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How do you newbies not lose your motivation?

  • #21
  • Dec 24, 2012 4:58pm Dec 24, 2012 4:58pm
Listen to Merlin.
Trade with real money but trade the smallest sum you can.
If you make profit in a week, double the sum.
If you lose, the next week enter with half.
If youŽre as good as you think you are, youŽll be trading huge sums in no time.
But if you are not, youŽll only lose a small amount of money.

The best part is:
You know even as a rookie that you need discipline and patience.
1. If you canŽt do it exacly like as I tell you, that means you donŽt have the discipline.
2. If you want to begin trading big sums and canŽt do it exacly as I tell you, that means you donŽt have the patience.
  • #22
  • Dec 25, 2012 4:21am Dec 25, 2012 4:21am
Quoting unagi
Listen to Merlin.
Trade with real money but trade the smallest sum you can.
If you make profit in a week, double the sum.
If you lose, the next week enter with half.
If youŽre as good as you think you are, youŽll be trading huge sums in no time.
But if you are not, youŽll only lose a small amount of money.

The best part is:
You know even as a rookie that you need discipline and patience.
1. If you canŽt do it exacly like as I tell you, that means you donŽt have the discipline.
2. If you want to begin trading big sums and canŽt do it exacly...
I read your post and its essence. Without discipline and patience we cant be winners in this business. We must go with small steps ahead and it will maybe pay off us.
  • #23
  • Nov 3, 2013 5:57am Nov 3, 2013 5:57am
Quoting forex SF
I've been studying...and reading, and getting advice from people on FF (who are all lovely ppl, this is by far my favorite forum). and now i think i've hit a plateau or even almost started to lose interest. i'm still demo-ing, so i thought maybe it's time to open up a live account, since i heard that it's a totally different experience. i'm just scared to though. how'd you guys make the plunge?
Keep proper practice in demo account although in demo account there is totally different experience because money is real and emotions factors involves in real account so trader should be mentally strong and needs lots of patience.
  • #24
  • Nov 21, 2013 4:23pm Nov 21, 2013 4:23pm
LOL the entire FF rookie forum quiet for 24 + hours. Are we all watching our balance creeping toward margin? Look at the title of this thread -- OP hasn't been online since 2006 LMFAO

wtf happened with the GBP today? My S getting crushed! Industrial order expectations?
  • #25
  • Nov 21, 2013 6:13pm Nov 21, 2013 6:13pm
Have been there as well.

Take a break!
I used to hang around Forex every day for 2 years straight. I lost motivation and didn't open my charts for 4 months (and didn't even think about it).

Once you come back you even see things more clearly and more differentiated. At least I learned more in those 4 months than I have in the previous 6. Forcing yourself to look at charts without you enjoy it wont bring you anywhere. It's as simple as that.

Quote
OP hasn't been online since 2006 LMFAO

Still an interesting topic to talk about.
  • #26
  • Nov 21, 2013 8:46pm Nov 21, 2013 8:46pm
Quoting Kilian19
Have been there as well. Take a break! I used to hang around Forex every day for 2 years straight. I lost motivation and didn't open my charts for 4 months (and didn't even think about it). Once you come back you even see things more clearly and more differentiated. At least I learned more in those 4 months than I have in the previous 6. Forcing yourself to look at charts without you enjoy it wont bring you anywhere. It's as simple as that. {quote} Still an interesting topic to talk about.
For sure, I was just having a laugh at the irony and blowing off some steam, perhaps I should actually make a contribution: I'm a rookie, and this is a rookie thread after all.

My first motivation for learning to trade forex was to get any extra money I could save from my 9-5 job (actually more like 10-10 job) do some work for me so I could bank more % per month than my local bank deposit rate. 2013 and a GIC pays like 2.5%? it's -- BS. Motivation #1

I'm COMPLETELY new to trading. I traded on demo for about three months just to figure out what MT4 did, blew up the first 20k account selling gold at the bottom of the latest downtrend (LOL), blew up the second 5k account trying to short the EUR into an uptrend (damn, still do that), and finally abandoned the third $100 demo account to fund a live account with a few hundred bucks.

