Like many others, I'll start a new journal for a new year.
My previous exploits are available in my other threads. I scalp short-term EUR/USD trades.
I believe that scalping (trading for a few pips... usually less than 5) can be profitable in the most liquid
pairs at the most liquid times of day. High-frequency trading has become a significant part of the foreign
exchange market place, and I still believe there are "edges" for the quick, short-term trader.
I just haven't been able to prove it (yet).
Over the past six months, I have put much mental effort into examining the weaknesses of my style and money management.
I also read all of Steenbarger's trading books. I received some psychological support from Hedge Fund Market Wizard's, as a few
of those money managers are very discretionary (non-automated).
I trade with MB Trading's Free EXN account now. I use their Desktop Navigator Platform.
I have always avoided MetaTrader. The Level II style market-depth quotes with MB
allow me to quickly cancel and modify orders for fractions of a pip very quickly. I actively "fight" for execution,
modifying and canceling orders constantly.
This year I'm looking for at least a 100% return, with at least 30% positive gain by June 30.
Though I scalp, I don't do that many trades per day anymore (probably less than 10).
I also skip days which are extremely high volatility or low liquidity.
I use high-leverage (50-1). My max risk per day is 5%. Depending on position size, I can reach that with one 15 pip loss.
I normally look for the best conditions for my style. I have no problem skipping days if conditions are not favorable.
Usually, I trade a couple of hours per day during the London-US overlap (approx. 9:45am-11:45am).
More than 80% of my trades are exited within 4 minutes or less.
Read my previous thread for insights into my style, Paradigm Shift.
This is my $5000 account for 2013. I actually started it in November 2012 and it has 50 previous trades on it.
Hence, my cumulative return is -1.4% at the beginning of this year.
http://app.currensee.com/forexpert/f.../profile/FXAON
The main purpose of this thread is to:
-prove that “scalping”, or short-term trading,
can be very profitable for the retail trader.
-track and analyze my progress in 2013.
2013 Performance Results
My previous exploits are available in my other threads. I scalp short-term EUR/USD trades.
I believe that scalping (trading for a few pips... usually less than 5) can be profitable in the most liquid
pairs at the most liquid times of day. High-frequency trading has become a significant part of the foreign
exchange market place, and I still believe there are "edges" for the quick, short-term trader.
I just haven't been able to prove it (yet).
Over the past six months, I have put much mental effort into examining the weaknesses of my style and money management.
I also read all of Steenbarger's trading books. I received some psychological support from Hedge Fund Market Wizard's, as a few
of those money managers are very discretionary (non-automated).
I trade with MB Trading's Free EXN account now. I use their Desktop Navigator Platform.
I have always avoided MetaTrader. The Level II style market-depth quotes with MB
allow me to quickly cancel and modify orders for fractions of a pip very quickly. I actively "fight" for execution,
modifying and canceling orders constantly.
This year I'm looking for at least a 100% return, with at least 30% positive gain by June 30.
Though I scalp, I don't do that many trades per day anymore (probably less than 10).
I also skip days which are extremely high volatility or low liquidity.
I use high-leverage (50-1). My max risk per day is 5%. Depending on position size, I can reach that with one 15 pip loss.
I normally look for the best conditions for my style. I have no problem skipping days if conditions are not favorable.
Usually, I trade a couple of hours per day during the London-US overlap (approx. 9:45am-11:45am).
More than 80% of my trades are exited within 4 minutes or less.
Read my previous thread for insights into my style, Paradigm Shift.
This is my $5000 account for 2013. I actually started it in November 2012 and it has 50 previous trades on it.
Hence, my cumulative return is -1.4% at the beginning of this year.
http://app.currensee.com/forexpert/f.../profile/FXAON
The main purpose of this thread is to:
-prove that “scalping”, or short-term trading,
can be very profitable for the retail trader.
-track and analyze my progress in 2013.
2013 Performance Results
Attached Image