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Putting a Gun to your Head - 1 Piece of Trading Advice

  • #41
  • Jun 19, 2017 3:43pm Jun 19, 2017 3:43pm
Quoting marcmarc
{quote} I've traded intraday, constant screenwatching with trades lasting <1hr for eight years and it's fine for me. I miss loads of great trades and it simply doesn't matter, there is always another good one coming along in a moment. It's just a job, just a way of making a living. It either suits you or it doesn't, just like any other job. That's why it's so important to find a trading style/method/timeframe that fits your psyche and personality.

Your post contains some real advice! Although i have a question, u have become a full time trader by retail trading or worked at some institution?

Thanks in advance,
  • #42
  • Jun 19, 2017 3:51pm Jun 19, 2017 3:51pm
Best advice is get out of forex market and into futures where playing field is level. Trade the emini nasdaq the biggest daily range of anything out there And finally learn to trade via market profile
  • #43
  • Jun 19, 2017 4:01pm Jun 19, 2017 4:01pm
Quoting thejerre
{quote} Your post contains some real advice! Although i have a question, u have become a full time trader by retail trading or worked at some institution? Thanks in advance,
Hi thejerre,

I should confess my background is in financial markets, but as a fundamental, long term, long only, equity investor. My trading is entirely technically based, short term, long & short equally, and only in major forex pairs. I have never had paid employment as a trader, I had to learn it from scratch on my own when I decided to give it a try. Sadly, it took me several years, lots of frustration, many blind alleys and a consistent lack of profitability before I evolved a method that suited me. You really do have to find something that matches your psyche/personality AND learn core trading disciplines or you have no chance at all, it's a tough and unforgiving game for the unprepared and ill-disciplined.

Hope that helps
  • #44
  • Jun 19, 2017 7:10pm Jun 19, 2017 7:10pm
Quoting marcmarc
{quote} Point is, there are a zillion ways to trade and they are all pretty much as good or bad as each other. It's what you make of them that counts. And to do that successfully, you have to find the niche you are comfortable with (and employ some basic good trading disciplines) or you simply won't last the course.
You're absolutely right about finding what works for you.

I know some talented traders who can make 60-100pips (depending on the day) daily off of minute charts (they're actually all around us on ff). If that's you, then do it.

Day trading minute charts combined with higher TFs can be very lucrative if you know what you're doing. But that's not just me much like you finding out you're not the best fit for daily charts.

Before I go off on trading daily charts you don't actually have to ride out moves that occur against you once you're in a trade. Take EURCAD for example, you go short by the last negative candle TP @1.47 (if things go as planned which it did certainly) in week and a half it dropped over 450pips. This is what I mean by trading daily, you'll find setups such as these very often on daily across the board some patterns will be different for sure but the idea is that you don't need to hold through corrections you TP when the move comes to a halt wait it out and go in again.

Each to his own, that's the beauty of trading. And at the same time this is what makes it so damn challenging. You have to figure yourself out first. And face with your demons (maybe a little far fetched) but for those of you who stayed long enough will know exactly what I'm talking about.
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  • #45
  • Jun 19, 2017 7:42pm Jun 19, 2017 7:42pm
Quoting TradeGraph
1. Understand your own psychology. After few years of trading, if you are rational person you will realise that FX trading is for you or not. If its not for you, the earlier you quit the better. 2. If you can't control yourself, but have a winning trade strategy, try to automate it. Accept what the markets gives you. Every little helps!. 3. If you are in control of your psychology, all you need is a simple trade strategy. Stick to the plan and never ever hang on to losing trades. 4. Patience and discipline. Strike when the opportunity presents itself....
I lot of great points I wish to echo...

