Trading is Extremly hard! | Forex Factory

Options

Go to
Permalinks
Print Thread

Similar Threads

Why is short term trading so hard 47 replies

Trading Options... What I've learned (the hard way) 45 replies

How big a hard drive do I need for trading? 7 replies

Help! Finding emotional aspects of trading very hard! 23 replies

New trading system hard to completely follow... anyone ever have this problem? 0 replies

Attachments: Trading is Extremly hard!
Exit Attachments

Trading is Extremly hard!

  • #1
  • First Post: Mar 5, 2016 11:33pm Mar 5, 2016 11:33pm
Trading is extremely hard!
1. price can stall for months! Look at u/j stalled for 8 months at 102 and barley moved!
2. You must wait a long time for a good setup.. sometimes days/weeks. Sometimes a few a day.
3. You need years of chart time to understand how price is likely to move.
4. Summer and Christmas get real slow sometimes.
5. Not many people can be consistent.
6. Once you find a good system.. the conditions may not return for months for it to be profitable again.
7. Nobody opens a chart places a few trades then goes to the beach.. Alll the good traders I know are constantly working at it. even weekends.
8. There will be down weeks.. Times when you work a whole week and don't make anything, and lose.
9. Trading is a struggle with yourself more then the markets.. Humans arn't programmed for trading.
10. black swan events can ruin you in seconds.. Look at e/chf when they dropped the peg!

You must have the passion to be a trader. It probably gonna take you years to get profitable!
Its not something you can put in a few hours a day at... Plan for years of work, weekends studying, and a long long road to consistent profit that may never happen!
The only system that will work is one designed by and for yourself.
  • #2
  • Mar 6, 2016 1:35am Mar 6, 2016 1:35am
I think you have summed it up nicely. This is a dose of reality for every trader or wanna be trader.
  • #3
  • Mar 6, 2016 4:13am Mar 6, 2016 4:13am
Trading is like learning a new job - it takes time and effort to become good at it. And even then it's something you can do automatically. Still, if you are good at it, it can be pretty rewarding.
  • #4
  • Mar 6, 2016 8:30am Mar 6, 2016 8:30am
It all depends on the system you trade, if it has a true edge, then maybe you can profit from it as long as it lasts. If you dont have an edge, you re gambling, no matter how many years you put into studying charts.
  • #5
  • Mar 6, 2016 3:44pm Mar 6, 2016 3:44pm
C'mon man, it's not a rocket science either. After a decade of full time trading, my biggest problem is boredom. I don't feel a thing when I win or lose anymore. I don't think about money, just about market sentiment, news, percentages, risk/reward ratios, max drawdowns, good/bad trade plan executions day after day, after day... It has become very depressing.
  • #6
  • Mar 6, 2016 3:53pm Mar 6, 2016 3:53pm
Quoting bloodpoodle
Trading is extremely hard! 1. price can stall for months! Look at u/j stalled for 8 months at 102 and barley moved! 2. You must wait a long time for a good setup.. sometimes days/weeks. Sometimes a few a day. 3. You need years of chart time to understand how price is likely to move. 4. Summer and Christmas get real slow sometimes. 5. Not many people can be consistent. 6. Once you find a good system.. the conditions may not return for months for it to be profitable again. 7. Nobody opens a chart places a few trades then goes to the beach.. Alll the...
No one promised it would be easy. In Forex crossed many aspects. There is passion, psychology, science, intuition, feeling ... It's like a sport, like gambling as a duel with yourself. It is a world in which we must be able to survive. No one knows exactly what will lead him to success.
Good luck trading!
  • #7
  • Mar 6, 2016 7:13pm Mar 6, 2016 7:13pm
Quoting bloodpoodle
Trading is extremely hard! 1. price can stall for months! Look at u/j stalled for 8 months at 102 and barley moved! 2. You must wait a long time for a good setup.. sometimes days/weeks. Sometimes a few a day. 3. You need years of chart time to understand how price is likely to move. 4. Summer and Christmas get real slow sometimes. 5. Not many people can be consistent. 6. Once you find a good system.. the conditions may not return for months for it to be profitable again. 7. Nobody opens a chart places a few trades then goes to the beach.. Alll the...
Of course it's hard! In fact, trading is one of the hardest endeavors. Similar to extremely competitive sports, every day you have to stand up against one of the smartest people on earth, people with 10, 20, even 30 years of experience, people who manage millions and billions .........( also, do you know how many "rocket scientists" and math geniuses are involved in finance these days?) It's ridiculous......

The good news is that the potential rewards are directly proportional the level of difficulty and anyone can beat the market. The bad news - very few people have balls and enough passion and motivation! Very few people are willing to do what it takes......
By default 99.9% of people are just not born to be winners. You have to teach yourself how to become a winner!

Also, beating the market and winning is a matter of perspective. Some people cannot see the things from the right angle.