I trade live with 0.01 lots (just like what some of the old school posters reccomended earlier in the thread). I use a wide stop loss (mental, not automated) so I can see the market breathe a little. I make a few dollars here and there -- sometimes pennies, sometimes $20 -- I have no illusions that retail forex is an easy way FOR ME to get rich quick. I don't need that. The small amount of money I trade is 100% discretionary. If I have a major drawdown it won't affect my day to day life.

I came here to FF for the calendar and stayed for the entertainment. Trading my style is pretty boring most of the month, and reading through the forums breaks up the monotony of staring at charts and overanalyzing the same data that everyone else is overanalyzing. What I realized is that is there is an amazing and quite fascinating amount to learn about the world of finance. For every abbreviation or piece of jargon there is to learn, there is an equal amount of psychology to be considered, and academic knowledge to be pursued.

So now I have two motivations -- make money; learn about the market/economics/fill in the blank

Learn everything. Try other peoples methods (in theory, don't place trades outside your own realm of comfort). Talk to other traders with respect.

Something I struggle with is on a day like today when the market moves against me in a way I couldn't conceive. my motivation gets tunnel vision "why didn't I see this coming" "there must be something I overlooked" "sure, I was selling into the top of an uptrend...maybe I'm just way shittier at this than I think" "man, I AM way shittier at this than I think" "I can do better, there must be something i overlooked" and on, and, on. I'm just searching and searching, and finding nothing.

Maybe now is the time to step away from the charts and get some fresh air?
  • #27
  • Nov 22, 2013 3:37am Nov 22, 2013 3:37am
Quoting TheChef
{quote} Maybe now is the time to step away from the charts and get some fresh air?
It's been evident to me that if I were more resolute with such kind of thought, I would have been much better off.

Quoting TheChef
{quote} "there must be something I overlooked"
there are all ways things that are overlooked
  • #28
  • Dec 2, 2013 4:42am Dec 2, 2013 4:42am
Its interesting how off topic these discussions get. I would suggest finding a strategy with 1:1 rr no matter what. and HardCode those rules to always follow them. Traders lose not because their analysis and entry is bad, but 90% of traders use very poor rr. After 70% wins, they let a few big losses take down 3 months of profits. Most traders last 3 months profitable then hit the wall unless they have something coded working with them
  • #29
  • Dec 2, 2013 7:26am Dec 2, 2013 7:26am
@TheChef
"...when the market moves against me in a way I couldn't conceive."

Um, really? You bought, but you hadn't considered the possibility the market might, you know, slip down?

The only thing you have to worry about is the downside. That's it. (Even when in profit, if you shifted the SL to BEm then you get out even. Or worse, a loss when you decide not to move the SL up to BE or to a moderate/reasonable profit area.)

Assume every trade you put on will be a loss. When you use SL's (I won't discuss other options and cloud this thread), you should know how to calculate them to assume a specific level of risk. Put on trades and do something about those that move into profit. Those that are borderline or moving to a loss - well, either you can take them off early or let them ride.
  • #30
  • Dec 2, 2013 8:50am Dec 2, 2013 8:50am
Hi,
To get back on thread I trade in a team of 3 and we meet every morning online and in a conference call. It feels a little like going to the gym with a workout buddy, if they weren't there you would probably find a good excuse not to go. Then being on a live call keeps your attention, you get up to make a coffee and when you return the others will share their thoughts and observations.
The other element is the human nature of it, we constantly want to improve and by comparing each of our entries and exits (which can vary surprisingly despite execution around the same time) and this keeps the actual trades interesting. Some of which can last several hours.

I can't suggest a way this could be set up for individuals, maybe some kind of forum where folks are trading similar strategies/platforms can connect. I will say that 95% of what I have learnt in trading has come from others.

HP
In life you get 3 types of people, those who can count and those who can't.
  • #31
  • Dec 2, 2013 9:56am Dec 2, 2013 9:56am
Quoting Nefser
@TheChef "...when the market moves against me in a way I couldn't conceive." Um, really? You bought, but you hadn't considered the possibility the market might, you know, slip down? The only thing you have to worry about is the downside. That's it. (Even when in profit, if you shifted the SL to BEm then you get out even. Or worse, a loss when you decide not to move the SL up to BE or to a moderate/reasonable profit area.) Assume every trade you put on will be a loss. When you use SL's...
Thank you for your advice, I will take it into consideration.