I started learning how to trade Forex about a year ago. and these are the lessons that have been most important for me to learn so far:

1. Trade conservatively! Reduce your lot size when getting started. The profits will add up over time, and the losses won't sting as bad.
2. Trade routinely (if possible). The more you trade, whether live or demo, increases your amount of experience which can inform future trading.
3. Develop a trade plan and stick with it. Fine tune as necessary, but don't be afraid to try new things as well.
  • #46
  • Jun 19, 2017 7:51pm Jun 19, 2017 7:51pm
Trading advice: Be born lucky
You came here for the truth and let me unveil it for you
  • #47
  • Jun 19, 2017 8:50pm Jun 19, 2017 8:50pm
OK, here it comes:

"Put your money where the move is".
  • #48
  • Jun 19, 2017 9:35pm Jun 19, 2017 9:35pm
Quoting CindyXXXX
{quote} Dont do it once you're in it you're in it but weighing up the pros and cons the reward for effort just isnt there. imagine being so good at this that any few hours you spend away from the screen is costing you money through opportunity cost your wife who you did it all for divorces you and takes the kids. Your health deterioates rapidly but still you're a 1%er and that keeps you going despite all else. its sick man the time investment HUGE. And even if you ivest 10 years of your one and only life chances are you will not make a dime in the...
I think the main thing that many aspiring traders don't realize is the toll that being a trader can take on your life. For the self taught trader, Cindy is exactly right. The people with the highest chance of success are the young, single, millennials with nothing but time on their hands. If they have the focus and dedication, it should come a lot sooner than the average person with a full time job and a family, etc. I can relate to Cindy, because my pursuit in this endeavor has cost me a tremendous amount as well. Trading demands 110% attention in your life. It is similar to a new a born baby that never grows up. It will stress you out to the point of keeping you up at night. It will consume your life and every waking moment. The huge reason, besides lack of discipline, why it takes people so long to become profitable is because most have priorities that come before trading in their lives. Most cannot fully dedicate their lives to the craft and thus must take a part time approach to learning the market on their own. The only serves to further extend the learning curve, and thus, due to the impatience and frustration of it taking so long, they dive into the market with nothing but their hopes and dreams of being the next forex millionaire only to blow up their accounts instead. In my opinion there are only two paths to profitability in this game. 1. Dedicate your life to it and sacrifice everything for it (your family, your marriage, your relationships, etc.) If you are not willing to do this then you will have to go to point #2 2. Have a life, but work on it part time for many years until you finally get it or give up and realize that it is not for you.
  • #49
  • Jun 19, 2017 11:55pm Jun 19, 2017 11:55pm
Quoting Madinvestor
{quote} In my opinion there are only two paths to profitability in this game. 1. Dedicate your life to it and sacrifice everything for it (your family, your marriage, your relationships, etc.) If you are not willing to do this then you will have to go to point #2 2. Have a life, but work on it part time for many years until you finally get it or give up and realize that it is not for you.
yes i am totally agree
  • #50
  • Jun 20, 2017 3:18am Jun 20, 2017 3:18am
Be very patient, and follow, don't anticipate - in other words, wait until the direction is clear, and jump on at a low risk point. Then codify that into a number of setups with clearly defined entry triggers.
  • #51
  • Jun 20, 2017 5:53am Jun 20, 2017 5:53am
1. dont use demo accounts, never ever without you test a system for coding errors.

use a live account as cent account is much better and pay in less money.

so you have many advantages:
- you dont use strategies that dont work in live accounts (like cheating strategies with slwo data feed arbitrage, strategies with very small TP much smaller then 1 pip,.......)
- you see real conditions (slippage, spread widening, read price data feed,....)
- you dont have to be greedy, or you will lose something - dont risk losing something is no testing trading, its testing time losing stupid way
- you feel how long it takes to fill an account with money, withdraw maybe, how long it takes to open,....
- you learn small increasing your lot size with your wins (in demo you simple open with much bigger money then you have)
- you see true wins and losses in your account, not paper money. you feel the emeotions with both, even with less money, and get faster greedy you have to control, when you calculate: oh i won 100 usd, with 1000 times money more i had 100.000 same time.....
- you see maybe how risky some strategies are (at special using no SL, martingale,..) and will see what happens by margin call or even when lost more then paid in (depends if broker is protected against this)
- you see real trading problems, like server connection lost to your broker or not refreshed datafeed
- and much more

investing time in demotrading is most of time useless time against trading with a very small cent account(or very small normal real account).

