Your Trading Struggles - What is the biggest factor? | Page 3 | Forex Factory

Options

Go to
Permalinks
Print Thread

Similar Threads

Why your broker is your friend and your enemy 8 replies

Trading X Factor 20 replies

Poll for your Profit Factor 46 replies

Trading System Safety Factor (TSSF) 0 replies

Time factor in trading 9 replies

Your Trading Struggles - What is the biggest factor?

  • #41
  • Jul 29, 2014 3:17pm Jul 29, 2014 3:17pm
Winning or earning consistent profits. If you only earn 1pip per trade I wonder if I want to be trading with those brokers, I remember being warned that all brokers are not in business for their customers. A reasonable spread however lets me know they care about my earnings as well as theirs, if its really wide then I know I have to maybe let it subside a little. I don't want to fight war or win the market I'm not equipped to do either just earn a decent income, supplementary even to go with my earnings already and if I can go far enough to turn it into a something I can depend on then I have even more confidence working my hourly job.
  • #42
  • Jul 29, 2014 3:44pm Jul 29, 2014 3:44pm
Quoting SaiLyfee
Biggest struggle was overcoming the emotional side of things and coming to terms with the fact that we as retail traders can never know the outcome. For any trader to be profitable they have to be consistent, and for that to be possible all emotional and psychological barriers need to be removed from any trading decisions. There's a reason why Wall Streets best are sociopaths .. people as such thrive in that sort of environment to be successful traders. Though this lesson has been my biggest challenge, it has been my greatest lesson, as I have learnt...
Indeed, for example, if you had an army, would you commit all of your forces to a single point, or would you attack several strategic points? Napoleon did that when he wanted to take Russia. Peter the Great destroyed him, and never had to fire a shot.
If you are good at something, never do it for free--Joker
  • #43
  • Jul 29, 2014 4:32pm Jul 29, 2014 4:32pm
Perhaps Napoleon didn't realize that before he decided to take Russia it had already been 'given' to Peter the Great therefore he had no chance of winning. I'd rather receive a nice place in the markets or learn to work it like I would a regular job. If a battle is being fought in the markets I don't want to get caught up in it I prefer video games, and I would prefer to earn a share of the market.
  • #44
  • Jul 29, 2014 6:43pm Jul 29, 2014 6:43pm
Quoting jmn5611
{quote} Indeed, for example, if you had an army, would you commit all of your forces to a single point, or would you attack several strategic points? Napoleon did that when he wanted to take Russia. Peter the Great destroyed him, and never had to fire a shot.
Nice example
  • #45
  • Jul 29, 2014 10:07pm Jul 29, 2014 10:07pm
I agree with what a few other's have said about having enough capital.

But mostly it depends on which stage the trader is in their trading career.

New trader's often trade small time frames, and are forced to trade more frequently with RR hardly ever exceeding 1:1. In this category, these trader's will always be on the search for a better system, aka the holy grail. They are also prone to breaking rules, and learning bad habits because of the style of trading.

Experienced traders can make money regardless of how successful their system is, because they rely on money management, and good RR. They trade larger time frames and are accustomed to taking fewer trades. Of course taking 3 trades a week and being wrong in all 3 will still take a toll on the mind.

Hence newer trader's will focus on trading systems, and experienced traders on psychology and money management.
  • #46
  • Jul 31, 2014 12:09am Jul 31, 2014 12:09am
I have a big trouble with consistently getting profits, one month I'll make $4000 and the next I'll be $-2000. (on a demo)

Also time is a big factor I'm a month of a 1 1/2 year old toddler so all I get is from 7pm onwards and the occasional 20-30min here and there when he naps or if I'm at work.

I think my greatest struggle is Timing! timing entering into trades and timing getting out of trades.
Learning is all about about asking the right questions!
  • #47
  • Jul 31, 2014 2:59am Jul 31, 2014 2:59am
Hi reeeen4 - The last two things you mention may be related to each other. Not sure what time zone you are on, but reversals often happen around the London Open and/or New York Open.

