I have been actively trading FX (amongst other financial instruments such as equities, options, payouts, accumulators, target redemption forwards, futures and commodities) since 2009. I have learnt a lot and been through many blown accounts, bruised egos, broken discipline, losing streaks, loss of control and many dark days of losses. On the positive side I have also absorbed a lot in terms of education and I consider myself fairly enlightened in a variety of technical indicators. I am a technician and will trade using technical analysis.
In 2009 when I first started I would absorb reams of fundamental research from various banks and trade based on the views presented by those analysts. It was a learning experience for sure accompanied by some highlights such as buying a 1 month strike 1.43 put on the EUR/USD as soon as Bernanke came out to announce a round of QE in August of 2011. I remember calling the trader at the bank to get a price on the option a few weeks later, the option was so deep in the money he couldn't see the price on the screen and had to call a floor trader to get a quote. I sold that option for 4 times what I paid for it. This gave me a taste of what it was like to be a contrarian trader and I believe that therein lies the key to being a successful trader. Unfortunately these 'Hollywood trades' (or 'catching the white whale') caused my ego to blow up and my greed to spin out of control. I took a short position on Gold at the highs at 1800, watched it drop to 1500 and kept the position open as Gold climbed back to my entry level erasing six figures worth of profits from my trading account. I became obsessed with riding every market movement and capturing the full extent of the move which, after a highly successful 2011, caused 2012 to go deeply into the red.
So here I am, battle-worn but with a renewed spirit and with many lessons under my belt, I am ready to put in place a journal to track my progress and ensure discipline at all times in each and every trade. I have learned a lot about FX from the wonderful community here at Forex Factory and I feel like I am finally in a position where I am able to add value and give back to the community.
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The way I trade is a top-down approach. I will look at the bigger picture first (monthly, weekly and daily) and try to determine any prevailing trend and or key S/R levels. If there is a trend then I will generally try to ride it until i can see exhaustion points on the chart at which point I will exit trades and book my profit. I use a variety of indicators to trade: DeMark set of indicators (which I use to determine possible exhaustion and turning points), candlestick patterns, and intraday I use standard momentum based indicators (bollinger bands, stochastics, range breakouts and S/R breaks).
I do a lot of analysis on Bloomberg and Wave59 so I will post up occasional charts from these programs to show analysis or reasons for taking a trade.
The pairs I trade: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, EUR/JPY and Gold.
In 2009 when I first started I would absorb reams of fundamental research from various banks and trade based on the views presented by those analysts. It was a learning experience for sure accompanied by some highlights such as buying a 1 month strike 1.43 put on the EUR/USD as soon as Bernanke came out to announce a round of QE in August of 2011. I remember calling the trader at the bank to get a price on the option a few weeks later, the option was so deep in the money he couldn't see the price on the screen and had to call a floor trader to get a quote. I sold that option for 4 times what I paid for it. This gave me a taste of what it was like to be a contrarian trader and I believe that therein lies the key to being a successful trader. Unfortunately these 'Hollywood trades' (or 'catching the white whale') caused my ego to blow up and my greed to spin out of control. I took a short position on Gold at the highs at 1800, watched it drop to 1500 and kept the position open as Gold climbed back to my entry level erasing six figures worth of profits from my trading account. I became obsessed with riding every market movement and capturing the full extent of the move which, after a highly successful 2011, caused 2012 to go deeply into the red.
So here I am, battle-worn but with a renewed spirit and with many lessons under my belt, I am ready to put in place a journal to track my progress and ensure discipline at all times in each and every trade. I have learned a lot about FX from the wonderful community here at Forex Factory and I feel like I am finally in a position where I am able to add value and give back to the community.
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The way I trade is a top-down approach. I will look at the bigger picture first (monthly, weekly and daily) and try to determine any prevailing trend and or key S/R levels. If there is a trend then I will generally try to ride it until i can see exhaustion points on the chart at which point I will exit trades and book my profit. I use a variety of indicators to trade: DeMark set of indicators (which I use to determine possible exhaustion and turning points), candlestick patterns, and intraday I use standard momentum based indicators (bollinger bands, stochastics, range breakouts and S/R breaks).
I do a lot of analysis on Bloomberg and Wave59 so I will post up occasional charts from these programs to show analysis or reasons for taking a trade.
The pairs I trade: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, EUR/JPY and Gold.
Money is the result derived from the execution of a skillset