Perhaps by choosing the word "conceive" I used the wrong vocabulary, does "comprehend" make more sense? What I was trying to express was my lack of understanding/explanation for why the market moved the way it did moves the way it does. I understand the market moves up, I understand the market moves down, I understand the market moves sideways --- hopefully every trader knows that --- Why and when.... that's another story, and certainly one I consider. As I expressed in post #26 this quest for understanding keeps me motivated to become a better trader.

also:
I would NEVER enter a trade assuming it would be a loss. Of course having an exit strategy for your trade (be it in profit or loss) is essential to a well conceived trade. Assuming a trade is going to lose is a defeatist attitude and hints to the fact that the trade has no business being executed in the first place. I certainly plan on profiting from every trade I place, and certainly have an exit strategy ready for when things don't go according to plan.
  • #32
  • Dec 2, 2013 3:04pm Dec 2, 2013 3:04pm
I am a complete rookie, but in my opinion the most important thing in trading FOREX is to educate yourself all the time non-stop.
This is how it differs from gambling - if you are determined to succeed, you can educate yourself all the time and develop your trading strategies.
And constant improvements will also increase your motivation, but you have to move forward all the time, otherwise you will end up being like the most of
the themselves calling "traders".
  • #33
  • Dec 2, 2013 6:06pm Dec 2, 2013 6:06pm
@TheChef

Apologies if you thought I was being too focused on the use of a single word. I have been and still do get 'surprised' by odd movements in the market that just "don't seem to fit" based on the ways things were moving just a few moments or periods earlier.

It was more just a reminder that we shouldn't be surprised about these odd twists and turns, in fact, we should come to 'expect the unexpected' and ensure we consider ourselves protected (as much as well can), by using risk management, reasonable trade sizes, etc.

As far as assuming trades will go wrong, it's only in regards to not having to worry about winning trades (a win is a WIN). We all expect (hope?) that a majority of our trades will do well, but if we ensure that we focus on the 'potential' for every trade to go wrong - or just a string of bad trades - then we'll be ensuring we are doing what we can to learn from the situation (was trade on too soon, SL's in wrong place, etc.) and not just kicking ourselves and letting self-doubt creep in.
  • #34
  • Dec 22, 2013 12:04pm Dec 22, 2013 12:04pm
Well, It's official: first margin calls and multiple stop outs on my first live account.

I got my ass handed to me this last month -- wiping out three months worth of successful trading profits and 60% of my initial capital. Didn't someone just mention this scenario a few posts above? lol --- All part of the learning process I guess? The hardest part was the paralysis of having my margin requirement creep into my dwindling equity and having no power to "trade my way out".

I was tempted for a minute to add more funds to my account... but had enough sense not to throw good money after bad. --- It was actually reading a post by a senior trader on FF recalling a late night beer fueled funding of his crippled account that made me think twice haha. Instead, I stepped away from the market for about two weeks to get some perspective.

I did some classic shit that some on these forums recommend not to do: adding to losers, trading against the trend, not using an automated stoploss to name a few. I'm not convinced -- even in the face of quantifiable failure -- that these were all bad decisions...which probably means I have an ego issue to deal with moving forward as well. Wasn't I just using these same strategies to grow my account 60% just a month prior???

I'm looking forward to trading the little bit of capital I have left in the new year, and spending some time investigating strategies to manage trades that don't behave according to my plan.

Yeah, yeah, I know -- fukin' diary time right?

I just want to give a shout out to all the other noobs out there blowin' up their first accounts. Don't be afraid to admit when you are wrong.
  • #35
  • Dec 22, 2013 4:15pm Dec 22, 2013 4:15pm
Hey!