Many trader's watch the daily & 4H and set limit orders. Personally I like to watch the price action as it approaches the level. But there is a lot to be said for having less screen time. It really helps to avoid over trading and sticking with the higher more reliable time frames.

Consistency can be related to how much you risk per trade and how many trades you take.. I think generally consistency improves over time and the big thing to focus on is your 3 month/6 month and 1 year track records to rule out market cycles as a reason for a poor month.

Wish you the best!
  • #48
  • Jul 31, 2014 4:42am Jul 31, 2014 4:42am
Depends on your goals. I am a full time trader with a small account and i tried swing trading on higher TF's but the profits were not that much with a proper money management to make a living from. I am a scalper now and i do make profits enough to make a living from my small account. But if you are a part time trader looking for some extra income then longer TF's is the way to go
  • #49
  • Jul 31, 2014 6:02am Jul 31, 2014 6:02am
Thanks eWave24 & tonyTD for the advice. Ultimately I am hoping to quit my job and just do day trading to make a living but I think I'm probably setting orders volume too high. Usually I trade volume at 1.0 or sometimes even 2.0.
I'm in the Australian time zone so not much happens during the time I am online during the day and usually everything good happens at night when I'm sleeping. Been trying to set trades on a 4H chart before I go to sleep and hope that I've made some good profits in the morning but so far that hasn't been working out so good with those trades I've been trying to trade the RSI and stochastic for when a currency pair is overbought or oversold but still can't get my timing right.
Learning is all about about asking the right questions!
  • #50
  • Jul 31, 2014 6:56am Jul 31, 2014 6:56am
Oops i posted in the wrong thread...So i will post here too

Well than the biggest thing that holds back traders from profit is: the lack of knowldge

Of course you can say its lack of discipline or poor Risk management, but actually its lack of knowledge, because if you have anything else, but knowldge, you cannot be profitable, ever.

But if you have only knowledge, but poor Risk Management, and poor discipline, you might still make it...But not the other way around...
"There's a sucker born every minute" - P.T. Barnum
  • #51
  • Jul 31, 2014 8:58am Jul 31, 2014 8:58am
Quoting reeeen4
Thanks eWave24 & tonyTD for the advice. Ultimately I am hoping to quit my job and just do day trading to make a living but I think I'm probably setting orders volume too high. Usually I trade volume at 1.0 or sometimes even 2.0. I'm in the Australian time zone so not much happens during the time I am online during the day and usually everything good happens at night when I'm sleeping. Been trying to set trades on a 4H chart before I go to sleep and hope that I've made some good profits in the morning but so far that hasn't been working out so good...
Asian session is just fine as long as you trade asian pairs like JPY AUD NZD. Now as for the position size that depends on your money management and the size of your account. I never risk more than 2% of my account on a single trade. And even that is a lot for traders with large accounts. Basically what you need to be constantly profitable is a solid trading method that fits your trading style, a money management plan, patience, discipline and experience in front of the charts.
  • #52
  • Jul 31, 2014 8:04pm Jul 31, 2014 8:04pm
Quoting cedrismw
Perhaps Napoleon didn't realize that before he decided to take Russia it had already been 'given' to Peter the Great therefore he had no chance of winning. I'd rather receive a nice place in the markets or learn to work it like I would a regular job. If a battle is being fought in the markets I don't want to get caught up in it I prefer video games, and I would prefer to earn a share of the market.
Napoleon could have won easily if he had not been greedy. France had the greatest army in the world at that time.
If you are good at something, never do it for free--Joker
  • #53
  • Jul 31, 2014 8:26pm Jul 31, 2014 8:26pm
Quoting tonyTD
{quote} Asian session is just fine as long as you trade asian pairs like JPY AUD NZD. Now as for the position size that depends on your money management and the size of your account. I never risk more than 2% of my account on a single trade. And even that is a lot for traders with large accounts. Basically what you need to be constantly profitable is a solid trading method that fits your trading style, a money management plan, patience, discipline and experience in front of the charts.
Yeah I have been focusing alot on the asian pairs lately I think I might just stick to those for now. Well I have a very large amount of money to trade but it's more what I'm willing to trade with I'm quite conservative with my money and worry I'm going to loose it all.
Money management is definitely something I haven't mastered yet, any pointers you could give me? or a direction you could point me for some good information on money management?
Yes and more experience in front of charts, and paitients I think I am wanting returns quicker then I am seeing and it's not helping.
Learning is all about about asking the right questions!
  • #54
  • Jul 31, 2014 10:37pm Jul 31, 2014 10:37pm
Like TonyTD mentioned, Asian session is great for scalping the ranges. It's also a good way to get some screen time and up your learning curve.