2. lean the math in forex market. all is math, learn all the basics, you need it later. try to be good in math, people who lost who was good in math are not many, at least not people i did met.
  • #52
  • Jun 20, 2017 6:04am Jun 20, 2017 6:04am
My advice is:

Remember there is never a gun to your head when trading, you need to be able to wait for the right trade.
  • #53
  • Jun 20, 2017 6:16am Jun 20, 2017 6:16am
Quoting Catch-22
My advice is: Remember there is never a gun to your head when trading, you need to be able to wait for the right trade.
there is a slow running bullet from godfather death .
ok, depends on food and lifestyle how fast bullet will run.
  • #54
  • Jun 20, 2017 6:25am Jun 20, 2017 6:25am
Quoting aaven
Veterans and Newbies and any one in between, If you had to pick just one piece of advice from your trading career/experience, What would it be? and importantly, Why? Thanks
Don't listen to anybody here.
  • #55
  • Jun 21, 2017 5:47am Jun 21, 2017 5:47am
Read all about hedge funds and why they win or lose. Then realise that you need lots of capital to safely make a living at forex trading, even if you are as good as the best hedge funds.
Gone to a better place
  • #56
  • Jun 21, 2017 7:57am Jun 21, 2017 7:57am
Quoting smikester
Read all about hedge funds and why they win or lose. Then realise that you need lots of capital to safely make a living at forex trading, even if you are as good as the best hedge funds.
Not quite right, is it?

There's a big difference between hedge funds and retail traders - account size.

The hedge fund has to trade bigger size to get decent returns, and cannot enter and exit positions in an instant, due to size - as opposed to the retail trader.

So I would suggest that the retail trader has huge advantages compared to funds, and those advantages should be taken advantage of.
  • #57
  • Jun 21, 2017 9:09am Jun 21, 2017 9:09am
Make good risk:ratio in long run.
"The essence of Discipline is that there are no exceptions" - Jack Schwager
  • #58
  • Jun 21, 2017 10:28am Jun 21, 2017 10:28am
Quoting medici
{quote} Not quite right, is it? There's a big difference between hedge funds and retail traders - account size. The hedge fund has to trade bigger size to get decent returns, and cannot enter and exit positions in an instant, due to size - as opposed to the retail trader. So I would suggest that the retail trader has huge advantages compared to funds, and those advantages should be taken advantage of.
Well, that's not quite right either, is it?

There is a lot to learn from the operations of hedge funds and why they win or lose. (or do you disagree?)

Hedge funds can and do have nimble trading just the same as retail traders and probably have better access to information, say, Bloomberg terminals at $30,000 a year and lower trading costs. (or do you disagree?)

Does a retail, lone trader need a large account to safely make a living at forex? I would say so. I mean, to make $100,000 a year safely, you are going to need what? At least $50,000 or $100,000 if you are very good and don't slip up. (or do you disagree?)
Gone to a better place
  • #59
  • Jun 21, 2017 11:02am Jun 21, 2017 11:02am
Quoting smikester
{quote} Well, that's not quite right either, is it? There is a lot to learn from the operations of hedge funds and why they win or lose. (or do you disagree?) Hedge funds can and do have nimble trading just the same as retail traders and probably have better access to information, say, Bloomberg terminals at $30,000 a year and lower trading costs. (or do you disagree?) Does a retail, lone trader need a large account to safely make a living at forex? I would say so. I mean, to make $100,000 a year safely, you are going to need what? At least $50,000...
No, Medici is correct. Institutional players are too large. To generate the returns they require they have to move large amounts of capital and they are the ones who move the market when they get in and out. Retail traders are too small to move the market so, they can dart in and out with small amounts of capital. It is possible to safely generate upwards of six figures with a $5k account. It's not unheard of. You have to factor in skill and frequency into the equation. A skilled day trader would need less capital than an average swing trader, because they can trade more often, with more leverage, and if skilled enough, more efficiently.
  • #60
  • Jun 21, 2017 11:13am Jun 21, 2017 11:13am
Quoting aaven
Veterans and Newbies and any one in between, If you had to pick just one piece of advice from your trading career/experience, What would it be? and importantly, Why? Thanks
Take a couple of $100 bills, wipe your butt with them, light them on fire, and then flush them down the toilet. Did doing so cause you anxiety? Then walk away. If it didn't, welcome to the club.
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