Trading for a living!

[WHTenn]

Originally Posted by Libros

sorry if my english isn't too good, especially if compare with native, and more particularly with england people.

just tell what you didn't understood.

You think! LOL....

[exni]

funny thread!! a lot of talking....some good / some scary >> scary maybe because every trader is trading what he perceives of the market ... not the market, you cannot trade the market.

Spread : when i hear that swing traders dont mind spread, i can only jump and bang my head on the roof ! SWING traders do have the obligation to increase size to achieve their objectives! how can one say spread is nothing for Swing traders...are you a one-lot trader? Spread like losses are the cost to do this business, dont care about it and it will eat your bottom line.) ... brokers are having fun : best traders know the market, their system tells them the best place to put their orders : the spread is one thing, dont forget slippage (increased at broker's discretion) : see below abt system. Last : risk is NOT decreased with spread, you dont assess risk this way, you may say profit is increased since it is a cost, but please don't trade with the fake impression that lower spread will reduce your Risk : understand the market, have your R/R set ASAP and shoot for your objectives, dont look the spread as a barrier : i trade Gold = high spread, it has never kept me out of this market, i would even say that the higher the spread the better the market is, with proper MM, of course!

about systems : buy someone else's, follow someone else's, back-test any indicator you just found or heard about and you are BOUND to be join that hudge cemetery! a system that will work is something that YOU, and you only is building, the market is a beast that needs to be tamed (understood), you just dont ride it with someone else's advice or system...if you want to make a living out of it. a system is the reflection of your OWN market perception, nothing else! if you grab some indicators, EA, external advice like all those readings available now on the net : WHAT is this? this is not your own perception : this is just a sugar-free version, and while you may think you are on the right track, your broker is already hearing the sound of the margin call and showing his too-white-to-be-true dental display...
a real system gives you different vision or angle of market : it s called a Set-up ... just grab any indicators or purchase any system out there on the web and you are bound to realize that you bought or are using a pack of filters giving you the SAME signal in different version.... think about what the market is, who's playing there, the vested interests, and be aware it s a shark industry, do you really think you can make it with just a purchase??
-work on yourself : psychological profil and emotions are the most important part of your system (that s your personal holy G!), and once again dont believe the hype : USE your emotions, but controle them, keep them as a trigger or an assistant not as the CEO of your personal venture. people without any emotion are not able to manage anything and a trade HAS to be manage from A to Z. And as a surprise noone can keep his emotions at bay, unless he just got out of a car accident with frontal lobe damage! that is a given! emotions are and will always be here with you, you just need to sign a contract with them, dont keep them in the basement, they will force the door anyway and make your trading experience look like hell!

about big account : it is, of course better to have a well-funded account ... and of course your broker loves that ... BUT there s no miracle solution : if you know what you are doing which means if you have a track record, a system that fit s you, and if you know what the market is telling you, what makes it move, then you can start with 5k, why? because you can adapt your MM anytime since you know what to expect from the market, of course then you need timing and most important : stick to your system.

about scalping : Scalpers dont make more $$ than Swing, people please stop reading business marketing-newsletter or "i-can-make-you-rich" strategy market gurus'crap : Scalping is for pros, keep it that way for now, if you want to survive, big traders can be scalpers of course!! they have a 5 to 8 year experience!! use scalping once you are positioned (mid and long term) and it goes without saying that being positioned means that you "master" position trading ... then once you have 2 to 5% of your Capital on the market with proper MM and position management (which means that you know exactly when you need to close positions to keep your ratios alive) then you can start "scalping" : this is the Ferrari of the trading univers, how can u sclap without knowing who s behind the move and what is his/r motive?? you might get it right sometimes if you grab some black box stop chasing, but most of the time you will face that out-of-the-blue-Tidal wave and you dont have the technicals ( access ) to be positioned in a few secs.

Leverage : 10-lot trade !! you are either an old timer, with hudge experience, or have a system that allows you to do this with great MM adjusted on a $1 million account, which i hope u have! all the more!! >> 10-lot on a scalp ; i just wish you the best long lasting experience ))
-increase size on a "drop by drop" basis !! above 4 / 5 % and Options are for ultimate system, with proven track record (at least 150 trades) ... have a reg rising equity line, then increase size and then, only then, start options, not before....you may understand leverage, you NEVER know the sequels it will have on your account, once again when markets accelerate a 10-lot is an accident waiting to happen, even for a big trader with the right tools.

you guys have a good trading session!

exni

[glenn5t]

This post is very intresting....

Firstly....I do trade for a living.....

and I use both methods.....4hr..on majors and 15min on volatile pairs.

In my own view..you need to find a method that works for you, I have cobbled together a system from trial and error over many years...
When you have a system stick to it and learn how to apply it to the pair, I see so many people try a system and within a week there rubbishing it, because it did not return a million a day and they did not get every pip profit there is..
When you look for a system look at the points...Entry..exit..drawdown..stop loss..etc..
you may see a system with a good entry but the rest does not suite you, fine look at others dont rubbish the whole system because it may work for other people with a different trading style to you..

