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I trade my own account for a living. Tell your story

  • #101
  • Sep 9, 2012 8:22am Sep 9, 2012 8:22am
Rule 1
Use proper money management than you can start to imagine bright future...
  • #102
  • Sep 9, 2012 1:36pm Sep 9, 2012 1:36pm
@ BillyTT

I always enjoy a healthy debate and this time I was wrong. As for the E/U I definitely see what you mean. These forums can be toxic at times. Good thing I've been long and ignore the news / critics on FF.
  • #103
  • Sep 9, 2012 2:29pm Sep 9, 2012 2:29pm
we have a lot hi tech stuff at our finger tips for trading yet i am fascinated how the people of old traded. i have seen videos of 1970s traders at work and ticker traders in the 30s. i think thats why i keep my trading simple. Last week was a good bull run for e/u but one day i collected 30/35 pips on a drop before buying again. i think if the opportunity is there take it. take care
SEE LINE,TRADE LINE..PRICE HAS TO GO SOMEWHERE,,, PRICE WILL GO SOMEWHERE.
  • #104
  • Sep 10, 2012 3:48am Sep 10, 2012 3:48am
Guys, thanks for your very relevant insight!!

@billytt & @Akuma99: I think you have raised an interesting point that I think is often underrated, because many of us see it a bit like an "all or nothing" situation.

Novice traders often see trading as a way of attaining riches. After they get their head banging on the wall for enough time - and a thinner wallet - they eventually get to the humility point where they can lower their expectations and that's when they become more realistic.

Maybe if we weren't all brainwashed with the false promises and hardcore marketing of the trading industry we could all see this as another way of living a (much more) interesting life simply by making a steady and enough to live by income and refrain from the "millionaire by next year" mindset that the industry sharks try to convey to the retail crowd.

Food for thought to myself also
  • #105
  • Sep 10, 2012 4:44am Sep 10, 2012 4:44am
Quoting pinkiaiii
thanks
as saying goes if you wish for something really hard eventually you will get it just sometimes we need to slow down and take one step at the time :].
So true!!!!
Impossible = 0
  • #106
  • Sep 10, 2012 6:46am Sep 10, 2012 6:46am
For me trading is about hitting singles and doubles, it is not about the home run trade, a lot of my trades are barely more than 1:1 but I get a lot of them.

The act of trading by itself is not hard but having the discipline and patience is, 2 traits that I do not come by naturally and for which I have to work my ass off each day to overcome my lack of patience and discipline. The things that help me are:

1. set an alarm to go off every 14 minutes during my trading session for me to review my charts
2. Focus on only a couple of setups
3. Complete a matrix that I fill out before each trade to help me keep me focused on finding the right setups.
  • #107
  • Sep 10, 2012 6:48am Sep 10, 2012 6:48am
I recently started trading my own account actively. It's not my sole source of income but I can see it start to be a significant contributor. I studied trading diligently for about a year and a half, then I found this site. Using bits and pieces from various systems and lotssss of testing, I found something that works for me. For the past couple of weeks I have been increasing my $2500 deposit by about 2% a day on average, which according to many people on threads like this, is close to impossible(apparently) or at least going to be short lived. I hope that it's not some short lived phenomenon because I hope this can turn into my main source of income in due time. So right now, I'm of the opinion that it is very possible to make a great living trading forex if you find a method that works with your trading style and you act rationally.
  • #108
  • Sep 10, 2012 7:42am Sep 10, 2012 7:42am
Quoting tradista
Novice traders often see trading as a way of attaining riches. After they get their head banging on the wall for enough time - and a thinner wallet - they eventually get to the humility point where they can lower their expectations and that's when they become more realistic.

Maybe if we weren't all brainwashed with the false promises and hardcore marketing of the trading industry we could all see this as another way of living a (much more) interesting life simply by making a steady and enough to live by income and refrain from the "millionaire...
I dunno. It seems to me that the thinking backing up the first of two statements is faulty. It seems to boil down to "success is found in not setting your sights too high. FX trading is about money, but not the type of money that will qualify you as rich, but rather the level of money that will give you just enough to enjoy more freedom in your life."

This seems a bit off base to me. The money in your bank account doesn't know that it's part of the "big money" that rich people have and that it needs to run away. The "kinda big money" that well-off (but not rich) people have also has no clue about it's status and that it should hand around. We all tend to overcomplicate things. Rich people do things differently and that's the bottom line.

Consider John Arnold. The guy earned a couple of million while working for Enron and then left before things got ugly. (He wasn't on the dirty accounting side of the company, so his money is legit) and then he started a Hedge Fund. He transforms a couple of million into $3.5B from 2001 to 2012 and that's with the .GOV taking a nice fat slice of the pie every year AND the guy giving truckloads of money away to charity.

The size of the figures doesn't really matter. What matters is that the guy generated many, many times his initial investment over a short period of time. Whatever prevents an individual trader from doing the same is really defined by how they think compared to how a guy like John Arnold thinks.