Just think about the enormous potential which is offered by the markets every day!
Pick any major pair, open a tick chart and count the total sum of all movements larger than 10 pips. The number is enormous! Even in a relatively quiet days its over 500 pips per day. Why this is important? Because all you need is only 10-30 pips per day! So all you have to do is to learn how to take consistently only a small fraction of the total daily price movement. (less than 5%).

Ones you learn how to make net profit of 20-30 pips per day consistently, Day after day.....you are on your way to financial freedom! The more systematic you are - the faster you reach your goals. There is not a single other business in the world (including illegal stuff.....) where you can start with a 100 and turn it into thousand and even millions. All while sitting in your bedroom. No bosses, no business partners, no clients.... you don't have to answer to anyone. 100% independence...

But even this is not enough motivation. Because people are lazy like hell. Lazy and fearful. At least that's my observation.

A little story about how i started.
When i first started trading.....i was scared to death (subconsciously) about the idea of financial freedom. I just couldn't believe how fast you can generate profits....so I generated losses instead like most people. Being a loser is so comfortable. Because you are with the herd. Like the other 95% I was losing consistently for years......until one day....I said FUCK IT!! Let's make some money! I was absolutely pissed off and 100% committed to turn my trading around and upside down. With new, fresh goals and ideas, I changed my strategy, my trading style, my daily routine, I even started running every day 6am in order to be in top shape...... And so after a about 8 months I was at break even. Then it took me another year until i started to generate consistent profits....it was VERY tough but it paid off.
Now, 7 years later I trade for a living. I'm not rich(not yet), but still definitely better than working some shitty 9-5 job with no future.
  • #8
  • Mar 6, 2016 7:19pm Mar 6, 2016 7:19pm
Quoting alphaomega
{quote} Of course it's hard! In fact, trading is one of the hardest endeavors. Similar to extremely competitive sports, every day you have to stand up against one of the smartest people on earth, people with 10, 20, even 30 years of experience, people who manage millions and billions .........( also, do you know how many "rocket scientists" and math geniuses are involved in finance these days?) It's ridiculous...... The good news is that the potential rewards are directly proportional the level of difficulty and anyone can beat the market. The bad...
  • #9
  • Mar 6, 2016 8:13pm Mar 6, 2016 8:13pm
Many of OP post actually reinforce the importance of understanding how the fundies works.
about point 2, my definition of a noise/random PA is 'a setup that is not followed by momentum'.
I see it all in between ...
  • #10
  • Mar 7, 2016 4:45am Mar 7, 2016 4:45am
Quoting alphaomega
{quote} Of course it's hard! In fact, trading is one of the hardest endeavors. Similar to extremely competitive sports, every day you have to stand up against one of the smartest people on earth, people with 10, 20, even 30 years of experience, people who manage millions and billions .........( also, do you know how many "rocket scientists" and math geniuses are involved in finance these days?) It's ridiculous...... The good news is that the potential rewards are directly proportional the level of difficulty and anyone can beat the market. The bad...
"Holy Grail" exists - accepting where is the first step.
  • #11
  • Mar 7, 2016 5:46am Mar 7, 2016 5:46am
Trading is not as easy as we think before joining forex even demo trading that is profitable for everyone seems hard to understand . With the passage of time we know how and when to trade. Then tips of trading are with us after much practice.
  • #12
  • Mar 7, 2016 6:24am Mar 7, 2016 6:24am
Quoting bloodpoodle
10. black swan events can ruin you in seconds.. Look at e/chf when they dropped the peg!
Not a black swan event because when you have a currency peg it's just a matter of time before it fails (or the plug is pulled in the case of the Swiss).