Learn the pairs you intend to trade...ie...cable is often volatile at London opening...

And please learn the two most important things in Forex......Money mangement and Displine....

How many times have i seen people over trade to the point where they open a trade when there is no trade, then wonder why they lose money..
The fact is that not every day presents good trades.

I see also some debate on leverage...I found this item.

Leverage is a loan that is provided to an investor by the broker that is handling his or her forex account. When an investor decides to invest in the forex market, he or she must first open up a margin account with a broker. Usually, the amount of leverage provided is either 50:1, 100:1 or 200:1, depending on the broker and the size of the position the investor is trading. Standard trading is done on 100,000 units of currency, so for a trade of this size, the leverage provided is usually 50:1 or 100:1. Leverage of 200:1 is usually used for positions of $50,000 or less.

To trade $100,000 of currency, with a margin of 1%, an investor will only have to deposit $1,000 into his or her margin account. The leverage provided on a trade like this is 100:1. Leverage of this size is significantly larger than the 2:1 leverage commonly provided on equities and the 15:1 leverage provided by the futures market. Although 100:1 leverage may seem extremely risky, the risk is significantly less when you consider that currency prices usually change by less than 1% during intraday trading. If currencies fluctuated as much as equities, brokers would not be able to provide as much leverage.


Just my thoughts..

Glenn

[Libros]

Originally Posted by WHTenn

You think! LOL....

hmm.. you happy when you look at people "who have lower grade than you".
(more poor, more stupid, etc). you can proud your english grammar, i don't care.
and you never post anything usefull.
are you enjoying offend other people?
i know this type of person, and they are what i hate most.
hope you're not like that.

but, sorry, i'm just 21 years old and living in a country which rarely use english as communication, even the national languange rarely properly used.
you remind me to continuing english course.
or take oveseas and living in europe or US later.

[exni]

it s great to see some people have thought Trading system over and over and came to some realistic conclusion, thx Glenn )) hope this thread will be read by all on this site!

I already have written some thoughts on Leverage, but i like to insist on this topic : Brokers are here to take your money (to little fishes) to feed it back to thier "big account clinets", who have the inside job at hand! thus:>> Leverage is to your account what exotic derivatives are to the international financial markets and its subsequent systemic risk : weapons of financial destruction --
Use strong leverage once you have at least a 100 trades behind you and once you have reached your profit objectives several times (which means you start to understand your system) !! if not you are going into the wall ... i havent seen any exception to this rule!

exni

[bossxero]

Keep posting buddies. Your thoughts and advices are just wonderful. I hope this thread does not go unnoticed

[exni]

No prob Libros )) that US humour or which ever country WHTenn is from....dont take it personally // where are you from by the way?

yea Bossxero this thread is cool --- some nice thoughts and good experience feedback....but we don t care if it gets noticed, do we? as long as thoughts are shared, of course if more people kick in, that s better !


Something to add on Risk - more than a Return variable - >> when using leverage it can be directly linked to your immediate accerated failure of the account -- everybody knows this, of course !! huh do they? how many time have i seen traders with no MM going bust in a few minute...i confess it happened to me also ... so the well known RR ratio is one thing, managing postions with leverage is just another ... there s nothing established when it comes to this !! one could of course try and forecast Max drawdowns, average drawdowns and other past market behavior acc/ system --- that is why : MORE than rewards, traders NEED to focuse on RISK and fully understand what one leverage position does to his/her portfolio - what three posi° do - with high leverage implied.
Reward is what comes after Risk is understood and "under control" and the more positions, the more intricate MM needs to be!

that s why when stalking a new market use the .1 or .5 untill u "feel it" and your MM allows u to increase the stake.....

exni

[PERSEUS]

Originally Posted by max69

show me somebody that is doing this. It cant be done they say only2-4% of 100 traders can do it the rest are Lozers

I can show you who can..... You too can if you follow my system...

[Libros]

Originally Posted by exni

No prob Libros )) that US humour or which ever country WHTenn is from....dont take it personally // where are you from by the way?

exni

really? oh what a not funny american/whichever country jokes.

i'm from indonesia. come to my country and you will see people here is very amiable,especially on outside java. they have high response for foreign tourist, i don't know why.
but damn terrorist from java make it bad.

[exni]

i know people in indonesia are nice people, i travel a lot....whenever you get out of big cities, people change and become normal again....earth attraction )),
about terrorists : fanatism is created by a bunch of people to respond to an increasingly imposing and manipulative government, let this government or any other institution in over-activity and terrorism will match its size!

one cannot love what one does not understand ; majority of people do not understand what is inside themselves, thus how can they respect, not criticize, or not live in denial??

never pay attention to what those people are doing, it will eat you inside and trigger hate in you.

have a nice day

exni