Here's a link to the story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...etires-38.html
  • #109
  • Sep 10, 2012 11:01am Sep 10, 2012 11:01am
Quoting FXAssassin
I dunno. It seems to me that the thinking backing up the first of two statements is faulty. It seems to boil down to "success is found in not setting your sights too high. FX trading is about money, but not the type of money that will qualify you as rich, but rather the level of money that will give you just enough to enjoy more freedom in your life."

This seems a bit off base to me. The money in your bank account doesn't know that it's part of the "big money" that rich people have and that it needs to run away. The "kinda big money"...
No offence but i hate such examples that people give,its like mentioning soros,warren buffet,bill gates,mark suckenberg or other people who got lucky more and had a good idea at a right time.So the example you gave its like someone winning national lottery chances are the same for someone in forex to become millionaire as winning that lottery.Read the book trading in the zone part,where the author mentions moon everyone can see it and it seems close enough but out of 8 billion people only handful made a step on it.So when giving such examples you just fuel the brainwashing media that list those successful stories about people who made it and how easy it was.
  • #110
  • Sep 10, 2012 11:06am Sep 10, 2012 11:06am
Quoting pinkiaiii
No offence but i hate such examples that people give,its like mentioning soros,warren buffet,bill gates,mark suckenberg or other people who got lucky more and had a good idea at a right time.So the example you gave its like someone winning national lottery chances are the same for someone in forex to become millionaire as winning that lottery.Read the book trading in the zone part,where the author mentions moon everyone can see it and it seems close enough but out of 8 billion people only handful made a step on it.
Don't you think that using Trading in the Zone to be a poor base of support when putting forth a position that those who get rich at this game only do so because of luck?

I just read that book 2 weeks ago and the entire point that the author makes is that the ones who make it as traders do so NOT because of luck, but because they think in way that is different from the way that the 95% think and that their thinking produces different behavior patterns (actions) which eventually leads to different results. The statistic that a lot of people think it's easy but still fail isn't an example of the author buying into the idea that only the lucky survive.

This seems to be the diametric opposite to the idea that people win it because of luck.
  • #111
  • Sep 10, 2012 11:17am Sep 10, 2012 11:17am
Quoting jecht290
I recently started trading my own account actively. It's not my sole source of income but I can see it start to be a significant contributor. I studied trading diligently for about a year and a half, then I found this site. Using bits and pieces from various systems and lotssss of testing, I found something that works for me. For the past couple of weeks I have been increasing my $2500 deposit by about 2% a day on average, which according to many people on threads like this, is close to impossible(apparently) or at least going to be short lived.[b]...
so ok your making 2% every day thats 50$ on your account,if you trade two mini lots you need only 25pips - spread to reach your goal.pretty easy if you do it that way with such leverage and amounts.But what will happen when one day you dont make 2% and have to close position for 4%,or dont close loosing position and keep it going as you eventually will get out anyway might take a year or few months,or worse you decide to open more positions to compensate the losing ones,thats when complications start.Those words in forex that i made in bold eventually will kill your account,as its easy to take money but when time comes to give away you dont want to.And as it seems you didnt get burned not a bit yet your a long way from reaching your goals.So my advice is dont wait if one day doesn't work give away back 2% and start fresh next day,that way you might survive your first year.Im two years in this and still cant manage to give away profits easily but,now at least i face the chance that every trade might cut my account in half if it goes wrong and ill have to close it manually and be happy to have at least have what i invested.
  • #112
  • Sep 10, 2012 11:27am Sep 10, 2012 11:27am
Quoting FXAssassin
Don't you think that using Trading in the Zone to be a poor base of support when putting forth a position that those who get rich at this game only do so because of luck?

I just read that book 2 weeks ago and the entire point that the author makes is that the ones who make it as traders do so NOT because of luck, but because they think in way that is different from the way that the 95% think and that their thinking produces different behavior patterns (actions) which eventually leads to different results. The statistic that a lot of people think...
everyone thinks different,give a chart to 10 people and youl get 10 different situations where market might go.but as said you mentioned some fella who managed to make millions than billions through some firm.Same story was with george sorros,he dint have millions at his disposal,maybe enough money to get by,but trading company had and he took a huge chance with company's money and made billions,then left and made his own hedge fund.Same with warren buffet his father was economist,and was born in wealthy family where he had resources to learn since early childhood,so he was already ahead of everyone at his career.Now if you dont see difference in those people and average retail traders then believe what you want,i wont say its impossible but once you reach your 50s-60s money wont buy much you pleasure,especially youth.
  • #113
  • Sep 10, 2012 1:53pm Sep 10, 2012 1:53pm
pinki....When I've seen you post in other threads, you very often come across as the type of person who's out to make it in trading. How do you rectify these two ideas? The first idea being that it's pretty much impossible for the little guy to make it in the world of FX trading and the other that YOU will make it regardless?
  • #114
  • Edited 3:25pm Sep 10, 2012 3:21pm | Edited 3:25pm
This is my first post here at FF. I have been lurking for over 4 years and trading profitably for 3. I use this site as entertainment ONLY, which is why I have never felt inclined to post. However, after reading through this thread, I would like to make a point, in order to give back hope and optimism to those that want to hear it.

