow and confidence high...5 mins if price is beezling about like a frog on speed.
Reference to higher time frames, S&R, T/L's, daily highs and lows noted, as targets to aim for.
My ideal is looking for trend exhaustion, with RSI divergence – counter trend trade taken for minimum 5pips - averaging into move if price falls/rises a wee bit further, a maximum of 3 times, till I either get breakeven teaser, nice profit or less loss.
Sounds simple enough, and is, mostly, till I face the dilemma of my 3x averaging are all in the red... And this is my Achilles heel. I'm either- :
a) Taking a manageable rule based loss. Scouts (as some call them) are stone dead.
b) Taking a near disaster loss, as I failed to bludgeon the scouts to death and take the manageable loss.
c) Never-ever touching a trading platform in my life loss, while shooting myself with a single bullet to the temple, a deerhunter/deer in headlights style loss.
My goal for this year is too hone this strategy; it works 8 times out of ten. However, taking the 3x loss at a recoupable loss versus an account fecking blown again loss has to be obeyed. 5-6% account DD, is my rulebook, like losing 3 trades in a row.
Gains I'll work on, they are always unknown, and prone to the vagaries of forex sod's law. Whereas losses I can control and the key to success in FX is managing losses.
Blimey, I do rabbit on....nearly done...
Perhaps this little anonymous journal sent into cyber space, might make me more accountable. That’s the plan anyway, stop larking about, I’ve spent way too many years failing, and this is last chance saloon...
Or maybe some other blind hopeful about to be suckered into parting with their hard earned dosh on a slick marketing course - which of course is sprinkled with fairy dust and alludes to untold riches and joy....Could just stop...think and listen, for I’m your dreamstealer.
Next, I'll post Friday's trading, if my honest soul can stomach the embarressment of coming clean, otherwise I'll skulk back to anonomity...
Happy New Year to you all. good luck.