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Lost...?

  • #1
  • First Post: Aug 19, 2006 4:29am Aug 19, 2006 4:29am
Hello everyone,

Well I got interested in Forex when I saw some infomercial. Since then I have started a demo account and soon to open a mini account to take advantage of a promotion. Even if my first real trade happens a few months from now I just want that account ready for me when I am ready.

That being said, I have pretty much just been practicing and reading. I have read the walk through at forex.com. I have also read some trading systems on this forum. But that has been the extent of my knowledge. Soon I will take part in GAIN Capital's Learn to Trade Forex.

In all honestly I am completely lost. I do not know up from down, that could be bad, yes? I really do not know what is going on or where to go from here. I have learned quite a few lessons on the demo accounts, thankfully hard lessons have been learned on the demo.

So basically I am just looking for some guidance. At my current knowledge, which is very very minimal, where do I go from here? I am giving myself 1-2 months to study and demo trade before I make that first trade. It is very important to me that I am 99.9% comfortable when I start getting into it for 'real'. But I also don't want to make it such the case that I am taking forever upon forever to really get into it for 'real'.

So basically this drawn out post comes down to this,
1. Where do I go from here?
2. Do you think 1-2 months is enough time to acquire skills to be profitable in Forex?
  • #2
  • Aug 19, 2006 4:47am Aug 19, 2006 4:47am
Quoting nathan
Hello everyone,

Well I got interested in Forex when I saw some infomercial. Since then I have started a demo account and soon to open a mini account to take advantage of a promotion. Even if my first real trade happens a few months from now I just want that account ready for me when I am ready.

That being said, I have pretty much just been practicing and reading. I have read the walk through at forex.com. I have also read some trading systems on this forum. But that has been the extent of my knowledge. Soon I will take part in GAIN Capital's Learn to Trade Forex.

In all honestly I am completely lost. I do not know up from down, that could be bad, yes? I really do not know what is going on or where to go from here. I have learned quite a few lessons on the demo accounts, thankfully hard lessons have been learned on the demo.

So basically I am just looking for some guidance. At my current knowledge, which is very very minimal, where do I go from here? I am giving myself 1-2 months to study and demo trade before I make that first trade. It is very important to me that I am 99.9% comfortable when I start getting into it for 'real'. But I also don't want to make it such the case that I am taking forever upon forever to really get into it for 'real'.

So basically this drawn out post comes down to this,
1. Where do I go from here?
2. Do you think 1-2 months is enough time to acquire skills to be profitable in Forex?

Hi,

I cant really suggest you about demo and times because I think Im one of the few which never traded demo (only 1 week) and got in life from beginning.

Based on my experience I had to loose 50% of my real money to learn how to move.

Now after 6 months of trading my account size is very good for me, but even if im 'oriented' mostly the times, sometimes Im really disoriented, and the market looks to me just a big jam..where nobody knowns what to do and we end to go all in our own direction creating a big caos.

Just play it real (micro lots)

I dont think I would have learned as I did now if I used demo account until now.

Regarding where to go from here I agree with Renasdad.

Start to use few indicators, to get oriented.
every indicator is good, as far as you get oriented using them.
  • #3
  • Aug 19, 2006 4:54am Aug 19, 2006 4:54am
Thanks for the replies. Espically the links renasdad. I guess with the whole when to go live will just come down to a judgement call. Maybe ill be dead money, maybe I won't. Either way I am willing to accept my end result.

Thanks again, I appreciate it, I look forward to being part of this community and hopefully I will give back more than I take.
  • #4
  • Aug 19, 2006 4:59am Aug 19, 2006 4:59am
Quoting nathan
Thanks for the replies. Espically the links renasdad. I guess with the whole when to go live will just come down to a judgement call. Maybe ill be dead money, maybe I won't. Either way I am willing to accept my end result.