Swing trading is a different ball game. So keep in mind, scalping in the Asian session is very different from the New York session and swing trading is different all together. In the end you have to go with something you are both comfortable with as part of your "trading style" and fits your schedule.

As for trading the 4H divergences, I look at these as well. In the last month, I've found several pairs, especially USD related showing divergence and then continuing where a reversal was expected. It's unusual how many times it has happened in the last month and not normal IMHO. So do not let it deter you. It's not going to work every time, and often trader's make the mistake of switching to a new strategy. As well, keep in mind a divergence on a 4H chart can potentially take a few days for it to properly reverse and get on it's way in some cases.

Money management simply put, is managing your risk. There is all sorts of information out there, but the best thing I can say is that it's the process where your mind stops focusing on your potential win, and only consider's what can be lost. Managing that risk, by limiting it to 1 or 2% of your account equity is standard practice.

Of course, this can get more complicated depending on how many open positions you have at any time or how many trades you take in a week. Perhaps put some thought to how much you could lose in one day/week/month/year without losing any sleep over it, and then what policies you can implement to enforce those limits.
  • #55
  • Jul 31, 2014 11:39pm Jul 31, 2014 11:39pm
Quoting eWave24
Like TonyTD mentioned, Asian session is great for scalping the ranges. It's also a good way to get some screen time and up your learning curve. Swing trading is a different ball game. So keep in mind, scalping in the Asian session is very different from the New York session and swing trading is different all together. In the end you have to go with something you are both comfortable with as part of your "trading style" and fits your schedule. As for trading the 4H divergences, I look at these as well. In the last month, I've found several pairs,...
Yeah I think for now I will stick to the Asian sessions so as not to spread myself too far.
Yeah I notice that too, last month I made $4000 trading the divergences on my demo account, this month they just don't seem to be reversing as expected and I have lost $1500. So not been going so great. I haven't developed another trading style yet to trade other opportunities which is why I'm probably doing so badly. I'm working on divising one at the moment but that's not going so great.
Think I need to go back to the drawing board and look into the money management more and get a solid plan in place.
Thanks heaps for the advice it's been helpful.
Learning is all about about asking the right questions!
  • #56
  • Aug 1, 2014 1:37pm Aug 1, 2014 1:37pm
Quoting reeeen4
{quote} Yeah I think for now I will stick to the Asian sessions so as not to spread myself too far. Yeah I notice that too, last month I made $4000 trading the divergences on my demo account, this month they just don't seem to be reversing as expected and I have lost $1500. So not been going so great. I haven't developed another trading style yet to trade other opportunities which is why I'm probably doing so badly. I'm working on divising one at the moment but that's not going so great. Think I need to go back to the drawing board and look into...
I suspect money management is not an issue for you at this point. More than anything you need to find an edge and then you have to practice and further refine this edge through money management amongst other things. If you don't have an edge good money management skills will only help you kill your account slower. So, as you've said, you need to go back to the drawing board but what exactly is that? Instead of looking for random patterns on charts try analyzing the actual market and its dynamics. Most of the time the market is in some kind of equilibrium, but there are times when there's some degree of imbalance between buyers and sellers and that's usually when you want to hitch your wagon to one of the winning sides. As such, try thinking about what would a chart look like if it appeared that one of those sides is winning the battle as well as what would the chart look like when there is a relative equilibrium. Once you figure this out trading becomes fairly straight forward. You have signals when to stay out of the market, when to get ready, and when to enter and exit. Wash, rinse, and repeat. Like I've previously said, it took me three years to become illuminated and consistently profitable without having to rely on any kind of indicators (this month I've banged out over 500 pips with a win ratio of 72% at 1:1RR - 22 trades in total with 16 winners). In fact, some of my most successful trades were done entirely on line charts.
  • #57
  • Aug 2, 2014 5:43am Aug 2, 2014 5:43am
Quoting EnoFX
{quote} I suspect money management is not an issue for you at this point. More than anything you need to find an edge and then you have to practice and further refine this edge through money management amongst other things. If you don't have an edge good money management skills will only help you kill your account slower. So, as you've said, you need to go back to the drawing board but what exactly is that? Instead of looking for random patterns on charts try analyzing the actual market and its dynamics. Most of the time the market is in some kind...
That is actually great advice and very logical, I think I am over complicating things by trying to use hundreds of indicators and stuff when I should just be looking for the trends. Might go back to spending some more time just looking at the carts with nothing much on them.
Congrats that's a nice profit, can't wait till I start seeing some like that. Might be able to quit my job and spend more time with my son!
Learning is all about about asking the right questions!
  • #58
  • Aug 3, 2014 4:37am Aug 3, 2014 4:37am
For me the biggest issues are Greed and Impatience and a burning need to have a trade running at all times.