Does anyone know why I suddenly can't buy currency for less than 50 euros?
I have always opened position with no more than 30 euros (leverage 1:200) and now
for some currency pairs minimum is 75, for some 50 euros. Why is that?
Why I can't buy less?
  • #36
  • Dec 23, 2013 4:49am Dec 23, 2013 4:49am
Quoting captialfm
Hey! Does anyone know why I suddenly can't buy currency for less than 50 euros? I have always opened position with no more than 30 euros (leverage 1:200) and now for some currency pairs minimum is 75, for some 50 euros. Why is that? Why I can't buy less?
can you please explain about this ? I didn't get it
  • #37
  • Dec 23, 2013 6:27am Dec 23, 2013 6:27am
Quoting Parox
{quote} can you please explain about this ? I didn't get it
Ok - so, I want to trade for instance EUR/USD.
I have about 120 euros currently in my forex account.
I have been trading with this account for over 3 months and I have never opened a position
with more than 30 euros. Now the smallest amount which is required to open a position is 50 euros , but I don't want it to be so big , because my whole account
consists of 120 euros, so it is almost 50% only for one position. So I am clicking the "minus sign" in order to make the amount smaller but
it does not allow. Minimum is 50 euros or 10000 euros (1:200 leverage).
So the question is - why two days ago I could put 30 euros, but now the minimum is 50 euros for EUR/USD and for some other pairs even higher?

I hope it is understandable now, sorry for poor problem explanation previously.
  • #38
  • Dec 23, 2013 4:24pm Dec 23, 2013 4:24pm
Hi capitalfm,

Unless your leverage has somehow unknowingly switched from 300:1 (margin of E33.33 for 0.1 lots of EUR/USD) --- to 200:1 (E50.00 for 0.1 lots of EUR/USD -- maybe you need to take a look at calculating the exchange rate for other pairs not using EUR as the base currency. For example to buy 0.1 lots of GBP/USD you would require a margin of E59.69 at current exchange rate (1.1939 GBP/EUR >> remember you have to convert your Euros to GBP to make this transaction (not so with EUR/USD because EUR is the base currency and your trading account is funded in Euros)

There are other threads on here that will help you out with that: click on the link below for one such example

Quoting TheChef
That's a good rule of thumb I guess, but what about the poor undercapitalized S.O.B. who just received a margin call and is trying to figure out EXACTLY what his/her risk per trade will be? remember that 0.01 lots is not $1000 -- it is 1000 UNITS of the base currency... so in GBP/CHF 0.01 lots is 1000GBP @ carlostedo --( remember that the pips you make are in the BASE currency, not necessarily your home account currency currency) You always have to change your account currency into the base currency for calculation. Look at the below example for...
AND ONE CAVEAT >>> with an account balance of ONLY E120.00 I would highly suggest you drop your lot size to 0.01 (E1000). Risking a quarter of your account on one trade is...well... risky lol.
  • #39
  • Dec 24, 2013 5:56am Dec 24, 2013 5:56am
Quoting TheChef
Hi capitalfm, Unless your leverage has somehow unknowingly switched from 300:1 (margin of E33.33 for 0.1 lots of EUR/USD) --- to 200:1 (E50.00 for 0.1 lots of EUR/USD -- maybe you need to take a look at calculating the exchange rate for other pairs not using EUR as the base currency. For example to buy 0.1 lots of GBP/USD you would require a margin of E59.69 at current exchange rate (1.1939 GBP/EUR >> remember you have to convert your Euros to GBP to make this transaction (not so with EUR/USD because EUR is the base currency and your trading account...
Hi, TheChef.

Thanks for trying to help.
I am quite sure this is not related to exchange rate...
What I found out was interesting (at least for me). So I created a completely new forex account (my broker is Plus500),
and I checked what is the minimum amount I can purchase EUR/USD. So here it was - in my new account the minimum was
5,00 euros (1:200 1000 euros), but as I already said, in my old account minimum was 50 euros (1:200 10000).
So as I understand , as time moved on, the system has increased the minimum level in order to get more capital introduced in my account , so I would not risk such a big part of my account.

Could that be the reason?
  • #40
  • Dec 25, 2013 9:28pm Dec 25, 2013 9:28pm
I think the hope that one day you could potentially make something of forex is what keeps most new trader going
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