Thanks again, I appreciate it, I look forward to being part of this community and hopefully I will give back more than I take.
Just keep moving forward. Like Trucco said, some people don't demo trade at all. I have been into forex for about 3 yrs now and I am back to demoing again. There is no sense to trade live if you can't make any pips. The thing you do not experience with demo trading is the emotion. And if you say you won't get emotional, you are wrong. You will, trust me. That is an area that a person needs to read about and understand themselves to understand how not to get emotional but for now, those links will help in your understanding a bit more. Glad to help.
JOHN 3:16
  • #5
  • Aug 19, 2006 5:07am Aug 19, 2006 5:07am
Quoting renasdad
Just keep moving forward. Like Trucco said, some people don't demo trade at all. I have been into forex for about 3 yrs now and I am back to demoing again. There is no sense to trade live if you can't make any pips. The thing you do not experience with demo trading is the emotion. And if you say you won't get emotional, you are wrong. You will, trust me. That is an area that a person needs to read about and understand themselves to understand how not to get emotional but for now, those links will help in your understanding a bit more. Glad to help.
I agree with you again
If you trade real, your emotions trade with you, and for persons like me this was a necessary path to learn how to trade (or at least try it ), because I think Im an impatient person and Im not able to learn if what im doing is not touching me directly, so I needed to see my money flying away to get into the game.
  • #6
  • Aug 19, 2006 5:12am Aug 19, 2006 5:12am
Trucco, that is how a feel as if I am not into it all too much right now. I really want to get into it, but to me it really is all fake right now. Granted I have invest my time into, I have yet to invest my money into it. I can practice and practice all I want, but I suspect there will be major differences in my trading style between the demo and live. Hopefully my efforts right now will get me in the proftiable area and hopefully that will carry over for the most part.

It just really doesn't seem real right now, and that is really bugging me.

Maybe I found my way back to the trail up the mountain ^^;
  • #7
  • Aug 19, 2006 5:51am Aug 19, 2006 5:51am
When I started, I was demoing and I'd make a trade and not care if I lost or not cause it was fake. When I won, it was cool. There were no emotions at all. I did learn alot though because I sat in front of the computer for 10-12 hrs sometimes watching charts. Then the day came I decided I was ready to open a live account soon. And that is when realiity hit me. I need to make some pips to make money. I made myself look at my demo account as if it was as real as life itself. I felt the emotions even with my demo. I thought to myself man this is great, a trade like that with real money. I would get nice and excited. I body would get all warm and I could feel the adrenaline. Just by telling myself it is real and this is how I'll do when it is. That helped so much.

It's just like in basketball in school. My coach taught us to close our eyes and imagine shooting freethrows. Imagine throwing the ball up there and following through and watching the ball go in the basket. If I put my mind to it, it helped. Perception is awesome.
JOHN 3:16
  • #8
  • Aug 19, 2006 6:23am Aug 19, 2006 6:23am
Quoting nathan
I can practice and practice all I want, but I suspect there will be major differences in my trading style between the demo and live.
The idea of practicing is to find a method that works for you BEFORE you go live.
There must not be a DIFFERENCE between your demo method and your live method.
Once you know you can trade profitably on a demo for a few months, you'll know that when you place a live trade exactly what your risk is going to be and you'll live happily with that loss, because you know that there will be winners to offset that bad trade.
Although you may think that 'if I'd been live I could have banked those 150 pips' just look back over the charts, and you'll see plenty of those bigs moves have happened before, and will happen again.
But with a demo, you'll have practiced getting onto those good trades, and be ready to run with them.
Peter
  • #9
  • Aug 19, 2006 6:32am Aug 19, 2006 6:32am
Pick a currency to start trading the most popular is eur/usd. The gbp/usd moves a little faster with more pips in a day. Then study it on how it moves for instance most currencies start their big moves around 2am until 12 noon eastern time. See the patterns and listen to the news events which Forex Factory has a news calender.
  • #10
  • Aug 19, 2006 8:07am Aug 19, 2006 8:07am
I wish to thank everyone for their replies. I really appreciate you spending some of your time helping little oh me. I have come away from this post with valuable information and a different outlook on my future in forex. And for that I thank you.
  • #11
  • Aug 19, 2006 8:20am Aug 19, 2006 8:20am
Quoting nathan
I wish to thank everyone for their replies. I really appreciate you spending some of your time helping little oh me. I have come away from this post with valuable information and a different outlook on my future in forex. And for that I thank you.
Nathan
All those that replied do not want you to make the same mistakes that we made. If I'd found this Forum six months ago, I may even be sitting on a growing account.
Take your time to decide what sort of trader you want to be, read lots about the mental side and money management, demo a method that feels right for you until it's making money regularly. And then go live. You'll last longer and capital protection is the name of the game.
I've just started reading 'Trading in the Zone' (Mark Douglas) and although I'm only on Page 27 the lights are starting to come on, who knows how good I'll be once I've finished it.
Good luck and keep in touch with us, we want to know how you're doing.
Peter
  • #12
  • Aug 19, 2006 9:30am Aug 19, 2006 9:30am
nathan......

Always trade with the dominant trend, use longer time frames, learn to identify the ranges and support and resistance of these ranges and trends, expect to have the market retrace from your entry point before it reaches your take profit.
here is a link that I hope you will find benificial......
http://www.trading-naked.com/library...ing_system.pdf

no matter what strategy you choose use this to help identify the market sentiment, good luck and may the pips be with you.