I have set myself some rules that are very hard to stick too.
If I'm uncertain about a trade -- Dont enter a trade. - this can be difficult because of the burning need to trade.
Not to trade more than I'm willing to lose. - again hard as I'm greedy and impatient.

For me I have found keeping a demo account running along side my live account and when I feel the demons raising I trade on the demo account. So far it satisfies the need to trade and make greedy profit. It actually feels good when it fails and you know that you have saved money on your live account. Can suck when you see a big profit come in and you missed it on the live account. However I can console myself with the fact that there will always be another day and another trading opportunity.
Looking to be a better trader
  • #59
  • Aug 3, 2014 5:42am Aug 3, 2014 5:42am
Quoting Vmpwraith
For me the biggest issues are Greed and Impatience and a burning need to have a trade running at all times. I have set myself some rules that are very hard to stick too.
Dont set yourself rules that you cannot stick to

Quoting Vmpwraith
If I'm uncertain about a trade -- Dont enter a trade.
Lack of knowledge is the most important flaw that a trader has, the second one is lack of discipline.Learn more about the markets that that uncertainty will shrink.

Quoting Vmpwraith
- this can be difficult because of the burning need to trade.
Why is that bad, utilization of the free margin is good, however you should set a cap to not get margin called, for me its 200% margin level

Quoting Vmpwraith
Not to trade more than I'm willing to lose. - again hard as I'm greedy and impatient.
Me too but after your knowledge of the markets grow, you win more and more trades, so the need for money will shrink as you now slowly making money

Quoting Vmpwraith
For me I have found keeping a demo account running along side my live account and when I feel the demons raising I trade on the demo account. So far it satisfies the need to trade and make greedy profit. It actually feels good when it fails and you know that you have saved money on your live account. Can suck when you see a big profit come in and you missed it on the live account. However I can console myself with the fact that there will always be another day and another trading opportunity.
No need to worry about missed trades, the market will always be there, besides you cant trade 24/7 nobody can, there will be always missed trades, but look at the other side, you will miss losing trades aswell, so its kinda neutral
"There's a sucker born every minute" - P.T. Barnum
  • #60
  • Aug 21, 2014 10:16pm Aug 21, 2014 10:16pm
Sorry to bump an old thread but I found this thread super super useful. I'd love to have a chat to struggling traders on Skype about all this stuff. If you're interested please send me a PM and I'll give you my skype name. It's not commercial at all, I just really want to define what the big issues are.

edit: My skype name is "epictradequest", I realized I don't care if it's public lol.
0 traders viewing now