Why Can't I Trade?! | Page 6 | Forex Factory

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Why Can't I Trade?!

  • #101
  • Jun 18, 2015 8:39am Jun 18, 2015 8:39am
I think he has admitted somewhere that he doesn't trade for a living or he is not very good at it.

He is a good talker & does explain his points well, but does not really show you how to trade but how to mentally manage your risk.

This is the only business that I have come across with the mantra " You don't have to right more times than you are wrong and still
come out profitable". Which other business would be called successful if this were the case ?
It never gets easier, you just get better
  • #102
  • Jun 18, 2015 8:46am Jun 18, 2015 8:46am
Quoting merquise
In my experience, which is not that vast, one should not trade with leverage more than 1:10 unless you're trading with your profits and not your base..so in your case with 400 GBP you should not be taking positions greater than 0.04 lots or 4 micro lots
I believe anybody can trade successfully if you manage leverage and money management. Most retail traders accounts are not big enough to withstand randomness in the market. I think we should not trade leverage above 1:50 to the max and position size should not be more than 1%.
One Good Trade
  • #103
  • Jun 18, 2015 11:00am Jun 18, 2015 11:00am
Quoting tomas262
{quote} He does not have to be. It's a personal journey. What he says is just a common sense and it has nothing to do with his personal profitability and account size ....
For the Douglas and Co...
One day you just realize that trading success is just like the weather. Many talk about it, but no one does anything about it.
  • #104
  • Jun 18, 2015 2:01pm Jun 18, 2015 2:01pm
Quoting SheldonFX
{quote} Though leverage really does not matter, as long as you are risking no more than 2% (or whatever your max) per trade it wouldnt matter if the leverage was 500:1 or 10:1 right? At the end of the day you are just buying the amount of lots that represent 2% of your account at the time you place the order.
In my book leverage does matter...2,3, X% doesn't really matter..but that's my view on it
  • #105
  • Jun 19, 2015 12:39am Jun 19, 2015 12:39am
Quoting merquise
{quote} In my book leverage does matter...2,3, X% doesn't really matter..but that's my view on it
could you explain more please?
  • #106
  • Jun 19, 2015 9:10am Jun 19, 2015 9:10am
Quoting SheldonFX
{quote} could you explain more please?
Well it's really simple, I don't use SL in a typical manner, as a % of the account...I discovered that for me it's better to utilize a time SL, which is closing the position with a loss in some predefined time...usually at the end of the day or at the end of a session. Parallel to that a TP would be executed in a similar fashion.

In order to control your loss, you do it through controlling your position size through leverage. By utilizing small leverages you can reduce the sizes of your loses throughout the trading.

For example, on a 10 000$ account and using a 1:5 leverage you set yourself that way that your maximum position size will be 50 000$ or 0.5 lot...if according to your strategy you enter with a BUY and the price is going against you you can close your order after the specified amount of time...be it 1 hour, 3 hours, 24h, a week, it is your call.

In conjunction to that and using for example ATR on a Daily chart you can usually predict how much loss you will suffer on a Daily level.. So if for example a Daily ATR for some instrument is 120 pips..well that will be your average maximum loss..in our example that would be roughly around 600$. But since it is time we are talking about a Daily ATR doesn't have to mean that the price will close at the extremes for that day. So at the end of a day, session, etc.. your loss could be 400 pips or in our example 200$.

If you used a fixed SL of 2,3, X% from your entered position you would lose X% much quickly and there could be a chance of price reversal in some part of the day, or not.

A profit can also vary, but can be set at the extremes of ATR or used in the same manner. Anyway it is how I trade.

Two things I would advise you...

1) Learn to trade from books that were written about trading, and not from reading what someone has to say on a forum..1-2% can be useful, the rest is garbage..

2) What ever you do, your average winning number must be higher than your average loss number
  • #107
  • Jun 19, 2015 9:38am Jun 19, 2015 9:38am
Quoting merquise
{quote} Well it's really simple, I don't use SL in a typical manner, as a % of the account...I discovered that for me it's better to utilize a time SL, which is closing the position with a loss in some predefined time...usually at the end of the day or at the end of a session. Parallel to that a TP would be executed in a similar fashion. In order to control your loss, you do it through controlling your position size through leverage.......
Fair play if that works for you but I could never enter a trade without an SL. Also with a $10,000 account, 1:5 leverage and 0.5 lots all of your trading capital is stuck in the one trade right?
  • #108
  • Jun 19, 2015 10:15am Jun 19, 2015 10:15am
That is correct..
  • #109
  • Jun 20, 2015 5:03am Jun 20, 2015 5:03am
Quoting SheldonFX
{quote} {quote} Perfect {quote} Just be pleased you took pips out of the move. Keep doing that consistently and you will be all good man. Nice work.