Also remember this is probably the best forum on the net, the people here are helpful and the info in this site is abundant.
Same Whore .... Different Dress
  • #13
  • Aug 19, 2006 9:40am Aug 19, 2006 9:40am
If you are not going to trade naked (no indicators) then your biggest asset will be know how to program. If you start with a scripting language you can easily move over to mt4.

if you are trying to design a programmical trade system you wont make it not know how to program.
  • #14
  • Aug 26, 2006 7:08pm Aug 26, 2006 7:08pm
Quoting johnedoe
nathan......

Always trade with the dominant trend, use longer time frames, learn to identify the ranges and support and resistance of these ranges and trends, expect to have the market retrace from your entry point before it reaches your take profit.
here is a link that I hope you will find benificial......
http://www.trading-naked.com/library...ing_system.pdf

no matter what strategy you choose use this to help identify the market sentiment, good luck and may the pips be with you.

Also remember this is probably the best forum on the net, the people here are helpful and the info in this site is abundant.
Excellent PDF...thank you
  • #15
  • Aug 26, 2006 7:16pm Aug 26, 2006 7:16pm
Get to know a demo and practice until you feel comfortible playing with it and practice with one of the systems that are discussed here in this forum.

Look at the successful sidus method system which is easy to learn and has indicators that are easy to set up. Practice with it and you will feel more at ease. It is like driving a car or flying a plane...scared as hell at first then one day, you will find that your driving subconsciously.

Practice, Practice and Practice. You will one day say to yourself, it is time to jump in with real money. Wait until your successful in your demo 70-80% of the time before you do.

Why are we friendly here? Because every single one of us were in your shoes at one time or another. The forex is trading 2 trillion a day, 30 times bigger than the combined U.S. Stock Market on a daily basis and we are not competiting with each other...so why not help each other.

Get to know this forum and you will find many years of knowledge and experience that is shared here. I think that the only thing you will see us disagree upon here is which brokerage firm is the best ... or worst... and we don't have a definitive answer for you.

Happy Trading
Tick (Big Dog)
  • #16
  • Aug 27, 2006 12:08pm Aug 27, 2006 12:08pm
Tick (Big Dog's) comments above is a great statement; get to know the folks around this forum, STAY around, don't be afraid to ask questions, as I was, and this forum can be one of the best things you've ever done regarding your success, or failure, in Forex.

For me, it helps to simply remember why I started Forex trading in the first place. Without a "WHY" what else would be a reason for you to even try to be successful? "Money" is not enough of a factor to drive you through the hard times of learning. There must be a bigger reason. Well, at least that's been a plus for me. For me, it's simply the fact that, my family deserves more than the "JOB" has provided in the past.

We wish you success...
  • #17
  • Aug 27, 2006 1:42pm Aug 27, 2006 1:42pm
I think you start trading live now, get in before the market crashes and you don't get a share of the $2 trillion per day - just kidding!


But from the sound of your initial post, that's exactly what you're saying. The traders I encountered who funded their accounts 'just the take advantage of the current exchange rate' and 'won't start trading yet', are the same people who blew their accounts due to a lack of demo trading.

Don't put yourself under unecessary pressure, only consider funding/opening your live account when you're comfortable with the platform and broker of your choice. The market won't become saturated, relax, read, learn, practice and when you're able double your demo account at least three times in succession (starting $100 and 0.1 lots) then consider going live.

For me personally this forum is an irreplacable tool in my trading success.
a journey of a thousand trades begins with a single pip
  • #18
  • Aug 27, 2006 3:35pm Aug 27, 2006 3:35pm
Well to me, Demo trading isn't real enough, take away the fear and greed elements and well the Demo account just sky rockets, go back to real $$$'s and well the exact opposite, so I've been learning ( nearly 2 years ) on and off when I can afford with a $1 per point mini account.

Finally starting to get somewhere, account is up abit, and 100+ trades since I last had to add $$$'s, compared to errr 17 trades for my £100 in the early days.

good luck!!! tis a hard game so don't beat yourself up too bad when it all goes wrong, and start Small $500 mini account, then limit yourself to $100 per month ish to add to it, when it all goes
Nothing to it, but to do it!!! Stick to the plan FOOL!!!!
  • #19
  • Aug 28, 2006 1:41am Aug 28, 2006 1:41am
I wish to thank everyone who responded to my thread. Just to give a little update, I am not lost anymore... Well not completely. I kind of know where I am going and I believe I am on the yellow brick road ^^;

I look forward to chating with you all in the years to come (hopefully).
  • #20
  • Aug 28, 2006 1:46am Aug 28, 2006 1:46am
Buy Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas.

You'll thank me for it.
Mr. Trend
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