Anyone who was trading that currency from the long side who thought they could put their stop at the peg lower boundary or just below was living in cloud cookoo land as they found out to their cost.
Road To Wisdom? To err and err and err again, but less and less and less...
  • #13
  • Mar 7, 2016 3:24pm Mar 7, 2016 3:24pm
Quoting alphaomega
{quote} Of course it's hard! In fact, trading is one of the hardest endeavors. Similar to extremely competitive sports, every day you have to stand up against one of the smartest people on earth, people with 10, 20, even 30 years of experience, people who manage millions and billions .........( also, do you know how many "rocket scientists" and math geniuses are involved in finance these days?) It's ridiculous...... The good news is that the potential rewards are directly proportional the level of difficulty and anyone can beat the market. The bad...
great post
Never ever give up
  • #14
  • Mar 7, 2016 5:22pm Mar 7, 2016 5:22pm
Quoting alphaomega
{quote} Of course it's hard! In fact, trading is one of the hardest endeavors. Similar to extremely competitive sports, every day you have to stand up against one of the smartest people on earth, people with 10, 20, even 30 years of experience, people who manage millions and billions .........( also, do you know how many "rocket scientists" and math geniuses are involved in finance these days?) It's ridiculous...... The good news is that the potential rewards are directly proportional the level of difficulty and anyone can beat the market. The bad...
Alphaomega, I admired your post. In many ways it reminds me of me. I've been trading (or trying to) for 6 years. I thought I had a pretty good understanding of charts and I like the chart setups I use, but the last 6-8 months have still been among the worst I've gone through. I've made a bit here and there, but the biggest problem for me has been failing to set a stop loss... hence I've had many huge losses that have, over time, blown my account 15-20 times, or maybe more.
Despite all that, I'm still confident that I can earn money. At the same time, especially lately, it's like every trade I've made is DESTINED to go in the wrong direction. I hope I get that F--- it moment and get this turned around.
Many thanks,
Spidey
  • #15
  • Mar 7, 2016 5:34pm Mar 7, 2016 5:34pm
Quoting bloodpoodle
Trading is extremely hard! 1. price can stall for months! Look at u/j stalled for 8 months at 102 and barley moved! 2. You must wait a long time for a good setup.. sometimes days/weeks. Sometimes a few a day. 3. You need years of chart time to understand how price is likely to move. 4. Summer and Christmas get real slow sometimes. 5. Not many people can be consistent. 6. Once you find a good system.. the conditions may not return for months for it to be profitable again. 7. Nobody opens a chart places a few trades then goes to the beach.. Alll the...
Lol...what's new in this??
  • #16
  • Mar 8, 2016 1:18pm Mar 8, 2016 1:18pm
The trading should be a hobby. When the trading becomes hard work, the trader dipped into a stream of negative emotions.
  • #17
  • Feb 15, 2017 5:57pm Feb 15, 2017 5:57pm
Quoting bloodpoodle
Trading is extremely hard!
1. price can stall for months! Look at u/j stalled for 8 months at 102 and barley moved!

LOOK FOR ANOTHER PAIR/PRODUCT TO TRADE.. DONT YOU THINK?

2. You must wait a long time for a good setup.. sometimes days/weeks. Sometimes a few a day.

TRADE THE PRICE.. NOT THE TIME =)

3. You need years of chart time to understand how price is likely to move.

LOL !! NO !! YEARS?? TOO MUCH TIME YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG !! LEARN THE BASIC THE "REAL" BASIC STUFF, AND LOTS OF PRACTICE UNTIL YOU GET IT (SKILL WISE, NOT TALKING ABOUT...
My answer in the quote; also i learned that the WORST enemy ever for a trader its the internet !!! there is soooo much craaap around its a titanic endeavour just to keep going and try to filter what is real from what isnt !!
  • #18
  • Feb 16, 2017 6:30am Feb 16, 2017 6:30am
That is true, unfortunately. I tend to focus on lessons written by professional traders, not necessarily on the words of people I’ve found randomly to try and avoid a lot of that.
  • #19
  • Feb 16, 2017 7:01am Feb 16, 2017 7:01am
First it's extremely hard and then it's extremely boring
"Men Who Can Both Be Right & Sit Tight Are Uncommon" ~ Jesse Livermore
  • #20
  • Edited 7:47am Feb 16, 2017 7:37am | Edited 7:47am
Quoting bloodpoodle
Trading is extremely hard! 1. price can stall for months! Look at u/j stalled for 8 months at 102 and barley moved! 2. You must wait a long time for a good setup.. sometimes days/weeks. Sometimes a few a day. 3. You need years of chart time to understand how price is likely to move. 4. Summer and Christmas get real slow sometimes. 5. Not many people can be consistent. 6. Once you find a good system.. the conditions may not return for months for it to be profitable again. 7. Nobody opens a chart places a few trades then goes to the beach.. Alll the...
Most of your points are valid, though I'd like to pick up on one or two of them if I may.

1/ This only applies to trading off large time frames. A typical intra-day retail trader trading off of time frames down to 1 minute or lower, this does not apply. If price on any one day on the pair you are trading is trapped and not going anywhere, look elsewhere. The markets offer thousands of wonderful trading opportunities every single day, and our jobs as traders is to identify and capitalize on them.

2/ Again, it's relative to the time frame.
6/ No such thing as a system as such, only the long accumulation of knowledge. I have never experienced the markets suddenly changing to the point where I can no longer trade them, the odd day perhaps, but seldom longer.

9/ This is an interesting one, and you are right, the majority of people coming into trading will have to undergo a massive personality/psychological re-adjustment if they are ever to make any money in this business, and no one who does is the same person they were when they first began. This is one of the main reasons so few succeed, there are others, but this is a biggie. Most people just do not realize, or simply refuse to realize and then act to do anything about it, that as they are, they will never make it, no matter how long they try. What sort of person does one need to become to be consistently profitable? I think we all know, it's just a question of achieving it.
3 traders viewing now