Thanks SheldonFX - its been a good week. Now to keep it up.
  • #110
  • Jun 20, 2015 5:09am Jun 20, 2015 5:09am
Quoting tomas262
Focus on consistency as the only thing that is required from your in the market. There is nothing more you can or should do. It has to become your voodoo, your idol, your fetish. Just master the consistency. Traders say the market is not efficient but I do not agree. Market is very effective on checking you if you are on or off the track and when it catches you it immediately takes your money from your account. Stop focusing on results. It does not matter if your account is 400 or 400k. It's always the same. You have to do your job and your job...
I agree money is the by-product of doing the right things consistently and that is where I need to detach myself from the pipe dreams and focus on making a steady growth equity over the coming years rather months!

Once I am consistently taking my entries with a good R:R and trading my edge I know the results will follow.
  • #111
  • Jun 21, 2015 12:27am Jun 21, 2015 12:27am
Quoting downandout
{quote} 10 would be probably too close although sometimes it can be used. It depends on where I think price will retrace before I believe the trade is going in the wrong direction. I will ensure now that I am using a consistent position size as looking back through my results this is what the issue was with the losers taking more equity.
Gaining discipline in position size consistency is a very large step in the direction of profitable trading.
Patience like a Cheetah - awaiting the exact right moment.
  • #112
  • Jun 21, 2015 10:20am Jun 21, 2015 10:20am
Quoting merquise
{quote} 1) Learn to trade from books that were written about trading, and not from reading what someone has to say on a forum..1-2% can be useful, the rest is garbage.. 2) What ever you do, your average winning number must be higher than your average loss number
Thanks merquise. Really when I look back, from where I have learned to trade its all from YouTube. Taking you word I am now reading few books on forex trading, its quite interesting.
One Good Trade
  • #113
  • Jun 23, 2015 4:34am Jun 23, 2015 4:34am
Down and out, As you have mentioned, a trading journal is the absolute KEY part of becoming successful (in my experience)

Two things I would consider putting in there.

1) Reasons why you entered, ensuring your rules were met on entry, making notes on how you decided on your SL value and your TP value.

2) The most important one for me... Why did you exit. i have found that i make more money when all my exits say one of two things. SL hit, or TP hit.

I think you have already said that you let your losers run, and cut your profits short. This is something i found out about me as well... If you think that you are good with your entries, may I suggest that you fix your TP to 10 pips to begin with? And then just let the trade run to TP hit, or SL hit. (using 0.01 lots, lets face it you will have a better bank balance than what you are currently using!) Then increase it to 20 pips, then 30 pips, then get into the habit of setting it to your actual TP, whether it be becuase of your entry rules, such as MA crossover, or ADX dip... or siply as i do S/R levels.

you need to train your self to turn the charts off, and if you are constantly seeing your TP hit... you gain the confidence.

PLEASE PLEASE do this.

I have just written another post on this...

Also, DO NOT USE FULL LOTS. You need to correctly manage your risk. At the moment you are running a loss. If you have a losing mentality, increasing the size of your lots, being over leveraged risk against your account size will NOT get the money.

If i can make an observation, you are not a trader. You are looking for a quick win, make as much money in short of time possible. OR you just like the thrill of being in the trade.

If you identify with this (i honestly can not see how you can't) you should not be trading... or rather you are NOT trading.

You are gambling. You would be better taking some fixed odds on horses, football whatever, as you will get the same thrill.

Trading should be BORING. It is (in my life) doing other stuff until i get an alert, every hour, every 4 hours, and every day.

I then discount 90% of the alerts. I then discount another 9% becuase they are at S/R, and only then do i get serious about whether i want to enter the trade - does it meet my criteria.

I then enter the trade, and depending on the account, i use a forex calculator to work out my lot size. I have a risk of 1% (so on either a $3K balance for long term trades, or an $850 account for short term trades) i will bu usually trading between 0.01 and 0.04 lots. This is based on risk, not potential reward, as i usually have a R:R of 2:1.

So my usual Take profit is on the 3K account $10-$20 and on my $800 usually between $4-$8.

Bearing in mind i usually take between 4-8 trades a day, this easily gets a 2% increase each day (even with a full stop loser). This is usually about 250-500 pips per week.

Put this in perspective, in 1 month, I could easily increase my account 5%-10%.

Stop looking at the short term - 3 lots is enough to scare the crap out of anyone... no wonder you have blown accounts!!!