If you are in the business of trading, then you are in the business of making money. If you are not making money, you are not a trader. All the people saying that 1000% a year,or anything more than 5% a week, etc is impossible, are incorrect. There is NO limit to upside potential when trading FX & Futures. It is misleading to post things like "no one can ever turn $1,000 to $1 million," when it is simply not true.

I have doubled my account in 3 days, multiple times. I have seen friends make 300% in a week. Just because you kill it one week/year doesn't mean you will loose the next week/year. It is all in how you trade.

Add to your winners and cut your losses quick. There is no such thing as being over-leveraged if your trade is in profit! Let the thing ride, and add to your winners. If I determine that a particular situation has a high probability of producing a profitable trade, I routinely use ALL available leverage on a trade that is ALREADY in profit, and set stop to BE.

Trading is all about money management, but if I had to stick to .5%, or 1% trades, I'd rather not trade at all. Use a 2-5% risk limit to get into trades, and then crank it up once they turn green. THAT is how you make money. The account that I still trade with today, started with $300, was up to $2,000 within 2 months, and now provides me with everything I need and more. Anyone who says it is impossible just can't do it themselves and hates to believe that other people can.

There are plenty of people who made millions off of the market starting with a low amount of capital but they are not here on FF to respond to this thread, they are out on their yachts.

Good luck to all!
  • #115
  • Edited 7:56am Sep 11, 2012 7:37am | Edited 7:56am
Quoting FXAssassin
... It seems to boil down to "success is found in not setting your sights too high. FX trading is about money, but not the type of money that will qualify you as rich, but rather the level of money that will give you just enough to enjoy more freedom in your life."
I wasn't saying that, as a novice trader, one shouldn't think BIG, but I do think that making tons of money in a hurry shouldn't be the primary issue when first starting out. I know it was for me, because I wanted to get out debt so badly that I didn't even realize that I had a learning curve to go through that would include a high level of psychological control and a total reassesment of how I view and relate to money!
So to overcome this natural tendency I think a novice trader should first lower her expectations until consistency shows up!.. Then gradually expand to new financial levels where even the sky shouldn't be a limit!
  • #116
  • Sep 11, 2012 7:53am Sep 11, 2012 7:53am
Quoting NWSTrading
There are plenty of people who made millions off of the market starting with a low amount of capital but they are not here on FF to respond to this thread, they are out on their yachts.
Thanks for passing by NWS.
I hope your words can contribute to shedding some light in the minds of many of us who listen to the no-sayers who usually "know it all"... Each individual has his own experience and if someone had to endure a certain tough path doesn't mean that the other will necessarily have to endure the same...
I Think believing in yourself, persisting and never quitting are the ingredients to taking our steps forward in our own personal journey to achieving the success we want.
  • #117
  • Sep 11, 2012 7:57am Sep 11, 2012 7:57am
Quoting tradista
... I think a novice trader should first lower her expectations until consistency shows up!.. Then gradually expand to new financial levels where even the sky shouldn't be a limit!
Seems like good advice to me. In fact, I'd double down on it and say that one should probably not really worry about setting "hard" goals as in traditional businesses but should focus on consistently executing one's system.

So instead of setting goals like:

 

  1. I will double my account balance in 6 months.
  2. I will be generating and average of 5% p/day by Christmas


They should be setting goals such as,

 

  1. I will reduce the number of emotional trades that I take which are not part of my system from 10 out of 100 to 5 out of 100 this month.
  2. I will consistently increase the number of time I move my stop loss to B/E after price goes 1.5R in my favor from 85% to 90% of the time by Thanksgiving.


The former are performance goals, and since nobody has any control over how well the market is going to "mesh" with your system in any given month, one should not set performance goals.

The latter is a "consistency" goal, and the metric IS something that one has control over. Both types of goals have a focus and a timeframe to achieve them, but one is more realistic in this environment over the other simply because of how things are structured in the markets.

  • #118
  • Sep 11, 2012 7:59am Sep 11, 2012 7:59am
Quoting FXAssassin
Whatever prevents an individual trader from doing the same is really defined by how they think ...
FX... I totally agree with you.
Changing the way you think about money and wealth is crucial in order to make it BIG TIME!
  • #119
  • Sep 11, 2012 12:06pm Sep 11, 2012 12:06pm
Quoting endroute
3. Complete a matrix that I fill out before each trade to help me keep me focused on finding the right setups.
That is an excellent idea, but you ought to be disciplined in order to keep yourself disciplined! That's really hard!
  • #120
  • Sep 11, 2012 11:37pm Sep 11, 2012 11:37pm
LET YOUR WINNERS RUN!
This is the only way to make it. It is easy to have 1-3 300-1000 pip trades a year if you let a runner free.

I have learned to only take trades with at lease a 5-1 r:r.
Find a hobby that coincides with your trading life. Staring at a screen all day will only make you close winning trades to soon and let losing trades run to long.
I've taken up fishing and mountain biking during my trading career and can honestly say that my biggest winning days are when I walked away from my screen and came back to a take off trade I would have closed much earlier had I been bug-eyed glued to my desk.
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