Look at the longer term - would you rather gain 1% per week on a boring account, or lose all the account on an exciting one?
  • #114
  • Jun 23, 2015 5:20am Jun 23, 2015 5:20am
Quoting rolandW
Down and out, As you have mentioned, a trading journal is the absolute KEY part of becoming successful (in my experience) Two things I would consider putting in there. 1) Reasons why you entered, ensuring your rules were met on entry, making notes on how you decided on your SL value and your TP value. 2) The most important one for me... Why did you exit. i have found that i make more money when all my exits say one of two things. SL hit, or TP hit. I think you have already said that you let your losers run, and cut your profits short. This is something...
Thanks for posting and agree with a lot you say particular on exits. To clarify I mentioned lots in my operating post but this should have been £ and when I was talking of reducing to 0.10 - 0.50 this also was £.

I have been taking profits quicker on open positions in line with my plans to bring my risk reward closer to a 2:1 minimum but preference would be 3:1. Positions are being closed with a moving stop loss so I am getting used to seeing some moves continue without me. Typically I take profits around old highs and lows.

I only start to gamble when I lose my cool as usually I only trade around the pre-worked levels in my chart so this is not gambling as I am taking trades based on previous expectation and analysis but yes it does creep in from time and time.
  • #115
  • Jun 23, 2015 5:26am Jun 23, 2015 5:26am
Few trades from yesterday and today.

Making some steady headway over the past few weeks which has seen my % increase to 54% and my overall account is back to -50% from -65% from its lowest ebb. Average winner is up to 21pip from 20 and average loser down to 14pip from 15.
Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: GbpUsd 22230615.PNG Size: 35 KB
  • #116
  • Jun 23, 2015 5:39am Jun 23, 2015 5:39am
Great work on bringing your account back up to where it is now.

Remember that once you get it to the B/E point (your initial deposit) you have effectively doubled your account and more- a >100% gain - so doing that again should be easier next time round.... or so we would like to think!

Pin that up to your wall when you get there, and look at the progress. That should sate the rage! haha!

If you do need to vent, dont do it on the charts - they can't help you! Go for a run, exert some energy and focus the rage in the right way!

By the way, i think most, if not all have been there - mine is usually on poker, as i am a bit more logical on the charts for some reason... Los
  • #117
  • Jun 23, 2015 6:36am Jun 23, 2015 6:36am
Quoting rolandW
Great work on bringing your account back up to where it is now. Remember that once you get it to the B/E point (your initial deposit) you have effectively doubled your account and more- a >100% gain - so doing that again should be easier next time round.... or so we would like to think! Pin that up to your wall when you get there, and look at the progress. That should sate the rage! haha! If you do need to vent, dont do it on the charts - they can't help you! Go for a run, exert some energy and focus the rage in the right way! By the way, i think...
Thanks rolandw - yes when I get there I will be looking hard at what was the consistent entry / exit / size etc got me there and hoping to push on from thereon. I'm not a great runner so maybe that is the answer - if I rage trade, I have to run
  • #118
  • Jun 23, 2015 8:28am Jun 23, 2015 8:28am
Just took a loss on GbpUsd buying 15757 an old level of support and resistance and was stopped out for 30 pips.

Id take this trade again and so am not too despondent as overall the trend has been higher last few weeks and so why I favoured a bounce here. I'm still in a decent position for the day and so there will be no more trades to protect the equity.
  • #119
  • Jun 23, 2015 8:43am Jun 23, 2015 8:43am
Quoting downandout
Few trades from yesterday and today. Making some steady headway over the past few weeks which has seen my % increase to 54% and my overall account is back to -50% from -65% from its lowest ebb. Average winner is up to 21pip from 20 and average loser down to 14pip from 15. {image}
Just passing through and noticed your P&L ratio. You're average winner is 21 pips, and yet you just got stopped out for 30 pips!! You really need to have a much better ratio than this otherwise your gains will keep getting pegged back. Of course it also depends on what your win/loss ratio is, but you've really got to be looking at a 2:1 P&L ratio as a very bare minimum to get ahead, 3:1 far better.
  • #120
  • Jun 23, 2015 9:01am Jun 23, 2015 9:01am
Downandout... just an observation, but I cant see where the issue should have been here...

On the 1 hour chart, the price bounced, and we had confirmation that it was not going to break that support line at 1.57662 (on my charts at least)... it then rose to 1.58101 which would have been past my TP, as it is below the previous resistance, S/D level. This was respected.

It then went back down to test that 1.57662 level, which it broke through and confirmed that the support was not going to be respected this time... You have to let the candles close before you make your trading decisions. The smart money is that it is going to continue dropping to the 1.56600 level or maybe even 1.56156 level (fib 42 retracement level)

By the way, hindsight is 20/20!!!
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